Today’s bride and groom sound like my kind of people. Celebration and fun was the order of the day for this pair’s wedding and with no specific theme in mind, they trusted their instincts and just went with everything they love, having fun being high on their list of priorities!
Council worker Catriona and government worker Alex were married one sunny spring day, 21st April 2018, at the historic Browsholme Hall and Tithe Barn in Clitheroe, Ribble Valley.
“As soon as we walked into the venue we just got the ‘feels’ for it, but the outdoor pizza oven was probably thing that sealed the deal! Nothing in particular inspired the wedding day, we just knew we wanted plenty of flowers with quite a symmetrical set up, which is why we went for two long tables. The flowers and lighting did all the work on the day because we didn’t have any other decor, so it ended up looking minimalistic but very classic.”
Photography by Rachel Joyce
To capture the magnificent day in all it’s glory was wedding photographer Rachel Joyce whose natural, modern and fun photography style the couple fell in love with.
“Rachel was absolutely wonderful on the day. The images she has caught are stunning and the colours are so vibrant. We are so incredibly happy with our pictures and we’ll definitely be recommending her to friends!”“Rachel, our photographer, had offered us the chance to work with one of her friends that was a videographer, but we declined as we didn’t think we would watch the video. In hindsight we should have gone for it. The day goes by so quickly you just feel like you end up missing so much and it would have been so nice to watch it back and relive the whole day again.”
“All our florals were done by Jane at Flower Design and we were smitten with Jane from our first appointment. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she really does everything to make sure you get the perfect result for your wedding. Her and the team are all just fantastic!”
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“We went for mostly white flowers in our centrepieces, with bits of orange and red thrown in for some contrast. The bouquets were made of reds and oranges and full of lots of different types of flowers with a lot of movement so nothing looked too polished. We had specifically asked for tulips as they’re my favourite, as well as lots of scented foliage which Jane and the team worked into our plans perfectly.”
With no specific theme in mind for the day, the couple rolled with things they loved and Catriona chose to have her gorgeous gathered cowl neck dress custom-made by the Birmingham-based The Couture Company.
“My mum owned a couple of dresses made by Jo at The Couture Company from back when she used to attend regimental dinners. I’d always loved them so after a few months of unsuccessful bridal shop perusing, we made an appointment with her to have something custom-made. My dress ended up being my favourite bits of my favourite two dresses of my mums.”
On the day, the bride drew support from her two bridesmaids who wore beautiful emerald-green full-length dresses from high street store Coast, complimenting Catriona’s bridal look wonderfully.
“One of my bridesmaids wore a pair of black heeled sandals with gold studs from Kurt Geiger with her dress, as well as a pair of hammered gold earrings bought via Etsy and a gold and opal ring, I bought as a gift for her for on the day.”
“It was bought from the same local independent jewellers my ring was from. My other bridesmaid Rachel wore a pair of dark grey velvet sandals and a pair of earrings in a floral design bought from Etsy as my gift to her on the day. Rachel also wore a hammered gold knot bracelet.”
“My two tier veil was also from the The Couture Company and I wore a handmade shell hair slide in my hair. It was a gift from my dad that he brought back for me from one of his postings whilst in the army.”
“Other accessories included a pair of diamond earrings gifted to me as a 21st birthday present from Alex, and a silver bracelet with an engraved infinity symbol also gifted by Alex on the morning of the wedding. I wore Ellie Saab ‘le parfum intense’ as my perfume on the day. I always wear this smell for our date nights and I know it’s Alex’s favourite.”
The groom fit into the historic house setting perfectly, choosing to wear a chequered 3-piece suit from Marc Darcy, accessorised with a pair of Jeffery West shoes, his dads patterned bow tie and a pocket watch gifted to him by Catriona’s dad on the morning of the wedding. His best man scrubbed up well, also wearing a Marc Darcy suit and he was also gifted a pair of engraved cufflinks from Not On The High Street.
“Alex and I met at high school through mutual friends but didn’t start dating for a couple of years. We had been together for around 7 and a half years before getting engaged during a weekend break to Amsterdam. We had been engaged for around 18 months by the time we got married.”
Choosing her father to walk her down the aisle, Catriona also chose the track Dreams by The Cranberries performed by the Northern String Quartet as her entrance music.
“The Northern String Quartet were superb and they really set the mood for the day. Everyone commented on how wonderful they were and one of our friends has subsequently booked them for her wedding.”
With the focus more on the after party, the couple chose a relatively short ceremony, swapping rings from local jewellers KEO.
“Alex’s ring was custom-made by KEO who also made my engagement ring. My wedding ring was from Ernest Jones and it was the one Alex proposed to me with. He hadn’t wanted to take an engagement ring away on holiday so bought a simple band for the proposal which I ended up using as my wedding ring.”
“I have to say, the bit after the ceremony when Alex and I could relax and mingle with our guests, was probably the best part of the day for me.”
“It was a mixture of joy and relief, enjoying a glass of bubbles in the sunshine.”
“I also really liked when I heard the Northern String Quartet playing The Cranberries just before I walked into the ceremony. It was the first time I had heard it and my dad was mid pep talk with me, encouraging me to breathe. So that memory always makes me smile.”
With some serious celebrations to be getting on with, guests headed to the Tithe Barn following the ceremony for evening of food, fun and laughter. On arrival they were greeted with a drinks reception and a beautifully dressed barn of heavy green garlands on the tables, lighting provided by Creative Cover Hire, candelabra centerpieces and pops of red and orange.
“Twelve Event Management who are based in Thornton catered our wedding breakfast. They were absolutely brilliant and their service was seamless and the food fantastic – we had plenty of compliments!”
“We used Etsy for our invitations but all the other stationery on the day we made ourselves, including the table plan and place settings. We had to drink a lot of wine to collect that many corks to hold each place setting name! We didn’t have any favours or a wedding cake but instead saved the money for more pizza!”
“We chose Just You And I by Tom Walker as our first dance song. It came on a Spotify shuffle when we were making our place settings one day. We hadn’t been able to agree on anything up until that point so when we both heard it and liked it, it became the one!”
Words Of Wedded Wisdom
“Make sure the groom is involved in the planning from the start! It was no stress at all for me because we did most of the planning together as a team. Don’t let family and friends pressure you into anything you don’t want to do. It’s your wedding day after all. Also, don’t do things just because you think you should.”
“For example, we didn’t have any favours or a cake and nobody missed them! And finally, make sure you take a step back on the day and soak it all in. You spend so long planning the day and it goes by so quickly.”
Congratulations to the gorgeous newlyweds! We wish you all the love and happiness for your future together. A big thank you also goes to Rachel Joyce for her gorgeous photography work.
Until next time…
Much love,
Holly x
Credits & Thanks
- Photographer - Rachel Joyce
- Venue - Browsholme Hall and Tithe Barn
- Wedding dress + Veil - The Couture Company
- Perfume - Ellie Saab
- Bridesmaids - Coast, Kurt Geiger and Etsy
- Groom - Marc Darcy, Jeffery West and Not On The High Street
- Florist - Flower Design
- Catering - Twelve Event Management
- Rings - KEO and Ernest Jones
- Entertainment - Northern String Quartet
- Decor - Creative Cover Hire
Holly Grocott View all Holly's articles
Holly loves nothing more than getting her fill of beautifully styled weddings and couple's individual stories. After living in London for 6 years, she's now moved back North and settled in the leafy suburbs of South Manchester with her husband and much-loved pet pooch. You'll mostly find her reading in a corner, writing or creating a moodboard (or five).
