Molly & Adam

If you like your weddings classic and fairytale esq. then this is the wedding for you. Bride Molly looks every bit the princess in her Tom Flowers gown from Berketex Bride, with a tiara from Ivory & Co., a borrowed cathedral length veil and completing her outfit a pair of long satin gloves. Surprising herself even with her love of the traditional bridal look, but there's no denying how stunning & elegant she looks. Every princess needs a castle to marry her prince and this time it just so happened to be Guyzance Hall in Northumberland, a private estate surrounded by picturesque gardens making gorgeous backdrops for Matt Penberthy Photography to do his thing and capture all those dreamy portraits. Just wait until you see the sunset pics *swoon*. They decorated the venue with white roses and ivy, racing car personal touches, some very cool signs and their bridesmaids wore the prettiest shade of blue gowns from John Lewis I ever did see. So are you ready to start this love story? Thought so. Lets begin...

The Dress

Molly the Bride: I didn't realise how traditional I was until I went dress shopping. I found my dress by accident really. My mum and little sister (moh) were visiting me and I booked an appointment on a whim at Berketex Bride. I thought it would be a bit of fun and never anticipated finding my dress at the first appointment as I am so indecisive. It was actually my mum that picked out a silhouette that I was steering clear of. I thought I would go for a super fitted, sexy dress, so with grated teeth tried on my mums suggestion, a full a-line bateaux neck line in Zibeline silk. When I appeared from the dressing room I knew it was right, I felt beautiful. The ladies in store were brilliant and anything that wasn't quite right was sorted in moments. I wore the dress full length kid skin gloves, my older sister’s cathedral length veil and a gorgeous tiara from Ivory & Co. I was a princess! Adam had also sent a pair of diamond earrings made by the same designer who created my engagement ring the morning of the wedding which set me off!

The Groom

Adam wore a navy three piece suit with dark brown oxfords. We chose a white paisley tie to make him a little different from the ushers. This was all organised through Moss Bros, and in true Adam style, it was last minute. I think the order was finalised 2 weeks before the wedding but Moss Bros in Newcastle were fantastic, thankfully everything was available. On the morning of the wedding I sent over a watch as a wedding gift for him to wear, it was a bit of a hint as he's usually late and today was definitely not the day to be late.

Venue

This was tricky as I grew up in Hertfordshire but my life now is in the North East. We chose Northumberland, its rugged untouched beauty reminds me of something out of a classic Novel. Guyzance Hall is a quite a grand venue but had a homely feel with lots of Little rooms. It placed in acres of tumbling hills and walled gardens with River Coquet running through it. It was exclusively ours for the 2 days leading up to the wedding and the day after, we really milked the celebrations and had a BBQ the next day surround by all the wedding flowers.

Décor

Adam and I didn't really want an overall theme. Just little touches of things that we love. The champagne was purchase from a champagne house in Reims. we had visited Mont D’hor on the holiday that Adam proposed so it was an obvious choice to serve at the reception. The seating plan was based on the Monaco Grand Prix which the boys loved! My mum had made two massive pin boards full of photos of Adam and I growing up. I acted really embarrassed but secretly thought it was a lovely touch and was also great for people to laugh at when waiting to be seated for the wedding breakfast. The favours were little bottles of slow gin. My sister and I decanted 120 (and a few for luck) the day before the wedding.

Flowers

This was my favourite part. I wanted all whites and creams, the ballroom had a lot of dark wood so anything that reflected a lot of light was important. The team of florist where amazing and really achieved the look that I wanted. Stocks, roses, hydrangeas, peonies where used amongst many others. The centre pieces were set in high candelabras with Crystals hanging. Mantel arrangements made a real statement which was combined with more understated mixed vases. It was bold without being too over the top. Bidesmaids had Freesias as did the grooms men and I had a delicate bouquet of Lily, Roses and Peonies wit Jasmine trailing down. Victoria Forshaw, my florist, reminded me that the bouquet is an accessories and not the star of the show so we didn't want anything too big.

Wedding party

Bridesmaids wore airforce blue dresses from John Lewis. They were off the peg and because the live all over, it meant that I could get them all try it on at their convenience. They looked beautiful, the material was a heavy jersey which allowed it to hang flatteringly and stretch so they could actually eat and and dance still be comfortable. Groomsmen looked dapper in the same three piece suit as Adam but with a grey paisley tie all from Moss Bros. Paige boys looked so cute in there 3 piece suits from Next and Converse. My niece was in a puff ball dress from Next and carried a wand out of a long stem rose that she waved around in the ceremony.

Ceremony

We had our ceremony in a Norman church in Northumberland, this was my favourite part of the whole day, it was completely us. Adam’s dad, along with a team, rang the bells as I arrive. The sting quartet, were playing Romeo and Juliet theme as I entered and my good friends who are very theatrical gave a reading of ‘The Owl and the Pussy Cat’.

Transport

I arrived with my dad in a Roll Royce Silver cloud, which then took Adam and I to the venue, where we enjoyed some much needed champagne. It was lovely to spend the 40 minute journey alone and calm down from all the adrenaline. My bridesmaids and mum traveled in style in a Bentley.

Entertainment

Aurora Strings continued to play at the venue, it added to the elegant atmosphere as people wandered round the grounds. We had a retro photo booth from Sapparazzi after the wedding breakfast leading into the evening, they were fab and at the end we had a whole book of everyone's photos and messages. It was a fun alternative to a guest book. Our first dance was to ‘Grove is in the heart’. It was great as everyone came to join us we let off huge party cannons that filled the air with confetti. The Baghdaddies play an exuberant and rampant brand of world music. An exhilarating cocktail of Balkan melodies, ska and latin grooves and sizzling brass played with furious energy and theatrical humour, made them unforgettable and so much fun, everyone could really let their hair down and be a bit silly. They also serenaded Adam and I as they exited!

Photography

Now this was important to get right. We wanted a photographer who could really capture those candid moments and the feel of the day rather that just staging the typical family shots. After hours of searching we chose Matt Penberthy. We were really impressed with his portfolio and artistic flare. There were times in the day I forgot he was even around so we have really beautiful natural moments. He sort out some great backdrops around the venue where he took us to later in the day just before the sun was setting and really caught that moment in time perfectly. I am moved every time I look back at them.