If you’re planning a rustic-inspired wedding, brace yourselves: Robyn and David’s big day is about to give you some serious inspiration.
Opting to get married at Bolton Abbey’s Tithe Barn, this couple knew it was the perfect venue for them the moment they stepped foot in it – and boy, did it live up to expectation. Filled with warm fairylights and featuring a stunning flower ball installation (suspended from the ceiling for serious wow-factor), the barn was the ideal setting for a day filled with fun, love and excellent music.
Ancient wooden beams were adorned with foliage, candles glowed from the tops of traditional chandeliers and wooden tabletops were completed with floral flourishes and twinkling glassware. A naked wedding cake made by a friend’s mum sat enticingly by a window (hello, raspberry-and-white-chocolate sponge), whilst ‘LOVE’ letters glowed against a historic stone wall. In short: it was stunning.
Details for the day centred around a modern palette of blush pink and navy blue, a colour-combo picked by the couple simply because they loved how the two shades sat together. Keep your eyes peeled for those gorgeous pink Grecian-esque bridesmaid dresses – they’re beauts!
With image by M And G Photographic.
Proposal
Robyn says
: We got engaged on August 7 2017 in Pollenca, Majorca, where we have been going on holiday for many years. David convinced me there was a new cocktail bar at the top of the town’s famous 365 steps, which leads to a viewpoint over the town and bay.Once we had climbed to the top of the steps, I realised there was no bar in sight. David continued to walk me around from the main viewpoint and then got down on one knee and popped the question. When we came back down the steps, David’s parents were waiting for us outside a local bar with some Champagne!
Setting
We got married on the May 25 2019. We chose this date because I am a teacher and it was the beginning of the May half-term. We were also hoping for good weather over the May Bank Holiday. The wedding date fell over the Bank Holiday, meaning we could extend the celebrations over the weekend!
We had both the ceremony and reception at The Tithe Barn at Bolton Abbey. This was the first venue we went to visit and at that point, it was still a derelict barn. However, we instantly knew this was the right place for us: we wanted something laidback and rustic and the view over the Abbey was amazing. We also chose this venue as it was close to where David had grown up and where his parents still live, allowing our wedding party to stay nearby.
We would absolutely recommend the venue to another couple. The architecture of the building is breathtaking and the view over the priory ruins provides a wow factor. The in-house catering and waiting staff were brilliant and the food was amazing. The managers and event organisers were great and provided a laidback yet classy wedding.
Theme
Our tables were based around restaurants in Pollenca, where we got engaged. The rest of the décor was just in keeping with the feel of the rustic barn. Our colour scheme was navy and blush – we chose it as we really liked the colours together.
Dress
I had a fitted strapless dress with an illusion back. It was by Essence of Australia and I bought it from Ava Rose Hamilton in Silsden.
I knew it was the one the moment I tried it on – I had been wanting a plain dress with some lace elements and the train blew me away!
Groomswear
David wore a navy tweed suit with a claret bow tie from Top Mark Suits in Pontefract. The groomsmen wore the same but with a blush bow tie.
Bridesmaids
My bridesmaids wore a blush one-shoulder Grecian-style dress from Wed2B, with a belt that was made by my mum.
Beauty
My make-up was done by Aimee Long.
Transport
I travelled in my uncle’s Jaguar with my mum and dad and the bridesmaids were driven to the venue by a family friend.
Photography
Our photographer was Matt Godman from M and G Photographic. We would highly recommend him – he was extremely professional and laidback and didn’t do many posed shots – which is exactly what we wanted!
Styling
My bouquet featured blush roses, gypsophila and lots of foliage. The Flower House in Garforth provided all the flowers – including a giant flower ball that was hung from the ceiling in the barn! – as well as a ‘love’ light.
Our friend Loren from The Handmade Events Company created our order of service, which she painted onto a pallet. She also made us a ‘welcome’ mirror, and also helped with calligraphy on our table plan.
Favours
We gave out scratchcards and lucky pennies, which we attached to the inside of the place cards on tables.
Cake
We had a three tier semi-naked cake. It had two lemon tiers and one raspberry-and-white chocolate tier. It was made by Joy Barlow, one of the groomsmen’s mums.
Catering
We had previously attended a ‘feast night’ at the Barn to help us select our menu. Our starter was a charcuterie board as it is one of our favourite things to eat. The main was rotisserie chicken with tomato salsa, roast potatoes and watercress salad, and for desert, we each had a huge chocolate brownie with mascarpone cream.
We had a selection of red, white and rose wine, with Prosecco for the toast.
In the evening, we had fire pits lit outside where guests could toast marshmallows.
Entertainment
During the ceremony, Sam Downing played acoustic guitar. We chose him because he played music that was to our taste and we really wanted some acoustic versions of our favourite songs played which he was happy to do.
During the evening, our friends The Robinson Brothers played as the band. We have seen them perform many times and they are brilliant – they even customised a song for us.
Best bit
Our favourite part of the day was when everyone was on the dancefloor together singing away to great music.
Honeymoon
We went to Deia in Majorca for five days after the wedding – we were restricted time-wise as I am a teacher. We’ve also booked to go to Costa Rica in April for two weeks as our ‘big’ honeymoon.
Advice
Don’t get stressed and enjoy your engagement! On the day, make sure you have a bit of time to spend with each other – lots of people will want to speak to you!
