Primary School Deputy Head Kerry married Investment Manager Harry on 29th July 2023 at The Mill in Wakefield.
The couple wanted art to play a role on their day so chose to hold their ceremony in a gallery. They were also keen to avoid typical wedding traditions, which lead Kerry to choosing her modern and contemporary bridal design by Marylise, which she discovered at Lace and Co. Her bridesmaids wore dresses by the utterly fabulous Rewritten who we can’t recommend more highly.
Kerry has a tonne of useful and helpful insights to share with other brides – ladies take note!
This lovely, colourful, modern, art inspired city wedding was photographed by Bailey and Mitchell. Enjoy!
Venue & Location
We chose to get married in Wakefield as that is where I am from. As I have lived in London for nine years, it was really important to me that I got married close to where I grew up as, although this is no longer home, it holds a very special place in my heart and I wanted to celebrate the part of me that sometimes gets lost in the London buzz.
As we were getting married in an art/sculpture gallery, it was important to us that our style mirrored that. We wanted the art to be the centrepiece so we could compliment our surroundings. I am not a fan of all the major wedding traditions, therefore I wanted to go for a more casual look that reflected us as a couple. We went for simple, fun and us!
The Dress
I wore a two piece by Marylise. I found my dress in Lace and Co which is a bridal boutique in Wakefield. My Mum had got her wedding dress from there a few years prior so I already knew about the wide range of dresses they have on offer.
They specialise in boho dresses that are slightly outside the ordinary and they have a vast range of designers, without having too much choice that you don’t know where to start. It was my first appointment and I found my dress within the hour.
The ladies at Lace & Co are fantastic. I do not like being the center of attention, and the thought of trying on dresses and everyone watching me freaked me out a bit, however as soon as I arrived I was immediately put at ease.
The ladies understood me, they did not pressure me into anything and made me feel very comfortable. They listened to my ideas, let ‘me do me’ and made suggestions where necessary. I absolutely loved the experience and although I was so happy with my dress, I wanted to do it all again.
Once I ordered my dress, they were organised and efficient with the communications and they provided a fantastic in-house seamstress who did the alterations once my dress had arrived. They listened to the tweaks I wanted and the alterations were done so well and the dress fitted me perfectly! I couldn’t recommend them enough!
I absolutely loved the way I felt in my dress. For me, it was about feeling comfortable. I loved the fact it was a top and skirt and it was something a bit different. I also didn’t want my arms out – therefore the balloon sleeves were a win!
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
I chose not to wear a veil as I did not think my outfit needed one and I personally find them old fashioned.
My shoes were from Russell & Bromley. As my dress had a slit up the side and my shoes were going to be on show, I chose to go for a bright, baby pink to give that pop of colour. With shoes, I always think it is worth investing in a good pair, which is why I chose Russell and Bromley.
I have bought heels from them in the past and they have always been extremely comfortable. I absolutely loved my shoes and it was important to me that I could wear them again, another reason I chose not to have white shoes – so every wedding I go to now – my wedding shoes come out!
I wore my favourite perfume by Jo Malone. It’s crisp, fresh and subtle. I didn’t want to suddenly smell like someone different. I chose to have fresh flowers in my hair because I didn’t have a veil but wanted to have something. I felt fresh flowers were understated and accompanied my dress style well.
I had my hair done at my childhood hairdressers, Philips Hair Salons. I went for a simple hair style as I wanted to look and feel myself.
When I got engaged I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get my makeup professionally done as I don’t wear much makeup so I didn’t feel entirely comfortable about someone putting lots on me. My biggest fear was that I wouldn’t look like myself. I reached out to local makeup artist Evangeline Horner who is highly recommended around Wakefield and arranged a makeup trial. This was one of the best things I did. Evie immediately made me feel at ease and created a look that was subtle and that looked like ‘me but better’.
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The Groom
Harry wore a suit by Hackett London. In his line of work, he wears suits every day, therefore he wanted something that felt a bit different to his everyday work wear. He went for a one buttoned blazer which looked more relaxed and slightly more hip than a two button. He chose a plain navy fabric which complimented my dress (I went with him to make sure he didn’t choose anything that would clash).
Like me, it was important to him that he could wear his suit again – therefore Hackett was the perfect brand as they produce suits for the workplace that you can make bespoke through your choice of fabrics, buttons, lining etc.
