Prepare to take note ladies, for this is how an elegant wedding is done!
Opting for a ‘black-tie’ theme, today’s bride and groom Laura and Dominic, wanted a classic wedding that would stand the test of time – and looking at these stunning images, we’d say that’s exactly what they had.
Highlights for us include the romantic lilac colour scheme, Laura’s stunning dress and those gorgeous blooms! Just wow!
With images by Shoot Lifestyle Wedding Photography.
laura says:
We got engaged in October 2014, it was at home and a total surprise! It was a Saturday night and Dom had cooked a lovely meal and then after dessert he said he had another dessert! I just thought yay! Two desserts! So he went to fetch a little plate with loads of macaroons on (my favourite) and in the middle was a box with a Haribo ring in (we had a running joke that I wanted to get married so much I would even say yes to Haribo), of course I said yes and cried a lot and was quite proudly wearing my Haribo! Then a few minutes later he nipped upstairs and gave me my beautiful ‘real’ engagement ring.
We got married on 16th April 2016. We originally wanted a winter wedding but Dom’s sister lives in Australia and is a teacher so we couldn’t quite fit it in with the dates. That said, I’m so glad we had a spring wedding now, the weather was great, daffodils were in full bloom at the church and even the date itself had a good ring to it.
We got married at St Peter’s Church in Edensor, which is a small village in the Chatsworth estate. Dom and I have visited Chatsworth all our lives and it’s a very special place to us, so it just seemed right!
Dominic and Laura from Silver Sixpence Films on Vimeo.
We had our reception at Hassop Hall, we had been to Hassop for meals on numerous occasions and always loved the ‘old worldly’ vibe. But as soon as we walked into the ballroom, we knew it was perfect for the wedding and nowhere else really seemed to compare!
We wanted a black tie wedding as it’s just such a classic style and knew the photos would always stand the test of time. In keeping with the venue we also wanted everything to be slightly vintage, but with a modern twist. Overall I tried not to have too much of a ‘theme’ as I didn’t want to be restricted with choices, such as my dress, flowers and decoration.
My favourite colour is lilac so the colour scheme was an easy choice. My bridesmaids wore gorgeous pale lilac dresses and these went great with the guys’ black suits. We also used lilac, silver and a mix of purples in our bouquets, centrepieces and stationery, to tie everything in.
I won my wedding dress in a Facebook competition! A new shop in Chesterfield, Sassi Bride, was opening and they had a ‘Win a Wedding Dress’ competition and on a whim I thought, why not? And I ended up winning! I went open minded and tried different styles and ended up picking my Venus wedding dress. I fell in love with the neckline! It was so different and I hadn’t seen many dresses like it! However after purchasing, doubts set in and I wanted a more dramatic bottom so I had the dress altered slightly to a fit and flare with lots of tulle and organza added instead of the original A-line, and it was just perfect! The alterations were done by Nora Eve Bridal in Chesterfield, who are the sister company to Sassi Bride, and who I would highly recommend. I also purchased my veil and hired the page boy’s outfit from Nora Eve, it’s like a one stop shop! My wedding shoes were Mimosa by Rachel Simpson and went perfect with the other vintage aspects of the day.
As we were doing black tie look we still wanted Dom to stand out a little, so we hunted for a black velvet tuxedo, which we found in Reiss. His trousers and shirt were from Next and his shoes were from Dune. The groomsmen’s suits and shirts were all from Next and we topped them off with some Paul Smith socks.
Our bridesmaid dresses were a bargain from ASOS and all the girls felt so glamorous in them with the open back – even my eight-month pregnant bridesmaid. Their shoes were from New Look and were a similar style to mine.
Transport was Dom’s domain and he picked a white Rolls Royce Phantom from Cupid Carriages in Sheffield. I was a bit sceptical at first, thinking we should have something more traditional, but it was a really glamourous car and we loved it, plus it looked fab in our photos.
Our photographers were Jo and Simon from Shoot Lifestyle Wedding Photography. I have looked at their wedding blog for longer than I care to admit (way before becoming engaged) and I couldn’t recommend them more! I felt like I knew them before we even met! They are such a lovely couple and just seem to know exactly what it is you are wanting before you even do! Our photos are amazing and I can’t stop looking/crying/laughing at them!
We also had a videographer on the day, Penny and Ed from Silver Sixpence Films. We were unsure if we needed a videographer but oh my god they are worth every penny, and if your budget can stretch to one, definitely take a look at these guys!
For the wedding flowers we used Kerry from Tineke Floral Designs, who, with some help from Nadia Di Tullio Flowers (as Kerry was on honeymoon on the actual date of our wedding), created our bouquets, button holes and centrepieces. We had a mix of lilac and white flowers including roses, peonies, hydrangeas and stocks. They smelt amazing and everyone commented on them.
We made the glitter table numbers, which accompanied the centrepieces ourselves, then all other stationery, such as menus, dance floor rules sign and the table plan, were made by one of our close friends. We also set up a ‘generations of love’ display, which were all wedding photos of our parents and grandparents, who are all such an inspiration to me and Dom, and everyone loved looking at the pictures!
As favours we gave lemon shortbread biscuits, which doubled up as name cards. They were supplied by Rebecca at Lavender Whisk in Chesterfield, and were absolutely delicious!
We didn’t want anything too fancy for our wedding cake. One of my bridesmaid’s aunties had made their cake for their wedding day and it was scrumptious so we asked to see if she would make ours and she agreed! We had a three-tier lemon drizzle cake with buttercream. It saved us a lot of money from our budget and still looked great!
For the welcome drinks at Hassop Hall we had peach belinis and Peroni beer. The food at Hassop is always amazing so we knew whatever we picked, people would be impressed. Our menu was five courses and we had: crab and apple Marie rose, vegetable soup, Derbyshire beef with the traditional accompaniments, crème brulee and cheese and biscuits.
When it came to the music and entertainment, I decided that I wanted to walk down the aisle to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, it was such a special moment and everyone was teary eyed. We also had the Derbyshire Singers choir in church that led the congregation and sang a few songs whilst we signed the register – one being the Vicar of Dibley theme tune!
We also decided to hire a piano player to play whilst our guests arrived at Hassop Hall. We have received so many great comments about him as literally any request someone had, he played – even some Italian music from Dom’s relatives! Then in the evening we had Tenacious DJ to start the party and get everyone on the dance floor. As a surprise for the guests, we asked my close friend Holly to sing our first dance. She was flawless and had everyone in tears as soon as they realised it wasn’t the actual song playing!
Following our wedding we would highly recommend Hassop Hall as a perfect wedding venue. They were amazing from start to finish, every email and phone call responded to straight away and really put us at ease throughout the whole planning process. The food was amazing and we had a few dietary requirements, which were no bother to them. We felt like we had our own country house for the day!
Looking back at the day there were so many highlights and special moments. I particularly loved getting ready in the morning with my bridesmaids and maid of honour, but the best part of all was probably walking down the aisle with my dad and Dom and I saying our vows in front of our family and friends, it was so special.
We went to Mauritius for our honeymoon as we decided after all the planning and wedding stress we just wanted to totally switch off and relax. It was perfect and just what we needed! The all-inclusive was fully taken advantage off!
My top tip to other Brides Up North would be to enjoy and savour every moment! From the minute you become engaged to 1am on the night of your wedding! As it all goes so quick! Also, get your family and friends involved! It was great having one friend do our stationery and another sing our first dance! It made everything so much more personal and special!
