Inspiration

I love it when couples really embrace their wedding venue and I think it's fair to say that Amy & Andrew have done exactly that. Their farm wedding is properly rustic, with an actual tractor (a white one, obvs), a trailer to transport the Bridal party in, lots of wild flowers and tree slices to decorate the tables. And you'd be mistaken in thinking that farmyard chic isn't pretty - because it SO IS. There's a riot of colour, so many different vases, vessels and china crockery and an afternoon tea that will make you very hungry indeed. I'm also a big fan of the sequinned Bridesmaids dresses, a fabulous find on ASOS.

The Bride

Amy The Bride: My dress I bought from a designer bridal outlet in my hometown of Northallerton where the staff were really helpful as I was looking for something a little different as you only do it once! I left with the opposite of what I thought I might want, but with the dress that was 100% me! And they gave me a silver sixpence to wear in my shoe also which was a lovely little touch. The necklace I wore was special as it was a silver tiffany key bought for me by my Auntie on my 21st birthday and added to the chain was my future mother–in-laws gold tiffany heart, matching my gold tiffany engagement ring and being my something borrowed. I wore my grandma’s wedding ring as it was left to my mum who gave it to me, we tried it on after Andrew proposed with a gold ring to find it fitted perfectly and sat so well with the engagement ring, this is so special to me knowing that my grandma wore it through her wonderful marriage to my grandad and I will now wear it though ours. The shoes I bought from Irregular Choice on a shopping trip with my brother in law, it was a case of ‘see it- love it- buy it!’ and they most certainly were my something blue! And were so comfortable through the full day (which is so important)!

The Groom

My husband’s suit was bought (after much nagging and about a month before the wedding) from Ted Baker he redeemed his late purchase by it being so amazing! We both loved his suit and it fitted the day perfectly and he can’t wait for another suit occasion to wear it again. Andrew’s wedding ring was borrowed from a local jewellers called Bradleys as (again after much nagging!) He only managed to get a ring the week of the wedding, the one he wanted wasn’t in his size - so he borrowed the size bigger and kept a tight hold! It is a beautiful platinum ring with a brushed finish to a strip in the middle, now that it’s the right size looks even better. Andrew went to a local Barbers Holl & Co. and got various grooming treatments with his 3 best men and a good haircut! So they all looked smart and scrubbed up well in their suits.

The Venue

We got married in the small village of Brompton at the local church where Andrew grew up, we then had the reception up at his parents dairy farm, Miresdale, which housed our marquee provided by Wharfe Marquee Hire who did an amazing job and were helpful and at hand during the week of the wedding. My stepdad works for Brian Robinson Machinery who kindly lent us an amazing white tractor for transport for the day, which we decorated with white ribbon and added a trailer at the church for us and the bridesmaids to head back to the farm on! The farm, as well as being Andrew’s family home, is such a beautiful place to be and there was never anywhere else we would have wanted the wedding, it was our perfect venue.

The Decor

As I work for Betty’s and Taylors I like all things tea. This was where the idea of a tea party wedding came from. We had afternoon tea which was served on handmade cake stands for each person, and crockery collected my my mum and I, which I am now adding to and hiring out for events along with other decorative pieces via Pretty Plates and More, which will be properly up and running shortly. We had small jam jars with lemongrass and ginger tea in which is my Betty’s favourite also as favours and name places we decoupaged each person a wooden hanger which went on the back of their chairs with a name tag on, to be both practical and pretty!

The Flowers

To me flowers are a huge part of a wedding and I has so happy with ours, they were supplied by a local florist called Hutton Flowers they also made us beautiful arrangements for the church as well as all the bouquets and buttonholes and my headpiece, which all lasted wonderfully throughout the day and evening. Through out our engagement we were collecting jam jars and bottles to decorate as tables decorations and managed to collect a vast amount with the help of family and friends, we decorated these and my mum and Auntie arranged spare delivered flowers into these and jugs to be the table centrepieces. I wanted the flowers to be not overly formal, to have a slight wild garden look to them with a range of colours and sizes, the florist was amazing at understanding and delivering exactly what I wanted with minimal fuss. Very professional!

The Wedding Party

Doing some online shopping (as you do) I came across the bridesmaids dresses on ASOS & fell in love, they are not traditional bridesmaids dresses due to the sequin detail but for me added that something extra special, and they all looked beautiful in them. The girls shoes were bought from Dorothy Perkins there was only 5 pairs of shoes left in my local store and they were in the correct sizes for the girls, I took this as fate! My male maid of honour Joe wore a suit from Next in similar colours to the girls to blend in and look a little different from the groomsmen, who were wearing burgundy suits also from ASOS which matched the cheque in Andrew’s suit.

The Entertainment

At the church we had a friend of Andrews sing us in and out of the church and one of the bridesmaids sing as we signed the register, which added a really personal feel the service we feel so blessed to have such lovely and talented friends! Back at the marquee we had garden games for people to enjoy and a guitarist Jonny who set a lovely atmosphere back at the farm. We had plenty of other things for people to do with a finger print guestbook, a jar for advice, a dictionary for people to highlight a draw around certain appropriate (or inappropriate) words, and a polaroid camera complete with props station for people to go wild! In the evening we had a band who are uni friends of mine plating us into the early hours, called The Bramble Napskins who are based in York, and added another dimension to the evening reception!

The Food

Our caterer Paula Harrison from Town Farm Kitchen was like a wedding fairy godmother, she is like super woman! She did everything and more than I could have imagined, not only did we have amazing afternoon tea selection but she surprised me with some handmade milkshakes for after. In the evening we had some amazing pulled pork burgers with an array of other delights, with some handmade cakes made by various family members and sweeties to wash it all down with! Paula and her staff were so helpful and polite and an absolute dream team.

The Photography

No words can describe how happy we were with Sarah Jane Ethan our photographer who matched my excitement from day one and has been so happy and helpful ever since, she managed to capture the day, as it is only one day and has a habit of going so quickly, we are now so pleased to have these stunning photos to look back and remember it by. We always laugh at how un-photogenic we are as a couple, but SJ even managed to catch us in moments and make us look as happy and in love as we feel!
Fern Godfrey

Written by Fern Godfrey

Bride: Bridal Factory Outlet | Shoes: Irregular Choice | Groom: Ted Baker | Marquee: Wharfe Marquee Hire | Tractor Hire: Brian Robinson | Crockery Hire: Pretty Plates & More | Florist: Hutton Flowers | Bridesmaids: ASOS | Groomsmen: ASOS | Guitarist: J.W.Greenwood | Band: The Bramble Napskins | Catering: Town Farm Kitchen

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