WWW readers Jordan and Emily had a vision of a relaxed and chic wedding, which they chose to host at Taitlands, Yorkshire. With a pale grey colour scheme they found the prettiest bridesmaid dresses in ASOS, had bountiful bouquets of gypsophila and DIY lace jam jars for their flower arrangements.

Emily had the most beautiful dress by Ronald Joyce, i just adore that collor, while Jordan donned pale grey with customised cuff links. They had such a happy laid back day all on a budget of around £7000.

Thanks so much to the wonderful Lissa Alexandra for sharing her photographs with us today.

 

 

The Proposal… It was my birthday, 2nd September 2011. Jordan had surprised me the day before with a trip to Edinburgh, where I LOVE. This was obviously my birthday present and I didn’t expect anything else to happen on this trip in the slightest! We had been watching a TV program a couple of months before where there was a couple choosing her engagement ring and I had always said I would want to be proposed to as a complete surprise and not know anything about it at all. So on our first night in Edinburgh (after a few drinks) I decided to bring up the subject of rings and marriage. It didn’t go quite as I planned as Jordan had obviously kept this program in mind and decided to throw me off guard by saying he didn’t want to get engaged until we were at least 30….little did I know that he had a ring in his pocket at the time and was planning to make me the happiest person on the planet the very next day!!!

So the next morning, my birthday, Jordan had planned a trip for the two of us to go to one of Edinburgh’s beaches. We walked out to Cramond Island where we had so much fun trudging through all the wet sand as the tide had gone out, Jordan had to give me piggy backs through rock pools, whilst juggling my camera, shoes and what I now know, my ring! Cramond Island is a beautiful spot that has an amazing view of Edinburgh from. We climbed to the top of the island where he got down on one knee and popped the question, I cannot begin to describe how happy we both were at that one very moment, in our own world with no one else around….it was beautiful!

The Vision for the Day… We just wanted to have a very personal, relaxed, chic wedding but nothing that took the attention too much away from what the day was really about. We wanted to have all of our closest friends and family around us and make it as special for them as it was for us!

The Planning Process… I loved the planning process, for me, it was as important and as enjoyable as the day! We started planning near enough straight after getting engaged by finding our perfect venue. Once we had that everything just seemed to fall into place.

I knew exactly the look I was wanting, very relaxed and chic. Im not too sure on how much Jordan enjoyed collecting an endless amount of jars for me to cover with lace, but once they were finished they looked fab…..and a great money saver!!!  A lot of our decorations were handmade which gave it that extra personal touch!

Budget… We had a budget of around £7000, im not too sure to be honest how much we stuck to it……ooops!.

The Venue… At the beautiful Taitlands, in Settle North Yorkshire. Set right in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

The Dress + Accessories… My dress is by Ronald Joyce and is totally beautiful! It is Ivory lace with a back to front peter pan collar, so it had a scoop neckline with satin coated buttons going all the way down the back. It has crochet lace around the waist where it then falls into very elegant Grecian pleats with a 1 meter train. I love it and keep wanting to put it back on!

I had a very simple single layer veil that trailed a little further behind my dress. My shoes were from online as I knew they would get ruined as the majority of our day was outdoors. I wore a pearl bracelet and got matching ones for the bridesmaids and beautiful diamond earrings which Jordan had bough as my wedding present. I also borrowed one of my nana’s white vintage hankies for the ceremony as I knew there could be a few tears of joy shed!

Finding the Dress… I had a wedding dress made, I had an idea of how I wanted it and found someone who could make it for me for quite a good price! However…….I later found my dream dress in a bridal shop in Northallerton where we were living at the time. I was looking for my accessories to wear on the day and saw the dress in the owners office, it had not even been priced up! I fell in love with it and had to buy it! So I wore this one and I am keeping the one I had made for if we ever renew our vows!!!

Groom’s Attire… Jordan and his groomsmen hired their suits. They were woven grey, just relaxed to suit our day. Jordan wore a waistcoat under his jacket where as the best man and usher wore matching suit jacket and trousers. We also added a little fun to their outfits with socks to tie into our colour theme, Jordan had stripy yellow ones and his groomsmen had stripy green!

I had some personalized cuff links made for Jordan to wear on our day. They were vintage maps that had been cut out around Edinburgh (where we got engaged) and the other was of Cuba where we went on honeymoon!

The Readings + Music… We had an informal poem called “On your wedding day” read by Jordan’s little brother Jack and sister Jorja. It was a lovely touch that became a big part of our ceremony.

