A Glamorous Maggie Sottero Gown and Tipis for a Festival-Inspired Wedding Weekend

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I’ve decided I’m going to be a professional wedding crasher. When I see the delightful images from each and every wedding on this beautiful blog, I literally wish my name was included on the table plan and I was able to partake in the exciting entertainment activities for the lucky guests. Today’s wedding is no exception – a two-day festival of fun, complete with games, music, relaxing on hay bales and oodles of  delicious food. The bride and groom were the perfect pair to host such a wonderful celebration, as they work in wedding-related jobs – with Ross running Snaparazzi Photobooths and Laura managing Coco Luminaire, an illuminated prop hire company. Buckle up your seat belts lovelies and get set for loads of inspo if you’re currently thinking of a festival vibe for your own upcoming nuptials.

Laura and Ross tied the knot at the picturesque Natural Retreats in Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales on the 19th of September 2015, with private cabins for the guests and incredible views for their weekend of relaxing festivities – seen here in a snippet of their sweet wedding video.

“We wanted our wedding to reflect our personalities and what we love, so rather than having a strict theme we chose things that we like in our lives – music, nature and lights. We wanted it to be very relaxed for our guests and for it to feel like a celebration, so we created a weekend-long, laid back, festival style wedding.”

Video by Shoot Me Now Films

https://vimeo.com/142722278

The couple supplied one of their own amazing Snaparazzi Photobooths for their guests which fitted in beautifully with the boho-luxe style decor of the rest if their wedding day. By the way, our founder Annabel has worked with  Snaparazzi Photobooths prior to now and says the are BRILLIANT.

Photography by Lee Scullion Photography

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

“My four beautiful bridesmaids wore glamorous navy blue beaded full-length dresses with 1/3 embellished sleeves and their own train from Virgos Lounge. They wore their own shoes and a simple gold chain from Accessorize hanging over their amazing up-do hairstyle, created by Lisa Jones Hair and Makeup.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.“We met in November 2011 when Ross was working a photobooth at a charity event and I attended as a guest. I dragged him into the photobooth and he later asked me out on a date. We got engaged in May 2014 in Paris. Ross bought a vintage padlock and had engraved on it ‘Marry Me Laura’, then when we were on the ‘Pont des Arts’ love-lock bridge he got down on one knee and gave me the lock. I was very surprised!”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

Lovely Laura donned a divine Maggie Sottero gown, with intricate beading, train and keyhole back, from Y.A.P Bridal Boutique.

“My dress was a lace A-line gown, with a jewelled neckline and keyhole back. The beadwork was adorned with scalloping beaded patterns and Swarovski crystals. I knew it was the one when the additional beaded shawl arrived that I ordered separately and when I put the dress on I felt amazing. It had all the beadwork I had imagined my dress would have, but also felt relaxed and laid back. I knew I would feel a million dollars on the day. 

I loved the keyhole back on the dress – to me this was one of the most important part of the dress, as this is what everyone sees when stood at the bottom of the aisle.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

Laura accessorised with a veil from Y.A.P Bridal Boutique attached to a beaded head-band, Kurt Geiger heels, a spritz of ‘Le Parfum’ by Elie Saab, and was surprised by pretty diamond earrings from Ross.

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

The utterly stunning flowers were by Bels Flowers and worked so well inside and outside the venue.

“The bouquets were a mix of seasonal flowers including lots of scented garden roses, as well as cafe au latte dahlia, seed heads, astilbe, grasses, stocks, and mint for extra scent. The bridal bouquet had pheasant feathers tucked into the binding to match the groom’s buttonhole, as a keepsake. We wanted lots of texture and movement in the bouquets, but also a glamorous finish, and these worked really well with the style of dresses.

The buttonholes were small clusters of berries, seed heads and astilbe, tied up in twine, with the groom having matching feathers to the bridal bouquet.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

“We had lots more of the same flowers that were in the bouquets throughout the wedding, as well as white, green and vintage blue hydrangea; blue and white delphinium; garden foliage and lots of berried eucalyptus. The idea was to make very loose and natural arrangements, with a pretty, luxurious element. The tent had two hanging arrangements with lovely floral focal points, which brought the beautiful decor together. We also created a willow archway for the ceremony that was built into logs and had flowers growing up from the base and hanging from the willow.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

The groom and his team of support look utterly fantastic in fitted Reiss suits, Grenson monk-strap shoes in tan and matching floral ties from The Grunion Run.

“Ross went for a classic British look with a modern twist. We wanted the suits to be very fitted and so we asked a friend of ours who is a skilled tailor to tweak the suits to fit perfectly. I gave him his Daniel Wellington watch as a gift on the morning of the wedding.

