Pronovias Elegance for a Modern, Coastal Country House Party Wedding on the Isle of Anglesey

Readers, you’re in for a coastal treat today, and a trip to Penmon in Anglesey in North Wales, which is home to a spectacular pebble beach and lighthouse, not to mention the beautiful and welcoming country house where our couple held their marquee reception.

Meet Leah, a Business Development Manager, and Russ, a Surveyor. They were married on the 18 August in a ceremony at St. Mary and St. Nicholas Church, Beaumaris, followed by a relaxed reception at Tros yr Afon – a lovely venue with accommodation, set in 6 acres of gardens and woodland, close to the seaside. Leah and Russ chose fine art photographer (and Little Book member) Sarah Folega, of Folega Photography to capture their day. These resulting images are stylishly composed and wonderfully romantic, as well as being filled with dreamy coastal light.

“Sarah photographed our friend’s wedding a couple of years before ours, and the photos were just gorgeous. Sarah was fantastic on the day, other than the more formal portraits we barely noticed she was there, but the photos she got are amazing – the perfect combination!”

“We knew we wanted to get married in Anglesey – Russ’ parents have had a house there for many years, it’s where we went for our first weekend away, and we have had many trips with friends and family. We also loved the idea of celebrating with everyone for the whole weekend rather than just the wedding day.”

Images by Folega Photography

From Boutique Brides of Crosby, Leah chose the elegant ‘Grael’ dress by Pronovias. Made from beautifully cut and draped crepe, the dress also has pretty capped sleeves embellished with beads and sparkling crystals, which run all the way down the low back.

“I wanted something comfortable that I could wear all day and night, something that I felt myself in but made me feel like the best version of me. I tried on some dresses with my bridesmaids a few weeks before I found mine, and they were all nice but none of them felt like the one. When I tried my dress on, I was with my sister, my mum and 3 of my aunties – all 5 of them cried, and I just didn’t want to take it off. I didn’t think I’d have the ‘I’ve found the one’ moment, but I definitely did.”

“Tros was perfect. James (the owner) and Jen (their wedding coordinator) had done enough weddings for us to feel secure, and like we had the help we needed (plus good recommendations of local suppliers and those they had worked with previously), but their approach is very laid back, and didn’t feel like the other venues we looked at, which were more corporate.”

“There were very few stipulations, which meant that we could plan a wedding that was really what we wanted and reflected us both. Plus being able to have 54 of our nearest and dearest on site with us for the whole weekend sealed the deal.”

The couple’s florist was family friend Sharon, and who made a spectacularly wild and ethereal bouquet of white blooms and greenery for Leah, filled with textural beauties like love-in-a-mist and sea holly, whilst the bridesmaids carried posies of gypsophila.

Leah’s two flower girls were her cousin’s daughters Matilda and Georgia, and they looked lovely in their ballet inspired outfits of white leotards, ballet shoes and grey tutus from Etsy boutique Flowers And Confetti Tutus. Sweet page boy Wilf wore a smart grey tweed suit with braces from an Etsy-based shop (sadly, no further details provided).

The bridesmaids wore an assortment of different dress designs in soft blush pink, by JJ’s House, together with fresh flowers adorning their hair, and their own shoes and accessories.

“I liked the idea of my bridesmaids choosing their own different dresses as they all have different styles, but knew that the dresses needed to complement each other.”

As well as her shoulders and back, there was also sparkle on Leah’s feet, with a pair of glittery Jimmy Choo heels, which were a gift from her aunt.

“My ‘something borrowed’ were my mother in law’s beautiful pearl and diamond earrings, and my ‘something old’ was a piece of jade that my late grandfather gave to me when I was born, which I had tied onto my bouquet.”

Jeanette Flynn created a soft and romantic make-up look for Leah, which worked wonderfully with her updo with its loose waves, styled by So Coco Rouge. In her hair, Leah wore a comb of sea holly and fresh flowers, together with a soft tulle veil chosen at Boutique Brides of Crosby.

“For my perfume, I wanted something different that I didn’t already wear, so that when I wore it after my wedding it would remind me of the day. I did the Jo Malone scent your wedding experience with my mum and sister on a trip to London a few weeks before the wedding, and chose wood sage and sea salt moisturiser with orange blossom perfume – now one of my favourite combinations that I save for special occasions.”

Leah and Russ are both from Crosby in Liverpool, their parents’ houses are just a mile apart, and they have a number of mutual friends, however, with Russ away at boarding school, they didn’t meet until 2007 when he returned home from a gap year.

“We were together for nearly 10 years when Russ proposed on the bridge to Quinta Do Lago beach in Portugal, which is my favourite place, having spent every Easter and some summer holidays there with my family and Russ for the last 10 years.”

