North East Wedding

love blossoms. a pretty garden wedding at headlam hall – faye & mike

Rachel Hirst

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (38)

Today’s wedding is centred around the bride’s family’s gardening and floristry background meaning there are lots of pretty blooms and

botanical touches

peppered throughout.

To follow their church ceremony, Faye and Mike chose Headlam Hall as their reception venue which boasts its own fabulous gardens, further adding to the theme.

In memory of Faye’s dad Keith, who sadly passed away the year before the wedding, there were lots of touching tributes, including special speeches and favours.

All in all a personal and blooming beautiful day!

With images by Tim Stewart Photography.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (3)

faye says:

We got engaged on 24th December 2011. Mike told me that they were going out for the day because it was Christmas Eve but didn’t tell me where. Upon arrival at Whitworth Hall Hotel, in Spennymoor, Mike suggested that we feed the deer and then took me to a quiet place in the gardens where he got down on one knee and asked me for my hand in marriage.

We set the date for 9th August 2014. We chose the date because we are both teachers and we wanted a summer wedding so we could enjoy a longer honeymoon.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (13)

Our chosen venue was Headlam Hall Hotel, near Gainford. We chose the hotel because of its picturesque gardens, wonderful staff and phenomenal facilities. It also came highly recommended at wedding fayres.

The theme was growing and based around my family’s gardening background; our garden centre and floristry business. Our wedding quote was ‘let love blossom’. With this in mind we chose a green colour scheme.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (16)

I had my mum to give me away at the ceremony as my dad Keith, had sadly passed away the year before the wedding. The service was very personal and included a hymn dedicated to my dad.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (42)

I wore a fine laced fishtail dress which was trimmed with pearls and diamantes. My full length veil was then held in place by a matching side headdress of pearls and diamantes. The designer of the dress was Essense of Australia and I bought from Dobinsons of Darlington. Mrs Dobinson was extremely helpful throughout and offered good advice. I chose the dress due to the detail on the one shoulder strap, which I loved.

Mike wore a charcoal grey suit with a silver waist coat hired from Affleck and Moffat, Darlington. He also wore a slim green handmade cravat by Dobinsons of Darlington, which was made using the same material as the bridesmaid dresses. The groomsmen wore identical outfits to Mike, again hired from Affleck and Moffat in Darlington.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (31)

The pageboys had stylish green bow ties, grey shorts, grey braces, white shirts and cool white Converse high tops. Our youngest page boy was a baby and he wore a silk, white rompa suit with a green bow tie and white Converse high tops to match the elder two boys.

My bridesmaids had short silk, blue grass green dresses and carried green anthuriums, while our flower girl wore a full length ivory tulle dress with a green silk sash and a bow on the skirt. All dresses and accessories were purchased from Dobinsons of Darlington.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (37)

We travelled to the venue in a coffee and cream Brenchley car, hired from GW Holmes & Son, based in Bishop Auckland.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (48)

We chose Tim Stewart, from Northallerton, as our wedding photographer. We would highly recommend Tim due to the extremely personalised service that he offers. Prior to the wedding we had various meetings and discussed key photos we would like and whereabouts. To our benefit, Tim was also married at Headlam so knew the venue extremely well.

We also hired a videographer, Paul Robinson of PER Productions, who produced a wonderful wedding DVD capturing our precious moments.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (46)

My mum Olwen Blair, who is a florist, made all of the beautiful bouquets and button holes, along with the help of her florist friend Elaine Russell. They also decorated the church and Elaine kindly set up the venue on the morning of the wedding.

I carried a hand tied bouquet of green anthuriums, white cala lilies, white roses, white freesias and white hydrangeas. My bouquet also had a photo charm of my dad attached so that he was still present with me when walking down the aisle. The bridesmaids carried green anthuriums and the groom wore a green anthurium.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (34)

The church was decorated with a pedestal of white, oriental lilies as well as the font. The pew ends had cream organza bows with French ruscus and asparagus fern foliage. The flowers were the centre piece and main attraction of the whole room, being displayed in watering cans aloft chic hand painted crates. The watering cans were filled with cream roses, shamrock blooms and green anthuriums, which matched perfectly with our green colour scheme. The pillars within the main room were decorated with French ruscus and fairy lights.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (52)

The talented Sam Green designed our beautiful table plan in the style of a tree to match our growing theme. Additionally, Sam designed bespoke place settings and table names. All of the table names were based on different plants with the top table being called ‘Sir Matt Busby’, which was fitting, as Mike is an avid Manchester United fan.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (45)

Our favours matched our growing theme and were also a tribute to my dad. The ladies were given seeds to remember the day by and plant in the memory of my dad, while the men were given a small, decorated plant pot with a card that stated a donation had been made to the British Heart Foundation.

We had a gorgeous Belgian white chocolate four tier cake, decorated with chocolate swirls and green ribbon, which was made by Burnett 4 Cakes. Each tier was a different flavour. We had a chocolate cake, carrot cake, Victoria sponge and banana cake.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (55)

In memory of my dad we had picture of me and my dad on a table next to a lit candle. During the speeches, my sisters and I made speeches in the memory of our dad. Mike made a unique speech and ended it with a song dedicated to me, personally written and rehearsed in the lead up to the day. His best man also made a great speech.

Mike’s song was the highlight of the day for me and everyone was taken aback by the quality of it. It was a surprise for all. The song was written by Mike about the times and experiences we’d shared in our lives together.

To keep guests entertained we hired a magician who proved to be popular with all ages and performed tricks that we’re still trying to figure out. In the evening we had a band called SunshineDaze, who performed a range of funk and pop classics. They were amazing.

A Garden Wedding at Headlam Hall (c) Tim Stewart Photography (68)

For our honeymoon we went to Thailand. We travelled from North to South stopping at Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phi Phi, Krabi and Koh Samui. It was phenomenal. We did everything you could imagine from Thai cooking to riding on an elephant. We also had got to visit the island from the film The Beach and meet many amazing people.

My top tips to other Brides Up North is to be organised, pay attention to small details and match the wedding to yours and the groom’s personalities. We had a traditional wedding with a modern twist to match our personalities. From the church service with a singing vicar and band, to the chimney sweep which met us outside of the church, our day was truly memorable.

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