We’re starting this week in the same place we left off last week, the wonderful North East, as we relive the beautiful big day of Lailla and Harry.
Centring their celebrations around a theme of timeless elegance, simplicity in the details and décor were key for a flawless finish that wouldn’t date.
Highlights for us include Lailla’s stunning gown, the fabulous floral creations and those delicious looking cakes!
With images by Scott Spock Photography.
lailla says:
We got engaged on 9th June 2014, while at Portals Beach in Majorca. We had been together for 12 years and just bought our first home together. Whilst on holiday Harry took me out for a beautiful meal to celebrate our 12 years. Afterwards he insisted we went for a walk on the beach, to which I resisted as I didn’t want to walk on the sand in the dark! After lots of persuading I gave. There was a full moon over the sea, Harry walked me to the tide where he got down on one knee and presented me with my amazing Hearts On Fire engagement ring! He followed by picking me up, spinning me round while our feet were in the sea and nobody was to be seen – just the light from the moon over the water! Afterwards we celebrated with champagne in a small bar overlooking the sea.We set the date for 27th April 2016. I chose this date as I believe a Wednesday is my lucky day – I was born on a Wednesday and Harry proposed to me on a Wednesday, so I felt like it was right. I wanted a spring wedding as it’s my favourite season and April is by favourite month.
Newton Hall in Northumberland, was our chosen venue. I have always loved Alice in Wonderland and from the moment I walked in to Newton Hall I felt like I was in a wonderland! I loved how different it felt in comparison to other venues – it was both quirky and beautiful, and I loved the building from the outside too! I also liked that it was quite compact as I knew our wedding was going to be quite intimate. The staff at Newton Hall had a huge impact on my decision as they were all so kind and professional!
I chose a theme of timeless elegance for the wedding as I like to keep things quite plain and I didn’t want a look that would date. In keeping with this, the colour scheme was platinum white and a hint of silver.
In the beginning I had my heart set on having a long sleeved lace wedding dress. I visited numerous shops trying on this style of dress but found that they didn’t suit me. I was so disheartened as I had a strong image in my head of what I wanted. I ended up finding my dress by chance at Elizabeth George Bridal. I had an image on my phone from Pinterest of a dress that I liked but had no idea who it was designed by or where I could find it! When the girls in the shop held up a dress and suggested I tried it on I said I didn’t like the style of it, but my mum and sisters made me try it on, and I then realised it was that dress on my saved images! I did try some more on afterwards but we felt it was meant to be after the coincidence of that being the one I had found online! I teamed my dress with a very plain, long veil as my dress was quite detailed and anything else would have been too much. I also wore Jimmy Choo heels.
Harry wore a navy three-piece suit from Next with Paul Smith shoes and accessories from TM Lewin.
My bridesmaids wore Dessy dresses in platinum, and our groomsmen wore the same suit as Harry from Next.
We chose Scott Spock photography to capture our day! I fell in love with their work as soon as I laid eyes on it! I did have a photographer booked but cancelled as soon as I met these guys! They made our day the day it was and I couldn’t thank them enough! They work amazing as a team and are so inspirational and talented. I would one million percent recommend these to anybody!
We also hired One Digital Image to film our day. I can’t express how much I would recommend these. We weren’t going to have a videographer but it was the best decision we made! Janet and Chris are two of the friendliest and relaxed people, and to have them there on our day was great. I have only seen a short snippet of the video so far, but I’m already in love! They capture everything, including all of the little things you may miss as a bride and groom on your wedding day.
Our wedding flowers were provided by Adam Prest, including my loose, elegant bouquet consisting of all white spring flowers. I was in love with his work as soon as I saw it and I knew Adam wouldn’t let me down! He’s an amazing character with such talent!
For the reception Adam created all white arrangements to match in with the rest. I wanted everything really simple and minimal, to which he met my requirements. I also wanted low table arrangements as I wanted our guests to be able to speak across the table and see each other properly. I was so sad I left the day after the wedding for my honeymoon and didn’t get to take any of the beautiful flowers home, but I made sure my guests got to enjoy them by giving them all away.
