Good afternoon lovely readers, I hope this finds you well. The wedding I have to show you today is a really lovely August wedding complete with typical British ‘summer weather’, the mix of sunshine and rain just makes it all-the-more charming however – wellies, brollies, blankets and ice-creams were kindly provided for anyone in need. Victoria, a Doctor and Dom, a dental student were intent on a laid-back, rustic day with lots of DIY and special details that reflected them as a couple just 8 months after getting engaged. Dom even took the DIY a step further by making the rings himself!
The couple tied the knot on the 2nd of August 2014 at St Barnabas Church in Middlesbrough, where they both grew up, and took a ride in a Land Rover to their reception at Angrove Park, a stunning campsite surrounded by hills and with a view of Captain Cook’s Monument, where Dom proposed.
“We’ve both always loved the outdoors, especially the beautiful countryside around where we grew up, so a wedding day inspired by the things we love with all our favourite people seemed only fitting.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2015, Matt Penberthy
The couple hired creative London and destination wedding photographer, Matt Penberthy…
“We couldn’t rate Matt Penberthy highly enough – lovely guy, amazing photos and recorded our day beautifully. He even got into the spirit and jumped in the photobooth near the end!”
The bridesmaids all wore a beautiful navy blue dress which Vic found in the sale at Dorothy Perkins. The flowergirls wore navy Monsoon to match.
All of the girls including Vic had a fresh spray of roses provided by Flowermaiden in Guisborough.
“Linda knew her stuff about flowers and instantly got the kind of thing I was after.”
“My wedding dress was by Alfred Angelo from Dan Kerr Brides I just bought the most beautiful one I found! Dom bought a white gold, pearl and diamond necklace (to match the jewellery he knew I was wearing) which his sister gave to me on the morning of the wedding.”
“We knew each other when we were teenagers, but didn’t get together until I was 26 and Dom was 25. He’d given up his job as a gas engineer to move to Liverpool and retrain as a dentist. I was working as a doctor in Australia, and it was my first visit back to the UK when we got together and it just clicked. We spent the next 18 months living on other sides of the world, spending hours on Skype, writing letters, and Dom coming out whenever he could.
He still rates one of his best life decisions to be when he sold his motorbike to come and visit me that first time (and he really loves motorbikes).”
“Our first date was climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunset, and we travelled to some amazing places whenever I could get time off. I moved back to the UK and got a training post in Liverpool and we’ve not looked back since. Dom, in his true determined way, decided to make the engagement ring from scratch. After trying to measure my finger when I was asleep on his last visit to Australia, he spent many hours with the furnaces in the dental school lab, and proposed at the top of Captain Cook’s Monument on a brisk but sunny winter’s day 4 months after I moved back.”
“My dad walked me down the aisle to Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest’ on the organ. We had two readings, John 4:16-19 and Colossians 3:12-17.”
“Dom made our rings from scratch himself! Many hours of googling and with a bit of help from the technicians in the dental school lab!”
“I travelled to the church in a Rolls Royce and we travelled to the reception in a Land Rover borrowed from a friend of a friend. Dom used to have a Land Rover so it seemed the only fitting way to turn up to the reception…”
“My friends and I had a bit of a girl’s weekend drinking cocktails and making the 73 metres of bunting for the marquee (not a mean feat!). We also had fresh flowers in jam jars, styled with string by my sister-in-law, hay-bale sofas dressed with sheets and cushions from charity shops, old chests full of blankets, a bucket of umbrellas, and a family tree of many generations of our family’s wedding photos mounted on a makeshift wooden door. My friend Sarah painted wonderful signs for the occasion.”
“My cousin Jenny runs Rubie Oliver stationery. She produced the most beautiful invitations and accessories which fitted in perfectly with the day.”
“Our wedding favours were cocktail vouchers for a bespoke cocktail called ‘Whisk Me Away’. These were kindly made by the bar from The Dudley Arms, in a converted Double Decker bus!”
“Catherine from Lillie’s Catering was amazing, just getting the kind of thing we were after and managing to translate that into a scrumptious banquet.”
Dom and his groomsmen all wore dapper Ted Baker suits from Moss in Liverpool.
“My friend Jenny Oakenfull made our fabulous wedding cake and dessert table. Words cannot describe how amazing they tasted!”
“Our first dance track was Just One Day by Julia Henning, a live recording from the concert we went to in Sydney Opera House the night before Dom left Australia on his first visit to see me.”
“Dom and I both used to play in a céilidh band so could imagine nothing else at our wedding. I knew of Blackbeard’s Tea Party as a friend of mine is the fiddle player. They were just amazing! I’ve not seen people have so much fun!”
“We had a Picselated photobooth in the evening. Best decision ever. Everyone had so much fun and we have the most hilarious guestbook of photos to prove it! Kelvin at Picselated was extremely professional and made everything run smoothly.”
Dom’s favourite part of the day was ‘the feeling of just being married, when it was just the two of us on our way to the reception in the Land Rover’. Vic took a moment in the evening to watch their family and friends together laughing and smiling together.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Unless money is no object, pick the thing that is most important to you and do that really well. Everything else will be comparatively insignificant on the day compared to the excitement and happiness of the people around you. Take a moment at some point during the day, just you and your new husband, to reflect and enjoy what’s happening around you.”
Thank you ever so much to Vic and Dom for sharing your wonderful wedding day with us. Huge thanks also to photographer Matt Penberthy for the beautiful images of the day.
Love Caoimhe xx
Photographer – Matt Penberthy
Venue – St Barnabas Church + Angrove Park, Midlesborough
Wedding Dress – Alfred Angelo from Dan Kerr Brides, Preston
Shoes – Next + Hunter
Groom – Ted Baker from Moss Bro
Bridesmaids – Dorothy Perkins
Flowergirls – Monsoon
Florist – Flowermaiden, Guisborough
Cake – Jenny Oakenfull (friend)
Transport – A Touch of Classic
Entertainment – Blackbeard’s Tea Party
Rings – Handmade by the groom
Catering – Lillie’s Catering, Middlesbrough
Stationery – Rubie Oliver
Hair Stylist – Franny B’s, Linthorpe
Makeup Artist – Kim Blair
Photobooth – Picselated
Favours – Whisky Cocktails made by The Dudley Arms, Ingleby
Caoimhe Anderson View all Caoimhe's articles
Caoimhe will never tire of beautiful wedding dress and a blooming flower crown. When she's not lusting after a gorgeous wedding she will be trying new vegetarian recipes, knitting very slowly or capturing a pink sunset from behind a camera lens.
The red roses look great with the rural landscape. Great idea! Thanks for posting.