Enjoy folks…
Jenny says…
Low Hall The Lakes was our beautiful venue. It was an easy decision for us as Joe’s sister Francesca and husband Ben had just got the keys and were about to start doing it up. (Well, I don’t think they had even got the keys yet, but we didn’t want anywhere else!) So we were the guinea pigs and it was perfect.
We wanted a natural, bohemian, countryside kind of look, so all of mine and my bridesmaid’s outfits as well as the guys followed that scheme really. The lads had a shopping trip to Manchester, to choose their suits, which needless to say ended up in a bar crawl! I saw my dress of dreams by Eliza Jane Howell on Instagram and I knew that would be the one before even trying it on. My shoes were Mui Mui and a steal off Ebay. My florist made me a beautiful flower crown which I positioned into my own hair as I’m a hairstylist, so did it all myself. As did my ladies, who then had simple flowers to add some detail. We had a good friend do our wedding make up, Fiona Whittet. She is incredible. I don’t need to say anymore!
We wanted our day to be a laid back, rustic party. Joe is a wedding photographer himself, so he had a very good plan in his head of what we would both love. He took inspiration from other weddings he and his photographer pals had shot and everything came together beautifully. All the décor was pretty simple and homemade. We had big lanterns hanging from the barn’s ceiling along with bunting and fairy lights. We then arranged our gorgeous flowers supplied by our florist throughout the barn. For our outside ceremony, we had straw bales with various throws over them for guests and we made a timber triangle that became our wedding arch, which we decorated with foliage. My Dad made some homemade sloe gin for the wedding favours, which went down a treat!
Our florist was Made in Flowers. Joe has worked with Katie on numerous occasions and she is extremely talented. We showed the colour scheme and said we wanted natural flowers with blue tones and she did the rest, which was perfect.
Instead of a cake kind of cake, had a Cheese cake! 5 or 6 layers of different cheeses with fruit and crackers, that was from our local cheese shop, Churchmouse Cheeses. The shop is amazing!
Our wonderful photographer was Jono Symonds. He was fab, Joe had followed his work for a while and when we met him it seemed a good fit. His work is similar to Joe’s in that it is very documentary based and we were thrilled with the results.
We then had Jon Bird do the videography. He was dead laid back and really easy to work with. The video is amazing and we would advise anyone to get a videographer if possible!
The week leading up to the wedding was manic. Low Hall had only got their license weeks before the wedding and a week before the wedding there was no electrics, no bar, not even a staircase in the barn. So it was all hands on deck with everything from making the bar, cutting back the jungle (the grounds) and making signs – everyone had a role to play. It was amazing to see the place transform into a wedding venue. Francesca and Ben were so determined to make sure we had the best possible wedding. Fran was even up staining the staircase in the early hours the day of the wedding, she was to be a bridesmaid at 7am!
Low Hall The Lakes is just the dream, and our dream wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for their sheer determination, blood, sweat and tears. After our wedding they completed the rest of the works ready for their official opening in 2019, where they had a full summer of the most amazing weddings. We couldn’t be prouder of them or love the venue more.
Best part of the day
For both of us, our favourite part of the day was the ceremony. At 11am we had our official ceremony in the farmhouse’s Library room, (which is next door to the barn where we all stayed). There was just myself, Joe and immediate family, Joe was suited and booted and I wore a yellow dress from ASOS. After that was the un-official ceremony out in the venue’s beautiful garden area with mountain views. We had a very good pal leading the service which was highly entertaining. Another good friend played an acoustic guitar during the outdoor ceremony and we had ‘Ain’t no mountain high enough’ and ‘3 little birds’ as our ‘hymns’. It was all just so full of happiness and was a very special moment from start to finish.
From one couple to another…
If we were to give any advice it would be, not to let it all stress you out. And make sure you have a spreadsheet with all your costings as you could very easily get over excited and spend a flipping fortune on bits you may not remember! Most of all just enjoy it, it comes and goes in the blink of an eye, but is one million percent worth it!
Venue Low Hall The Lakes
Photography Jono Symonds
Videography Jon Bird Weddings
Flowers Made in Flowers
Food Karen Rhodes
Evening Pizza Party People
Makeup Fiona Whittet
Band & Sax The Jive Doctors
Wedding Singer The Party Project
Cheesecake Churchmouse Cheese
Garden Games R Leisure Hire
Bride’s Dress Eliza Jane Howell
Groom & Groomsmen Slaters and Moss Bros.
Bridesmaid Dresses Debenhams
Based on a weekday wedding in November. Includes 2-night venue hire and accommodation.