Outdoorsy couples, this might just be the one for you! Stick the kettle on, we’re heading lakeside with our loved up newlyweds, Amy and Tom, to hear all about their green, green wedding on Windermere and you won’t want to miss even one teeny, pretty detail!
Today’s featured wedding is a gorgeous, quintessentially Lake District celebration! With tables named after their favourite Wainwrights peaks, a remote pebble beach proposal and an au natural olive green and white colour palette, it simply doesn’t get much more rustic than this. But, don’t worry, this celebration is also extremely pretty, with heaps of fresh florals and foliage decor peppered throughout the day, adding that feminine, springtime feel. Talk about idyllic Cumbrian inspo!
With photography by This is Richard Photography
Proposal
It was August 2022. We generally spend a lot of time in Anglesey and Tom proposed on a pebbled beach at Church Bay, just as we were finishing one of our favourite coastal walks.
It was our five year anniversary the weekend after so I had a sneaky suspicion he might do it then, but he did it a week earlier and caught me off guard.
Setting
Our wedding date was Saturday 20th April 2024. We always wanted a spring wedding. We met on the 20th, we got engaged on the 20th, Tom’s birthday is also the 20th, so when the venue had that date available, it just seemed to fit.
We had both our ceremony and reception at Merewood Country House in Windermere.
As soon as we viewed the venue, we knew it was where we wanted to get married. It was the exact style we wanted, intimate but also big enough for our guests, with the most amazing views in all weather. It is also really accessible for guests coming from afar, as it is just off the main road and handy for the motorway.
We stayed at the venue for the weekend, travelling up together on the Friday. We had an intimate pre-wedding party on Friday evening before the big day on Saturday. We both stayed at the venue but separately and so we got ready there that morning.
Thomas and I also stayed at the venue on Sunday evening, after the wedding, just the two of us, to relax after all our guests had gone home.
Theme
We tried to go for more of a rustic, country, outdoorsy feel for our theme. Our stationery was based on our love for the mountains, with our tables each being named after our favourite Wainwrights peaks.
Our main colour throughout was olive green; our bridesmaids wore green and our tables were dressed green. It just seemed to fit and we absolutely loved how our wedding looked when it all came together.
Dress
My dress was the Tori design by Sincerity, bought from Lulu Browns in Whalley.
Groomsmen
The suits were a blue tweed from Moss Bros.
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids wore olive green dresses, all the same colour but slightly different styles that they picked themselves so everyone would be comfortable.
Beauty
We had the lovely Cumbria-based Gemma Louise Smith from Hair For A Wedding.
Photographer
Our photographer was This is Richard Photography. We would 100% recommend Richard, he was brilliant from start to finish. Very down to earth and has captured some brilliant shots which we will treasure forever.
Videographer
Stephen Whitehead Films was our videographer. Again, we would 100% recommend Stephen. He was such a great guy, made us feel very relaxed throughout the day and the trailer video we have seen so far is just perfect. Stephen and Richard offer a package together and we would definitely recommend this, they work really well together.
Styling
Flowers were provided by Belinda at Flower B Florist. We would definitely recommend Belinda really is so talented and truly brought our vision to life. We had fresh flowers to carry and wear, and to dress the venue too. Belinda designed a beautiful archway for the top of the aisle which was just gorgeous and we had so many compliments.
We also hired some separate items to further dress the tables and venue, hired by Sitting Pretty Cumbria. Everything ran very smoothly and was just as we wanted.
Favours
For favours, we had arranged personalised coasters from Etsy (the motherland!) and we also did sweet bags labelled ‘Her Favourites’ and ‘His Favourites’.
Cake
Our cake was three tiers; Victoria sponge, lemon drizzle and white chocolate and raspberry. It was made by Jo at Cutie Pie Cake Company based in Cumbria. Jo was fantastic, really helpful and the cake was beautiful both in look and taste!
Dining
Our wedding breakfast consisted of four courses; chicken liver pâté, then roast vine tomato soup, followed by roast striploin of beef and then to finish, a sticky toffee pudding. The food far exceeded our expectations, it was delicious.
Entertainment
We had Jay Bradbury Pianist during the day. He was brilliant, created a beautiful atmosphere and even had guests singing during the wedding breakfast which we loved. He played my favourite song for walking down the aisle.
We then had Chris Hapgood, on acoustic guitar and vocals, for our evening entertainment. Chris played our first dance too and the dancefloor was full all night!
Special touches
We had arranged newspapers for each guest, created by The Crafty Lab. These were brief but personalised with photos and a timeline of our relationship. A lot of guests complimented these and said they were a lovely special touch.
Thanks to
We cannot speak more highly of Merewood and the team. Beth was our wedding coordinator, along with Caleigh. Both were fantastic and really went above and beyond to ensure we had the perfect day. The day itself ran extremely smoothly and we received so many compliments from our guests on the food served throughout the weekend. The staff really make this venue what it is.
Honeymoon
We went on honeymoon a couple of days after the wedding. We started with four nights in Singapore and then went on to Koh Samui in Thailand for twelve nights. We’d never been to Asia before and it was absolutely fantastic. The dream honeymoon. It was booked through Trailfinders and they were brilliant, they made the whole process so easy for us.
Best Bit
All of it! We have a few! Going down to Lake Windermere for photos with Richard and Stephen was lovely. A nice way to take a breather and something that only we experienced. We also loved the speeches and music during our wedding breakfast that got everyone singing, as it was unplanned and really got everyone ready for our evening party.
