Morning lovely! We’ve a gloriously colourful and happy wedding to share with you today – it’s beautiful Beth and gorgeous hubby Andy, who were married at Wold Top Brewery in July. Beth is STUNNING in a fabulous Sassi Holford dress, and Andy rocks a stylish Ben Sherman waistcoat & trousers. The colourful florals and styling elements make this a perfect wedding to brighten up all of our Mondays!

Images are by Sasha Lee Photography, who gets a glowing review from Beth and Andy. (Don’t miss their interview below, which is full of advice, ideas and supplier recommendations.)

www.sashaleephotography.com
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Wedding photographer’s website:

https://sashaleephotography.com

How did you choose your photographer?

We visited a wedding show at York Racecourse, we only had an hour so we were on a mission! We knew we needed a photographer but as my (now) husband is a graphic illustrator, he was very particular about the style that would suit us the best. We aren’t the typical wedding couple, as you can see from our photographs, getting me to stand and be serious takes a lot of effort! But, as soon as we saw Sasha’s work at the show, we knew that she would be the perfect choice to capture our unique wedding. We met her in Sheffield and she was absolutely lovely, we knew we had made the right decision there and then. We prefer a more natural style of photography and we wanted to limit the amount of posed pictures as we wanted our guests to enjoy the day and not feel like they were on a modelling shoot, and Sasha’s style fitted perfectly within that ideology. We also loved the way her wedding books are presented and we regularly look  through them, reminiscing about the day.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Sasha is amazing! From the minute she arrived at the venue, she was so lovely and relaxed, you hardly knew she was there. I’m not the greatest fan of having my picture taken, unless I can do it myself, but with Sasha, it felt so natural, my insecurities melted away. She was extremely quick in sending our finished pictures out to us on a memory stick and the books were presented to an extremely high standard, we couldn’t have asked for a more professional and stylish finished product.

Tell us about the moment you saw your wedding photos for the first time?

I cried and sent so many of them to my bridesmaids! As soon as I could, I put them on facebook because I wanted to share them with our guests and some people have requested copies from me so they can have the memories within their houses. The candid pictures are beautiful and some of the moments captured are priceless. For example, Sasha managed to capture the moment my Nan saw me in my dress and that look on her face is one of my ultimate favourites.

Wedding venue:

Our wedding venue was perfect for our theme. We got married at Wold Top Brewery with the stunning gardens and the beautiful marquee, we were able to incorporate our own unique style with no fuss or bother. Anne at Wold Top was amazing, she even helped us the day before the wedding when one of our caters let us own at the last possible minute, she was ringing all of her local suppliers for help, I don’t think I would have coped without her. Although the venue was in the middle of nowhere, we informed people with plenty of time and even hired a coach to take people to and from the venue for ease. We didn’t have a night time do, all of our guests were invited for the full day and it brought a relax atmosphere filled with laughter and love.

Can you describe your wedding in fewer than 10 words?

A music festival in the middle of the Yorkshire Wolds

Your wedding style or theme:

Andy and I love music and have been very fortunate to go to various gigs and festivals together throughout while we were dating. Music is a very big part of our lives and our childhoods, my Mum was a music teacher and my Dad used to take me to several gigs growing up, it is the backbone of our lives. We wanted to incorporate that into our day and, as I’ve mentioned before, we aren’t the traditional wedding type of people. We are very relaxed and fun-loving and that’s exactly what our wedding was; colourful with personal touches that represents us.

Where did you find your suppliers? (Blogs, magazines, recommendations?)

A mixture of places really, mainly online, but the occasional wedding show.

What’s your top tip for saving money?

We were really lucky as our parents helped us out a lot with our budget but we saved money with items like the bridesmaid dresses, the groom and his party’s suits and all of our decorations. We kept an eye out for sales, especially after Christmas and bought some items second hand from Facebook, like the grass for the tables and the decorative hoops.

… and which elements of your wedding are you glad you spent more on?

The music! As I mentioned before, music means so much to us and we wanted to get it right and we did. We found our guitarist and our band online from Alive Network which was brilliant for us as we could see their playlists and have a listen before deciding on booking them and they did not disappoint. The band (The Royale) were so accommodating as I promised my Dad, as soon as we got engaged, he could do a DJ set at our wedding, my Dad is a huge music nut and they helped him set up his equipment and it meant the world to him that he was able to do that. Henry Hunter (our guitarist) provided music as the guests entered, after the ceremony and during the afternoon tea and he was fantastic! It turned out that he went to the same college as my husband so they had lots to talk about.

Where did you buy or source your wedding stationery – or was making it a labour of love?

Andy is a graphic illustrator and he designed our save the dates, the invites and the thank you card (which we still haven’t sent out yet!). That was the catalyst with our theme, we had concert tickets as the save the dates in various colours, tapes for the invites with wristbands and information designed like a festival line up. Examples can be seen on his facebook account https://www.facebook.com/Designbykimmarie/?ref=br_rs.

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

I did! I’m not a typical girly girl and the thought of wearing a white dress filled me with dread as I often spill things down myself when I miss my mouth (which is very surprising considering how big it is!). So I went on Pinterest and listed all of the wedding dresses I could find which weren’t white and that would suit my body shape, I’m not the usual bridal shape as I have a large bust and I refused to lose weight for my wedding. I originally went to the boutique to try on a Charlotte Balbier dress but discovered that the train wasn’t appropriate for an outdoor wedding and it was very heavy. But, then I tried on the Sassi Holford dress and loved it straight away, even my bridesmaids cried! My best friend forced me to buy the matching veil, I was sceptical and it only lasted an hour because it was quite windy and I kept getting it caught!

