Happy Friday, dear readers! I don’t know about you, but I love this time of year; the wood smoke wafting about on the breeze, the golden leaves and the Scandi knits. Yet as the nights draw in and the air starts to gains a chill, I do start to miss the warmth of the summer. If you feel the same, let this morning’s wonderful, summer country wedding transport you back to midsummer. Today’s sunny wedding is filled to the brim with lots of lovely handmade details, including paper origami cranes, pom poms and glittery gold letters. Get ready to be inspired!
Love My Dress reader Lucy married Chris on the 20th of June 2015, at Woodthorpe Hall, a beautiful 17th century manor house, near Holmesfield in North Derbyshire. Our couple held their ceremony in Woodthorpe’s 19th century cider press (which continues to make cider to this day!) followed by a tipi reception, courtesy of Peak Tipis. Woodthorpe Hall is situated in the heart Peak District, very close to where I grew up. Like Lucy and Chris I have a huge soft spot for this beautiful part of the world, and I often find myself longing to return to the Peaks.
“We spend a lot of time in the Peak District, so it was the natural location for our wedding. We loved the setting of Woodthorpe and that we could hold our ceremony in the cider press (we both enjoy a glass of cider!). We both wanted our wedding to be really relaxed and rustic and we have always wanted to have a tipi. It was important to us that we keep everything as local as possible and all our supplier were from the surrounding area.”
Photography by Red on Blonde
“I made about 200 origami cranes (using old dictionaries bought from a charity shop) with help from friends and kids at a work project. Chris made a triangular centre piece from garden canes which were suspended from the top of the tipi. We hung the origami birds from this structure and from the gazebo.”
Lucy purchased her stunning lace and silk Kate Halfpenny gown from The White Room in Sheffield. I love the way Kate’s gowns combine vintage glamour with modern twist, and Lucy’s dress is no exception.
“I really like the simple and elegant style of Kate’s gowns and that they are made in Britain. My dress felt amazing to wear. I loved the colour of slip and the fact that I could walk in it! I hadn’t seen anything like it elsewhere.”
Halfpenny London is in Little Book For Brides®
Our couple’s lovely flowers were arranged by award winning florist Tracey of Campbell’s Flowers, Sheffield. I love the wild ‘just picked’ feel of the arrangments and the amazing gypsophila heart!
“We both wanted the handpicked look and Tracey really understood what we were after. A lot of the guests asked if Tracey had ever visited the gardens of Woodthorpe as they looked as if they’d been picked directly. I saw a gypsophila heart at The White Room and that was a winner for me. Sold!”
Lucy and Chris’s wedding was captured in beautiful detail by Hannah and Toby of Red on Blonde Photography.
“When we first met Hannah and Toby it was like meeting up with old friends and we knew straight away that we wanted them to photograph our wedding. We love their style of photography and they really understood what we wanted. On the day they fitted in with our friends and family and everyone commented on how lovely they were. We were blown away when received the photos, as were our guests.”
Our crafty couple dotted signs and planters painted with quotes and gold glitter around the venue created using recycled packing crates and pallets borrowed from friends and family.
Lucy paired her gown with glittery gold Carvela heels and a diamante headband from Debbie Carlisle. Her wedding day scent was Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel.
Debbie Carlisle is in Little Book For Brides®
Lucy accessorised with earrings from John Lewis and a Joma Jewellery bracelet gifted to her by her three bridesmaids.
Chris looked every bit a country gentleman in his grey tweed Magee suit, which he wore with a navy Reiss tie and polka dot pocket square.
“Chris and I met through mutual friends during the summer of 2011. We both used to do the same job at an environment charity (at different times) and so we knew a lot of the same people as a result. Our romance sparked at a friend’s 50th birthday. I did all the chasing!”
Lucy’s ‘maids wore blush pink Coast dresses and pink gypsophila in their hair and the couple’s page boys looked very sweet in suits from Next, paired with blue polka dot shirts and bow ties.
The ceremony was held in the doorway of Woodthorpe Hall’s very own working cider press. Lucy’s father walked her up the aisle to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Songbird’, performed by Replay Acoustic duo.
Lucy and Chris chose three readings; ‘Oh the places you’ll go’ by Dr Seuss, read by the couple’s seven year old nephew, an extract from The Bridge Across Forever, by American author Richard Bach and ‘Love is a Temporary Madness…’ from Louis de Bernieres’ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
Lucy and Chris’s wedding breakfast was catered by Trudi and Justine of Percy and Lily’s based in Sheffield. Our couple opted for a Mediterranean themed meal with mezze starters and a range of salads, meats and breads – the perfect midsummer meal – yum!
“We met Trudi and Justine after stumbling across their lovely Citroen Van at Sheffield Peddlers Market. We instantly fell in love with their street food from around the world. They also run a northern soul night once a month which was a good excuse to get to know them better and introduce our friends to their food and cocktails! I spent my hen party and birthday at one of their nights.”
Drinks were served from Percy and Lily’s very own gorgeous bright yellow, 1950s Citroen van.
