Choosing to stay cool and tie the knot as autumn’s beauty unfolds was a no-brainer for today’s happy couple, Georgina and Elliott, as they planned their dream October day.
Pick a theme and go big or go home, right? Well, how does 150 pumpkins sound?! We’re bringing you the perfect rustic, simple and understated vibes that all of you autumn brides have been searching for. We hear how Georgina really threw herself into the concept for her stunning autumn-themed wedding and proves that a wedding in October can be seasonal and chic, without being at all halloween-gimmicky.
With flowers, foliage and greenery galore, a troop of seven bridesmaids looking beautiful in burgundy, eight handsome groomsmen just dashing in navy, and the adorable page boys and flower girls scampering about, this is anything but a small affair! Let’s find out how they pulled it all off…
With photography by Helen Russell Photography
Proposal
Georgina says:
We got engaged in Venice in May 2018. We had gone to Slovenia for my 30th with 6 of our friends and then got the bus to Italy. All my friends knew what was about to happen and I didn’t have a clue! He proposed on our second day in Venice on a bridge, down on one knee, and it meant a lot that he had already visited my parents to ask them for their blessing.Setting
We got married at The Tithe Barn in Bolton Abbey, on the 5th of October 2019, and held both the ceremony and reception there. I always knew I didn’t want to be a Summer bride, as I didn’t want to be too hot, and autumn is definitely our favourite season.
Theme
The theme was autumnal; I love pumpkins so they featured a lot and, with it being October, it worked really well with a colour scheme of dark reds paired with lots of greenery and pops of white in the flowers. All very seasonal.
Dress
I chose a very plain dress made of duchess satin, with a lace trim cathedral veil, and a detachable embellished belt for later in the evening. I wore royal blue Manolo Blahnik shoes, which I had always known I wanted since Carrie Bradshaw and Olivia Palermo wore them to their weddings! I got my gown from Bridal Rogue Gallery in Marylebone, as we live in London, and it was their own design, so my dress was all handmade in Yorkshire. I picked it up from their Harrogate shop four days before the wedding.
I chose it because it was very classic, timeless and suited my figure very well. It was the first dress I tried on in the store. I then tried on several more and ended up putting the first one back on again eventually as I knew it was the one!
Groomsmen
Elliott wore a navy blue suit from TM Lewin, with a burgundy and navy check tie and dark burgundy brogues from Church’s. The groomsmen all wore TM Lewins suits as well but with a different tie.
Bridesmaids
My bridesmaids all wore dark red dresses from TFNC and the flower girls and page boys wore Roco Clothing.
Beauty
Louise Lunn did our make-up and Emily Hawkes did our hair. They were both fabulous! Instagram was a great tool when looking for suppliers, and in particular the Brides Up North grid which shows lots of real weddings! This helps see different styles of makeup and hair which is how I found mine.
Transport
My dad and grandad built a Lotus Elan in 1973 and I always knew I wanted to arrive at my wedding in that car. Whenever I’m home, my dad and I go for drives in the countryside in it and get ice cream so it holds lots of special memories, as well as reminding me of my grandad.
Photographer
Helen Russell was our photographer and I would definitely recommend her. She has done a couple of my friends’ weddings so I knew her style, and she came highly recommended from them. We did our engagement shoot a few days before the wedding and this was a great opportunity to meet Helen and see how she worked.
Videographer
We had Daniel Armitage filming the day. I would also definitely recommend him and he also came highly recommended from a friend. His work is like no other wedding videos I have seen.
Styling
I had a bouquet of quicksand roses, eucalyptus and gypsophila mixed with lots of other seasonal flowers. My florist was Angela at Floral Dance in Ilkley. She did a perfect job and made the flowers better than I could have imagined!
To save on costs, and because I had seven bridesmaids, we doubled up the bouquets as table decorations. My mum found a pumpkin farm in Preston and we ended up getting all the pumpkins from Mark at Big Pumpkins. We ordered 150 ghost pumpkins to use as place cards.
Favours
Everyone was welcome to take their pumpkins home and we provided some sweets. My mum also put together a sweet table at the reception.
Cake
Elliott’s mum made our cake, a five tier semi-naked cake with a different flavour in each layer – lemon drizzle, Oreo, Victoria sponge, lime and coconut, and white chocolate.
Dining
We went to a feast night at the barn before the big day to help choose, and everything was amazing!
We had prosecco followed by red and white wines on the tables and it’s worth noting that the barn has an excellent policy where any unopened wine is refunded.
Our canapes were welsh rarebit, tuna steaks, and roast beef. The starter was pork terrine, chutney and bread. The main was roast chicken, dauphinoise potatoes and seasonal greens with gravy and bread sauce. Dessert was lemon tart with cream. All of the dishes are personal favourites of ours.
Entertainment
We had a live band followed by a playlist we put together. Blind Tiger was our band and they did two sets with a break in the middle. The live music really got everyone up on the dance floor!
During the ceremony one of the Maids of Honour and one of the Best Men did a duet of Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley, and one of the bridesmaids did a reading which she specifically wrote for us.
Thanks to
We would absolutely recommend our venue to another couple; the staff were so helpful throughout the whole process and seeing all your costs is very easy to do via a special website portal.
Best bit
Our vows, and getting ready were the best bits. As the wedding was at 3pm, I stayed in a suite at The Devonshire Arms and all my bridesmaids, my mum and Mother-in-Law were there getting ready in the morning so we had a lot of fun and it kept me very calm.
I always thought I’d want the vows bit over with, but it was actually my favourite part and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Honeymoon
Straight after the wedding we went to The Old England in Windermere on our mini moon for a few days. My grandad and grandma had their honeymoon there in 1947 and it holds very special memories as we used to go as a family every year.
Then in February we went to the Maldives for eight days and had the best time swimming with sharks, spotting dolphins and eating a lot of good food!
Advice
I was, surprisingly, a “very chilled out bride” according to my bridesmaids.
I would say my advice would be, don’t get too stressed about the little things as only you will realise. I realised we’d forgotten to arrange confetti on the morning of the wedding, as the barn only allows fresh petals as confetti, and my mum rang the florist and it was all sorted in half an hour.
Also try to take a few moments to look around at everyone enjoying themselves and everything you have done in the lead up to this day. There’s so much planning that goes in so it’s good to appreciate all your hard work, and the day goes so fast!
