This morning on the blog we’re taking a little trip to the pretty village of Helmsley in North Yorkshire, as we relive the wedding day of Natalie and Bob.
After a surprise proposal 12 years into their relationship, Natalie was in no mood to wait around and got straight to work planning the big day, starting with the venue. Having come across the stunning Black Swan hotel in Helmsley by chance, Natalie fell head over heels in love with its rustic charm and the other elements of the day soon fell into place for a relaxed and personal wedding, complete with shabby chic décor to complement the rural surroundings.
With images by Glix Photography.
natalie says:
Bob and I got engaged on the 12th September 2015 in the Lake District on a family holiday. It wasn’t the most romantic proposal but Bob doesn’t do romance. I put on his jacket because I was cold and pulled the box out of the pocket. I was in total shock because after 12 years it’s always been a standing joke that this day would never happen. He looked at me smiling and said “So are you going to then?” We still laugh at it now.We got married on the 26th March 2016. We didn’t have a date in mind but this was a date that the venue and registrar were available. We knew we didn’t want a long engagement and if we didn’t just do quickly it would never happen. It also fell on the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, which was a plus.
We got married at the Black Swan in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, and it was just perfect. We looked at a few venues but as soon as I walked in by chance, I just knew this was the right venue for us. By chance Nicola Boden, the wedding coordinator, was free and talked me through what the venue could offer and all the packages. I booked the venue there and then without Bob and we later went together to have another look.
I never really had a theme or colour scheme in mind for the wedding, I was very open minded. The decisions were made after I fell in love with the antique purple bridesmaid dresses, which suited them perfectly. So from there it turned into a vintage shabby chic theme.
My dress was the most stressful part of the wedding planning but I finally decided on a gorgeous lace Alfred Angelo Sapphire dress. The colour was described as Antique. It had the most amazing open messed back and lace train I fell in love. Julie from the Perfect Day in Malton was amazing, she really couldn’t have done enough to make my dress perfect in every way.
Bob and his best man wore a dark navy Ted Baker suits, which was purchased from York Designer Outlet. Bob’s shoes were also Ted Baker bought from Schuh.
My two bridesmaids wore full length, one-shoulder dresses in antique purple. These were purchased from Perfect Day in Malton. Our gorgeous girls Imogen, aged six, and Lottie, who is one, made the perfect flower girls, they wore dresses and shoes from Debenhams.
We decided that with having two young children it would be easier and less stressful if we stayed at the venue the night before the wedding. Bob then travelled to the Black Swan in his brother-in-law’s car, who owns Classic and Sports Cars in Knapton, North Yorkshire.
I would highly recommend the team who took care of all my wedding day beauty needs: Vikki Adams, a make-up artist from Pickering; Keelie Marwood of Life Mobile Hairdressing, who has done my hair for nearly a year now so I knew I could put my trust in her;
Karen Kirby, the owner of Eyelashesbykaren, who created the most amazing lashes for me; Abigail’s of Norton for nails and Emma Wilford of Amazing Beauty for treatments.
Our photographer was Emma Garlick of Glix Photography. I was recommended her by a neighbour who kindly let me look through her wedding photos. I met with Emma at the Black Swan and she instantly made me and Bob feel relaxed and at ease. Her work was amazing and was within budget. She gave us a lot of inspiration to help us capture our day and the beautiful surroundings of Helmsley. We wanted more natural photos rather than posed, but she made us feel so at ease we got a good mixture of both.
We used a family friend Fiona Hogg, who has a shop in Dunnington, York, to supply our fresh flowers. Fiona did flowers for the Queen when she visited Yorkshire so we knew if they were good enough for the Queen they would be good enough for us. I gave Fiona a brief description of what I was wanting and she came up with lovely shades of pinks, purple and creams. I carried a poesy and my bridesmaids carried a simpler version. My flower girls each had a small gypsophila poesy and head piece.
To style the venue I picked cream jugs and fresh flowers for the aisle were then later used for the centre pieces. These were again created by Fiona, who also decorated my amazing three-tier buttercream cake with fresh flowers. The cake was made by Flories Fancies in Malton.
I bought a lot of my decorations from a website called Wedding of my Dreams. This website also gave me a lot of inspiration. I decorated the venue with vintage style bunting, chalkboard signs, hand decorated tea lights and fairy lights. I was helped by my amazing mum and bridesmaids. We spent months on Pinterest and searching local shops for the perfect decorations.
For our favours, Bob’s dad made the most amazing fudge which we put in to little boxes and then hand decorated with twine and handmade labels.
My sister-in-law Anna made us our name places by using jam jars and decorating them with twine and lavender. We put a tea light in to help decorate the table and everyone took them home has a little keepsake.
When it came to picking our wedding breakfast the Black Swan provided a lovely taster afternoon where we were able to sample three different starters, mains, deserts and wines, to help us make our decision. We decided to go for a safe option that we were sure our guests would all love. To start we had tomato and basil soup, followed by chicken with fondant potato, cabbage and shallot and bacon jus. Dessert was sticky toffee pudding. Our guests later said it was the best food they have ever had at a wedding and we agreed it was perfect. Bob likes to think he is a bit of a wine connoisseur so he took it upon himself to make at least one decision for the big day. He chose the sauvignon for both the white and red.
We used a well-known DJ in Malton called Scott Palmer, to provide our wedding entertainment and to get everyone on the dance floor. We knew he had a good selection of music and could put our faith him in to make it a good night. He describes our guests as an easy crowd to please and had everyone up all night.
There were several touches that made our wedding day extra special. It was important to have our loved ones that are no longer here, with us on the day and so we decorated the window shelves with photos of our loved ones, along with fresh flowers and tea lights. We also made a lovely Polaroid display of some old and new photos of Bob and I to share with everyone and my grandma made me the loveliest ring cushion. Finally, our daughter Imogen did a reading in our ceremony. She read out the words of You Are My Sunshine, which is a song so special to us and also to Bob’s amazing grandma Elvie, who made it to our special day at the age of 91. Her husband, Bob’s grandpa Brian who is no longer with us, was over in Burma fighting in the war and played You Are My Sunshine for Elvie over the radio. It was the best special touch.
We wanted our day to be as informal as possible so we had no top table and hadn’t organised a first dance or a cake cutting, but actually on the day it all changed. Speeches were made after our meal but were so heart felt and real. Nothing was planned, wrote down or prepared, which took the pressure off Bob, my dad and Rob, the best man. We were dragged up by our friends for a first dance. This would normally be mine and Bob’s worst nightmare but we loved it!
Following our big day I would 100% recommend the Black Swan as a wedding venue to other brides and grooms. It was perfect in every way. Nicola Boden, our wedding coordinator, was amazing and organised our day as we wanted. She was speedy at getting in touch and making sure everything was right. All the staff really couldn’t have done enough for us. Set in the perfect village of Helmsley with amazing gardens, it created the picture perfect wedding.
It’s hard to pick one part of the day as our favourite because, for us, everything was perfect. For me it would probably be turning down the aisle and seeing Bob’s smile. There really isn’t a feeling like it. Bob agrees too.
After the wedding, Bob and I went for a little minimoon to Rudding Park in Harrogate, where we were spoiled from the moment we arrived. We used the time to unwind and enjoy been a together without our two girls. We went on walks and did some shopping. The food was out of this world and the hotel has a lovely atmosphere. We are planning on going away again in the summer with the girls.
My top tip to other Brides Up North would be to stay calm and enjoy every bit of planning and organising. Also, be sure on your wedding day that you stop and take everything in and treasure every moment. It really will be the best day of your life!
