Enzoani Romance for an Elegant English Country Wedding at Askham Hall

Jessica Reeve Photography 2823

January can sometimes drag a little… no Christmas sparkles to look forward to and lots of long, dark nights. Well, I’ve a delight of a wedding for you all here so if you are in need of a light, romantic wedding to cheer up your day then you are in the right place.

Meet Samantha and Matthew, who married on 3 June 2017 at St Peter’s Church, Askham in the Lake District before walking through a ‘secret walled garden’ for a reception at Askham Hall, an absolute gem of a venue. The couple’s day was inspired by the rustic, country feel of the venue, with lots and lots of soft, pastel blooms, subtle sparkles and home-made touches. It’s lovely to hear that Samantha was inspired by weddings featured on Love My Dress.

“I religiously visited Love My Dress every day to read the real weddings and gain inspiration from them. I love the variety and beauty of each wedding you show; each one is so individual to the couple.”

Photography Jessica Reeve Photography

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We know how beautiful Askham Hall is through its listing on Little Book for Brides (if you haven’t discovered our wedding supplier directory already, be sure to head there after you’ve read this). It’s available to hire exclusively for the whole weekend celebrations, which this couple did, kicking off with a BBQ in the grounds the night before.Samantha grew up in the pretty village of Askham, so marrying in the church was a natural decision for her. Marrying locally was also important to her so her family could be present at the wedding.

“Since being a little girl I had dreamed of getting married there. The church has been the pinnacle of many happy occasions throughout my life and over the years, Matt’s too.  A few years before we got engaged, much to my delight, Askham Hall opened as a wedding reception venue. From this day I knew that if I was ever to get married I would love to hold my wedding reception there.”

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Samantha has a perfectly petite figure, and looks breathtakingly beautiful in a pure white Enzoani gown with romantic lace detailing and a nipped-in waist.

“After searching for ten months visiting many lovely bridal shops up and down the country, and a near miss with a disappointing online purchase I was beginning to think I would never find a dress. During a trip back home to Cumbria, waiting for my papa to come out of an operation, my mum, nana and I decided to take a walk.”

“We stumbled across a bridal boutique and much to my surprise there was a beautiful dress on the mannequin that caught my eye. It was elegant and romantic, not too fussy and had the most beautiful opal and pearl waistband detail which drew me in. The bodice was an unusual crêpe material which led down to light tulle adorned with pretty appliqué lace. As soon as I put it on I felt it was the dress I wanted to get married in. It made me feel pretty.”

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The elegant stationery by Pear Paper Co, with its elegant calligraphy, set the tone for the styling.

“The lovely Samantha from Pear Paper Co created our wedding stationery. She also made our table plan cards which were displayed on a vegetable cart in glass vases filled with wild flowers. She was brilliant to work with and nothing was too much hassle for her.”

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I love the feel of the wild, natural flowers against the sophisticated gowns.

“We found Katie from Made in Flowers, Kendal through Instagram. We wanted unstructured seasonal blooms with lots of green foliage to compliment the rustic country surroundings. I gave Katie a few of my ideas and she created everything I had pictured perfectly.”

“My favourite flowers are peonies and with June being the perfect season for them we had to incorporate them in our wedding flowers, along with fragrant lavender, blush roses, eucalyptus and my papa’s favourite flowers lisianthus.”

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The flowergirls look adorable in their fresh white Monsoon dresses with their charming flower crowns, and the bridesmaids’ elegant pale blue ASOS gowns have a really subtle sparkle which looks wonderful in the summer sunshine. They wore their own shoes and pearl earrings, given to them by Samantha.

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“As a tiny size two shoe wearer I often struggle to find glamorous shoes that fit well so when I came across a pair of LK Bennett shoes which were glitzy and fit like a glove, I snapped them up. I wanted a pair of shoes that I would be able to wear again after the wedding.”

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Samantha’s love of peonies also influenced her choice of Jo Malone perfume.

“My maid of honour and I were treated to a wedding scent consultation at Jo Malone and after a lovely time being layered in gorgeous scents I chose the all-time favourite Peony Blush and Suede as I felt Matt would really like it and it complemented the peonies I was having in my bouquet.”

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Samantha’s seamstress handmade a bespoke waist-length veil, edged with the same lace as the gown. Isn’t it sublime? Caught up in her hair with a fresh floral headpiece of rose buds, wax flowers and greenery, the entire look is so ethereal and pretty. The bride’s jewellery was kept simple, just a dainty pearl necklace given to her by Matt a few Christmases ago and diamond and pearl earrings, a wedding gift from the groom.

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You may recognise these photographs as the work of Jessica Reeve Photography, whose images we’ve been privileged to feature before on Love My Dress. The couple came across her as she’d photographed weddings before at Askham Hall.

“We fell in love with her relaxed, romantic light photography style. She came to meet us one snowy week end in Askham and as soon as we met her we knew she was the lady for us; her warm and friendly personality made us feel relaxed. Nothing is too much effort for her and she really goes out of her way to make sure she captures those precious moments without you even realising she is there.”

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“One of the main reasons for choosing the location was so that my papa – one of the most important people in our lives – who at the time was unwell and lived in the village, could be with us and not have to travel far. Sadly a few months before the wedding he passed away. We were blessed to have many memories of him visiting the venue with us throughout the planning process and knew he was with us in spirit.”

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Time to talk about the groom and his outfit. He chose a navy tweed Moss Bros suit with a grey waistcoat paired with a Charles Tyrwhitt shirt, tie and pocket square from M&S and Ted Baker brogues for a smart country look. In a really touching gesture, the bride’s nana gifted him her papa’s mother of pearl and gold cufflinks to wear.

