As the editorial team take a short summer 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 31st August 2020 but in the meantime watch out for recaps of some of our favourite Real Weddings shared during the first half of 2020.
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.
Prepare to feast your eyes on the light, bright and utterly gorgeous wedding of Laura and Ross, who tied the knot in August 2019.
This pair of newlyweds chose an in-progress venue to be the location for their ‘I do’s, with the gloriously eclectic Charlton Hall midway through a redesign when Laura and Ross first visited it. They knew that it was the perfect place to swap their vows the moment they stepped foot onto the property – and we imagine George the Giraffe inside the entrance hall might have helped them make up their minds that little bit quicker.
Keep your eyes peeled for the pops of rose gold the couple opted to fill their celebration with. Keen to avoid a colour palette that would overwhelm the already striking decor of the venue, Laura and Ross thought the luxe metallic offered the perfect solution.
Factor in armfuls of stunning white blooms – namely, roses and gyp – and you can only imagine how gorgeous it was. Except, you don’t need to imagine – rather, have a scroll through all their photos here and see exactly how divine it was for yourself. Enjoy!
With photography by Katy Melling
Proposal
We got engaged the bank holiday weekend at the end of August 2017 during a little trip away in Prague.
On our second night, Ross had booked dinner on a boat. We were greeted with a lovely bottle of Champagne and ate beautiful food whilst we sailed along the river with the most amazing views of Charles Bridge. There was a pianist playing as we sailed. It was very romantic.
After dinner, Ross asked if I’d like to go up to the deck and see more of the amazing surroundings. I agreed to and that is where he popped the question… and of course, I said ‘yes!’
Setting
Our wedding date was August 10th 2019 – and it was the best day ever!
We decided we wanted to get married on a Saturday during the summer and this date gave us plenty of time to save and plan our perfect celebration without any stress or rush. We also liked the idea of an August wedding as it was almost two years to the date we got engaged.
We got married at Charlton Hall in Chathill, Alnwick. We both took a week off work October 2017 and booked five different potential wedding venues to view that week. Charlton Hall was the second venue we looked at and it was actually a building site at the time. The staff gave us a tour around the grounds and showed us all the plans that were in place for the venue and we instantly fell in love!
It was exactly what we wanted, with all the things we liked at the other venues rolled into one – it was so different to anywhere we had been before
I am so pleased we stuck with it and decided to book our wedding at Charlton Hall as it was exactly how we pictured it to be and more. It’s my favourite place in the world – we’ve watched it grow and develop, and the venue is a massive part of our journey. It’s so beautiful and our photos and video from the day wouldn’t look as they do had we chosen a different venue.
The staff there are all so helpful and welcoming, and went above-and-beyond for us not only on the big day itself but during the build-up, too. We can’t wait for our next chance to visit – it really is a special place.
Theme
We picked rose gold and white flowers for our theme. We chose rose gold as I had already fallen in love with the bridesmaids’ dresses and it’s a colour that goes with everything – which was important considering our venue was so extravagant! It didn’t clash with anything and because the venue was so ‘out there’ we wanted to keep things quite simple and minimal.
Dress
I always knew I wanted a princess-style wedding dress. My gown was 6581 by Stella York, which I bought from The Wedding Dress Company in Corbridge.
Finding my wedding dress was my favourite part of planning our wedding! I had two appointments a week apart at two boutiques, which I had always said I’d visit. After my first appointment, I felt quite deflated as I hadn’t fallen in love with any dresses – and I had tried on lots! However: I’d managed to get a cancellation appointment the following Saturday in Corbridge. I was nervous but excited, explaining what I was looking for.
It was my mam who actually spotted what would be ‘my’ dress on a mannequin in the window. Straight away, I loved it. It had arrived in the boutique the day before and it was everything I had been looking for. I tried a couple of other dresses on after that but they didn’t compare… It was the one!
Groomswear
Ross wore a blue suit, white shirt and brown shoes. The suits were from Slaters. We can’t recommend Slaters enough – they were so helpful and had lots of options to pick from.
The groomsmen and best man wore the same suit as Ross – they all wore exactly the same but we made Ross’s buttonhole slightly different so he would stand out.
Bridesmaids
Our bridesmaids wore dresses by Victoria Lou Multiway Dresses in rose gold, which we purchased from from Victoria Lou Bridal.
They were very flattering on my bridesmaids, who are all different shapes and sizes. They needed minimal alterations on the length but were basically one size fits all!!
Our little flower girl’s dress was also from The Wedding Dress Company. It was beautiful.
Beauty
My hair was styled by Hair By Crystal and my make-up was by Make Up By Emmy and Make Up By Jorgie.
I was so pleased with the hair and make-up on our day. The girls did an amazing job and I would highly recommend each of them. All three girls went that extra mile helping me out on the day, whether it looking after the little ones while the photos were taken or helping my mam get me in to my wedding dress! I can’t thank the girls enough.
