A classic and traditional wedding in the Peak District, with a handful of unique touches to make the day really special. Tasmin looks incredible in her ‘wildcard’ wedding dress, picked out by her mum! Her favourite memory from the day was “sat at the front of the beautiful Bakewell church having just married my soulmate, looking around at our closest family and friends in the congregation”.

You know what? I think that’s what a perfect wedding is: having that one moment where everything is just overwhelmingly perfect!

Wedding photographer’s website

John Mottershaw (https://www.johnmottershaw.com/)

Wedding photographer review

John captured our day perfectly, present at all key moments but never feeling intrusive.

We wanted to stop off at a couple of locations on the journey to the reception venue, John showed excellent local knowledge by recommending some beautiful, easy to reach spots, whilst also happily working with our own requests.

John had a lot of experience at taking wedding photos in our reception venue, this meant he knew all of the best spots, some of which may have been missed by someone with less knowledge.

Included within the photography package was an engagement shoot, this provided us with a great opportunity to get to know John and vice versa, also giving my then future husband an opportunity to practice his smile (you can be the judge of whether this was successful or not!).

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

Although we tried to add personal touches to the wedding where we could, there was a very personal aspect of tradition to the day, as my parents and grandparents also got married in the same church.

One of our favourite additions to the day was our saxophonist, Matt Stacey (https://mattstaceysax.co.uk/). Matt played at our reception venue during our drinks reception and our wedding breakfast. He is an incredible sax player, giving a unique twist to well known songs.

Venue name + review

The Maynard, Grindleford (https://the-maynard.com/).

The Maynard is situated in stunning surroundings, providing you with a panoramic view of the picturesque Peak District from the garden.

The reception room itself is beautiful with a lovely ornate ceiling. A private garden adjoins the main room providing a great space for a drinks reception if the weather is good, we also set up some garden games to help keep our guests entertained.

The Maynard team have a lot of experience at hosting weddings, providing some much needed insight during the planning stages. On the day itself, the staff made everything run seamlessly, setting up the room perfectly.

A special shout out to the wedding and events manager at the Maynard, she provided a lot of help in the run up to the wedding. Also, upon visiting the venue over a year after our special day, she remembered our names straight away and recalled the exact day that we tied the knot, which given the number of weddings hosted here is an impressive feat, demonstrating the effort that she puts into her job.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

George wore a three piece morning suit, the grey suit teamed perfectly with our purple colour scheme.

My dress was a ‘Fit & Flare’ halterneck lace design by Ronald Joyce, with an exposed back. When I started my hunt for a wedding dress I was convinced that I wanted an A-line style with a fairly large skirt, however my mum picked out what ended up being my dress as a wildcard option and I loved it from the moment I put it on.

My bridesmaids wore infinity dresses, these can be worn in a variety of different ways giving the girls flexibility. The colour scheme was purple in honour of my gran’s obsession with the colour, she sadly could not attend the day herself so I wanted to make sure she was represented in some way.

As there are so many lovely shades of purple, I decided to have 3 different shades of bridesmaids dresses.

Dress or suit shop name + review

My dress and George’s suit came from Gracie Bleu Bridal in Matlock, Derbyshire.

Jess was absolutely amazing during all of my appointments, she has a vast range of dresses and accessories in store and provides lots of helpful advice during the process.

Hair + makeup name + review

My hair and makeup were done by Tansy Hair & Beauty in Bakewell, Derbyshire.

Florist name + review

Our florist was Arbutus and Ivy, based in Derbyshire.

This florist seems to cater more for natural, less manicured floral arrangements, so are great if this is what you are looking for. They also provided a lovely hairpiece consisting of dried flowers.

One thing to consider for summer weddings is if you’re lucky enough to have sunny weather during your day, it’s important to make sure your bouquet is robust enough not to wilt too much.

Cake maker name + review

My mum! It was a privilege to have my mum (with assistance from my Aunty) make our wedding cake.

She made a tasty 3 tier sponge cake with royal icing, decorated with purple fondant flowers and ribbon. Every tier consisted of three layers of sponge, each tinted a different shade of purple to tie in with my bridesmaid’s dresses.

Stationery maker’s name + review

I produced all of the wedding stationary myself, including the order of service’s, invites, table plan and place names.

There’s lots of resources online for designing your own stationary, it’s very easy to do even if you don’t have a creative bone in your body… I can testify for that! ‘Canva’ was particularly useful and was available with a free trial.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

Me and George met whilst studying for a Materials Engineering degree, therefore our tables were named after different materials, and we managed to get plaques made from each material as table signage.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Our first dance song was the Carpenters – Close to You, this was followed by ABBA – Dancing Queen to try and get everyone up dancing!

This salon has lots of experience of doing bridal hair and makeup so were a great choice. The package also included a hair and makeup trial to help refine the style that I wanted on the big day.