Lesley & Alick

I have such a soft spot for a coastal wedding, and this one from lovely duo Navyblur is just gorgeous. Lesley & Alick live on the Northern Irish coast and wanted their guests to celebrate the beauty of their local area on their wedding day, as well as celebrating their marriage, so they designed a mini road trip from their ceremony venue to their reception venue, Limepark, with pit stops along the way for bubbles and ice cream, as well as admiring the fantastic views of course. This kept things really entertaining for guests and made for some great photos too! Lesley makes such a beautiful Bride, wearing a stunning David Fielden gown that is draped to perfection, stylish Stuart Weitzman shoes, and she has such glossy locks and flawless skin - Alick is a lucky chap indeed. Although he did create the fabulous branded wooden signage you'll see throughout the big day, and looks pretty handsome in a kilt, so we think he's a keeper too! The fabulous tartan details, luscious foliage and sparkly festoon lights in the barn create such a cosy atmosphere for a party too - this is definitely one of those weddings you wish you could have attended!

The Location

Alick The Groom: I was born and raised on the west coast of Scotland and Lesley in the hills of Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. We live on the stunning north Coast of Ireland and decided that our wedding day should reflect everything we love and cherish about the area alongside some Scottish influence. We wanted everything from the church, journey to venue, food, decor and music to feel connected and seamless form start to finish and nothing on the day disappointed.

The Photography

Lesley The Bride: Prior to getting engaged we had decided that we didn’t want a wedding (gasp!), at least we didn’t want to feel like we had to fit a particular conventional mould that we thought would be expected of us and worried about the possibility of a ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ situation. Once engaged we started to do some research and realised that our little corner of the country had so much to offer in terms of location, food and suppliers and we decided that we couldn’t not show it off and that it was possible to have a wedding right on our doorstep that was unconventional and reflected us as a couple and all the things we love. The first suppliers we booked were Navyblur our photographers who’s work we have admired for years after they were photographers at two previous family weddings. It was Navyblur who recommended our venue and once we viewed it we booked on the spot and everything else fell into place from there. Navyblur also recommended that we consider using a cinematographer/videographer to capture the day including moments that we might have otherwise forgotten or missed. After A LOT of research we came across Cinematic Tide, absolutely loved Sam & Dani when we met them in person and have never looked back on this decision.

The Decor & Details

Alick: I teach technology and design including woodwork at a local special needs school and decided to design and create all the stationery, signage and extras for the day myself. I love stripped back simple design using premium materials and designed everything with this in mind. Our ‘save the dates’ were made using a slice of oak with our logo laser engraved on the surface, I attached a magnet on the back so our guests could use it as a fridge magnet. I kept it really simple and used stamps from Etsy for the rest. The main invite was made from solid oak, with our custom designed map and plan for the day on the back. The signage, table plan etc were made from oak planks and displayed on artist easels and in plant pots. Lesley: Unfortunately I am nowhere near as creative or skilled as Alick and can’t take any credit for DIY creations (other than demanding family members collect glass jars for candles) but I certainly put in long hours of research and ‘wedmin’ and was great at spending the wedding budget! We didn’t have a specific theme in mind other than keeping things as ‘raw’ and natural as possible to compliment the understated elegance of Limepark. With this in mind Pinterest became my best friend and was a great source of inspiration for hair, make-up, décor, food and flowers and an invaluable tool when discussing ideas with suppliers including our amazing florist Tim, make-up artist Stacey, hair stylist Emma and Alick’s very talented mum who made our napkins from a range of tartans, our favours (‘Scottish tablet’, a type of Scottish fudge) and our wedding cake inspired by a raspberry and rosemary flavour gelato we had whilst on holiday in Italy!

The Food

Alick & Lesley: We both absolutely LOVE food, with Lesley’s family well known for suffering from ‘food freak outs’ (a phenomenon that stems from a state of panic at the thought of not getting food in a timely manner/not getting a sufficient quantity of food or having to share food). As a result one of our aims for the day was to ensure that food freak outs were kept to a minimum. We were also constantly reminded of how quickly the day would go by so we wanted to make the most of it by spending as much time with our guests as possible, prevent any lull and show off the beautiful coastline where we live. In order to achieve this we planned a coastal road trip from church to venue incorporating food and stunning scenery. We provided guests with a map and schedule on their invitation starting with mini afternoon tea after the wedding ceremony. From there we travelling to Castlerock beach for some ice-cream and to Dunseverick cliffs for some bubbles. Once at Limepark and after some croquet (prematurely interrupted by a freak swarm of biting insects leaving our guests with itchy reminders of the day) our meal comprised of a selection of our favourite foods including sharing platters of meats, bread and mozzarella served during the speeches to prevent any thoughts of ‘hurry up and stop talking so I can have my dinner’. This was followed by steak cooked to perfection by our caterer Roger, crème brulee, profiteroles and meringues for dessert, roast pork loin and Alick’s mum’s Scottish speciality ‘clootie dumpling’ for supper.

The Drinks

We raised money for charities in memory of our grandparents from the bar which served a selection of San Pellegrino, our favourite soft drinks and the most consumed drink of the day, a selection of ales from Portpatrick brewery based in Alick’s home village in Scotland and a selection of Alick’s favourite whiskeys. In terms of music we also wanted this to compliment the relaxed feel of the day and our rustic celtic influence. Alick’s uncle Norman helped us achieve this by playing the bagpipes both during the church ceremony and at Dunseverick cliffs creating an amazing atmosphere and sense of occasion. We were very lucky to have ‘Life O’Reilly’ a traditional Scottish folk band travel from Portpatrick, Scotland. We also had local musicians Glenn Simpson on guitar and pianist Rory from Limavady Pianos.

Special Moments

Alick: I was pretty nervous on the morning of our wedding so decided to visit my favourite cafe 'Lost & Found' on the way to the church with a few close friends which set me up perfectly for the day. Seeing my wife at the top of the aisle was a special moment that I will never forget and started what turned out to be perfect day. Lesley: Looking back through our wedding photos the thing that struck me most was that in every single photo (with the exception of a few tears during the speeches) we are all laughing or smiling. For me, walking up the aisle towards my future husband, best friend and soulmate surrounded by my family, friends and all my favourite people in the world was the happiest moment of my life. As a result and despite being a perfectionist and control freak I was surprised and shocked at how perfect everything felt even when it wasn’t ‘perfect’.

Advice

Alick & Lesley: our advice to couples would be to let your wedding reflect you as a couple and all the things you love, and you and those who love you will automatically have a great time!