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

Sassi Holford – Marilyn bought from the Little Pearl Bridal Boutique in Pickering.

Tell us about your accessories: jewellery, shoes and anything else!

Shoes were £20 from ASOS and my jewellery was from Accessorise. My wedding ring was actually my Mum’s, she passed away nearly 3 years ago and therefore missed our wedding so it was a perfect tribute to her.

And what did the groom wear?

Andy was very particular about what he wanted to wear, he didn’t want to wear a full suit as it wasn’t him and it didn’t really fit our theme. We found his waistcoat and trousers from Ben Sherman at Suits Direct in the Boxing Day Sales and managed to secure the same for both of our dads and the best man.

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

My bridesmaids are all amazing and have been my best friends from different stages of my life. They are all unique and beautiful so I didn’t want them wearing all the same dresses because they are all individuals. I was looking at Chi Chi London online and saw there was a sale, so I sent a couple of ideas to the group (WhatsApp is a god send when you are planning a wedding1) and the girls chose dresses they thought they would like so I ordered them and then we had a massive trying on party at mine where they all chose a dress which suited them, this was a year before the wedding. Of course, we did have a few last min issues and had to buy another dress for one bridesmaid, not her fault and that one was from Quiz.

Hair and make-up – did you DIY or hire a professional?

My hair and make-up was done by my hairdresser Pip. I have been going to Pip since I was 16 and there was no-one else I trusted to do a better job than her. I like to push the boundaries with my hair and I am forever changing colour but it can be difficult with my job, so I decided to dye some hair extensions to add a splash of colour into the wedding. Sitting on my bathroom floor a week before the wedding, wrapping hair extensions in tinfoil was a different experience, especially as I was only limited to 5 as my dog managed to get hold of one, thinking it was a toy! I don’t tend to wear a lot of makeup, especially foundation as I am very proud of my freckles but I knew I needed something to mask any flaws so I went to Selfridges in Manchester and went to the first make up counter which happened to be Charlotte Tilbury, spoke to a lovely lady who found me the perfect natural foundation and I was sorted.
For my bridesmaids and our mum’s (my step mum), I hired a local hair and make up artist who was really good and allowed them to get ready in a relaxed manor while I was being polished by Pippa.

Describe your wedding flowers. Who arranged them for you? (florist details would be lovely please)

I was very keen to have lots of flowers at our wedding but I was worried about their longevity, especially in the middle of the summer, so we decided to have artificial flowers and they were perfect! We must have spent about £1000 on flowers but we got so much for our money! We bought them from Country Baskets, when they had special discount days, and we arranged them ourselves. My bridal bouquet is in a vase in our living room, we have one arrangement upstairs on the landing and my Dad and Step-Mum have one in their home and the same with Andy’s parents. It was lovely that people could take away memories from our wedding and keep them in their own houses to enjoy forever,

General styling – did your venue need much decoration?

The venue was a blank canvas which was perfect for us. We hired the fairy lights and bunting from Florida Marquees and they changed the lights to paper lanterns but apart from that, we were able to let loose! We hired the table cloths from Simply Catering and made everything else.

Crafts and makes – tell us about any homemade elements of your wedding… did you enjoy them?

My husband made all of the signs, including the table plan. I made the jars and designed the table numbers. It was such a team effort and we did enjoy it. We had two years to plan the wedding so we did it bit by bit, so it didn’t become overwhelming.

The wedding cake: what kind of cake did you choose and why?

OMG the cake was amazing!!! My step-mum is the most fantastic baker and our cake was her wedding present to us. We are not the biggest fans of icing and therefore we preferred a more natural, naked cake and she delivered 100%. We had Red Velvet (my favourite), Victoria sponge and Lemon Drizzle within the different payers, which was decorate with flowers from the wedding and at the top, we had two POP figures, Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) to represent me and Starlord (from Guardians of the Galaxy) to represent Andy.

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

I chose my song to walk down the aisle and Andy chose the first dance song. I chose Elbow’s A Day Like This for my Mum as she was meant to be walking me down the aisle and this was her favourite song that she used to sing with her choir, so it was a perfect choice. Andy chose Starship, Nothing’s Going to Stop Us Now as he loves the 80s and it meant that we both had the opportunity to share our musical tastes.
Don’t be afraid to break tradition. Andy is quite shy and finds public speaking quite intimidating whereas I am a primary school teacher and find it really easy so I also did a speech just to relieve the pressure on Andy, which I hadn’t written and did off the top of my head. Plus, my best friend conducted our wedding ceremony and she made it so personal to us, it was perfect.

Words of wisdom: share your best piece of advice for other couples:

Don’t go to sleep on an argument. Talk to each other and have tolerance and patience, especially leading up the wedding. Allow each other space to do their own thing and remember to laugh with each other.

What’s the best thing about being married?

We had been together 10 years (engaged for 5) before we finally got married so in truth, things haven’t really changed, apart from my surname! We are still best friends and in love with each other as we were before our special day.

Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:

Country Baskets
https://sashaleephotography.com
Hair & Makeup : Pippa Ribes
Videographers : 2 Little Ducks
Entertainment agency:  Alive Network

Sassi Holford – Marilyn gown, from the Little Pearl Bridal Boutique in Pickering.

Singer : Henry Hunter
Photobooth : Atg Photobooths