The Finishing Touch Company dressed the chairs and tables for us. Charlotte is so lovely, she even popped in to see me before she left on the morning after setting up the room. Her work is stunning and she has some fabulous ideas!
All of our lovely stationery was provided by Rosewood Co. Megan is great and nothing was too much trouble for her. I loved all of our stationery by her, and she is such great value!
As I’m totally obsessed with candles and have them all over the house, we decided to give our female guests a personalised candle tin with our name and the wedding date on the top as favours. I felt they were a little too feminine for the men and so we gave them a scratch card instead.
I absolutely loved our wedding cake, which was created by Dawn, The Master Cakesmith. It was displayed on a cake table, along with miniature cakes, macaroons, cake pops and cupcakes! I trusted Dawn wholeheartedly and again, she didn’t let me down! I wanted it quite plain and simple but chose silver sparkle to give the cake a bit of wedding glitz! I would 100% recommend Dawn – the cake was the nicest sponge I have ever had and her choice of flavours is fabulous!
After the ceremony we served cocktails and beers to our guests, which were accompanied by canapés. I’m a huge fan of cocktails and so loved that Newton Hall offered this as part of their package! When it came to the wedding breakfast we gave guests a choice of food. There were three starters, mains and desserts. The reason behind doing this was that I wanted everyone to eat what they wanted and, above all, I wanted them to enjoy their food! We had a choice of carrot and coriander soup, mozzarella wrapped in Bayonne ham or chicken Caesar salad to start.
For the mains we had chicken with herb cream mash, pork shoulder or sirloin of beef with Yorkshire pudding! Then dessert choice was crème Brule (my favourite), sticky toffee pudding or white chocolate with Baileys cheesecake! We also served a gin and prosecco sorbet, which went down well! The food at Newton Hall is amazing and our guests were very impressed!
To provide entertainment during the day we had singer Jessica Avison to perform, her voice is amazing! She fitted in with our wedding day perfectly. She sang as the guests arrived and stayed through the wedding breakfast. I love her choice of songs and she is a lovely girl who I was glad to have there on the day. On the evening we had AMV Live Music provide a DJ for us. Harry and I chose not to have a band as we had Jess during the day and wanted a mixture of music on the evening.
We also hired the illuminated letters from Coco Luminaire and photo booth from Snaparazzi for the reception! I would recommend both of these suppliers – lovely people with such patience after being harassed all night from drunken guests all piling in the booth!
After getting married at Newton Hall I was so sad to come away from a place where the staff looked after myself, Harry and our family so well from the moment we arrived. They made us feel so welcome and nothing at all was a problem. Their organisation is amazing! Everything ran like clockwork and I have everyone at Newton Hall to thank for that. All our guests commented on the staff and how friendly they all were and how much effort they go to, to make sure your day is perfect! I would recommend this venue to other couples without hesitation.
Looking back I can’t pick out a favourite moment of the wedding, as from the moment I woke up and saw the sun was shining after some previous awful weather, I was just so happy. I couldn’t wait to marry Harry and was just so excited! I’m usually a bit of a stressed person but the whole day I was just so calm and relaxed! I’ve never felt happiness like it. If I had to choose one moment it was during the wedding breakfast, probably the only time Harry and I had a full conversation, as the day was manic! But we both glanced around the room to see so many happy faces; everyone was laughing and really enjoying themselves! And for us that’s what we wanted, to share our happiness with all of our favourite people.
Another particularly special moment of our day was a balloon release that we did after the ceremony. This was in memory of three of Harry and mine’s closets grandparents who we have lost over the past five years. We were both devastated and so sad that they couldn’t be there to share our day as we were both so close to them all. We also kept a candle burning all day at the wedding as a sign of their presence.
Following the wedding we went on a two-week honeymoon to Thailand. We spent our first week in Phi Phi, then moved onto Krabi. Thailand was a holiday we will never forget. Not just because it was our honeymoon, but because it is just so beautiful. It really is how you see it on a postcard! We made some amazing memories and we can’t wait to visit again!
As my top tip to other Brides Up North, I would say to be as organised as possible. This helped me avoid any stress before the wedding and helped me relax and just enjoy every part of the best day of my life! I wish I could do it all again!
