This next wedding has absolutely hit the nail on the head when it comes to that dreamy spring-summer glow! With Beamish Hall as a backdrop resulting in the most stunning photography, you won’t want to miss this little dose of wedding inspo.
Blossom trees, seasonal blooms and photo booths at Beamish Hall today – we’ve got it all and we’re giving it to you in spades! Stay tuned if you’re currently finding yourself in the midst of wedding planning, as our couple are bursting with their own top tips and insider details to help you get hitched without a hitch.
It’s an utterly gorgeous affair, planned to perfection. The exquisite and detailed Made With Love dress from the lovely Marrime in Jesmond (perfect for you Newcastle-based brides!) almost steals the show and Emma simply glows with happiness throughout. We caught up with her to find out all about how her biggest of big days went down…
With photography by Amy Lou Photography
Proposal
Alex and I got engaged in early November of 2020. He popped the question at the top of Simonside Hills in Rothbury, Northumberland after a prosecco picnic with cheese, olives and bread.
Setting
Alex and I got married Saturday 23rd April 2022. We agreed on a spring wedding and decided to get married in Durham, as half our guests were coming from Newcastle and the other half from Leeds, so we wanted a place in between and accessible for all.
After viewing many venues, we chose Beamish Hall – particularly after seeing the Monboucher Suite! We wanted a venue that was exclusive to us and our guests and also somewhere that had the grounds to facilitate a potential outdoor ceremony. There are plenty of hotel rooms in Beamish Hall itself, and many surrounding boutique hotels. As the venue is located right next to the historic Beamish Museum, we thought this would be great for our guests to visit the day after the wedding.
The exclusivity of the venue meant we could host different parts of our day in different rooms. The Monboucher Suite was able to seat our 108 ceremony guests with ease. It has stunning, high feature ceilings and fireplaces with soft tones that were great for photographs. Our drinks reception followed in the Colonial Bar. Luckily, the weather was glorious, meaning our drinks reception was out on the lawn. Aurora Strings played throughout the ceremony but also outside during our drinks reception. We were constantly complimented on the string trio, with many guests saying they were getting classy, Bridgerton vibes!
Theme
With us choosing to get married in spring, we went for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ theme, with a white and green colour scheme. This combined blossom trees, English garden florals and candlelight in abundance. I rented some white and green blossom trees from The Blossom Tree Company in Sunderland to use as tall centrepieces to give the wedding breakfast room (Winter Garden Suite) some character and warmth. The Blossom Tree Company also provided two canopy trees that stood behind the top table. I believe the blossom trees helped create a fairy tale mood for the Midsummer Night’s Dream theme.
Dress
I bought my wedding dress from Marrime in Jesmond, Newcastle. It was the Elsie Ivory Fitted gown by the Australian designer ‘Made With Love’. I wanted a simple dress with some texture, and I opted for a veil throughout the ceremony and day proceedings as I felt this added a little element of class and tradition to the dress. The experience I had at Marrime was absolutely faultless – I never felt pressured to make a purchase, the staff were so attentive and helpful at all stages. I wish I could go back again!
Groomsmen
Alex bought his Ted Baker three piece suit from Suit Direct. He wanted to be slightly different from the rest of the groom’s party and chose to wear a white tie with a white pocket square from Swagger & Swoon.
The groomsmen wore the same suits as Alex, however their ties were a very soft blush pink, as he wanted his best men to wear a different colour to our brothers and dads, who wore champagne coloured ties.
Bridesmaids
I bought the Bridesmaid dresses from ASOS, and I really thought all the bridesmaids looked so beautiful! I wanted a colour that would suit the neutral style of florals, so I chose a satin champagne. The champagne colour complimented the dark navy suits Alex chose for himself, groomsmen, and our dads.
Beauty
Meg Murray did flawless makeup for my mum, my bridesmaid and me. I actually chose Meg based on the makeup products she used and I had followed her on Instagram for a while, so I was already aware of how talented she is before contacting her. Gemma Mularkey gorgeously styled all our hair – both of which I cannot recommend enough for all you northern brides-to-be!
Transport
We kicked off our weekend of celebrations by staying over at Beamish Hall the night before so we didn’t need to hire any transport. Alex and I hosted a meal for 18 guests in the venue’s on site microbrewery. After some delicious food and a few G&Ts to start the party, Alex and I went our separate ways; he stayed in the newly renovated Charron Apartment with his groomsmen whilst I slept in the largest bridal suite.








































Photographer
If you like a relaxed, candid and soft approach to photography then I would recommend Amy. Amy Lou was our incredibly talented photographer for the day and she spent 10 hours with us, taking the most beautiful snaps throughout our day.
With hindsight, if my budget had allowed it, I would have had a photographer who specialised in night-time parties/events too and booked them to come along for the evening proceedings! I think having an evening photographer would have shown another side of our wedding day!
Videographer
Paul Liddament was in charge of the videography. He totally blended into the background and his cinematic approach to videography is exquisite, I knew we had to book him as his previous work reduced me to tears – that’s genuinely the sign that Alex and I needed to book Paul as our videographer! We couldn’t be happier with the outcome of our wedding video and it was truly an investment as we’ll be able to relive the day over and over.
