Laura says…
Lewis and I got married almost 3 years to the date we got engaged.
We’d always dreamed of having a beautiful romantic wedding where, along with our family and friends, we would be secluded and have the venue to ourselves. We didn’t want to have to share our special day with anyone and after looking and viewing half a dozen venues we decided to book the beautiful Lartington Hall.
As soon as we stepped through the doors we knew that Lartington was the one, the entrance alone sold it to us, but the decadent furnishings and attention to detail was everything we ever wanted.
We wanted everything to tie in together, so we chose to go with a soft pink theme for my bridesmaids and Lewis’ groomsmen, and natural white with soft pink flowers and greenery. We wanted simplistic elegance with a romantic feel and Sam Green managed to turn our dreams into reality. I’d seen her venue decorations before but when she came highly recommended from John at Lartington I knew she would be perfect, she did everything from table decorations to invites and lavished them with her calligraphy.
I always want to help local businesses so that’s why I chose a small family run business for my flowers. Flowerhouse is my parents local florist and they never disappoint with their creative bouquets and arrangements for all occasions. They are such a pleasure to work with and my flowers were exactly what I wanted.
I also chose a small cake maker, The Designer Cake Company, based in Sunderland that manages to make big things happen in her humble home. Isabelle is so talented with her hand-made flowers, I couldn’t believe she made them herself! Our cake was a 3 tiered hexagonal cake, not traditional I know but we wanted something no one would have seen before. Not only did Isabelle manage to make our cake look amazing but the taste was to die for.
My dress came from a small shop in Northumberland. I’d seen Pronovias dresses with their elegant style and long trains. I chose a figure hugging lace V-neck dress and catherdral length veil. Bridal Wish make you feel like you are the most beautiful bride having only one bride in per appointment so you have the full showroom to yourself. She even teaches you how to walk, sit and go to the toilet properly in your dress which is always helpful!
My hair and make up was done my the most talented LA Hair and HFS Makeup. Both of these ladies make me look and feel like a million dollars, they made sure I was nothing but perfect and made my bridesmaids and Mum so beautiful too.
Our photographer was the amazing Stan Seaton and his wife Jane. We wanted to capture our day naturally and not have a lot staged and they did just that. The photos are beautiful and best of all they were such a pleasure to work with and be around it made every penny worth it.
Best part of the day
I think the best part of the day for us both was seeing all our family be together. Our families are spread far and wide across the country as well as internationally, and having everyone there to share our special day meant everything to us, and gave us memories to treasure for a life time.
From one bride to another…
My words of wisdom would be to be early. If you know what you want go for it or regret it later! We booked our venue, cake, my hair and makeup, as well as our photographer about 2.5 years before the wedding! It paid off being so organised because it meant we managed to book everyone we wanted.
Venue Lartington Hall
Photography Stan Seaton Photography
Makeup HFS Makeup
Hair LA Hair
Bridal Boutique Bridal Wish
Florist Flower House
Cake The Designer Cake Company
Stationery & Décor Sam Green Calligraphy