Kate & Jack’s country chic wedding in Cheshire! With Jess Yarwood Photography
Morning everyone! These two are the most adorable couple – and with an effortlessly beautiful style I adore. Kate’s Pronovias dress – the detail on Jack’s M&S suit – the bouquet, OH the bouquet!! Their day has everything, it’s gorgeous and magical and everything a wedding should be, from the ceremony at St Marks Church in Dunham Massey to the celebrations in the village hall afterwards. There are fabulous photos here to make you swoon, giggle and cry happy tears all at once. Huge thank yous to lovely Jess Yarwood Photography for sharing her images of this stunning September wedding, and massive congrats to gorgeous bride and groom Kate and Jack for being so damn amazing. LOVE this!!
Our wedding was a day of love, fun and our favorite people. The style was ‘Country chic’ (more country, less chic!). We wanted to minimize waste so beg, stole and borrowed all the flowers and foliage from our families’ gardens we could convince them not to prune over the summer. The table decorations were mostly donated from friends, including logs from felled trees and a stump heroically carried home by Jack after a long walk, or sourced from second hand stores and websites.
Wedding photographer’s website:
How did you choose your photographer?
Researching photographers in Cheshire and Derbyshire and checking out their portfolios to see which ones felt most like us.
Jess was brilliant and very lovely. She captured the atmosphere and fun of our day perfectly and we really appreciated the little moment she gave us together behind the Church after the ceremony.
Tell us about the moment you saw your wedding photos for the first time?
Yipee! For a pretty grey day Jess managed to capture all the colour and details we’d been hoping for. She prepared a ‘best bits’ video highlights reel for us a couple of weeks later, reminding us of all the little moments that whizzed by in a blur.
Our wedding flowers were just amazing and received so many compliments (even from the Vicar). They were by Frances & Rose. I’d spotted their designs on a wedding blog written about a different venue we were considering for our wedding. They were wild, whimsical and seasonal and everything I wanted for our wedding. Marianne was brilliant, she managed to translate my brief of rich reds, blush pinks and pops of blue and green into some stunning bouquets and two very memorable milk urns that looked fantastic in front of the church.
Where did you find your suppliers? (Blogs, magazines, recommendations?)
The food and drink suppliers were recommended to us by Andrew and Peter who run the village hall. Andrew and Peter were such a professional outfit and the suppliers were brilliant. We were reassured that they had catered at the village hall before, so new what to expect and how to set things up, and were local providers using locally resourced produce.
What’s your top tip for saving money?
For a ‘DIY’ wedding look at the all the wedding websites that sell second-hand/used wedding goods for decoration. We saved a small fortune as well as the time spent doing all the crafting other more talented people had already done.
Rope in as many family members and friends as you can convince to help you decorate. Decorating the hall was actually really fun when everyone was involved and we made more memories in the chaos of it all.
… and which elements of your wedding are you glad you spent more on?
We prioritized spending on good food, a good band and a good photographer and we are very glad we did. We wanted to keep our guests well fed and get them dancing as soon as possible and we wanted some beautiful photographs to remind us of it all.
Where did you buy or source your wedding stationery – or was making it a labour of love?
We actually arranged our wedding via a website, the link to which we sent out to people on the ‘save the dates’. The first thing we usually do with wedding invites is stick them to our fridge so we made sure it had a magnet! Other than that, we just wanted it to be functional. My mum then crafted all the table settings, seat names and labels for our favors. She’s very talented and creative whereas my handwriting is usually illegible.
Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?
Absolutely. I had a habit of saving certain dresses on Pinterest that, after further research, mostly turned out to be by one designer- Pronovias. It felt wonderful when I tried on the sample but I was reluctant to commit to due to the price. My mum, however (and usually a very rational woman) had a little cry and insisted I get it, and then very kindly bought it for me as a wedding gift. I was also sure I didn’t want a veil until the assistant wisely suggested I try one.
Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:
Maria Modes, Macclesfield.
Tell us about your accessories: jewellery, shoes and anything else!
My hair piece was a delicate pearl and bead comb that I found on Etsy and matched the beading on dress perfectly. My earrings were also from Etsy- there’s just so much choice and its nice to know you’re buying directly from the makers.
And what did the groom wear?
A blue textured three piece suit that looked great and received a lot of compliments (good old M&S!)
Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?
I had an idea of a burgundy wrap dress, knee length with some detailing. I thought it was a good autumnal colour and a style that would suit them all. I did a simple google search and eventually found what I wanted on Yolando. The dresses were shipped directly to the girls who are all over the country. Fortunately they all fit and they all loved them- I saw them in their dresses for the first time on the morning of the wedding and was really pleased with them. They looked just as good down the isle as they did on the dance floor.
Hair and make-up – did you DIY or hire a professional?
Lucy Kew did a fantastic job on our hair and we all did our own makeup (I tried a few makeup artists who were all very good, but I don’t suit much make-up and wanted to make sure I looked like me on the day itself).
General styling – did your venue need much decoration?
Our venue needed everything doing to it. We had a professional venue dresser (Barry Woodyatt) hang some ceiling drapes, fairly lights, ivy and a back cloth to the stage. They made such a difference and Barry was really helpful. I decorated some picture frames with flowers to hang on the walls and arranged hundreds of spare flowers Marriane had left for us into various jars and bottles. We also collected fresh eucalyptus, dahlias and hydrangeas from our local flower market on the Friday and used these to decorate a large flower arch we erected in the room itself. It took quite a while and was a labor of love (thank you Aunty Kate!) but we’re very pleased we persevered with it. The room also smelt fantastic.
Crafts and makes – tell us about any homemade elements of your wedding… did you enjoy them?
I enjoyed the small amount of crafting those around me were wise enough to let me do! All calligraphy based crafting was brilliantly done by my mum. We also filled six large plant pots with flowers from a garden centre and used these to add colour around the hall. They looked great and we gave them away to our family and friends as thank you presents after the day itself.
The wedding cake: what kind of cake did you choose and why?
I originally suggested I might make a ‘naked’ victoria sponge and decorate it with some fruit and flowers. Mary Berry I am not so, again, my mum kindly intervened and sorted the cake. She arranged a four tier masterpiece, over different levels, strewn with beautiful fresh flowers.
Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?
We had already seen our band at a friends wedding and they were so memorable they were one of the first things I booked. They are called Agent Smith and I cannot recommend them highly enough. They got everyone dancing, brought so much energy and I now get goose bumps every time James (‘Sit down’) comes on the radio.
Words of wisdom: share your best piece of advice for other couples:
Be grateful to everyone who offers support and help and take it! When you’re feeling fraught and overcome by spreadsheets and outgoings, put the kettle on and remind yourself why you like each other (biscuits usually help too).
What’s the best thing about being married?
Can I say ‘not having to plan a wedding’?! Just feeling very happy and content.
Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:
Jess Yarwood (photography): https://www.jessyarwood.co.uk
Frances & Rose (flowers): http://www.francesandrose.co.uk/home
Agent Smith (band): www.agentsmithband.co.uk
Herb & Spice (food): http://www.herbandspicecatering.co.uk
Mobile Bar Company: http://www.alchemyeventbars.co.uk
Woodyatt Warner (decoration hire): www.weddinginspiration.co.uk/wedding-flowers-and-bouquets/woodyatt-warner-56.html
Lucy Key (hairdresser), Cheshire Retreat.
2 Comments
Louise · January 17, 2019 at 4:12 pm
So pretty!
Wedding table plans · January 17, 2019 at 4:42 pm
Floral arrangements were stunning.