Harry chose some plain black shoes from Crockett & Jones; he went for comfort and quality, knowing they would become his work shoes. He chose a tie from Harvie and Hudson as he liked the fabric and colour. For the groomsmen, we chose ties and pocket squares from Rewritten as they matched the bridesmaid dresses and were reasonably priced.
Bridesmaids
I was fairly relaxed with my bridesmaids and allowed them to shop around for their dresses. The only requirement I wanted was the dresses to be satin as I thought that fabric would compliment the gallery and my dress. In the end we chose dresses from Rewritten. I had seen their dresses on instagram and loved their satin collection.
We went for an appointment and they fell in love with them. They are very comfortable, easy to wear and they have styles to suit all body shapes! My bridesmaids chose a range of colours in the Brooklyn Style.
My sister lives in Australia and Rewritten does overseas shipping which meant I could get hers shipped straight to her for her to try on! Also, one of my bridesmaids was 8 months pregnant on our wedding day and the dress was very easy to get altered and still looked great on her.
What is also great about the dresses is that they are more casual than a standard bridesmaid dress; my bridesmaids have since had theirs shortened which means they have been able to wear them again!
I chose a simple ivory cotton dress from Marks & Spencer for my flower girl who was two at the time of our wedding. She wore some silver shoes to compliment the bridesmaids.
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The Ceremony
We chose the The Hepworth Wakefield for our ceremony location because it is so unique. The gallery is right in the center of Wakefield and it showcases Wakefield at its finest; a city that is growing and changing but also still resembles its mining history.
West Yorkshire is a hub for the arts, in particular sculptures, with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park being right on our doorstep.
I had grown up around art and sculpture my whole life, so it felt right to get married at the Hepworth. On top of that, the building is incredibly unique; it is very cool, quirky and is the perfect backdrop for an alternative wedding.
I went to the ceremony in convoy with my Mum and my bridesmaids. My Dad drove me and my sister came in the car with me. I did not want my Dad to feel like a taxi and I needed my sister there with me to calm my nerves!
My Dad walked me down the aisle. Although we didn’t stick to many traditions throughout our day, it was important to me that my Dad walked with me as he has been such a support in my life.
I walked down the aisle to Fearless by Taylor Swift, performed as an acoustic version by Sunday Soul Music. I am a big Swifty, however I much prefer her first albums, therefore I wanted to walk down the aisle to her – but to a song that only the true Swifties would know. This also made it much less cliche and cringey!
We chose to have two readings as we each have a sister and it was important to us that they played a part in the ceremony. The readings took a while for us to find, as we didn’t want anything too obvious, or anything too soppy as that isn’t us.
We decided to take two readings that represent a part of us. The first was ‘All I Really Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten’ by Robert Fulghaam as an ode to me as a Primary School Teacher, however we tweaked it slightly to edit any of the americanisms. We chose our second reading as an ode to Harry’s love for The Lord of the Rings. We chose an extract from The Ent and The End wife.
We headed to Hatton Garden for our wedding rings. Harry had my engagement ring made there so it felt right to return for our bands. We both went for simple gold bands from Eric Ross Jewellers.
Photography & Videography
We chose Bailey and Mitchell as our photographers. We came across them online and loved their portfolio of work. We had an initial zoom call and they made us immediately feel at ease. We liked their relaxed approach and felt their vibe very much suited ours. We are so happy we chose them as our photos exceeded our expectations.
During the day, Emily and Micah made us feel comfortable around the camera, they didn’t get in the way and managed to capture some incredible shots.
If you are looking at your budget for your wedding, I would really recommend prioritising a good photographer as you will treasure the photos forever. Emily & Micah provided us with a documentary of our day through beautifully natural, well timed shots that capture every moment perfectly. We really couldn’t thank them enough!
We chose Midgley Wedding Cinematography for our videographer for the day. We viewed Tom’s work online and felt his style suited our day; we were particularly drawn to the fact he uses a drone to capture wedding venues as we thought this would help to highlight our unique venue. Tom produced an absolutely fantastic video of our day where he captured all the special moments perfectly.
He was incredibly professional on the day, kept himself out of the way but was also very friendly towards our guests so that they felt at ease. Tom went above and beyond for us and went back to the venue on a better weather day to get even better shots of the venue for our video! We would highly recommend Midgley Wedding Cinematography and if you are on the fence about whether to have a wedding videographer or not – do it, you will not regret it!
