Luscious Greens and Woodland Details for a Wedding Inspired by Nature…

Hello lovely readers, Franky here. I'm thrilled to be bringing you my first real wedding feature for Love My Dress today, and what a wedding I've got for you!

When I first flicked though these images by Dominique and Liam, the talented brother and sister duo behind York Place Studios, I instantly fell in love with the natural elements the bride and groom had incorporated into their day. I adore the way their personality and passions shine through in all the handmade details too…

Love My Dress Wedding Blog, Photography Copyright (c) 2012, York Place Studios

Oh, and there's a pony called Minty, a horse so beautiful, just looking at pictures of him has reignited my childhood daydream of owning my own pony!

Dave & Steph became Mr and Mrs Bates on 21^st April 2012 at All Saints Church, Hunmanby…

'We should have married in July the previous year, but seven days before the wedding my dad was rushed into hospital and needed a lifesaving operation; this led to the postponement of the wedding… we couldn’t have had the day without him as he is such a big part of both mine and Dave's lives. It made it extra special that 9 months later Dad could walk me down the aisle to the “Wedding March”.'

The ceremony was followed by a marquee reception in the grounds of the bride's parents' home. Steph tells me that holding the reception here allowed her to personalise their celebration as much as possible. It also meant they could be joined by their beloved animals Minty the pony and Guinness the dog...

'It was important that our horse Minty was there to share our day as she played a key part in the proposal…Dave had a sash made saying “Will you Marry Daddy?” and he went to the stables early in the morning of our 7th anniversary. He put the sash on Minty and waited for me to arrive. Unfortunately I slept in 45 mins that morning so Dave had to wait… he then came out of the stables on one knee; it was perfect…'

The marquee, provided by Florida Marquees, gave Steph a blank canvas to which she could add her green colour scheme interspersed with natural twigs, barks and wood.

'I am a fully trained florist with a 1st Class BA Hons Degree in Floristry who has been working as a Florist for over 6 years. I produced all my own wedding flowers, from the church to the bouquets, buttonholes and the flowers for the marquee. We really like natural/earthy styles, so adopted this look throughout all the decor.'

'I used all white and green flowers – orchids, calla lillies, “Akito” and “Avelanche” roses, green trailing amanthus, spray roses, white ranuculus, longiflorum lillies, chericherinchees, teamed with dried cow parsley, willow, moss, and lots of beautiful foliage from Simply Foliage – including Plaited Palms, Beargrass, Steelgrass, Raphis Palms and Lime Green Draceana Leaves.'

'When the old apple tree at my Dad's house fell down, I asked him to cut it up into discs so I could incorporate them into the pew ends, button holes, bouquets and table centres.We also had a fallen Silver Birch Tree that we had cut into discs to mount tealights in, and two 6ft lengths of the trunk that I filled with flowers to line the carpet outside the marquee.'

'I made all the frames for the buttonholes from wire, adding the bark discs and then embellishing them with beads,pearls and diamantes. Finally I attached the ranuculus flowers just before the big day.'

I love the way the couple adorened their tables with so many different arrangements, using oversized martini glasses, candelabras, a collection of tree trunks and a range of vases. The tables also featured an array of candles, square arrangements with textured flowers and modern foliage, little jars with flowers in and table crystals. The chairs were decorated with green organza sashes, sourced from Covered by Angels.

Steph handmade all the menus, table numbers, place names and the table plan. She also crafted her own favour boxes in the run up to the wedding, embellishing them with ribbons, diamantes, wire and bark – 'They each contained a Kinder Egg, which relates back to our first date nine and a half years ago, and was also mentioned in Dave's speech.'

Steph's beautiful dress was by designer Justin Alexander and was purchased from The Wedding Room in Scarborough. I love the contrast between the opulence of the gown and the lush foliage in Steph's bouquet.

