Filled with so many personal touches and sentimental mementoes, planned and formed with careful precision, along with a lot of creativity and a whole lot of hard work, Ashleigh and Richard's 'home made' wedding was a joy to attend and a highlight of our year.
The Proposal
'Richard and I met on a night out in Newcastle and were introduced by friends. Richard proposed in 2016 during a weekend away in Warkworth, one of our favourite places in the North East. We were walking our Border Terriers, Penny and Ellie, on the beach and he suddenly got down on one knee. I said yes immediately!'
The wedding
'There was never any doubt about where the reception for the wedding would be. With Ashleigh having grown up on the family farm and being somewhat obsessed with gardening, nothing would make her more happy on the big day than being able to pull on a pair of wellies and being surrounded by flowers which she had grown herself. We were looking for something classy whilst also being relaxed at the same time. Having the wedding reception at Ashleigh's family home meant that we had control about every aspect of the day - styling things in our own individual way. Ashleigh had a crazy idea about erecting a wall of flowers and after many months in the plannng, packets of seeds and hours spent watering.....the dream became a reality. It was truly stunning. Of course, Ashleigh insisted on making all of the wedding stationery, chairbacks, table-centres and many other things. This involved drafting in a number of very hard-working bridesmaids and famly members!'
Favorite moment
'Ashleigh carrying a tree over her shoulder through the marquee the day before the wedding was pretty memorable..... she got told off by pretty much everyone as they were worried she'd be covered in scratches!! '
'The whole Wedding Day was fabulous from beginning to end. Being surrounded by family and friends meant so much to us and we have special memories to last a lifetime. After a super busy week with very little sleep trying to get the venue and grounds ready we were just so pleased for everything to turn out just as we'd planned. All our hard work paid off and seeing everyone enjoying the day meant so much to us! The children spent hours running around in the meadow and the day was topped off by Storm Function Band getting everyone up on the dancefloor and we partied until the early hours..... after all that dancing we were ready for some sleep!'
The Photographers
'Capturing special moments to create a long-lasting memory of our Wedding Day was very important to us. 2tone had photographed our friends' wedding and we knew that there was no one else for the job. From the first moment that we contact Chrissie and Nigel we knew that we were in safe hands.'
Any advice?
'We knew that we could 100% trust everyone involved in our wedding to deliver and to make our dreams a reality. You just get that gut feeling when you meet people that these are people you can work with and rely on - trust your instincts! We were lucky to have attended quite a few weddings over the past few years and that really helped us with our wedding planning..... we knew who had done a good job for our friends!'
THE SUPPLIERS
The Venue - Whitburn Parish Church. Reception - bride's family home. Marquee provided by Fairbairn Marquees
The dress - A Pronovias gown from Mia Sposa, Newcastle
Hair and Make-up - Wedding Hair and Make-up North East
Venue styling - The bridal party
The suits - Moss Bros
The cake - The cake was made by a family friend, with real flowers provided by florist
The flowers - Blossoms and Bows - East Boldon
The music - Jessica Avison
The band - Storm Function Band
The videographer - The Big Day Productions
The dessert - Afternoon tea - with all cakes provided by Beckleberry's
The rings - Both Ashleigh and Richard's wedding rings were made from their respective grandfather's wedding rings.... 'it was lovely to know that they were with us on the day and will remain with us throughout our married life!'