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How They Met
Harry and I met at university, where we both played for the University of Birmingham Hockey Club. We bonded over our love for sport, the great outdoors and a good night out! We had been together for nine years before we got engaged in July 2022.
I am a teacher, therefore getting married in the summer holidays was crucial for us to be able to enjoy our honeymoon straight after – therefore it was a quick turnaround for us and we got married in July 2023.
The Reception
We then chose the Mill to have our reception for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is next to the Hepworth so it was very easy to go from one venue to the other.
Secondly, the Mill itself has been recently renovated as part of the Tile Yard North project and we were the first wedding to be hosted there. We felt the Mill complimented the Hepworth as it provided the perfect contrast of old and new – allowing our vision for a slightly alternative wedding (without veering too much out of the ordinary) to come to life.
The Mill is owned by the Yorkshire Catering Company who have a long standing reputation for providing high quality wedding catering, so we felt we would be in good hands; this also meant that our caterers were already sorted which was an added bonus!
The final reason we chose the Mill was because it stayed open late! We have been to many weddings that end before midnight, and as people who love to drink and dance into the early hours – we wanted longer! Therefore, being able to party until 2am was also a massive selling point for us.
My Grandma made our wedding cake and Daisy designed some flower clusters to decorate it. There is nothing better than a homemade cake!
Flowers
Daisy Hoban Floral provided our wedding flowers. We wanted our flowers to compliment our venue. During our initial call with Daisy, we described our vision, or rather what we did not want! we do not like the tight, neat flower arrangements – whilst they look lovely at some weddings, for us they are too neat and tidy. we wanted fresh, wild flowers that provided pops of colour to compliment the white backdrop of the gallery.
We also wanted a physical backdrop that we could get married in front of, as the gallery room was quite big, we did not want us to get lost amongst the artwork. Daisy absolutely nailed our brief. She hand painted a backdrop and staged two earns full of wildflowers and grasses either side of the backdrop to create a centerpiece in the room that became the backdrop for our ceremony.
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Flowers are expensive, therefore it was important to us that we could enjoy our flowers throughout the whole day. Once the ceremony was over, we were able to move the earns to the Mill so we could continue to enjoy them. Daisy created the most beautiful bouquet for me, with flowers I had never seen before!
Daisy also did all our table design and she created funky clusters of bud vases and candles that made our tables pop! I couldn’t recommend Daisy enough, she was professional, friendly and really listened to us throughout the whole process!
Evening & Dancing
My favourite part of the day was all the dancing! I am quite an organised person and in my work I spend a lot of time ensuring all the logistical runnings of the school are going smoothly and the first part of the wedding day felt very similar to that.
By the time we got round to dancing, all the organisation was over and I felt I could finally really relax. It was at that point that I was really able to let go and enjoy myself!
I was dreading our first dance initially! The thought of everyone crowding around, watching me and Harry dance filled me with utter dread. It took us a long time to decide on the track. We knew we didn’t want a slow dance, as that is not us at all. We do not like huge public displays of affection so wanted something that was fun. We decided on Rather Be by Clean Bandit as it was a song we danced to almost every week whilst we were at university. This song took us back to those days and instantly brought a smile to our faces!
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Enjoy the whole process. It will be over in a flash so celebrate each tiny detail you decide on/book/plan. The build up is as much part of the day as the actual day itself. You will never have this time again so soak it all up – embrace everything that comes your way.
If you hate being the centre of attention – just go with it! At the same time, remember it is just one day. All the planning can take over your life a bit, remember to take time for yourselves as a couple and don’t neglect your social life. It is very easy to become a hermit bride; enjoy the process but remember it is not all that matters.
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Tip for future brides; make sure you wear your shoes in – you do not want to be hobbling around all day! For the evening, I chose to change into some platform converse that were embroidered with our initials and wedding date for a bit of personalisation! I knew I was going to be dancing all night, therefore trainers were essential – I also spend most of my life in trainers, therefore this ensemble felt more me! No one wants to wear heels for longer than they need to! I went for the platform version so that I still had some height and so my dress wasn’t trailing on the floor.
I would have tried to relax more! There were points that I felt I was too focused on the tiny details, and my mind was occupied with whether our guests were enjoying themselves, when I really should have just let my whole self go and just relaxed!
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Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