From Slater Menswear, Russ chose a splendid navy blue suit, with a grey waistcoat, white shirt and burgundy knitted tie.

Wedding transport for Leah and her dad was a fantastic bright red vintage MG, belonging to Russ’ dad and kindly lent for the day, along with a Land Rover for the bridesmaids to travel to the church in.

“My dad walked me down the aisle, and our very good friend Jamie played the piano as guests arrived at the church, and as my bridesmaids and I walked down the aisle. As my dad and I walked down he played The Wind by Cat Stevens.”

The couple’s ceremony was conducted by Reverend Neil Fairlamb, and as they exchanged traditional church vows, they also gave each other rings, chosen at jewellers David M. Robinson.

Leah’s cousin Luke read Edward Monkton’s, That Still and Settled Place, and Russ’ brother Stuart read an anonymous poem entitled On Your Wedding Day.

After a blissful walk back up the aisle as husband and wife, and a spot of confetti throwing outside the church, Leah and Russ drove to Penmon Point beach in Russ’ dad’s MG convertible. There, they enjoyed a stroll in the dunes and across the pebbles, with the lighthouse and Puffin Island as their dramatic backdrop.

“I met with family friend Sharon a few times before the wedding, and was so pleased with the flowers she organised for us – my bouquet was amazing!”

“The flowers in the marquee we had loose in glass jars and gin bottles, which our family and friends collected all year. Russ’ mum and her cousin did a great job of arranging the flowers for the marquee on the Friday.”

Back at Tros yr Afon, drinks and canapes were enjoyed outside in the gardens, before everyone headed into the venue’s beautifully decorated marquee for the wedding breakfast.

“We wanted a very modern, clean look, so went for a white, flat lined marquee with white carpet, perspex Louis Ghost chairs and white table cloths. It was lovely to see the greenery through the gable end of the marquee.”

Leah designed the elegant, monochrome stationery herself, and used Printed.com for the printing, and their table plan was hand lettered onto a sheet of perspex.

Hanging from one of the marquee walls was a ‘Story of us’ – a photo collage of Leah and Russ’ relationship, annotated and mounted onto an up-cycled wooden pallet.

“We had mussel shell place cards. One of our favourite restaurants, Dylan’s in Menai Bridge, kept the mussel shells for us, and I wrote the names on with gold pen.”

Outside Gourmet Catering cooked and served a delicious wedding feast, which began with sharing boards of antipasti, followed by either Russ’ favourite – beef tagliata with a rocket and Parmesan salad, Harry’s Bar dressing and parmentier potatoes; or Leah’s favourite, which was sea bass with a pea and mint risotto. Desserts were a lovely trio of lemon possett, chocolate mousse and strawberry and champagne jelly, followed by cheese served with crackers and all the trimmings.

“Candy’s Cupcakes made the most delicious cake for us. I wanted something very simple, to which I added a personalised topper and fresh flowers.”

In the evening, there was photobooth frivolity courtesy of The Photo Cabin, and through Earcandy, Leah and Russ booked their evening band, Soul Fresh. For their first dance together as a married couple, they chose Everywhere, by Fleetwood Mac, whom they were lucky enough to see live in 2013!

“We also booked a silent disco with The Silent Disco Company, an this was absolutely the highlight of the day! Anglesey has a midnight cut off for amplified music, so we brought the ceremony time forward to 12pm to ensure we had enough time partying with our guests, and also added a silent disco at midnight, which everyone loved. We even used the headphones again on Sunday evening we loved it so much!”

“We loved having the wedding over the whole weekend. Thursday was just me, Russ and our bridesmaids and groomsmen, which gave us some time to catch up, then on Friday all our family arrived and we set everything up together.”

“There were 50 of us staying on site at Tros and our favourite restaurant in Beaumaris, The Midland, brought their food truck and served paella and tapas in the evening. It was so lovely for our nearest and dearest to catch up, or in some cases get to know each other, before the big day. Then on Sunday we invited everyone back and had Mac Daddies and The Gourmet Sausage Box serving food. Sunday was so relaxed, and Russ and I got the chance to catch up with people we hadn’t spent enough time with on the Saturday.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Try to enjoy it, and not get too caught up in the planning. I wish I could go back to my pre-wedding, planning self and let her know that everything will be perfect, and even if something wasn’t, I was the only one who knew.”

What a wonderful celebration! Thanks to Leah and Russ for bringing us along with them, hasn’t it been lovely?! Many thanks to Sarah Folega for her beautiful images, too. If you’d like to enjoy more of Sarah’s work, then do take a look through our other pages here.

With love,

Laura