Today on Brides Up North it’s all about the pretty with this ultra-sweet wedding last summer, set against a quintessentially British countryside backdrop.
Bride and groom, Imogen and John, tied the knot inside a traditional church in Burnsall, before celebrating with loved ones at The Red Lion – a captivating 16th century ferryman’s inn. Inspired by their venue’s serene countryside setting, a sage green colour scheme complemented by a special focus on the exquisite floral arrangements helped to bring their dream day to life. Insta-worthy doesn’t even cover it!
What really makes this wedding special though, is how the couple managed to include a little extra involvement from their bridal party. From designing their stationery to choreographing their first dance song to the ever so touching Etta James’ At Last – their bridesmaids had starring roles on the day. Just how it should be!
With images by Laura Calderwood and Jamie Sia
Proposal
Imogen says: We we
re travelling around Europe on John’s motorbike in the Summer of 2017. On 23rd August, we were at Lake Konigssee in Germany and had been rowing on the lake. We decided to walk up the hill as the sun was setting, and we took a break on a bench overlooking the lake. It was then that John got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! There was no one around and it was so beautiful and peaceful – it was just perfect!Setting
Our wedding date was 7th July 2018. We both knew we wanted a summer wedding but didn’t have any specific dates in mind.
We got married at St Wilfrid’s Church and then had our reception at The Red Lion in Burnsall. We have always loved the village of Burnsall, it’s so picturesque and the countryside is just beautiful. Once we had picked the date, we went up to Burnsall twice a week to attend the church, and we really got to know the locals. That made our wedding day even more special.
There was no particular theme, however with the wedding being in the countryside, we were keen to have sage green as the colour theme to complement the scenery. We also wanted our flowers to play a large part in the wedding.
Dress
My wedding dress was a fitted lace dress with a long train. It was the Pronovias Ornani dress, and I bought it from Confetti and Lace in Pudsey. I also had a long veil, also purchased from Confetti and Lace.
Groomsmen
John wore a light grey three-piece suit, which was bought from TM Lewin. The groomsmen wore matching two-piece suits, also from TM Lewin.
Bridesmaids
My older bridesmaids wore two-piece outfits which were custom-made from For Her and For Him. It was a floor-length tulle skirt with a lace top which just sat on top of the waist belt of the skirt. Both were sage green.
My flower girls wore ivory dresses from Debenhams. These complemented the older girls’ dresses, as they had a lace top half and net skirt. They all looked gorgeous!
Beauty
Our hair was done by James and Natalie, who are based at Scandal Hair in Horsforth, and our makeup was done by Helen Gorman.
Transport
We hired a vintage bus from Yesteryear to take the guests and the bridesmaids up to the church from The Red Lion. My dad and I travelled in a vintage Rolls Royce which we hired from Superior Motor Cars. John and I also went for a drive in the car after the ceremony to spend some quality time together!
Photography
Our photographer was Laura Calderwood, and because we wanted a second photographer, Laura asked Jamie Sia to assist. I would 100% recommend them. They both made us feel at ease throughout the day, you barely even noticed they were there! And the pictures are just perfect.
Videography
John’s uncle videoed the ceremony, first dance and speeches, as well as other parts throughout the day.
Styling
Blackburn Florist in Horbury provided our flowers. We wanted them to be a key part of the wedding, so we had lots! I didn’t have a preference on which flowers were used, but I wanted them to look as if I’d just picked up a bunch of flowers from the ground, rather than them looking “perfect” – and the result was just as I’d pictured.
As we wanted the flowers to be the focus point of the decorations, we didn’t really have anything else. We had arranged some artificial flowers to sit on the outside tables and used fairy lights in the outside canopy.
We wanted the favours to be traditional, so we gave our guests five sugared almonds in organza bags, which symbolise health, wealth, fertility, happiness and long life.
Cake
Our cake was made by Personal Ice. We wanted a naked cake, which was three triple tiers – vanilla sponge, carrot cake and lemon. We had berries and flowers decorating it.
Dining
The food at The Red Lion is always great, so food tasting was a really fun part of the wedding preparation! We gave the guests options of mushroom and thyme soup or smoked chicken and avocado salad for starters; beef wellington, salmon fillet with asparagus and hollandaise or chilli marinated halloumi for mains; and then either Eton mess or crème brulee to finish.
Entertainment
We used the DJ from The Red Lion and also hired a band called The Big Bow Wow from Essex to perform three sets throughout the evening. We went to a bar in Essex and saw them perform, and our friend got their card to use for their wedding. They were such a success at their wedding that we knew they would be perfect for our wedding too.
Special touches
We were keen to get our bridal party involved throughout the day, so one of my bridesmaids, Emily, designed all of our stationery, which was exactly how we imagined it would be, and another bridesmaid, Sophia, choreographed our first dance to Etta James, At Last.
We also had sparklers, which we lit outside at around 11pm.
Thanks to
We would 100 per cent recommend The Red Lion. From the first viewing, everyone there was so accommodating, and everything was very organised, as well as it just being in the perfect setting. When you have your wedding to plan, it’s one less stress when the venue has everything under control!
Best bit
Our favourite part was after we signed the register, the Reverend announced us as Mr and Mrs Laverick to the congregation, and everyone cheered so loudly! It was a perfect moment!
Honeymoon
We went to Mumbai, travelled around Bali and then spent the last few nights in the Maldives for our honeymoon. It was incredible from the beginning to the end.
Advice
Our top tip would be not to stress! Make a list of everything that needs to be done, and slowly but surely make sure you’re ticking them off. It’s going to be the best day of your life and you don’t want to ruin it by getting worked up with the planning.
A tip that was given to us was that the day goes so fast, so make sure you take in the whole day. I made sure that every so often, I just stopped and looked to see how everyone was enjoying themselves – those are the bits that I remember the most!
