Yesterday I spent the day at the glorious Allerton Castle (our fifth event at this beautiful venue) surrounded by beautiful brides, supremely talented local wedding industry suppliers, gorgeous gowns – they seem to get better year on year – floral towers, hand crafted cakes, bespoke stationery and fancy hats. All that plus photographers, a photo booth, cars, cupcakes, honeymoons, menswear, magic… diamonds… you name it. It was a wonderfully relaxed and happy day in a perfect setting, and felt so luxurious and lovely to be there. I hope that every bride and groom attending enjoyed the special day and felt the love in the room. I certainly did! There’s plenty more lovely where that came from too… check out the fabulous events we still have planned across three regions this season, and be sure to clear those diaries!
For now though, online is where the magic is at, as we stay in Yorkshire to join Brides Up North reader Colleen and her new husband Richard for their own sumptuous celebration at Goldsborough Hall. I love Colleen and Richard’s cool yet classic Christmas styling with just a touch of elegant quirkiness. But then, when you’re as pretty as these two, a paper bag would look good! Enjoy their beautiful day.
With images by Brides Up North Featured Supplier Laura Calderwood.
Colleen says: We got engaged at Bunker Bay, Western Australia on September 21st 2013 and were married on 30th December 2013 at Goldsborough Hall near Harrogate.
We chose Goldsborough Hall because it has the perfect mix of elegance and comfort, which we found suited us perfectly. The panelled library with its large stone fireplace and chesterfield sofas was a unique and beautiful space to have our reception drinks. It was turned into a ‘disco library’ later in the evening.
We also had exclusive use of the venue, including the six gorgeous suites on the top floor. I was able to get dressed in the amazing Presidential Suite after travelling from The Majestic Hotel in Harrogate to the venue.
Goldsborough also offers a group breakfast the following morning for those who stayed at the Hall. It was one of the best parts of the wedding experience to enjoy a relaxed full English breakfast with loved ones after the hype of the wedding.
We wanted the day to be simple and romantic and chose an ivory and burgundy colour scheme.
I carried a simple hand-tied bouquet of white roses and gypsophila.
I wore a simple long “vintage” style dress designed by Sanyukta Shrestha. I bought it from her wedding dress boutique Behuli in Fulham, London. The dress itself was made from a bamboo/silk blend. The short-sleeved bolero was made of handmade French lace. The belt was beaded with shell beads.
My shoes were 1940s vintage embroidered silk and leather. I got them from Catherine Smith Vintage in Harrogate.
Instead of a veil I wore a beautiful silver hair piece – from Behuli – and I accessorised with a string of pearls and pearl earrings. I also wore a vintage brown mink cape for our outdoor photographs. I got that from Fat Faced Cat in Angel, London.
Richard wore a three-piece suit, made to measure at The Cad and The Dandy, Saville Row, London. His burgundy tie and pocket square matched the groomsmen’s from TM Lewin. His shoes were single monk straps from Church’s.
We decided to let the bridesmaids and groomsmen choose their own dresses and suits.
We quite liked the idea of having everyone wear something unique to themselves. The only guideline we gave the bridesmaids was on the colour – burgundy. They all wore a pearl drop necklace from Blennerhasset Fine Jewellers, Perth Western Australia – a gift from the bride.
The groomsmen wore different suits, from dark blue to light grey. Their ties and pocket squares were burgundy – a gift from the groom from TM Lewin.
had my hair and makeup done by Harriet Steele. She is a mobile makeup artist and hairdresser. She was wonderful and travelled to my hotel the morning of the wedding. She was such a calming influence and definitely got the day off to a good start!
Goldsborough Hall has a beautiful little baby grand piano in the bay window of the ceremony room, so we hired a pianist from The Event Music Company, Leeds to play as the guests arrived. He also played during the ceremony – Processional: Air in F by Handel; Signing of the Register: Pavane by Fauré; Recessional: Prelude to Te Deum by Charpentier.
We served mulled wine during the drinks reception. It was a cold day so it was a nice touch for a winter wedding.
Our florist was Helen James Flowers, Harrogate. They do beautiful, classy flower arrangements and bouquets. Our table centrepieces were simple and elegant and played on the idea of it being a winter wedding. There were large hurricane lamp candle-holders surrounded by a wreath of winter foliage, white roses, small red roses, gypsophila and red berries.
I wouldn’t say we intentionally added this, but given that it was winter and just after Christmas, there was a big Christmas tree in the dining room and there were various other Christmas decorations of good taste throughout the venue. It added a nice touch to the winter feel of the wedding.
We chose to have a cupcakes and a small cake by Moorish Cakes in Ilkley. The cupcakes were actually a gluten-free sponge, half were chocolate the other half were vanilla, with a vanilla buttercream frosting. The cake was a traditional vanilla sponge cake, with strawberry jam between the layers, covered with a white vanilla fondant icing.
Our wedding favours were shortbreads made by my mother-in-law. It added a nice touch to such a small wedding. And they were delicious!
We chose a DJ in the evening, Jonny Ross Music. He was brilliant on the night had had a keen sense of what the people in the room wanted to dance to.
Although I was dreading it, my favourite part of the day was the first dance. The formalities of the ceremony were complete so the first dance was just a very joyous, happy moment where Richard and I were able to sink into being husband and wife for the first time.
We are hopeless dancers so asked my parents for some lessons a couple days before the wedding. We spent an evening trolling through Spotify jumping from song to song and trying to dance. Most of the time we were terrible, but once we found one we could dance to together (Cheek to Cheek, Ella Fitzgerald) I was less stressed about doing it on the day.
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to remember it’s about the two of you. It’s easy to forget that the wedding is only the start of something. All that matters after the wedding is how you two are together. So choose the details of your wedding for yourselves, and let your wedding be a reflection of your relationship and your personalities. You’ll end up forgetting all about these details on the day anyway! It really does become just about each other.
Also, if you can find a venue with accommodation it is a great addition. It’s really nice to be able to walk up to your room after a long and emotional day.
Congratulations Colleen & Richard!
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2014 Laura Calderwood Photography
Laura Calderwood Photography is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier, but this is not a sponsored post
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comments
Absolutley beautiful with good looks like her mother…have a wonderful life with lots of love and happiness always.
LOL
Dave M