And breathe, for Friday has arrived once again! To celebrate the impending weekend we’re starting the day in style with the gorgeous real wedding of Jayne and Keith.
Picking Newcastle’s iconic Baltic Flour Mill building as the venue for their big day celebrations, the happy couple kept things
modern & minimalistic
in terms of their colour scheme and styling, which worked a treat with the artistic surroundings.We just love a city centre wedding and we have to say, this one is a real beauty!
With images by Andy Hudson Photography.
jayne says:
We got engaged on 31st August 2014, while in Pefkos, Rhodes. Pefkos was the place that Keith and I had our very first holiday just the two of us. After a few years of visiting other places Keith was adamant that he wanted to go back, so we did. On our first night of the holiday Keith took me to our favourite restaurant, a celebration he said that we hadn’t been on holiday for a year or two and to start the holiday the way we meant to go on.We sat down at what was possibly the nicest table in the restaurant, overlooking the beach with the sun setting, still I didn’t suspect a thing. After ordering drinks and our meal, out of nowhere Keith was down on one knee with the most gorgeous ring I could have ever imagined. Not being a particularly quiet and shy person, I think this was the one and only time I have ever been totally speechless. But then burst in to tears. It was all I had ever hoped when thinking of someone asking me to marry them, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. The rest of the night and holiday we celebrated!
Our wedding was on 17th October 2015. We knew that we didn’t want to drag the engagement out as we had already been together seven years and when we found the venue, it all fell into place. Weather was naturally a concern for October but we were really lucky and it was sunny for the majority of the day.
We had our ceremony at St Andrews Church, Lamesley, followed by a reception at Six Restaurant at The Baltic in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
We had a few venues in mind for our wedding but on visiting they weren’t quite right for a number of reasons. The Baltic was suggested to us by a work colleague of mine, which at first we weren’t so keen on. One Saturday we went to visit and instantly fell in love with the place, both leaving with ear-to-ear grins. It really reflected us as a couple, it was in the city that we love and had views to die for.
We didn’t have a theme, but more of a style. The Baltic is a modern, artistic and unique building, and we wanted to make sure that all of our decorations/ flowers etc. were in keeping with that. We both like quite minimalistic style when it comes to most things so this worked well with the venue.
Our colour scheme – navy, silver and grey – came into play mainly because of the venue, the time of year and navy being the key colour for the men in the wedding. We wanted to keep the modern and sleek feeling of the venue flowing throughout the whole day. Silver and greys just seemed to work really well.
Unlike many brides I literally had no idea as to the designer, style, colour or shape of dress that I wanted. It was a simply a case of trying quite a few on before I found ‘the one’. There were two main contenders towards the end, both very different, couldn’t have been more opposite. A final trip to the bridal shop with the some of my bridesmaids helped me choose between them.
It was a fitted Pronovias dress but with a fun element to it in the skirt, this is what I loved about it. Different to anything I had seen before and something I thought Keith would like too. I bought it from a boutique called Bridal Wish in Seaton Burn, Newcastle. The veil I had was short but with tiny Swarovski crystals on it, kept in place by a beautiful hair comb.
Keith had his three-piece navy suit bespoke made by John Blade, of Jules B menswear. His shirt and tie were from Next.
We hired the suits for all six of the groomsmen from Blades Formal Menswear, with ties and shirts also from Next. Our page boy’s outfit was by Florence & Fred.
My adult bridesmaids wore dresses by a company called Ice Blossom. The two smaller bridesmaids’ dresses and cardigans were from BHS.
Keith was very adamant about the type of car he would love to hire for the wedding. We picked a silver/ grey Rolls Royce Phantom, which is a beautiful car. This transported both mums to the church, myself and then the two of us to the venue. We hired the car through Autograph Luxury Chauffeurs.
