I certainly enjoyed viewing these divine images and they put a great big smile on my face.
Our friends, Naomi and Benedict were married on Saturday 3rd September 2016 and held their reception East Riddlesden Hall in Yorkshire. It was important to them that the wedding was in West Yorkshire and that there was heritage to the venue, which reflected Naomi’s work in the museum sector. The setting really fit the bill, with a rustic barn set in the country, which they could totally transform into their personal vision. They filled the space with foliage and fresh florals, not to mention an Edison lighting installation and fairy lights everywhere. It looked magnificent.
You can’t image how lovely is Naomi’s bouquet? I love the whimsical and organic feel to the arrangement, which used peach roses and a pop of blue with delphiniums. Naomi fell for Eliza Jane Howell‘s Angelica gown and I can see why with its intricate beading and long sleeves. She teamed the dress with a vintage style Juliet cap veil, she looked incredible. Her favourite girls coordinated perfectly in a mix of floral and sage green frocks, while Benedict chose an indigo blue suit and cardigan as an alternative to a waistcoat. So dapper.
Many thanks goes to Tobiah Tayo Photography for sharing these delectable shots.
THE PROPOSAL | On a tiger safari in Ranthambore, India, on Ben’s birthday last March. Knowing how fussy I am he’d bought a ‘stunt’ ring for the occasion that was lovely but about ten sizes too big and slipped off my finger for the rest of the holiday. We chose my sapphire and diamond one together when we got back to the UK.
THE VISION | My initial inspiration was from one of my favourite films, Jean Cocteau’s ‘La Belle et La Bete’ – so lots of glamorous glass and foliage, like the Mondrian Soho (now NOMO) in New York. We knew we’d have a big guest list but this kind of theme and lighting would, I hoped, make the space intimate and romantic. I also love a bit of vintage, so had to chuck some William Morris print/Victoriana in there – so overall it was a bit of an eclectic mix of aesthetics but actually in the end I loved the way the industrial look of the Edison board mixed with the romantic fabrics and flowers.
THE PLANNING PROCESS | I had always wanted to get married in my home county of West Yorkshire, which Ben was quite happy with too. Whilst we both spent a lot of time planning and picking out items, this did prove difficult given that we live and work in London. We knew we’d need a ‘man on the ground’, so to speak, and Rachel Chippendale of Simply Vintage Events was fantastic in picking out wonderful items that I just wouldn’t have had the time to pull together. My Mum was also a great help too, and her living in Huddersfield made it easy for us to pop up on weekends and meet suppliers.
BUDGET | About 25-30k although we did go over in the end.
THE VENUE | The plan was to get married in my local church, St. Joseph’s in Huddersfield. This obviously limited our reception venue choices slightly. I work in the museum sector so was really looking for a heritage venue.
We looked at loads of places in the area – including places I already knew about like The Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Wentworth Woodhouse – but I stumbled upon East Riddlesden Hall during a quick Google, and when we went to visit it really ticked all the boxes – I hadn’t envisaged a barn wedding but the space was tremendous and really adaptable. The manor house itself, with its gothic elegance in the heart of the rugged Yorkshire moors, was just perfect. It really was two venues for the price of one! Emma and the wedding team at East Riddlesden were fantastic too, regularly keeping in touch to see how our planning was coming along, making lots of useful recommendations /suggestions along the way.
THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | I knew I wanted a Juliet cap veil, so as far as my dress was concerned, it just had to match. I didn’t really know what I wanted style-wise, but don’t like lace meringues and frills that much so when I saw my Eliza Jane Howell Angelica gown at Dotty Taylor bridal in Holmfirth, with its simple lines and Deco elegance I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I found my veil on Etsy at Smitha Menon Bridal via pinterest. This was hands down my favourite part of my outfit. I’m a big fan of online shopping so my earrings were from Wolf & Badger and shoes from BHLDN.
FINDING THE DRESS | The kinds of dresses I was looking at were by Jenny Packham, Pronovias, Eliza Jane Howell and Jesus Peiro. I looked at a few shops in London but I knew that Dotty Taylor, a ten minute drive from my mums house, stocked Eliza Howell and Pronovias, so booked an appointment in November 2015. They were so friendly and really let you take your time looking at dresses (I tried on a lot!). In the end I was between a Pronovias with a V-neck and embellishment on the shoulder’s and the Eliza Howell Angelica. I felt so glamorous in it and it had that vintage nod I was after whilst also looking quite modern. I knew too it would go perfectly with a Juliet veil or styled more boho with a floral garland for the evening reception – it was a really adaptable dress.
GROOM’S ATTIRE | Ben chose an indigo blue suit from Suit Supply, with a navy cardigan as a more relaxed alternative to a waistcoat/3-piece. Incidentally, the colour of the suit was matched in my flowers and his buttonhole. Groomsmens suits from TM Lewin and all ties by John Lewis.
THE READINGS & MUSIC | The readings by my mum and twin brother Alex, included 1 Corinthians, ‘Love is patient love is kind’ which meant a lot to me because it was read at both my granny and grandpa’s funerals the year before . I walked down the aisle to Pachabels Canon and the music at the reception can only really be described as eclectic. We had the Northern String Quartet play at the reception drinks – they played lots of modern stuff rather than classical. Our first dance was to Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’. We missed a lot of the DJ so sadly weren’t there to witness the mash up of the Jurassic Park theme tune and Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights.
BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | The bridesmaids wore Jenny Yoo ‘Annabelle’ dresses. I’d initially picked the Seaglass green ones but then loved the pastel florals from their 2016 collection so went for a mix. The dresses had convertible sleeves but all wore cap sleeves – I was up stitching the sleeves in until midnight the night before! Hair was messy buns with a bit of foliage to add to the natural look. We all got robes form Piyama (on Etsy) for the bridal prep.
THE FLOWERS | The flowers by Alice Ferguson at Forage and Blossom were probably my favourite part of the whole look of the day. I knew I wanted David Austin roses and lots of foliage and we went from there. When I first caught a glimpse of my bouquet on the morning of the wedding I was astounded – the flowers had Alice’s signature wildness about them but were also girly and elegant – and the array of colours was simply exquisite. The Romantic Antike rose at the centre of my bouquet really made it pop. Bridesmaids had similar arrangements but the pop of blue delphinium was just in my bouquet and Ben’s buttonhole. Alice did a great job as there were so many different arrangements for the wedding – from the church steps to the table bouquets and foliage on the Edison board, they were all beautifully unique. Not too matchy matchy either!
THE CAKE | Made by my mum’s talented work colleague – lemon, white chocolate and raspberry and fruitcake layers. Finished with some flowers Forage and Blossom.
YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | We were thrilled with our photographers Tobiah and Laura Tayo, who blended in seamlessly and felt more like old friends on the day. Despite the terrible weather at our wedding, Tobiah and Laura’s creative talent and on-the-spot thinking ensured that we got all the big photos. We were limited in taking daytime photos because of the weather, but we loved the rustic barn shots (one of the unconverted barns also on site) with the bridesmaids and groomsmen. The rain stopped at about 5/6pm, so we had our main group shots along the path by the lake in the dark – we absolutely loved these!
THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | Most of the little touches were from Rachel at Simply Vintage or Etsy (e.g. the table plan), but we also incorporated some vintage books from eBay into the centrepieces as a nod to Ben’s love of books. Typical Type did some amazing lighting – festoons outside and the striking Edison board in the centre of the barn. We also hired William Morris print daybeds and deckchairs covered from the Arabian Tent Company to add to the turn of the century, botanical look and to give people somewhere to sit.
