Unusually, let’s start today’s gorgeous wedding blog with a fun fact: Tony proposed to Kian after gifting her a sky dive for her birthday. He tandem jumped first at 15,000 feet and then Kian followed. As Kian landed Tony was on one knee with a gorgeous ring. He had a videographer jump from the plane with Kian and captured the whole thing on video!

The wedding day was possibly a less adrenaline-filled occasion, but full of heart and soul. With images beautifully captured by Lake District wedding photographer Mark Battista, the couple celebrated with their closest family, ending the evening in their wedding outfits and slippers playing board games and eating cheese in their cosy, intimate and charming country house venue. It sounds utterly perfect.

Do scroll down for heartfelt supplier recommendations from beautiful couple Kian and Tony, along with the lovely story of their secret wedding and why they chose a quieter celebration over a big party.

Lots more, as always, on our instagram @englishweddingblog

Wedding photographer’s website

Lakes photographer Mark Battista – www.markbattistaphotography.co.uk

Wedding photographer review

Mark was an absolute dream to spend our wedding day with. His photography knowledge and skills were amazing. We knew what we wanted photo wise but had no idea how we’d make it happen but Mark did. We had our sneak peek photos back in the early hours of the following day and they took our breath away. They are everything we wanted and so much more. We received our remaining photos a few weeks later and they were incredible. We would 100% recommend Mark, a friendly, down to earth bloke who is insanely good at what he does.

Your best wedding moment or memory

Some of our most cherished moments include seeing each other for the first time at the aisle, Kian’s first look with our boys and the peaceful time we shared together on the jetty whilst Mark ran to the other side to capture photos.

We also loved spending the evening laughing and enjoying the company of our guests whilst eating cheese and biscuits and playing board games with a glass of wine.

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

We booked our day in September 2023 and married in May 2025. We kept it secret from all our friends and family apart from our 2 boys, Tony’s Mum, our witnesses and their partners.

After Kian lost her Mum in January 2022 we felt like it would be more noticeable that she wasn’t there if we had a big wedding plus to be honest, it wasn’t what we wanted, we are not big party people and prefer a quieter vibe.

Sitting around eating cheese and biscuits, in our wedding clothes with slippers on, playing board games, laughing and drinking wine was absolutely perfect.

Whilst we initially worried about how some family and friends would react everyone was genuinely happy for us and very supportive. We have no regrets, it truly was the perfect day.

I guess a Mountain Goat tour isn’t really traditional either? For us, we live in the Lake District and we love hiking and cold water swimming, we wanted that to be part of our day in some way, plus we knew the photos with those backdrops would be incredible!

Venue name + review

Lindeth Howe.

We chose the venue because it is in the Lake District, a place that means a lot to us and holds so many special memories. It had such a unique, quirky charm with incredible decor that really stood out.

On top of that, it offered the perfect package for an intimate wedding which is exactly what we were looking for.

As soon as we visited we knew it was the right place for us. We wanted the day to feel intimate, relaxed, and full of personality, something that truly reflected us.

The venue’s unique decor and cosy atmosphere gave us the perfect backdrop. The space already had so much character, so we just added small touches to make it feel like “us.”

It turned out exactly how we hoped, stylish, a little quirky and full of heart.

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

Kian: an art deco inspired wedding dress with plunging neckline and white sandals. Although, whilst up in the mountains I wore my Hunter wellies and even an IKEA bag!

My necklace had my Mums ashes in and was a gift from Tony. It was from a local company called Cumbria Castings.

Tony: Navy 3 piece suit with brown shoes.

Hair + makeup name + review

Lucy Pearson. Lucy was absolutely amazing. From my trial right up to our wedding day Lucy has been there every step. From my panicked, “what if you’re ill?” questions to my bust lip 7 weeks before our wedding, sharing tips for protecting my make up from tears, attaching my veil, to buttoning my dress on the day, nothing was too much for Lucy. She kept me at ease, the morning of my wedding felt like my matron of honour and I were getting ready with a friend we’d known forever. I can’t thank Lucy enough. The time and effort that she put into our day means so much to us. We had the most amazing day and I felt so good. My make up lasted all day and my hair didn’t move at all!

Florist name + review

@megsmake_s on Instagram. Megan was amazing, we sent many pictures with ideas of things we liked. She advised on what would and wouldn’t work together and the end result was perfect. They fitted our style just right.

Favours

The Cakeup Artist: Abbie made our wedding favours and they were so delicious! We love treating ourselves to Abbie’s bakes so we knew we needed to treat our guests and vendors too! @cakeupartist.x on Instagram.

Wedding rings

Affinity jewellers: Kians ring was custom made to fit around her uniquely shaped engagement ring. It is perfect!

Cake maker name + review

Lindeth Howe. It looked and tasted amazing!

Cake topper: OtisOfCreations on Etsy.
Flowers: @megsmake_s on Instagram
Cake board: The Range

Tell us about your wedding ceremony / celebrant / readings?

Our boys walked Kian down the aisle. Our ceremony was small, intimate, with happy tears and lots of laughter. We’d both written our own meaningful vows and read them during the ceremony.