Transport
I didn’t have to travel far as we stayed in a cottage belonging to Charlton Hall the night before. On the morning of the wedding, the staff were available with transport to get me and my bridesmaids to the Hall safely, keeping us dry from all the rain!
Photography
Katy Melling was our lovely photographer and I can’t recommend her enough. I knew I wanted Katy to photograph our wedding after I saw a couple of weddings she had worked on in bridal magazines and on Instagram – I could spot one of her photos a mile off!
The way she edits them was exactly what I wanted. Katy also takes more time photographing the little details and snapping special moments rather than taking hundreds of line-up shots, which I preferred – and she really did capture every moment of our day.
Videography
We used Absolute Media to film our wedding and I would recommend them 100%. They made us feel very at ease and we have watched our video over and over again – we absolutely love it!
Styling
Flowers were a huge part of our wedding day. Sharon at The Little Flower House provided them for us and she was amazing! The flowers were absolutely beautiful and everyone commented how gorgeous they were on the day.
We used a lot of white flowers (roses and gypsophila throughout the venue; we bought mirrored plates for the tables and filled little vases with flowers and candles.
I decided I wanted to remember those close to us both that are no longer here but I didn’t want photos of them which would likely just upset people. Instead, I had a lovely personalised charm made for my bouquet, which was really modern and a really nice touch. I also had charms made for each bridesmaid’s bouquet also with their names on, as well as two charms made special for our two nieces, which they carried with their bouquets and will be their ‘something old’ on their wedding days!
Victoria’s Paperie created all of our stationary including our save-the-dates, invitations, place settings, table plan, table numbers… and more! She was amazing and I loved all our stationary. She was so helpful and full of amazing ideas, and we got lots of lovely comments about our invitations. I had escort cards printed for each of our guests and tied them to white and rose gold feathers, which were then placed on top of the piano in one of the lounges at Charlton Hall.
We hired a copper ‘Love’ light from Coco Luminaire. We spotted it at a wedding fair and it was really effective. They came and set it up in the morning and collected it the following day – no hassle at all.
We also had personalised confetti cones made; they were white with a geometric rose gold geometric design.
Favours
We didn’t do favours as such. We didn’t see anything we really wanted to do so instead, we decided to print one of my favourite poems, Carrie’s Poem from Sex and the City, and placed one at the table for all the ladies. We decided to give a little Joma bracelet for those closest to us, as well as those who had played a huge part of our day.
We also had rose gold cakepops made for all of the kids.
Cake
Sandy at The Cake Garden made our cakes for us – she’s amazing.
We decided to have a three-tier cake as our main wedding cake, which was plain with gypsophila wrapped around it. We also had a separate cake on its own, which was white with a rose gold geometric design to match the breakfast room ceiling at Charlton Hall.
On top of this cake, we had a giraffe bride-and-groom topper, which also kept in with the theme at Charlton Hall as George the giraffe in the entrance is a huge feature!
Catering
We had canapes after the ceremony: mini portions of fish and chips, beef bon bons and quails’ eggs.
Our wedding breakfast started with duck parfait or soup. For the main, we chose braised beef and for dessert we went for the cheesecake. There was a selection of bread and butter on the tables and a peach prosecco sorbet as well – the meal was absolutely gorgeous!
We were invited to a menu tasting at Charlton Hall earlier in the year and it was a tough choice as everything we tried was amazing. In the end, we made our choices purely due to the fact we both agreed the majority of our guests would enjoy what we had picked.
Entertainment
We booked our DJ with AMV Live Venues almost as soon as we had booked our wedding.
After months of thinking about it, we went ahead and booked House Of Sax for the evening reception and it was the best decision we made. He was absolutely amazing, playing along with our DJ.
Best bit
My favourite part was everyone’s faces when they saw me in my dress for the first time – my dad, bridesmaids, guests and most of all, my groom! It was really emotional.
Honeymoon
We went to the Maldives for our honeymoon, jetting off two days after our wedding – it really is the most beautiful place on earth.
We decided we would choose a destination that was a ‘proper’ honeymoon destination: somewhere where we wouldn’t be likely to take our kids once we started a family, and where we could just chill out after a busy year.
We arrived in paradise and jetted on a seaplane to our resort. We stayed in a cosy beach villa for the first couple of days where we were able to get to know the island, taking the 40-minute round walk every day.
Ross surprised me by upgrading us to a water villa for the rest of our stay and it was like a different world. I didn’t want to leave. Ever!
Advice
Don’t rush things. Enjoy every minute of planning because it’s over with all too soon and you never get these amazing experiences again.
If there is something over-budget that you really want, make sacrifices. It’s the biggest day of your life after all – no ‘make do’s and no regrets. And take your time!