In addition to their beautiful gypsophila heart, our couple decorated Woodthorpe with glittery gold letters, dozens of tea lights in glass jars and 200 origami cranes, handmade by Lucy using the pages of old dictionaries.
In addition to the paper cranes Lucy and Chris decorated the tipi with bunting, paper fans and pom poms. For their wedding breakfast, they laid their trestle tables with mismatched crockery hired from The Vintage Tablewear Company and antique bottles filled with flowers.
“We sourced loads of old bottles at an antiques fair for the flowers on the tables. We didn’t have favours but we ordered some wooden hearts from Bailey Wood which we made into name tags with ‘thank you’ carved on the back.”
For their evening do, Lucy and Chris enlisted the skills of Gary of The Nether Edge Pizza Company.
“Gary rocked up with his wood fired pizza oven and everyone loved the pizzas. The oven was a real talking point.”
“For dessert we asked friends and family to bring a cake which was shared alongside the wedding cake. We wanted as many people to feel a part of the day plus enjoy all the yummy offerings!”
“I found SJ Cake Studio through Instagram. We had the most incredible naked cake with raspberry infused sponge and a white chocolate ganache which melted in the mouth without being sickly. SJ Cakes knew the florist already and managed to create a beautiful cake with flowers to match.”
“It’s hard to choose just one favourite moment of the day, so here are three! I loved getting ready in the morning with my bridesmaids (my two sisters and my best friend Laura) and my parents and Chris’s sister floating around. I really valued all the time with them in build-up. I also really enjoyed our one on one photographs because they meant that Chris and I could just have some time together. Finally, the speeches were just amazing- we even had to have a comfort break before the best man’s speech as Chris was loving the limelight so much!”
“We only chose the music for our first dance the day before the wedding. We found this the hardest thing as most of the bands we love, such as First Aid Kit and Roddy Woomble, didn’t really have anything we thought was suitable. After much Googling we chose Ray Lamontage ‘You are the best thing’ as it had good lyrics, wasn’t too soppy and we could imagine our friends joining us on the dancefloor. One song that definitely had to be on the playlist was Tina Turner’s ‘Proud Mary’ – it always gets us and our friends on the dance floor!”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Try not to stress too much before your big day (I hardly slept the week before the wedding so it is easier said than done!).
Ensure that you have a good time on the day and don’t worry about what your family and friends will think. We both worried so much about our guests having a good time that on the day we forgot to enjoy the cake and the pizza. We did make sure that there was some to take home for the following day though!”
Huge Congratulation to our lovely couple! Thank you Lucy and Chris for sharing the details of your big day and to Red on Blonde for these wonderful images. Have you been inspired to partake in a little crafting of your own for your big day? If so, we’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. If you’d like some help starting a DIY project, why not take a look at the tutorial section of the blog, here.
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Annora x
Photographer – Red on Blonde
Venue – Woodthorpe Hall near Holmesfield + Peak Tipis
Wedding Dress – Kate Halfpenny, purchased from The White Room, Sheffield
Headpiece – Debbie Carlisle
Shoes – Carvela Kurt Geiger
Accessories – John Lewis earrings + Joma Jewellery bracelet
Bride’s Scent/perfume – Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel
Groom – Magee suit + Reiss tie & pocket square
Bridesmaids – Coast dresses
Page Boys – Next
Florist – Campbell’s Flowers
Cake – SJ Cake Studio
Entertainment – Replay Acoustic Duo via Warble Entertainment
Rings – Goldsmiths
Catering – Percy and Lily’s for the wedding breakfast + The Nether Edge Pizza Company for the evening do
Décor – Vintage crockery, ladder, ‘LOVE’ letters, all hired from The Vintage Tablewear Company, wooden heart favours purchased from Bailey Wood, rose petals & personalised stickers from eBay.
Stationery – The Pear Paper Company
Hair & Makeup Artist – Alison Martin
Wow! Thank you for featuring! It was a truly stunning wedding & we felt so lucky to be a part of Lucy & Chris amazing wedding. So much inspiration here & lovely suppliers to work with.
You are so welcome Hannah! xxx
I love Kate Halfpenny dresses, they are gorgeous. The bride looked so beautiful and the cake sounds delicious! White chocolate ganache is just yummy!!
What a beautiful read for a Friday afternoon! Lucy was an absolute pleasure to work with, so relaxed and completely worked with every ethos The White Room is about. She was one of our 1st Halfpenny London brides too, so so exciting to see Kate’s amazing designs in lights and The White Room representing Sheffield! Congratulations to Lucy, you wore Iris so well! With Love, The White Room team, Sheffield xx
Such a beautiful wedding – what a perfect treat for a Friday! I really love the styling of the tipis and the yellow Citroen is possibly the best bar ever. Huge congratulations to you both and I love your style xx
What a fantastic wedding!
Such a pretty wedding and what a beautiful setting! I adore the Halfpenny gown and those wildflower blooms…lovely!
Thank you so much for featuring our wedding and thank you to all our gorgeous suppliers. Best Day Ever!
Love Kate Halfpenny Dresses – great photography too. Xx