Both Keith and I had quite a strong view as to what we wanted from our photographer. We met Andy Hudson at a wedding fayre and got on with him instantly. He was approachable, not pushy and totally understood us as a couple straight away. He made us feel comfortable in front of the camera and had some great ideas for quirky and different photographs. I would recommend Andy without hesitation. He was fantastic to work with and such fun. The final photographs are everything we had hope and more.
We met our florist Katie-Jane, of The Garden Studio, at a wedding fayre where she was doing a demonstration. We are of similar age and hit it off really well. Pinterest was my best friend when finding inspiration for flowers, it’s not something I’m particularly close too. I decided on a handtied bouquet in creams and silver, including senecio, brunia, roses, Hydrangea, succulents, dark blue viburnum berries and eucalyptus.
Flowers for the reception tables included handtied bouquets of white rose with senecio, blue viburnum and eucalyptus. We also had tall vases with arrangements of including lilies, alstroemeria, roses and senecio, amongst other flower types.
The other decorations were also kept quite simple and modern. Along with square or circular mirrors on each table, we had crackled glass tea light holders, lots of little crystals and homemade silver glitter table numbers. We also made our table plan from an old mirror. I sourced all of the decorations myself and Katie-Jane, who delivered our flowers, set up the whole room for us.
A postbox made by Keith’s father for our cards was used and decorated in the same colours as our wedding. This was previously used by both of his sisters when they got married. My dad and father-in-law also made some fabulous signs for the day to direct our guests
For the evening reception the decorations were very similar except for the addition of white and grey lanterns that hung from the ceiling. Our decorative chair covers were provided by Simply Bows & Chair Covers.
We chose quite a simple and modern cake to go with the theme. A company called Truly Scrumptious made the cake to the design we provided. Each of the four tiers was a different flavour: Madeira, chocolate orange, coffee and classic fruit.
The food tasting for our wedding breakfast was so much fun, we went with both sets of parents. There was so much to choose from so narrowing down our options was pretty difficult. Our main objective was to not pick anything too rich or heavy and stay away from a typical ‘Sunday dinner’.
In the end we chose canapes of mini burgers, fishcakes, tomato and mozzarella skewers and smoked salmon blinis. Starter was corn fed chicken and ham hock terrine with pineapple relish, followed by a main course of Ingram valley lamb rump, aubergine caponata, sauté potatoes and salsa verde. To finish we had vanilla crème brulée with raspberries and shortbread
Wine was a different matter. We could have just used the wine provided by Six, however we also had the option to provide our own. My father, being quite the wine connoisseur, decided on the latter. In fact, along with my mum, he made a trip to France to investigate some of the vineyards. He picked us a red, white and sparkling white wine.
Overall the food was amazing – some of our friends have even said it was the best food they have had at a wedding.
When it came to deciding on the entertainment, we always knew we wanted a band for the evening of the wedding, it was just a case of finding one that would play a variety of music to suit all tastes. We decided on a band called Livewire, who are managed by AMV Hire. They are a seven-piece band of which the two main singers are fantastic. We first watched them perform at As You Like It in Newcastle. They also provided the DJ playlist for after they had finished to ensure the party could continue into the night.
Overall the venue was perfect for our wedding day! It gave our guests a fabulous view of the city and was something totally different to that of a ‘normal’ wedding venue. The staff were fantastic on the day and with all of the planning beforehand. We had some great thank you cards from guests who loved everything about the day, in particular the venue.
Looking back, saying “I do” in front of all of our family and closest friends was by far the best part of the day we have both agreed. Saying our vows was so special, something we’ll never do again.
For our honeymoon we travelled across America, starting off with Miami, then to Austin, to incorporate the USA F1 Grand Prix, then on to Las Vegas and finishing in San Francisco. It was the best holiday we have ever had with some unforgettable memories.
My top tips to other Brides Up North would be – don’t get caught up with the smallest of details, on the day you really won’t care. Enjoy the planning and organisation of it all, it’s the best day of your life and worth investing the time in to it. Take it all in on the day, everyone told us the day would fly by – they weren’t wrong. Oh and remember, it’s your wedding!
