Looking to follow in the lucky footsteps of other family members who had also tied the knot in the month of July – Chelsea and Peter chose Villa Farm York for their big day earlier this summer, blending a picture perfect outdoors ceremony with a rustic farmhouse for their celebrations afterwards.
Their lilac and nude colour scheme is a dreamy combination that works harmoniously with the venue’s chic backdrop, with gorgeous floral centre pieces and blossoming trees to either side of the top table creating oh so pretty Instagrammable focal points within the space.
The cake is a work of art, adorned with dainty flowers in a gorgeous bleached palette of watercolours. Other styling touches to pore over include a fabulous flower wall, an intricately detailed, fully customised gown and movie-themed tables, complete with vintage posters! It’s time to indulge in your daily fix of bridal inspo as we hand the blog over to Chelsea to tell us more.
With images by Bethany Clarke Photography
Proposal
Chelsea says
: Peter surprised me with a holiday to Vegas for my birthday. The entire holiday was a dream. We explored downtown, rented an old mustang and discovered the beautiful state of Nevada. We went canoeing down Lake Colorado and skydiving in the desert.Just when I thought the holiday couldn’t get any better we drove to a remote opening in Lake Mead, rented a boat for the day and pulled up on the lakeside. It was completely deserted apart from two other people sunbathing in the distance. Peter said he was going to go for a quick walk and returned with one of the people from the side of the lake and said they were going to take a picture of us. When we walked to the shoreline, he bent down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. It was the most special day of my life and I was even happier that this stranger was able to capture every moment of it!
Setting
We got married on 17th July 2019 because, firstly, we got engaged on 17th October and secondly, my grandparents, mother and father, and brother all tied the knot in the month of July too and they have all had a happy long life together!
Villa Farm York is one of my favourite venues and it was the only place that felt right for us on our big day.
We didn’t have a theme but all our tables were old classic films that myself and Peter had grown up watching with our family, including Gone with the Wind, Casablanca and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. We even had the original film posters on every table.
We went with a lilac and nude palette with green foliage, as we’ve always loved these colours.
Dress
I wore a dress from a bridal boutique in Newcastle and had it altered at Once Upon a Dress in Riccall. They did exactly what I wanted and created the exact shape to suit my body – I absolutely loved it and felt so special! The dress was completely different by the time they had finished with it and it was what I had always wanted.
Groomsmen
Peter ordered his suit from a tailored suit maker in Thailand. We had used this tailor before when we visited two years ago. The groomsmen’s suits, meanwhile, were from Next.
Bridesmaids
The bridesmaids’ lilac, floor-length dresses were from ASOS.
Photographer
Bethany Clarke was absolutely amazing and did exactly what we wanted. Her photos were beautiful and I couldn’t recommend her more. She captured the entire day just how I’d dreamt it would be.
Styling
Katie Miller from York did all my flowers, decorations and table pieces. She did an amazing job and they were absolutely beautiful.
Tracy Williams Wedding Designs provided us with the flower wall. I created the rest from Hobbycraft.
Favours
For our favours, we gave our guests personalised shot glasses with our date of marriage on, which read ‘Chelsea & Pete – have a shot on us’.
Cake
Leticia Cake Design created our three-tier cake and it was absolutely beautiful; white adorned with 3D watercolour patterns and petals.
Dining
Our venue provided the caterers, Poppy Caterers, and they were absolutely amazing. They made the whole day so much more special.
Entertainment
Manchester string quartet Gold Strings played during our ceremony and reception drinks and they were amazing.
We also had a guitarist called Phil Richards who was absolutely incredible.
Special touches
We asked the caterers to pretend there was a problem in the kitchen and got one person from each table to help. When they all came back out with their chef hats on along with all the food, it was a really good special touch.
Thanks to
It was the most gorgeous venue with the most beautiful views. Our photos are so special, showcasing the different scenic views of the venue – it’s a mix between modern, rustic and vintage city and barn; it was absolutely beautiful.
Villa Farm York provided lots of useful contacts – I would definitely recommend the venue’s Karina and Will Moore for wedding planning.
Best bit
Everything from start to finish was perfect! The speeches were amazing and I loved mine and Peter’s first dance, too.
Honeymoon
For our honeymoon, we went to Greece for five days and we are now in Australia for a month travelling the east coast!
Advice
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be: do as much as you can with the contacts you have, allow yourself to have the most amazing day and when it finally comes around, don’t stress or worry about anything – just enjoy the experience because it goes so quickly.
