Darren & Katie’s Newton Hall Wedding

As soon as we got engaged, I knew that Newton Hall was the venue for us! I had always admired images I’d seen online and on social media and knew that we just had to get married there. I booked a place at the first open day after our engagement, attended and booked a date straight away! We didn’t view any other venues as we felt that Newton Hall was perfect for us.

As a primary school teacher, we were limited to dates as we wanted a summer wedding and time to go on our honeymoon soon after. We were able to book a date in July that worked perfectly for us.

I loved the idea of an outdoor wedding ceremony and the fact that Newton Hall could accommodate this even if the weather wasn’t to be in our favour. However, after visiting the venue with a relative, she suggested that the front lawn of the venue would be a perfect backdrop for our ceremony. This wasn’t something I had ever thought of yet when I put the idea to the venue they were beyond accommodating, and I was absolutely sold, visualising a huge flower arch and dreamy pastel shades floating in the breeze beneath the beaming sunshine! We were the first couple to ever have our wedding ceremony there, the weather was on our side and this all came together beautifully. It was in fact, a scorcher of a day – one of the hottest of the year!

I had always loved the idea of pastel shades of pinks and nudes alongside ivory and lots of green foliage. This was a huge influence in visualising our Day at Newton Hall and of course choosing our photographer! I was recommended Sarah-Jane Ethan by a friend after describing my wishes for our wedding photographs, looked at her website and knew that we had to have her! I did, and still do, love the unique way that she is able to capture the most beautiful shots, in a dreamy, almost magical way. I’ve never been a fan of many staged photographs and after viewing SJ’s portfolio I instantly knew that I could trust her one hundred percent to capture our special day exactly the way I’d envisioned it.

SJ was a wonderful addition to our Wedding Day. She fit in so well, discreetly working her magic from almost dawn to dusk. SJ had such an amazing way of making us feel completely comfortable and ease taking our ‘couple’ shots around the grounds and then later in the day, on the beach. We were thrilled with the outcome and still today, I’m in awe of how well she captured the ‘small’ moments of the day that, upon reflection, are just as important a reminder as those perceived to be the ‘big’ ones.

A lot of people say that the wedding dress you end up choosing is nothing like the one you initially have in mind, however; I knew exactly what I wanted and that is precisely what I got! Although our wedding was to be in the height of Summer, I always envisioned myself in a dress with sleeves. I wanted a sleek looking dress that was simple yet elegant and would look timeless in years to come. I visited Mia Sposa, a fabulous bridal boutique in Newcastle with my mum and fell in love with many of the styles by the designer Martina Liana. After trying on a few different dresses, I decided that I would like two different parts of dresses to be combined into one. The girls at Mia Sposa were so knowledgeable, friendly and brilliantly accommodating. They made the whole experience enjoyable and completely stress free. As well as my dress I also chose a long veil by Joyce Jackson which I felt complimented my dress perfectly. On my feet I wore silver Jimmy Choos.

 I wore my hair half up, half down styled by the lovely Katie Rouse at Keep it Pinned and my gorgeous makeup was done by a friend, Nikki Keenan of NK Beauty.

In keeping with the colour theme, I chose blush pink dresses for my three bridesmaids from Asos and our flower girl wore a pretty ivory dress from Marks and Spencer.

The men in our wedding party were suited and booted in Burton. We chose light grey suits along with blush pink ties and pocket squares which, although hot on the actual day, perfectly complimented our theme. The ties and pocked squares were all made by Swagger and Swoon. The groom chose to wear the same style suit as his groomsmen along with Louboutin shoes. They each had a delicate corsage made by the fabulous Sharon at the Little Flower House.

Sharon created all of our wedding flowers including the beautiful flower arch which took centre stage on the front lawn. Sharon was a delight to work with – her knowledge was exceptional, and she went above and beyond to create a variety of larger as well as smaller bouquets, centre pieces, garlands.

Our wedding cake which was crafted by the impeccable Dawn, Master Cake Smith. Dawn also created a mouth-watering desert table which was very well received!

The orangery, where we had our wedding breakfast and evening reception, was dressed by The Finishing Touch Company and The Artisan Wedding House with stationery from Megan at Rosewood Co.

All suppliers were fantastic and provided exactly what we wanted, how we wanted. The whole process of bringing our wedding day to life was stress free and without a single hiccup thanks to the fantastic service and customer care provided by the Newton Hall team. Every aspect of the day was catered for brilliantly and at such a high standard from checking in the night before to checking out the morning after! We enjoyed every single moment of our day. It’s true what people say, your Wedding Day really is the best day ever!

Dress Martina Liana from Mia Sposa