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“On the morning of the wedding the bridesmaids presented Matt with a box of goodies I had put together for him, a kind of ‘groom survival box’. The box, covered in a world map representing our love of travelling together, contained Tom Ford aftershave ‘for that sexy smell’, jazzy socks ‘to keep those cold feet away’, a cheeky tipple ‘to calm the nerves’, mints ‘for a fresh first kiss’ and those ever-important ‘lucky pants’.”

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The couple met at University in Leeds ten years ago. Their first summer together was spent travelling around Thailand, so it was only fitting that this is where Matt chose to propose.

“Fast forward eight years of long-distance relationship, living in London together and then recently relocating back to Yorkshire we headed back to Thailand for a holiday. On the first night of arriving back in Thailand after all those years, he got down on one knee on our balcony overlooking the Chao Phraya river, the night sky and skyscraper lights twinkling in the river reflection and asked me to marry him.”

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Samantha grew up in the pretty village of Askham, so marrying in the church was a natural decision for her. Marrying locally was also important to her so her family could be present at the wedding.

“Since being a little girl I had dreamed of getting married there. The church has been the pinnacle of many happy occasions throughout my life and over the years, Matt’s too.  A few years before we got engaged, much to my delight, Askham Hall opened as a wedding reception venue. From this day I knew that if I was ever to get married I would love to hold my wedding reception there.”

“One of the main reasons for choosing the location was so that my papa – one of the most important people in our lives – who at the time was unwell and lived in the village, could be with us and not have to travel far. Sadly a few months before the wedding he passed away. We were blessed to have many memories of him visiting the venue with us throughout the planning process and knew he was with us in spirit.”

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The couple asked one of their talented friends, Michael, to play the piano as the guests arrived at the church. The bride’s mother and father married at St Peter’s Church, and Samantha chose the same music as her mum had, to enter to.

“My proud dad walked me down the aisle to Canon in D by Pachelbel.”

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The bride’s mum read ‘I Will Be Here’ by Stephen Curtis before her step-mum Fay read an extract from Louis de Bernieres’ ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ and a close friend read 1 Corinthians 13.

“Including our friends and family in the church ceremony was very important to us. It made the service even more special and binding.”

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As Askham Hall is just over the road from the church, the newly-weds and their guests could walk to the flower-filled grounds to enjoy acoustic guitar music from friend Sebastian Williams with canapés and drinks before moving in to the barn for the wedding breakfast.

“It was one of my favourite memories, all our loved ones following us up the road from the church, through the blooming, beautiful gardens to the reception where the sun was shining.”

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In the eighteen months between getting engaged and the wedding, the couple had been really busy creating lots of handmade elements to dress the venue.

Samantha collected glass vials and spray-painted the top a brass colour, then filled them with wild flower seeds for the ladies and whisky for the men as favours. The couple also collected pieces of slate whilst on holiday in Devon and used white chalk pen to write on their guests’ names. Samantha and Matt also made wooden signs for the church gate and reception grounds; and slate signs for the photo booth and travel ideas box.

“The personalised signpost we made proudly stands in our garden amongst the roses as a reminder of our day.”

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The garden and its blooms are the epitome of an English country summer and Jessica Reeve has captured them to perfection. I love these shots of the bridesmaids and newly-weds with the heart-shaped balloons – so romantic and elegant.

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The cake is exquisite with its intricate sugarcraft flowers which really reflect the country garden venue.

“Our cake was created by my parents’ very talented neighbour Phylis. She spent over six weeks making each flower, berry and even twigs by hand from sugar paste! We didn’t see the cake until the wedding day and were blown away; so much love and time had gone into making it.”

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“One of my favourite parts of the day was sneaking off with Matt after the wedding breakfast for a walk in the gardens and meadow as the sun started to set. It was a chance to catch our breath and reflect on what an amazing day we were having. We were just grinning from ear to ear.”

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To add magic to the blank canvas of the barn, Typical Type lighting adorned the beautiful beams with festoon lights and hung a round board with different length Edison bulbs above the dance floor.

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The Money performed in the evening. They travelled all the way from Nottingham and did not disappoint. They played into the early hours and filled the dance floor all night. We could not have asked for more. They were a huge hit with everyone and we highly recommend them!”

“Our first dance was to Coldplay’s ‘Sky Full Of Stars’ played live. It represented our love for each other whilst being in the place where we love to watch the most brightly shining stars. We love to think that our lost loved ones are some of those bright stars in the sky watching down on our special day.”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Even if not everything goes according to plan on the day, all that matters is that you marry the love of your life surrounded by all the ones you love. It is true about what they say – it passes by so quickly so just embrace every moment!”

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Huge congratulations Samantha and Matt on your beautiful marriage. It’s so touching how you’ve included your family and their memories in your day. And thank you also Jessica Reeve Photography for your romantic, light-filled work. If you love this rustic barn wedding then why not take a look at these other brides’ days for lots more inspiration?

Credits & Thanks

Eleanor Crossland

Eleanor Crossland View all Eleanor's articles

Ele lives in the Lincolnshire countryside, close to the beautiful coast. A qualified Pilates teacher, she loves fitness, yoga, Pilates and has a healthy addiction to baking, writing and travel.

2 thoughts on “Enzoani Romance for an Elegant English Country Wedding at Askham Hall

  1. Such a lovely article and beautiful photographs. My daughter Hannah is the tallest of the bridesmaids and had a wonderful weekend. Everything went perfectly and even the sun shone in the notoriously damp Lake District.

    1. That’s so lovely to hear! She looks beautiful, and how good to hear that the weather obliged too! Ele xx

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