Alex & Ian

There is one thing this gorgeous wedding by the sea has, and that's an abundance of pretty. Whether it be wild country blooms, boho dresses, rustic crates or vintage glamour it all looks amazing, and you're going to LOVE it. Lets start with Alex's Rembo Styling gown. The delicate lace details are exquisite and represent her free spirited nature perfectly. I love the portraits captured by Matt Ethan of her and Ian frolicking in the surf on the beach. Then there's her gorgeous bridesmaids in pastel pink Phase Eight Dresses. And how can I forget dapper suits tailored by Ian's father. Newton Hall in Northumberland really does have it all. Shall we take a look? Best to get those pinning fingers at the ready.

The Wedding

Alex the Bride: Having been together for ten years we decided we wanted our wedding to be a celebration of all the years we had been together, as well as an awesome party for all our friends and family. It was important to us that the day reflected us as a couple. We are both fairly casual and laid back so we wanted our wedding to be the same and I think that became our theme.

Stationery

Our save the dates were all about our story as a couple and a friend set up a website for us which was really useful for communicating with guests and after the event the website was amended for guests to upload their pictures as not all friends and family are on social media. The entire day was very much a joint venture, I took the role of planning and creative director, with a huge amount of Pinterest inspiration, whilst Ian turned all my creative ideas into a reality. We handmade virtually everything, from the invites and table plan to the favours and the boxes we used for table centres. The table centres were fashion from old pallet wood which we upcycled with antique white paint and the large frames were made from door architrave which was cut to size and painted. How I managed to find a Chemical Engineer who is also so artistic I will never know, but I suspect they might be rare.

Venue & Ceremony

Having a civil ceremony at Newton Hall gave us so much freedom to make our ceremony personal, which for us meant trying to not make it too serious. We both wrote our own vows then we had two readings and a song which everyone joined in with-You and Me by The Wannadies. The ceremony was easily the best part of the day for me, it had the perfect mix of love and humour. We’d asked my two brother-in- laws to do a reading from Winnie the Pooh and they sensed the tone of our wedding spot on as one of them decided, I think rather last minute, to read his part in a brummy accent as Ian’s originally from Birmingham. It was so well received and we both loved hearing all our guests falling about laughing.

Entertainment

We were both adamant that we had to have live music throughout the day. So we booked an acoustic guitarist to perform during the ceremony and during the reception drinks. Then in the evening we hired The Fontains who are an epic three- piece band who we had heard play loads of times before. They are really energetic, with a great mix of songs so we knew they would get everyone on their feet. They even let my nephew play on the drums in between sets! Luckily Ian’s best man got the memo too as he surprised us by writing a song rather than a speech, which he performed on his ukulele. He absolutely nailed it and had everyone on their feet joining in each time the chorus came round!

Food

Newton Hall is such an amazing venue with so many food choices and opportunities to add your own touches to your day, but I think its modern styling and the possibility of going to the beach for photos was really what sold it. The evening before the wedding we completely handed everything over to Newton Hall and from then on we didn’t have to worry about a single thing. We’d planned the whole thing from London, but everything came together perfectly.

Photography

Matt, our photographer, did such an awesome job in capturing our day. Neither of us are too keen on posed photos so we deliberately chose a photographer who would blend into the background and simply capture moments. Not only did Matt blend in, he even got in the sea with us when we went down to the beach and subsequently had to borrow some spare trousers from Ian. Ian thought I was crazy when I suggested we go in the sea, especially given the water was freezing. We had so much fun though and laughed a lot! The photos from the beach are all incredible, we really struggled to decide which to include in our album.

Wedding Dress

Ian and I both agreed wholeheartedly that we wanted a contemporary style when it came to ours and the wedding party’s attire. I’d always thought that I would chose a more simplistic and boho style dress, but that didn’t stop me trying on loads of other styles before I found my exact dress on the Rembo Styling website and then managed to locate it at Rogue Bridal Gallery. I’m so glad I chose a dress that suited my usual laid back style as I felt so comfortable and at ease in it. My jewellery was made by a friend, Jaemi Glancy. The design was asymmetrical so as to work well with my dress and I absolutely loved that she added both our birthstones at the back of the necklace. Such a cute and personal touch!

Flowers

Our florist did such a fabulous job, she totally understood that we wanted fresh and wild looking flowers and she worked everything so well together with lots of foliage. When I first saw my crown I was taken back by the size, but once I had it on I couldn’t believe how beautiful it looked and it was so completely different to anything I’d ever seen at a wedding before. I loved it!

Groomsmen

The groomsmen’s waistcoats and Ian’s suit were designed and made to measure by Ian’s dad who used to be in the tailoring trade in a business started by Ian’s Grandad. The groomsmen’s trousers were from Ted Baker and outfits were tied together with some awesome bow ties from Mrs Bow Tie. Everyone including me thought the guys all looked very dapper. We all did our own make-up the morning of the wedding as I’m not overly keen on having my make-up done, I wanted to keep it really natural as I don’t wear a lot of make-up usually and I know Ian prefers this look. Choosing how to style my hair was difficult as I couldn’t decide what would work well with a floral crown. I knew I wanted to have my hair down so I just waited and spoke to the hairdresser (Paula from Northburn Hairdressers) on the day and she styled it perfectly with a plait on one side. Paula was fantastic, she styled all my bridemaids’ hair too so she was she was involved in the whole morning and fitted in super well, it was like having an extra friend there.