We’re bringing you an elegant, classy and relaxed Real Wedding celebration in the heart of Newcastle City Centre.
It’s always a nice day for a white wedding, especially one this perfect! The everyday sights of the city contrast perfectly with the soft elegance and muted sophistication of the bridal party and the pretty, rustic florals. Robert looks every inch the handsome groom in his suit and Sarah is simply stunning in a beautiful slinky satin Ronald Joyce beaded gown with clean lines. Quite the bride about town!
In today’s Real Wedding you’ll see Sarah and her groom take a spontaneous walk through the streets of Newcastle with their photographer, in pursuit of those utterly perfect couple shots, with Grey Street and its iconic architecture providing the perfect backdrop for romance. And they used Brides Up North for inspo! We love it when we know we’ve helped!
So, if you’re on the hunt for some stylish ideas, you’re in the right place.
With photography by Fiona Saxton
Setting
We were married on August 3rd, 2019. The ceremony was at St James’ Church in Riding Mill. We chose this church because Robert is from the village and the church itself was beautiful. Our reception was at Northern Counties Club In the centre of Newcastle. We decided to have our reception there because the food is always fantastic. We also thought it would be nice to have our reception in the centre of town because we met and then lived there together for a number of years.
Theme
We wanted a small traditional style wedding. Our colour scheme was ivory and a peachy nude or pale pink. We chose classic ivory flowers with lots of foliage because they complimented the church and reception venues beautifully. We also used Brides Up North for some inspiration!
Dress
I chose a satin fit and flare dress with beading by Ronald Joyce. I purchased the dress from Brides Dream Newcastle.
Groomsmen
Robert’s three piece suit was from Marks & Spencers. The groomsmen wore navy three piece suits, with nude ties and pocket squares, which were all from Marks & Spencer too.
Bridesmaids
My Maid of Honour’s dress was a matt satin fishtail dress, with a cowl neckline, from Lipsy.
I also had three young bridesmaids who all wore dip-hem ivory dresses with chiffon overlay, all from Next. Their shoes were from Marks & Spencer.
Beauty
My makeup was expertly done by Georgia from GM Studio. Then my hair, my Mum’s and the Maid of Honour’s hair were all done by Liam from Revival Salon in Wallsend.
Photographer
Fiona Saxton was our photographer. We cannot recommend her enough. She was a fantastic photographer to deal with. We were delighted with our photographs and overall experience. Fiona was quick to get our photos to us; we received our preview just days after the wedding. The quality and wide variety of the images she captured was fantastic. Fiona managed to catch every moment of the day beautifully.
Styling
I carried a hand-tied bouquet of avalanche roses, lisianthus, veronica, white bouvardia, gyp, eryngiums, green dianthus, gerbera and foliage. All of my bridal flowers were by Alison and Hayley from Made For The Moment.
Robert’s mother and her friends from the village created the flower arrangements at the church ceremony. We went for rustic country garden style arrangements including white flowers and lots of foliage. We also moved a lot of the arrangements to the reception following the ceremony.
At the reception venue, we used white hydrangeas in our centrepieces and in the fireplace and top table decorations. The staircase at the reception was decorated with ruscus and gypsophila. These flowers were by Alison and Hayley from Made for the Moment too.
Favours
We gave our guests favours which were five miniatures of some of our favourite childhood sweets. One of them was personalised with our initials.
Cake
We had a traditional four tier cake of three different flavours – fruit, sponge and lemon – from Marks & Spencer.
Dining
Foodwise, first we had canapés which included mini fish and chips, black pudding scotch eggs, tempura king prawns and a Northumberland three cheese tart.
We had a three course meal and gave our guests a choice between three options. The choices were smoked trout, pickled heritage beetroot, torched goats cheese and potato salad, or a smooth chicken liver parfait and red onion marmalade with toasted brioche or slow roasted tomato soup with pesto croutons. Main course was a choice of smoked sirloin and braised shin of beef, onions, fondant potatoes, broad beans and carrots or poached chicken breast, mozzarella, red peppers, chorizo and saffron new potatoes. Then dessert was either dark chocolate and raspberry tart and yoghurt sorbet with raspberry textures, sticky toffee and date pudding served with butterscotch sauce or French meringue, poached summer fruits and vanilla ice cream. We chose red and white wines to compliment the food.
For the evening food we had glazed ham and roast turkey with trimmings. We chose these because they were favourites of ours.
Entertainment
We had a wedding DJ and disco provided by The Ultimate Wedding DJ. We used John Brown Cater Hire for the dance floor and chair hire.
Thanks to
We would highly recommend both the Parish of St James and Northern Counties Club in Newcastle. Our ceremony was lovely and Northern Counties Club couldn’t have been more helpful, nothing was too much trouble. Everything was fantastic, from the food to the service.
Best bit
We enjoyed everything about our day! The ceremony was wonderful and the food at the reception was fabulous. We just loved having all of family and friends together.
Honeymoon
We went to Dubai for nine nights for our honeymoon. We had a fantastic time relaxing on the beach and experiencing Dubai. We visited the Burj Khalifa, did some desert dune bashing in a 4X4, rode a camel and visited the enormous Dubai Mall.
Advice
My top tip for another bride would be to enjoy it! The day will be over before you know it.