We had an amazing acoustic guitarist called Neill Ryan for during the day. He sang all the songs we requested in the ceremony room and as I walked down the aisle, then on the lawn outside as we had our reception drinks, for us it was perfect! He then joined his band called Neill Ryan & The Kinky Pigs and they were unbelievable. They sang our first dance live, Bob Marley, Is this love, which helped make our day as special as it was!

Beautiful Bridesmaids… I had 4 bridesmaids, My sister Sophie, my best friend Sarah and Jordan’s two sisters Jorja and Jodie. Their dresses took some finding as I was quite particular at what I wanted. Our wedding was relaxed and we wanted them to feel comfortable but for them to obviously be in the right colour to match out colour scheme which was pale dove grey! I found the perfect ones on ASOS, an online fashion store. They were not typical bridesmaid’s dresses but they were perfect for what we wanted and they were comfortable with them also. They were made from crochet lace/cotton which worked beautifully with my dress and they were also a very nice price as they weren’t bought from a bridal shop.

The girls had matching bracelets to mine and very natural make up, which we all did ourselves along with our hair. It was lovely doing it this way as we all got ready together whilst having our favourite tunes on and a glass of bubbles!

The Flowers… We had gypsophila as our flowers, loads of it!! I had a pompom bouquet made with the bridesmaids having matching, just a little smaller and all the men, my mum and Jordan’s mum had gypsophila buttonholes made. They were so elegant and fitted with the theme perfectly. It is also quite affordable which means you can have quite a lot on the tables and dotted around to tie everything in.

The Cake… We had a “cheese” cake made by my mum, it was amazing! The bottom tier was blue Stilton, then we had crumbly Lancashire, then Manchego which is one of our favourite’s, then 2 Brie’s and goats cheese as the top tier which is our favourite cheese in the world!! My mum decorated it with grapes and raffia and it looked fabulous!! it was accompanied with my mum’s homemade tomato chutney.

Your Photographer… Lissa Alexandra based in Harrogate North Yorkshire www.lissaalexandraphotography.com

Our photos tell our story perfectly, they bring the day back to us as though it was yesterday and they make us able to re-live every moment. The first time we looked at them they brought a tear to my eye which is exactly how I wanted to feel when seeing them! We couldn’t have wished for a better photographer!

The Details + Decor… We both decorated the venue together the day before the wedding. I had been buying accessories since we got engaged so I had a nice collection together by the time the big day came around. We made a quite a lot of things ourselves, a few examples including bunting with all our favourite family photos and the two of us on, a sweet shop table that was a massive hit with our guests, our own table plan and table decorations, I decorated some vintage suitcases for our cards and had one full of flip flops for the ladies dancing feet!! The one thing we did want but didn’t manage to do was some giant balloons, I bought them then came to realise how much the helium was so that idea had to be put to one side!!!

We used water jugs at £1.50 each as our vases on the table and I made around 150 jars covered with lace for our t-light holders. It was a brilliant way to save on the pennies so we could spend it on other things like the vintage hankies we bought for “tears of joy” and as a keepsake for the ladies.

The Honeymoon… We went to The Paradissus Rio De Oro in Cuba! Breath-taking is one word you could use to describe it. We had a sea view villa located on its own private beach surrounded by crystal clear waters and cabanas to lounge in all day long! There was an endless supply of gorgeous cuisine from different locations of the world along with a 24hour bar service!!! Just what you want on your honeymoon!

Memorable Moments… Getting ready with the girls and having a fabulous morning whilst knowing I was about to marry the love of my life! Walking down the aisle. Having all of our closest family and friends around us on our favourite day. Dancing the night away to an amazing band. The speeches, they were so personal and very touching. I will never forget them!! To be honest….the list in endless!

Advice for the Bride… Enjoy EVERY SINGLE second, of not only your wedding day but also the build up. Make sure you have your perfect dress and your favourite people around you throughout the whole process. Savour every second of the ceremony and the emotion you feel whilst saying your vows as they are the most beautiful and wonderful words you will ever say! Oh and don’t forget…Have your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue!

Advice for the Groom… Don’t drink too much the night before but always have some Dutch Courage on the day. Maybe put some ear plugs in for your best man speech and always go along with what your bride says!!!

Credit Where Credit is Due…

Photography: Lissa Alexandra Photography http://www.lissaalexandraphotography.com/

Venue: Taitlands http://www.taitlands.co.uk/

Bridesmaid Dresses: ASOS

Stationery: Ethel Jones Stationery www.etheljones.co.uk

We got quite a few things off ebay and local vintage stores.

 

How utterly lovely and they were blessed with the most gorgeous sunshine. Thanks so much to Jordan and Emily for sharing their wedding with us today XOXO Lou