The groomsmen wore matching Reiss suits, but we switched the jackets to grey and this complimented my grey waistcoat perfectly.” 

 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

The groom shares his most favourite moments of his wedding day.

“Seeing Laura walk down the aisle was a moment I will never forget, as she looked so stunning. Also, seeing everyone’s laughter through the best man’s speech was such a joy. They sang ‘Caravan of Love’ and he involved all the guests and it is something we will never forget.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

The beautiful bride arrived at their outdoor ceremony at the top of a hill with stunning views in a long wheel-based Defender with her bridesmaids, father and brother. Her dad walked her down the aisle to Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’ towards the beautiful willow arch, as the guests watched from their hay bale seats.

“Our ceremony was conducted by one of close friends Rory. We wanted it to be personal and mean something to us and this was one of the best decisions we made. It was such a memorable service, as Rory made us all laugh, cry and smile. We also read our own personal vows rather than the standard, as we felt this was more meaningful.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

My two nephews read out ‘The One’ and our close friend Tony read out the lyrics to ‘Grow Old With You’ from The Wedding Singer movie, which was great fun when it turned into a sing along! We chose the readings as one was serious and meaningful and the other from Laura’s favourite movie – we think it perfectly sums up marriage and growing old together.

We had our rings designed and made by Old Eldon Square Jewellers in Newcastle – using a rose gold bracelet from Ross’s  grandma that was melted down and put into both of our rings.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

“We had known our photographer, Lee Scullion, for a couple of years and have always got on well. We felt like we would be comfortable around Lee on our wedding weekend and that he would get on well with our friends and family. Lee is not only a great guy but super talented, and he captured every part of our weekend brilliantly.” 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

The newlyweds left the ceremony to go to the bottom of the hill with the bridesmaids on a six-seater golf buggy that they had hired in for the weekend for the guests to get back to their cabins easily – what fun!

 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

Laura and Ross needed to give their guests loads of information about their weekend-long festivities, so did a save the date postcard and had information on a wix.com wedding website, which allowed guests to RSVP via the website. They then made their own menus on rustic brown paper, using various fonts to make it look like a cool American-style restaurant and used a vintage school chalkboard from Coco Luminaire for their table plan, which is also where their incredible illuminated props were from – very handy that the bride runs this amazing company!

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

“We had our name ‘The Kanes’ in lights in the grounds of Natural Retreats, which worked well as a photo backdrop. We also had two neon signs saying ‘You and I will live forever’ and ‘I love you man’ (both personal sayings to Ross and I); an illuminated bar/BBQ sign, and a giant carnival Love sign for the marquee, which worked really well as lighting for the evening time. 

To create that festival feel outside the marquee and tipi we used giant shepherd crooks and festoon lighting to create a cool atmosphere.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

The couple hired a vintage marquee and tipi from The Unique Tent Company to create a festival feel and provide two venues; one for the Friday evening and one for Saturday, to make the two events feel different for their guests.

“On Friday evening, it was a laid back affair, with hay bales and fire pits for people to chill outside and eat the BBQ we had from Longhorns BBQ . Then in the tipi we had a rockabilly band called ‘The Wanderers’ playing.” 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

The rustic table decor, with a touch of glamour, was styled by Charlotte at The Finishing Touch Company.

“Our tables were decorated with distressed candle-holders and mason jars on top of rustic wooden logs, with a touch of glamour from the gold sequin runners. We also hired in rustic wooden tables and lime washed chivari chairs, which were dressed with waterfall ruffle backs in navy blue.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

We also had chair signs made by a fab company called Forever Detail saying ‘I belong to you’, ‘You belong to me’ and the chairs are now a lovely keepsake for our home.  

And to add to the festival feel, we made wooden posts with different sayings painted on and dotted them around the campsite. We used recycled leftover wood and painted them using tester pots in all different colours. We went travelling to Thailand a few years ago and wanted it to look like the signs at the cool beach bars.” 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

“Our favours were tied in with our place names, so each guest got to take their Polaroid picture home – these were made via Sticky9. We also supplied flip flops for the ladies to change into on the evening, shawls if people got cold, insect oil just in case people got bitten, a cigar bar for the men and a sweet stand from Little Sugar Mouse for both kids and adults.” 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

The couple’s absolutely scrumptious wedding cake table was designed and created by Dawn at The Master Cakesmith.

“On Saturday, we chose a more traditional three-course meal, to fit in with the more glamorous side of the theme. Our caterers Sheer Elegance rustled up a very tasty salmon mousse starter, beef for the main and Eton mess for dessert.

For our cake, we chose a semi-naked cake, decorated with fresh strawberries and flowers by Bels Flowers, in keeping with our rustic theme. Each cake was a different flavour, with our favourite being peanut butter.”

