State Of Grace: A Real Wedding At Nostell Priory – Sally & Lee

Posted on: 09/11/2012

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Today’s Real Wedding is a special one for me, because it took place at one of the beautiful venues where I am privileged to host my Brides Up North Luxury Wedding Exhibitions in Yorkshire along with Dine Services:  the stunning and stately Nostell Priory near Wakefield. 

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I always like to see my venues in use for weddings, packed to the rafters with family, friends and happiness, and Sally and Lee’s beautiful day – with images by Bluelights Photography – doesn’t disappoint.

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If you would like to see this gorgeous venue for yourselves, just get in touch with the fabulous team at Dine (ask for Danielle) or come along to the next Brides Up North event in the Spring on Sunday 7th April 2013.  It seems a long way off, but get it in the diary now!

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Sally says: We got engaged on Valentines weekend 2010. Lee had planned a romantic meal at home, we had a lovely evening, but Lee lost his nerve. When he finally got up the courage to do it the next day, he came downstairs with the ring in his hand and found me arms deep cleaning the fish tank out. Not quite the romantic gesture he had planned but how could I say no after that!

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We were married on Saturday 1^st September 2012 at Nostell Priory near Wakefield.  It was one of the first venues we saw, and fell in love with. After that other venues didn’t compare. We especially liked the house and balcony for the civil service and the private rose garden and stables for our reception. The added bonus of the renovation the year before we got married and the use of the orangery for the drinks reception really made it our ideal venue. We also loved the fact that we would be the only wedding party there on the day.  Both Dine and Heritage Trust met all our needs which only confirmed we had made the right decision.

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We didn’t really set out with a theme; however due the English Heritage setting we tended to make more decisions in keeping with this.  For example we choose a piano player, Catherine Rannus, for the service, as the piano in the top hall at Nostell Priory was beautiful. We added our own touch by selecting piano music that was special to us instead of the traditional music like The Wedding March.

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The cars were from Laura’s Vintage Limousines. I arrived in a 1926 Vintage Austin Mayfair and for the bridesmaids a Daimler (semi open top) Limousine. Going down the Drive of Nostell Priory was just as I had dreamed my wedding entrance would be. We left the grooms transport to the best man, and he got quite a few laughs turning up in an orange Robin Reliant with a personal touch of ribbons in his football teams colours

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My dress was a Justin Alexander design from Georgian House in Doncaster.  It was a modified Sweetheart ball-gown, done in silk dupion and featured an A-line silhouette with a strapless sweetheart neck. One side of the bust was accented by beaded details. From the other side of the bust an asymmetrical draped bodice was embellished with 3-D lace appliqués and at the back of the dress buttons added extra support to the style. An elegant chapel train ended in a bubble hem.  I knew straight away it was the one.  I also used Georgian house for my veil, and bought my Tiara from The Lanes at Meadowhall.

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I had a hand tied bouquet featuring ivory carnations and avalanche roses, with large pearl detail, and smaller teal pearls.  To incorporate something old, I asked for it to be finished in ivory voile and one of my late nan’s silk handkerchiefs with pearl pins.  My adult bridesmaids all had a smaller version of my bouquet, and my two younger bridesmaids both had an avalanche rose inside a silver wire with teal and pearl detail.

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I asked my brother to do a reading at the ceremony and he found a lovely piece called The Wedding which brought a bit of light humour to the service.

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My bridesmaids all got their dresses from Georgian house, who gave us a discount for the full order.

The three adult bridesmaids each choose Alfred Angelo satin full length dresses in teal. They each choose slightly different styles of the same dress, halter neck, strapless and off the shoulder, which I really liked as it reflected their individuality.  My two younger bridesmaids had matching Ivory Alfred Angelo dresses, which had teal trim to match the adult dresses.  The groomsmen hired slate grey Prince Edwards style suits from Greenwoods in Barnsley. This was matched with ivory waistcoats and cravats.

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Our photographer was Adele from Blue Lights Photography. We initially chose Adele for her great photos, and down to earth personality, but we were really pleased when we realised we got a lot more than just a photographer. Adele actually recommended some of my suppliers, and did everything on the day from taking the photos, to lacing up the bridesmaid dresses, to keeping the groomsmen in order.

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On the tables we choose martini glasses, filled with teal crystal gel, with a domed arrangement of all ivory carnations and loops of china grass.  All the flowers were from Monica J Hewitt of Sheffield who I chose as they really listened to what I wanted. My favourite flowers have always been carnations, and unlike other suppliers I looked at, they didn’t try and dissuade me, but helped me to incorporate them into the designs I liked.

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For the wedding favours, we wanted named tables, so we choose traditional sweets, such as Strawberries & Creams and Sherbet Lemons. Each table was named after a different sweet. The favours were spice jars filled with the sweets, decorated with a cloth cap, and a teal ribbon round the jar which had our names on and the date of our wedding.  These were a real “crowd pleaser” as following the wedding breakfast our guests were trying to swap each other for the sweets they wanted. It really got everyone interacting, and some serious bargaining went on.

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Our Cake was from Angels and Butterflies in Mexbourgh, near Rotherham. It was Chocolate tiered ruffle cake, which had roses and cherubs sitting in the folds of chocolate, and a scroll with our names on it.

The cake had three different flavoured sponges over seven layers.  As a self confessed chocoholic, it was amazing.

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In the evening, we choose a DJ that Dine had recommended, and they did a great job. I provided a selection of songs to give them an idea of our music tastes, but they also came with a wide selection and were happy to take requests all night.

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We both agree that the full day exceeded all our expectations, the venue was amazing, Danielle at Dine and her team did a fantastic job setting up and making sure everything ran smoothly, and The Heritage Trust were so welcoming to us and our guests.

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If we had to pick any particular moments the ones that stand out for Lee would be me walking towards him down the aisle, for me it would the drive into Nostell Priory, and then following the ceremony walking out of the service hand in hand with Lee, seeing all our friends and family, and then walking out onto the balcony and the view in front of us.

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We went to Las Vegas for our honeymoon, and it was out of this world. We did a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon and a cattle ranch while we were there which was breath taking.  As well as turning our hand to the slot machines (we had to try some mild gambling while we were there) there was just so much to see and do. The hotel resorts are superb, and the shows are fantastic. It is a 24×7 place though and we were in need of a holiday when we got back, but would definitely recommend it, and will return again one day.

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My top tip for other Brides Up North would be that planning a wedding can get stressful, and we worried about pleasing everyone, but at the end of the day, we did what we wanted and on the day everyone said what an enjoyable time they had.

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Congratulations Sally & Lee!

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If you would like to see your own Real Wedding featured here, just get in touch!

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2012 Bluelights Photography

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