Every time I read one of our Bride’s wedding stories something jumps out at me about their own unique special day and personality. When reading about Andrea & John’s amazing wedding at Brinkburn Priory it was the sense of fun and passion which was infused into every little detail of their wedding day and that fact that they just sound like the warmest, friendliest and full of fun couple you can meet. You can tell from the photos that this wedding was a blast (I wish I could have been there!).
So much thought was put into every little detail and Andrea even made and designed her own stationery, favours and table ornaments. Andrea’s wedding look was just jaw dropping. Her stunning Yolan Cris dress featured lace, feathers and tassels and matched her vintage ‘Lottie Elliot’ ankle boots perfectly. Her groom John’s outfit was also the perfect choice for their vintage summer fete theme and everything just came together so beautifully.
I hope you enjoy feasting your eyes on these seriously gorgeous images by Jamie Mac Photography and we wish this beautiful couple all the happiness on the next chapter in their lives!
Wedding wishes & love as always,
Nicole xxx
P.S You must also watch the amazing wedding video by ‘A Little Less Salt Weddings’ at the end of the post. I dare you to watch it without welling up!
So how did you meet your husband and how did he propose?
John and I met the on the 4th of December at one of my best friend’s weddings Jennifer, who is also John’s sister. The day was already amazing as it was a magical winter wedding at the South Causy Inn in Beamish, Co Durham. After the Wedding we had a room with a hot tub and I invited all the stragglers that were left drinking in the bar at the end of the night to our room for a hot tub party. John was one of the first ones there, he stripped down to his Calvin Kline’s and went straight in the tub! He has just come out of a very long relationship and was newly single, we chatted and drank the night away with our mates and then the next morning he knocked on my door and asked for my number and said he would like to take me out. Then the whirl wind started!
The proposal came only 6 months later in June when we were on holiday in Morocco and he just looked at me and said God I would love to marry you! We were in the hotel lift on our way to breakfast. I just thought that it was a passing comment but sure enough when we got home on the Friday he went straight to my Dad’s on the Saturday to ask if he could marry me. On the Sunday we went ring idea shopping and on the Monday when I returned home from work the front room was covered in petals and lit in candle light. When I walked in the lounge there he was on one knee. Of course I said YES!
Where did you get married and who did you invite?
We got married at the most amazing venue called Brinkburn Priory. We wanted to find an isolated, unique venue that was totally different to your normal run of the mill wedding venue. We wanted it to be full of character as well as quite traditional. It’s tucked away on the banks on the river Coquet in Northumberland. The setup is incredible as the Priory is an English Heritage site and the reception was held in tipi tents on the lawn of a big 6 bedroom house on the Brinkburn Estate called ‘The Stables’, which was the old stables for the Estate. We had full use of the house for the weekend so our wedding was really a wedding weekend! On the Friday we had a little gathering outside in the courtyard of the House with all our parents, family, ushers, and bridesmaids. On the Friday night John stayed over the road with his family in a little cottage called Bel Cottage and I stayed in the Stable House with the family and bridesmaids. The wedding was quite a large occasion as we had 102 daytime guests and invited an extra 50 guests for the evening.
What was the main inspiration for your wedding?
The main inspiration for my wedding theme was country vintage summer fete with tipi tents. I kept my tipi decor to a minimum and I made jars with hessian round them myself for the flowers to go in on the tables. I had green leaves entwined up the tipi poles with lights wrapped up around them. I chose peaches and cream coloured flowers and I made the seating plan, my invites, and my order of service all out of recycled card to fit my rustic theme and to keep my costs down. My florist made the seating plan from crates with bouquets and lavender plants which I then gave them away as presents to family and close friends.
Tell us about your wedding look
I didn’t really feel like I needed to go bridal shopping as I had seen a dress on ‘Grace Loves Lace’ that I loved. The only problem with that was that it had to be made in Australia and sent over when it was ready. That panicked me as I was trying to lose weight before my big day. I messaged Karen at Belle Bridal Magazine and asked her to recommend shops to find a dress similar to the one I had seen and she told me about Kathryn Truman Bridal. I went there and the last dress I tried on was designed by Yolan Cris. I went in thinking I wanted a backless dress with long sleeves and came out with the dress I wore for my wedding. I just knew that it was ‘The One’. As it was one of the first things that I purchased it was by chance that it had tassels and feathers. I didn’t even realise until after I had bought it that it went perfectly with the tipi tents! I also had a vision in my head of these gloves and head piece and when I went to a wedding fair I found an accessories designer (What Katy Did Next) that made exactly what I was looking for. My bridesmaid dresses were peach and were second hand ones I had seen on Facebook. John really wanted to go for a relaxed look so we went suit shopping together and found the light tweed suit with cream chinos. It looked so vintage and was perfect. The flower girl dresses were from Monsoon and were so gorgeous!
What made you choose a pair of House of Elliot boots for your wedding day?
I didn’t want high heeled shoes as I love dancing and wanted to make sure on my wedding day I would be comfortable all day and night. Comfort was a must, and again I had a vision in my head of Victorian lace boots and I had never seen them anywhere. After weeks of trawling on the internet I came across my House of Elliot ‘Lottie Elliot’ booties and they were exactly what I was looking for. I couldn’t believe I had found the same boots that were in my head. It was as if they had been made for my thoughts!
What did you love the most about your wedding day?
Having all our close friends and family there and having the most amazing day, and of course getting married to each other! Also after the first dance we were all crammed in to the ‘White Room’ with the sax player in the middle of us and everyone was dancing around. My Dad and John’s speeches were amazing as well. The whole day was a highlight to be honest!
What pearls of wisdom would you share with future brides who are planning their wedding?
Enjoy it, do it together, make whatever you can so as to keep costs down as the feeling you get when you sit back and see what you have achieved is amazing. Get a wedding planner book and most of all start planning early on so as to eliminate as much stress as you can.
Take a look at Andrea & John’s amazing wedding video by ‘A Little Less Salt Weddings‘!
Andrea & John would like to thank the following vendors for making their wedding day amazing!
Wedding venue(s): Brinkburn Priory for the ceremony & Brinkburn Northumberland for the reception
Photography: Jamie Mac Photography
Bride’s dress: Yolan Cris @ Kathrine Trueman Bridal
Bride’s Shoes: House of Elliot
Bride’s Accessories: Gloves and Head Piece Katy Did Next
Bridesmaids dresses: Second hand (originally Asos)
Grooms/Men’s suits: Suit Direct Dalton Park for Jacket and Waistcoats. Trousers GAP
Hair: Ashley Whitehead Owner of Elixir salon in Seaham
Make-Up: Vicky Hedly make up
Flowers: Lavenders Blue Morpeth
Cake: Wendy Anderson (Andrea’s friend’s Mum!)
Entertainment: String quartet ARCO; Evening entertainment was by Phil Hughes owner of Insangel who organised the DJ, Sax, and Percussion
Photo Both: Picture Book Party Booths
Venue Styling/Chair Covers: Styled by Brinkburn Northumberland and Lavenders Blue
Videographer: A Little Less Salt Weddings
Catering: Wilkins fine dining of Rothbury
