Lovely Lace & Hay Bales! A Real Wedding In The Lake District – Lauren & Stephen

Posted on: 31/08/2012

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To me, this farm marquee wedding sent to me by Mick Cookson Photography and real bride Lauren, is just perfect – love, laughs, decorations to die for, beautiful blooms, the perfect wedding and totally rockin’ something blue glitter heels. 

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I hope it makes your ritual Friday morning cuppa and bacon sarnie all the more pleasurable!

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Lauren says:  We got engaged on the 22^nd January 2012 in Glasgow, under the fairy lights at the Royal Exchange Square. It was very sweet and we went ring shopping the next day in the famous jewellery arcade. That itself was an amazing experience!

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We were married on 11 August 2012 in the little village where I grew up, Grayrigg, which is near Kendal in Cumbria. We then had the reception in a marquee on mum and dad’s farm, which is literally a field away from the Church.

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Grayrigg church was where I was christened and confirmed, where I had attended throughout primary school and a part of the village & community that I had grown up in. We wouldn’t have got married anywhere else! Having a marquee reception just meant we could have the relaxed feel we wanted, have an input into every aspect of the day and keep an eye on costs more easily.

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We didn’t have a theme as such. We both just wanted the day to feel relaxed and easy. Neither of us really stand on ceremony so we didn’t want any pomp but we still wanted the day to be special. I guess a certain “rustic-ness” tied everything together.

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Our bridesmaids dresses were a sweet pea purple. The flowers that we had were all different shades of pink and purple, as were the decorations in the marquee. We tried to keep everything else relatively neutral or rustic.

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My dress was an Enzoani by Benjamin Roberts lace gown which we bought from Marrime in Kendal. The girls in the shop were so lovely and as soon as I tried the dress on I loved it. It was very “me” but I still felt special.

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We bought our bridesmaids dresses online from China. They were from a company called Dressilyme. I did have a bit of bother with them but they had exactly the colour that I wanted and I’m glad I persevered with them. I let the girls choose their own dresses. They decided on a length together and I said I would like a chiffon fabric and we went from there. I just wanted them to feel comfortable in what they were wearing. We hired Steven and the boys’ suits from Greenwoods.

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My friends’ dad kindly acted as chauffeur and drove myself and the bridesmaids to church in his Discovery. One of Steven’s best men arranged for a Mercedes to take Steven to church.

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I carried a gorgeous bouquet made by Gillian Rowlinson. It contained sweet peas and hydrangeas (and some others I don’t know the name of!). She also made the bouquets for the girls, the boys buttonholes and an adorable wand for our little flowergirl.

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There are too many special moments to choose a favourite! Coming out of the church with Steven to our guard of honour from the Young Farmers and half the village being there to watch, all of the speeches were brilliant, and the first dance wasn’t nearly half as scary as I was thinking it would be!

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We are so lucky that we have a very talented and skilled group of friends and family! Steven’s nan and her friend did the flowers for the Church and the reception. My wonderful nan made and decorated our lovely cake (and a couple of surprise ones too!). Steven’s brother is an electrician and he and his boss hung and lit all our lanterns. I, together with help from bridesmaids, Mum and Steven made all the stationery, the favours, the pom poms, the moustache straws and the table centrepieces.

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We have a fabulous group of friends who came and helped us put the tent up and the put the flooring down, fluff pom poms, hang lights and fill jam jars with candles – we’re very lucky! We hired the marquee from a local agricultural society and the caterer, Alison Thompson, is again someone we know locally. Her food was so lovely and just what we wanted! We had individual roasts of lamb, and a nominated carver at each table, which acted as bit of an ice breaker.

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! I particularly liked the favours. The boys had sheep dip whiskey and the girls had brown cow cocktail. Steven is a sheep farmer and my mum and dad keep Ayrshire cows (they are brown and white). I think the brown cow cocktail was a little less potent than the whiskey!

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In the evening, we had a band, called the Jeps, who were fantastic and then a DJ.

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We haven’t been on our honeymoon yet, we are taking the opportunity to go somewhere we have both always wanted to and are heading off to New Zealand in November. That time of year was better weather wise over there. Steven also has less commitments on the farm then and it means we get to prolong our celebrations just a bit longer!

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My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to let people help and enjoy the planning, don’t stress about it!

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This might sound odd but I think a lot of the moments I will always cherish happened before the wedding – days out with my nan and mum shopping for my dress and outfits, sat in the back garden with the girls and lots of cider on a sunny bank holiday making invites, Steven practically falling in the river as we tried to get bark to make our centrepieces and bribing an army of pom pom fluffers with pizza a couple of nights before the wedding. All priceless and all made our whole day all the more special to us.

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Congratulations Lauren & Stephen!

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Are you newly wed?  Contact me to see your Real Wedding on the blog. 

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2012 Mick Cookson Photography

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