Issy & Miles: A Winter Romance at Thicket Priory

From the moment we drove up the driveway to Thicket Priory on our first visit, we knew we had found something truly special. It is a wedding venue like no other – a stunningly beautiful location that also feels just like home. It provided the most magical backdrop for our weekend celebration – having exclusive use of the venue for the entire weekend was a non-negotiable when we started our search – and allowed us the time to create memories with our loved ones that we will cherish forever.

Until we came across Thicket Priory, we struggled to find a venue with as many bedrooms as possible that fit our brief. Additionally, having separate spaces to host our guests on Friday night and Saturday’s wedding day was brilliant. Every guest felt truly welcomed, and many commented on how blown away they were by the venue.

As our wedding weekend fell at the end of November/start of December, we also benefited from Thicket’s beautiful, twinkly Christmas decorations, which were the cherry on top.

Becca and the whole team at Thicket are absolute superstars. Personable, creative, and joyful, they ensured everything ran seamlessly behind the scenes. From our first meeting nearly two years before our date, nothing was too much trouble, and they were always on hand to guide us and answer questions.

I was a little apprehensive about trying on dresses – I’m tall (6ft!), so I was concerned about finding something that would fit properly. ‘Excelsior’ by Suzanne Neville was the 5th dress I tried on at my first appointment at The Harrogate Wedding Lounge, and from that moment on, it was the one to beat! The sparkle and the gorgeous sheer sleeves fit the bill for a winter wedding. I did try on several other dresses at different appointments, just to be certain. But about 8 weeks later, we were back at the Wedding Lounge. Due to my non-standard measurements, we went for the bespoke size option offered by Suzanne Neville, and it fit perfectly. The team at The Harrogate Wedding Lounge were lovely and made the whole process clear and straightforward. I paired my dress with pearl earrings from Completedworks and comfy heels from Rainbow Club.

While Miles’s dress code was Black Tie, we wanted him to stand out as the Groom. We requested all our male guests wear black jackets, and Miles had his gorgeous white jacket made bespoke by the team at Alex Laine Tailoring. We showed them a picture of David Beckham in a modern white tux, and they made magic of Miles’s outfit! Harrogate Suit Hire provided the outfits for the Groomsmen and dads.

Our brief was warm, romantic, and wintery, with hints of Christmas. We used many candles and twinkly lights to complement the incredible Thicket chandeliers and flowers in shades of red, burgundy, and blush, with plenty of lush green foliage. Burgundy satin bow garlands throughout the venue and burgundy napkins and ribbons brought the scheme together.

Sarah at Stories of Events knocked it out of the park! Her attention to detail was second to none, and she understood our vision from the outset. She also regularly works closely with our chosen florist, Emma Cox, and we certainly benefitted from this as they created magic together.

We also opted for scented ‘Winter’ candles from The White Company throughout the venue. This is our favourite Christmas scent, forever reminding us of our wedding weekend.

We hit it off with Emma Cox from the outset. Her wild, romantic, and seasonal arrangements were just what we were after. She made everything super straightforward throughout the planning process, even creating virtual mock-ups so we could get a sense of the size of the arrangements at different investment levels. Our flowers were just stunning—more beautiful than we could have imagined! Emma’s colour choices and arrangements were so creative. She even ensured the staircase and hallway arrangements looked fresh from Friday night until Sunday morning, giving us extra ‘bang for our buck’.

Our cake wasn’t a typical wedding cake – we had giant Colin & Connie caterpillars! These were a staple on birthdays when Miles was growing up, and my Mum now works at our local M&S Food! They went down a treat with our guests—I have no idea who got to eat the solid chocolate heads. For anyone who wasn’t fussed about cake, we went straight into a ‘Martini Hour’ after our cake cut, where we served everyone espresso martinis in Thicket Priory’s Gryffin Bar. This is such a gorgeous space—with the fire lit, twinkly lights and candles everywhere, and a jazz playlist, it made for a gorgeous photo moment.

One of our priorities for the wedding weekend was food – we come from two food-obsessed families. The Hog & Apple catered for our whole weekend, from dinner on Friday night to brunch on Sunday, and every morsel was delicious! Our personal highlights were the incredible canapes (the pies with mini pints were a crowd favourite!) and the mind-blowing dessert – a perfect glossy red apple that, when cut, was, in fact, layers of chocolate mousse with yummy raspberry & apple compote.

The team at Hog & Apple was fantastic throughout the planning process—responsive and flexible. We appreciated that they let us change the colour of the Apple dessert to red to match our décor better!

Charlotte Nelson is a magician! She was just a joy to be around on the day and worked together seamlessly with Freya Film Co, our videographer – they both made us feel totally at ease. As a couple, we weren’t naturals in front of the camera, and Charlotte & Freya made it totally stress-free. The photos and videos they’ve captured from our weekend are mind-blowing and better than we could ever have dreamed! We have no idea how we’re going to choose which to frame.

For us, the best part of our wedding weekend was just that—the fact it was a whole weekend!! Hosting our favourite people from Friday evening through Sunday brunch meant we had to spend so much quality time with everyone, and the wedding day itself didn’t feel rushed. Thicket Priory was the perfect venue to achieve this.

The highlight of the wedding day itself was our ceremony, led by Rachael Meyer. The bespoke script Rachael wrote had us and our guests laughing and crying in equal measure – and was reflective of our story to date.

Spread out the planning. We booked our key suppliers early, so we had plenty of time to consider the finer details and what we wanted from each of them.

Factor flexibility and downtime into your day’s timeline. We had a couple of pockets of quiet time, just two-minute breathers: sit down with a nice drink, take a nap, and catch up away from the whirlwind.

When getting ready in the morning, surround yourself with the right people. My bridal suite was an oasis of calm, fun, and laughter. Nothing felt rushed, and it was the perfect start to my day.