 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

‘Stand By Me’ – played live by The Bluehouse Band in the evening – was the couple’s chosen first dance song.

“We chose this song as we loved the lyrics being about standing by each other, but we also thought it was upbeat to get our friends and family singing along with us, so the attention wasn’t too much one us. We also had confetti cannons for the first dance to add a fun element to it, which looked fab in our photos.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

Laura’s favourite memory of their special day is the ceremony.

“Having the ceremony conducted by someone so close to us was very special and seeing Ross as I walked down the aisle filled me with so much happiness.” 

 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

On the wedding night the fire pits were out in full force again, with the addition of a funfair photoboard, a vintage hoopla, hole-in-one golf game, as well as a range of music, booked via AMV Live Music , and a photobooth (of course!).

“We had a fantastic singer called Jessica Avison to entertain our guests for the reception drinks, then a great band called The Bluehouse Band for the evening, as well as one of our Snaparazzi Photobooths which kept the guests entertained all night. We got our very own guest book of photos, which was very funny to look through later!” 

 

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Make sure you enjoy the planning as much as possible – it can get stressful, but if you put your trust in the right suppliers this takes a lot of stress away. We used suppliers we had either worked with or heard great things about through word of mouth and this helped us relax on the day knowing a lot of the things were done for us.”

Laura wears a Maggie Sottero gown for her outdoor wedding at Natural Retreats at Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales. Photography by Lee Scullion.

What fun the couple had and the joy shows in every lovely light-filled photograph, taken by the very talented Lee. Thank you so much for allowing us to see all the delights of your wedding day Laura and Ross and I’ve completely fallen for your light-up signs. Any chance you have one entitled ‘The Big Day’? I’d love to purchase it if you do! Bookmark this link here to view more weddings that have featured Laura’s brilliant illuminated signs.

I hope this wonderful wedding has set you up for a relaxing weekend lovelies.

Love Jo -x-

 

Photographer – Lee Scullion Photography
Videographer – Shoot Me Now Films
Venue – Natural Retreats, Richmond, Yorkshire Dales
Wedding Dress – Maggie Sottero via Y.A.P Bridal Boutique
Shoes – Kurt Geiger
Perfume – ‘Le Parfum’ by Elie Saab
Accessories – Diamond earrings (present from the groom)
Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Virgos Lounge
Bridesmaid’s Hair Accessories Accessorize
Groom/Groomsmen – Reiss suits + Grenson shoes + ties from The Grunion Run
Groom’s Watch – Daniel Wellington (present from the bride)
Pageboys – Reiss suits
Florist – Bels Flowers
Rings – Old Eldon Square Jewellers
Catering – Longhorns BBQ + Sheer Elegance
Cake – The Master Cakesmith
Table Plan + Illuminated Signs  Coco Luminaire
Decor – The Finishing Touch Company + Forever Detail
Favours – Polaroid pictures via Sticky9 + sweet stand from Little Sugar Mouse
Entertainment – Via AMV Live Music + Snaparazzi Photobooths
Hair and Makeup – Lisa Jones Hair and Makeup
Tipi/Marquee Hire – The Unique Tent Company

Jo Singletary

Jo Singletary View all Jo's articles

Jo hails from and lives in sunny Australia, is currently working towards her dream of being a career coach and a few of her favourite things are watching the sunrise over the ocean, morning walks on the beach, butterflies, and supporting the guide dogs charity.

4 thoughts on “A Glamorous Maggie Sottero Gown and Tipis for a Festival-Inspired Wedding Weekend

  1. I seriously don’t know where to start with my comments!!! What a gorgeous couple – you both look truly scrumptious! The florals are beautiful, I already adored the bouquets but then when I saw the hanging flowers!!! I love lights so all the signs and letters are brilliant, particularly The Kanes and I love you man! A sunny day in the countryside, the festival feel, the golf buggy…. And then there are the ladies in the wedding party. While I love the mismatched look, sometimes it’s so lovely to see a bit of matchy-matchy and I think the bride and her maids with their similar relaxed up dos make for some lovely photos. And Jo, I’ll be your partner in wedding-crasher-crime! There are so many weddings I wish I could have been at. I am happy to offer my services as professional guest too if you have a spare seat! 😉 Many congratulations Laura and Ross xx

  2. Oh Jo I so know what you mean! I want to attend each and every wedding we feature, our brides have some seriously good taste. The festival feel, the stunning setting, the dress, the LIGHTS….ahh I could go on. A gloriously happy day lit up by the couple themselves, congratulations guys! xxx

  3. Jo, Katie, Emily I’m with you!! This is definitely wedding crasher worthy! It just looks like so much fun and what a gorgeous gorgeous happy couple x x x

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