It’s holiday season here on the blog, and as the editorial team take a short break, we’ll be leaving you with a reduced blogging schedule so that you still get your daily dose of wedding lovely. Usual service will recommence on Monday 4th June 2018 but in the meantime watch out for recaps of some of our favourite Real Weddings from the first half of the year so far.
Drop in every day for the very prettiest, most unique wedding inspiration and – if you are a Brides Up North bride – to see if your real wedding was one of our top picks.
Rustic, homemade details ruled for Craig and Sarah’s big day, with mismatched flowers, neutrals, fairy lights and paper lanterns. Sarah is justifiably proud of the fact that almost everything for their wedding was made by them, from the beer bath to the bouquets. They even foraged for the ivy they used to dress their tables – now that’s dedication!
The result? A gloriously sun-soaked, boho affair which will have you lusting after a fairy-tale woodland ceremony.
The ultimate take-home detail from this visual feast of gorgeousness, though? The flower crowns. Oh Lordy, those flower crowns. They’re giving us palpitations. We strongly suggest you take a comfy seat for this one – it may well cause weakness of the knees!
With photography by Emily Hannah Photography.
sarah says
: We got engaged in Palma city by the cathedral after a few too many mojitos! Craig got down on one knee when only the two of us were around.
Our wedding day was the 8th July 2017. We decided on an outdoor wedding, so we chose summer and prayed for a dry day!
Our venue was Camp Katur, Kirklington, North Yorkshire. We chose the venue as it was so different to a typical hotel or stately home and had such a relaxed vibe. The ceremony area was in the forest and felt perfect while the reception was in the rustic barn. We also loved the fact that our guests could stay over in different glamping pods!
We went for a festival/bohemian-style wedding with a relaxed feel and a neutral colour scheme. We wanted to make as many things as we could for the wedding so that it was as ‘us’ as possible. With help from a good friend, we created a bar made from pallets along with a beer bath. In the end, we created almost everything for the day ourselves.
I bought my dress from Happily Ever After in Darlington. Amanda, the shop owner, couldn’t have been more helpful or lovely. Unlike most people, I knew what style I was after: simple, with lots of chiffon.
Craig wore a brown suit and jacket with a white cotton shirt, black chinos and tan brogues. The jacket, shoes and waistcoat were from Rocha John Rocha and the chinos were good old M&S. The shirt was Jasper Conran.
The ushers wore the same as Craig but without the jacket. We even managed to get a suit for our page boy which was the perfect match!
The bridesmaids wore a simple lace tea dress in cream from M&S with simple tan sandals and we teamed the outfit with beautiful flower crowns. To begin with I gave the girls a colour scheme and asked them to choose their own gowns, but we ended up finding this little bargain which they all loved. We found a similar dress for our flower girl which matched, too.
Becca Hunton (a Brides Up North Featured Supplier) did our hair and makeup and she was absolutely amazing. We all loved her and I’ve already booked her again for a wedding I have coming up soon.
For our transport, we hired a VW campervan and a vintage VW Beetle from Love Dub Cars – they were excellent!
Our photographer was Emily Hannah Photography. I’d seen her work before and loved her vibe: natural, unposed photos. We’d definitely recommend her.
We only decided a couple of weeks before the big day to get a videographer and we used a company called Best Wedding Videos. We absolutely love the video and are so glad we went for it.
In the way of flowers, we were so lucky – my aunt produced all of the amazing flowers including the bouquets and the venue arrangements. She grew a lot of the flowers and foliage herself and also bought some blooms from Manor Garden Flowers, who produced our flower crowns. The blooms were one of my favourite bits of the day!
For the reception, we wanted it to feel relaxed and informal; lots of mixed flowers, tables styled with ivy, fairy lights and logs.
As favours, my mum made the most amazing vanilla fudge which we presented in little world map boxes and tied with twine.
Our cake? One word: wow. We approached A Spoonful of Sugar and they created the most amazing cake we’ve ever seen, complete with its own meadow, flowers and fairy lights. It was so personal to us and it was the best surprise to see how awesome it looked on the day!
After the ceremony, we served a selection of beers from the beer ice bath and Pimms with all the trimmings in jam jars. We used the venue’s own prosecco for our toast and they came with edible flowers in them!
During the ceremony, my brother played his guitar which was a beautiful, personal touch. For the evening entertainment, we hired a band called Northern Xposure. I’d heard them at a Brides Up North WEDFEST wedding fair with my mum and bridesmaids and we ended up watching them all day with a glass of Pimms. Craig and I travelled three hours to Macclesfield (to another Brides Up North event!) so that he had a chance to see them and we loved them so much we booked them that day!
After our wedding, we’d absolutely recommend our venue to others; if you want somewhere quirky and relaxed, it’s the place to be.
Our favourite moment? Well, during the reception, we both took a moment to go upstairs together and watch everybody from a balcony. We were meant to do a sparkler send-off but instead we just left everyone to the dancing!
We took a minimoon to Alora Yurts in the Spanish mountains – it was another world and we’ve already booked to go back! Then in November we backpacked around Bali and the Philippines. Lots of adventures were had!
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be not to stress about anything. Seriously. Enjoy the planning and the run-up to your day. We want to do ours all over again!
the big picture
