Prima Ballerinas. Jenny Packham (Her) & Vivienne Westwood (Him) For A Real Wedding At Allerton Castle – Hannah & Kenny

February 26th, 2014 | Julia Braime

I’ve been shouting loudly on these pretty pages about our fabulous Luxury Wedding Exhibition coming up at Allerton Castle this weekend (you ARE coming, aren’t you?), and this morning’s Real Wedding is just a little reminder of why I am so passionate about this beautiful venue.

Stylish ballerinas (how cool is that – dream job alert!) Hannah & Kenny chose this elegant setting for their beautiful, fun and touching big day.  With lots of luxury additions and a good dose of craft, this stunning couple’s celebration was both grand and personal.  Just lovely and – as Hannah is a dedicated Brides Up North reader – watch out for lots of our Featured Suppliers popping up too!

With images by Joe Dodsworth Photography.  

Hannah says:  We got engaged in July 2011 in Sri Lanka whilst on holiday, Kenny organised a private dinner on the beach. It was really one of the best moments of my life!  I am a huge fan of Brides Up North and just lived on it in the prep for our wedding! 

We were married on 28th June 2013 at Allerton Castle, Knaresborough.  We chose the venue because it has such a sense of occasion and it’s all exclusive to you and your wedding party for the day.  

We just wanted to have a fantastic day and an awesome party!   We didn’t set on any one colour or theme. We just chose items and colours that we liked and we felt went with the surroundings. 

Make Up by Jo and Hair By Dianne Minnes were my beauty team, these ladies made us so relaxed and my bridesmaids, bridesman and Mums had such a great morning getting ready. 

I wanted a dress I felt comfortable in and could move in but I still wanted it to be a wedding gown, something that you would only wear on your wedding day. I also really wanted Kenny to love it, and he has great taste so I did find the whole shopping for the dress surprisingly stressful. I went for a Jenny Packham ‘Lady Astor’ from The White Room in Sheffield. Chloe at The White Room is excellent and made the whole experience simple and yet still special. I treated myself to a pair of Christian Louboutin heels (I saved £1 a day for a year and a bit) and then I had a simple pair of earrings from Carat, a hair band from Jenny Packham (which I got on ebay) and a silver bracelet that Kenny had given  me for my 21st birthday.

Kenny found a great outfit from Vivienne Westwood that was just right for him, individual and a nod to his Scottish heritage.

The bridesmaids wore Sapphire blue dresses from Dessy and they each had a pair of silver shoes from various places, wherever we found ones they liked! The best men had suits from Zara and our dad’s had suits from M&S, all the men had waistcoats that my Dad helped us organise from a tailor in Somerset.

I carried a bouquet of roses, lisianthu and gypsophila. My bridesmaids had very similar ones and the men all had roses or acanthium for button holes.  My mum did all the flowers herself!

Joe Dodsworth was our photographer and Will at Cine Reportage filmed the day on super 8mm, both of these guys are great and real artists in their field.

I really enjoy a bit of crafting when I get time, so I had a go at adding lots of bits and bobs. I collected items from the time we got engaged, some things made the cut, other items are still in my loft. I made the table plan, place names with mini sweet jars, a letter box for cards and notelets that guest filled in instead of a guest book and the sweet buffet all the decorations for the staircase and the tables. It all took a long time but I enjoyed it and when I looked around on the day and saw all the bits and bobs that we had put all that effort into it felt like our day. 

The ceremony itself was very special and like nothing we have experienced before, but every stage of the wedding was just wonderful. Getting ready with my bridesmaids, mum and mother in law in the morning, seeing each other at the altar, chatting with my dear friends after the ceremony, wondering around the grounds having our photos taken when the sun decided to show up (!) and the party and fireworks and the great food.

We are both professional ballet dancers so live music is a huge part of our lives and we really wanted to include that in our day. We were really lucky and had a singer for our ceremony and a band called Func On The Rocks for the evening. Other than that we had a huge box of garden games that went down a treat! Kenny’s parents treated us to a firework display which was so cool, by Ferrensby Fireworks.

After the wedding we honeymooned in Singapore and Koh Samui in Thailand.

I got really lucky and won the money to pay for our wedding, so we didn’t have that worry but before I did that we had financial concerns. Please believe me when I say you really don’t need to spend a lot to have the time of your life. You are so lucky to have met that person you are ready to live your life with and those feelings will be felt 100 times over on the day and that is what is so remarkable about your wedding day. 

My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to take a few moments to step back and view what is your day, and don’t rush, relax and be in the moment. Our families really enjoyed being involved and so hand out jobs big or small and give your people little bits of the day that they had a hand in. I dried my bouquet and have it in a vase and think of my mum when ever I see it. Just think about what is important to you as a couple and what you would like to have as your memories after the big day and go from there.

Congratulations Hannah & Kenny!

Would you like to see your own Real Wedding featured on Brides Up North?  Get in touch.

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2014 Joe Dodsworth Photography

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