Happy & Relaxed Modern Meets Traditional Countryside Wedding

Big big smiles, giggles and laughter all day long. Just what I LOVE to see on a wedding day.

Jane and Darrell tied the knot on the 1st May 2015, on the date they met 4 years ago at The Ashes in Staffordshire. Being a graphic designer Jane created and designed the fabulous paper goods herself alongside many of the other thoughtful touches.

Then there were the divine blooms and delish macarons, which just set off relaxed tone off perfectly. I love the attire and the story behind the first dance too.

Many thanks goes to the wonderful Rachel Ryan Photography for sharing the imagery this morning.

 

THE PROPOSAL | In Thailand, on a private veranda of a restaurant overlooking the sea.

THE VISION | Relaxed with mix of modern and traditional.

THE PLANNING PROCESS | Find something we like and book/buy it!! The only prolonged processes were buying the dress and finding the photographer. The only reason dress shopping was prolonged was because I loved trying on all the dresses…. in every style imaginable!! I went to over 10 shops but bought my dress from the first shop I visited!

THE VENUE | The Ashes in Endon. Unbelievably beautiful countryside setting, with cows and horses in the adjoining fields! Having a photo with a cow was essential! We got married in one barn and partied in the other barn! Lots of dancing at the night, although my dancing was mostly me spinning round and round and round and round. Loved spinning round with my dress swirling out.

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | The dress was David Tutera for Mon Cheri and the style was Mac Clare. It was from Bethany Hannah in Stockton Heath. The only accessories were a simple bow necklace which was a present from my friend when I was her bridesmaid last year, plus my shoes which were from Faith/ASOS – they were pale grey with a blue heel (my something blue) and Hunter wellies for our photo with a cow!

GROOM’S ATTIRE |  Bright navy fitted suits with pale pink ties which matched the bridesmaid dresses. The suits were from Groom in Wilmslow.

THE READINGS & MUSIC |  The music was all chosen by Darrell, I didn’t know what the first dance was until it came on – it was ‘Take Over the World’ by The Courteeners. We went to see them at Delamere Forest on one of our first dates. I also bought Darrell Courteeners tickets for his wedding present which he opened on the morning of the wedding! The ceremony music was a mix of indie Manchester bands (Courteeners / Oasis / Stone Roses) plus a few more traditional ones – I came down the aisle to ‘I won’t give up by Jason Mraz’.

Darrell’s daughter Ava, aged 8, read a poem called ‘Weddings are Nice’.

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | 4 bridesmaids plus Ava as a flower girl. The bridesmaids all wore a one shoulder pale pink/blush chiffon floor length dress from Etsy. Ava’s dress was also from Etsy but more of a flower girl style with pale pink sequin bodice and white organza skirt. Ava and I had matching pale grey ribbon belts.

THE FLOWERS |  Soft pinks and white peonies, roses, ranunculus and hydrangeas. For the table vases I sourced vintage aqua Ball and Mason jars from America (which I have since sold to the florist!! We kept one for a keepsake though!) our florist was Kerry who owns Tineke Floral Designs.

THE CAKE |  A macaroon tower with icing bow! By Time for Sweetpea – a friend of a friend! We enjoyed trying all the flavour options!!! Settling on salted caramel, chocolate, raspberry and blueberry.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER |  Rachel Ryan. I am a graphic designer so work with images and photos every day – I knew exactly what I wanted (Darrell trusted my judgement on this one, and what a fab judgement it was….. Even if I do say so myself ha). I researched for weeks and weeks! I knew I wanted a documentary style photographer with a relaxed feel, no crazy filters of Photoshop effects. Having been a bridesmaid 5 times I also wanted a female photographer as they are so more understanding of how you’re feeling – takes one to know one and all that jazz. When I found Rachel’s website I loved everything about her photos from the colours and angles to the natural styling and relaxed ‘models’. Her black and white photos also stood out massively. From the quality of her photos I couldn’t believe we could get her in our budget, she was far and above anything we had seen. From Rachel’s first email I really felt at ease – she oozes positivity and obviously LOVES weddings and her job. I can’t put into words how happy we are with the photos and service we have received!!

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | As mentioned above I am a graphic designer so designed all the little bits myself, from the invites, signs and favours to straw flags!! I did A LOT of stamping! To save money on printing I ordered a lot of ‘blank’ items from eBay and Etsy (favour bags, straw flags) then designed a few ink stamps and voila – bespoke items personalised to us that had a lovely slightly rustic feel. We also bought tiny letter alphabet stamps to hand stamp everyone’s names on the invites, rsvps, envelopes and favours – it took ages but I loved it!! We did a bit of up-cycling, using my Hunter wellies box as our card collection box, just had it open like a suitcase with a sign I designed stuck inside saying ‘pop your cards in here’.

THE HONEYMOON |  2 weeks in Jamaica – rum & relaxing!

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | Everyone says ‘make sure you take it all in’ but it’s impossible!! Rachel’s photos were a huge help to our memory!!

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES |  Research your photographer. Stop stressing!! My suppliers / friends / bridesmaids were constantly telling me how calm I was compared to other brides but it meant that I could enjoy the whole process right from planning to the big day.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Venue | The Ashes

Dress | Bethany Hannah by Mon Cheri David Tutera

Photographer | Rachel Ryan Photography

Flowers | Kerry at Tineke Floral Designs

Cake | Becky at Time for Sweetpea

LOVE Sign | Strictly Weddings

Suits | Groom

Hair & Makeup | Louise Penny O’callaghan

Invites, favours, straws, signs | All designed and made by our hardest working supplier…… Me 😉

 

 

Wow, simply beautiful.

Jane and Darrell, thank you both so much for sharing your story with us xo Lou