Styling
I carried a large waterfall bouquet that was full of roses. I had my bridesmaids carry foliage only so that my florals stood as statement flowers in any photographs we had together.
For me, flowers are really important for creating an air of beauty and romance so I was quite keen in getting a florist who I could trust to do an incredible job. Without a shadow of a doubt Anna at Flori and Fern provided the most beautiful florals!
I opted for an English garden style with a multitude of white roses combined with a wealth of foliage. Fireplaces were embellished with greenery and the ceremony room oozed a spring floral theme, especially with the two floral columns which complemented the registrar table florals. Anna lined the aisle with floral pieces and later we used these as centrepieces in glass urns for our wedding breakfast. Flori and Fern styled our top table perfectly too with the addition of tapered lit candles at different heights; I still dream about how romantic everything looked. Anna also provided our guests with individually bagged floral confetti.
Our stationery was by Lilac and White.
Favours
Ashley at The Little Cakery made delicious cakesicles as our thank you gifts. They were an extra little sweet treat containing chocolate fudge cake dipped in white chocolate tied with an ivory silk tie. The neutral tone of the cakesicles also helped add to the styling of our wedding breakfast.
Cake
We chose local baker Cakebod and a two tiered cake. It was vanilla-bean and lemon curd and very simple in design.
Dining
I’m vegetarian so it was down to Alex to pick something everyone would enjoy! He chose warm bread rolls and a spiced sweet potato soup to start, followed by braised beef with herbed garlic mash, roasted root vegetables and a large Yorkshire pudding served with gravy. For dessert we served a choice of sticky toffee pudding or a vanilla delice with a melting blueberry compote centre.
Entertainment
We agreed to have our professional photos during the “golden hour”, right after the wedding breakfast. During this time Alex and I planned for our wedding guests to move to the Colonial Bar where a choice of cocktails were served, either the Classic Mojito or Pornstar Martini. We provided this cocktail hour to try to keep our guests merry and to prevent any down time during the day. We actually had amazing feedback from the guests about this idea and plus, everyone loves a free cocktail!
Later in the evening we moved back to the Monboucher Suite where the DJ was set up. We had a dancefloor from AG Events who also provided our DJ and some up-lighting to create ambience once the sun set. We actually gave the DJ a long playlist that we had created from our guests RSVPs. Alex and I love 80/90s music so the entire night felt like an old school throwback – trust me when I say the dance floor was constantly buzzing!
A photobooth is a classic statement wedding piece, we weren’t thinking outside the box here but it had to be done. Our photobooth from SnapASelfie was slightly different as it was a free-standing mirror that took the photograph. I guided the attendants to place printed photos in our guestbook where guests were encouraged to write messages to us. We thought this was a better spin on the traditional pen and paper guestbook.
Special touches
Finishing touches I included were the personalised ‘welcome’ notes in the guest bedrooms for those staying at Beamish Hall across the course of the weekend. The notes included a small ‘Order of Events’ and I included some ‘thank you’ cookies I purchased from an online bakery.
I also made individual name places from clear acrylic discs. I used a white paint pen to write each guest name on; this neatly tied in with the clear beaded acrylic charger plates I rented from The Artisan Wedding House. I wanted some charger plates to style the design with a little extra some depth but keeping things simple and clean.
I also created a wedding website which guests were able to access after receiving their postal invitations. The RSVP page provided guests with the option to request songs which we later combined to make our own wedding playlist, and I provided lots of information in terms of things to do after the wedding and places to stay. It allowed us to keep guest information in one place instead of writing everything down.
Thanks to
I’d love for my suppliers to get some recognition here, as every single one of them pulled out all the stops and I can’t thank them enough. And, if you’re searching for a venue that allows flexibility with function rooms, then I would suggest Beamish Hall. As an exclusive package you can host parts of your big day in some very historic rooms, however we opted to use many of the modern and light-coloured rooms as we wanted our photographs to be timeless. It has over 30 hotel rooms and a small onsite pub to cater for your guests. The microbrewery served amazing food and was a great addition to commence the celebrations.
I searched Brides Up North to look for inspiration on venues. When I was a bride-to-be, I constantly scoured the internet for blogs on Beamish Hall (of which there are very few after 2018) for inspiration and excitement but I actually struggled to find recent, real wedding blogs for the particular venue.
Best bit
Alex and I wish we could experience the entirety of our wedding celebrations again! Brides, let me tell you my cheeks honestly hurt the following day from the continuous laughing and smiling. It was all absolutely perfect thanks to our family, friends, photographer, suppliers and venue – a weekend that Alex and I will remember for the rest of our lives! If I had to choose my favourite part of the day then I would have to say the evening event for sure – good music and your favourite people, what more could you ask for?!
Honeymoon
36 hours after the greatest event Alex and I have ever shared together we hopped on a plane to Nice and explored the French Riviera as husband and wife!
Advice
Honestly, I could write a book on my top wedding tips and tricks! However my top tips would be to remember to hold your bouquet low! Nobody ever told me to do this and it’s truly my biggest tip!
Want to get your guests on the dancefloor? Then make sure ABBA is on your playlist! Take your couple photographs early in the day – particularly when your hair and makeup is perfect, and you’re not drunk! Make sure all your wedding decisions are for yourself and your fiancé – it’s your day and nobody else’s and finally, have your friend buy a bottle of tequila and constantly pour shots!