'I went into the shop looking for an ivory dress and chose a few to try on, but Catherine who owns the shop showed me a white one she thought I might like… As soon as I tried it on I knew it was the one! I could just feel it…'

'The dress came with a shoulder wrap but my Mum and sister both thought it looked better without it so my clever and talented friend Wendy made my veil out of the shoulder wrap and personalised it for me. My tiara was my 'something borrowed' from my friend Lucy, and I also wore a bracelet and earrings that Dave had bought me years ago.'

Steph wore a pair of silver Firetrap shoes she had owned for ages – 'They are so comfortable and a good height to wear all day.' Her hair was styled by Sammy at Tete a Tete in Scarborough and her makeup was applied by her sister Caroline.

Steph's flowergirl Ella wore a dress, bolero cardigan and shoes from John Lewis. Her older bridesmaid and sister, Caroline, looked exsquisite in an Ebony Rose chiffon dress in the colour 'stone', also purchased from The Wedding Room. Caroline paired her dress with the shoes she wore to her own wedding and a halo of beads and diamantes made for her by Steph.

Dave's dark grey traditional morning coat and trousers with silver waistcoat and stone cravat was from York Hire Wear.

Steph and Dave's guests tucked into a delicious wedding breakfast provided by A & G Catering – 'The service was second to none and the food was of exceptional quality with plenty for every appetite… and all prepared and cooked in the marquee, spectacular!'

The delicious looking wedding cake featured layers of fruit cake, vanilla sponge and chocolate, and was recreated by Joanne Mackley of Designer Icing from an image provided by the couple – '…it looked stunning – better than the original – and exceeded our expectations and tasted amazing!'

The couple used hay bales and hessian to provide some informal seating. Steph also made an old-fashioned sweet stall, complete with little serving tongs and sweety bags, from an old bookcase which she painted and distressed herself. Steph tells me this proved a hit with both young and older guests!

Words of Wedded Wisdom

'Enjoy every moment of the planning stage and the wedding day; take a few moments out to have a look around and soak everything up as the day goes so quickly. Make sure you enjoy every second!'

If you encounter a crisis, don't lose hope. 'We had the wedding of our dreams despite having to cancel 7 days prior to our original date in July, due to my Dad falling ill. The compassion showed by York Place Studios, A & G Catering and Florida Marquees really did help us in the difficult time and made the wedding day in April so special. I cannot thank them all enough for their help and the talents they displayed.'

Mr and Mrs Bates, thank you for making my first wedding feature such a beautiful one, and thank you for sharing your day with all our readers 🙂

Thank you also to York Place Studios who captured Steph and Dave's wedding so beautifully, and clearly went above and beyond to provide excellent service when their clients needed it most.

'Dominique and Liam were amazing to work with, they really took on board what we wanted from our photographs… Absolutely stunning photos, they really went the extra mile. They captured the day perfectly and were so good to work with; the engagement shoot photos were stunning but we were blown away by the wedding pictures. We have spent many hours already looking over them, and they've helped us remember all the special moments.'

What do you love about this wedding? Are you planning a similar colour scheme? Do you hope to incorporate nature like Steph and Dave? Let's show this wedding some love in the comments below…

Franky

Photographer – York Place Studios
Venue – All saints Church, Hunmanby, followed by a reception at the bride's parents' home.
Marquee provided by  Florida Marquees.
Brides dress – Justin Alexander at The Wedding Room, Scarborough.
Brides shoes – Firetrap {past season}
Brides veil/hair accessories – Veil made by friend, borrowed tiara.
Brides accessories – Gift from groom.
Groom – York Hire Wear
Bridesmaids – Dress by Ebony Rose via The Wedding Room, Scarborough.
Flowergirl – Dress, bolero and shoes all John Lewis.
Flowers – Bride
Cake – Designer Icing
Hair Stylist – Sammy at Tete a Tete in Scarborough, Tel: 01723 503311.
Makeup Artist – Bride's sister.
Transport – Beckhouse Carriages, Tel: 01751 417235.
Detail/Decor – Chair sashes by Covered by Angels
Food – A&G Catering