A 'home made' wedding - Ashleigh and Richard

Filled with so many personal touches and sentimental mementoes, planned and formed with careful precision, along with a lot of creativity and a whole lot of hard work, Ashleigh and Richard's 'home made' wedding was a joy to attend and a highlight of our year.

The Proposal

'Richard and I met on a night out in Newcastle and were introduced by friends. Richard proposed in 2016 during a weekend away in Warkworth, one of our favourite places in the North East. We were walking our Border Terriers, Penny and Ellie, on the beach and he suddenly got down on one knee. I said yes immediately!'

The wedding

'There was never any doubt about where the reception for the wedding would be. With Ashleigh having grown up on the family farm and being somewhat obsessed with gardening, nothing would make her more happy on the big day than being able to pull on a pair of wellies and being surrounded by flowers which she had grown herself. We were looking for something classy whilst also being relaxed at the same time. Having the wedding reception at Ashleigh's family home meant that we had control about every aspect of the day - styling things in our own individual way. Ashleigh had a crazy idea about erecting a wall of flowers and after many months in the plannng, packets of seeds and hours spent watering.....the dream became a reality. It was truly stunning. Of course, Ashleigh insisted on making all of the wedding stationery, chairbacks, table-centres and many other things. This involved drafting in a number of very hard-working bridesmaids and famly members!'

Favorite moment

'Ashleigh carrying a tree over her shoulder through the marquee the day before the wedding was pretty memorable..... she got told off by pretty much everyone as they were worried she'd be covered in scratches!! '

'The whole Wedding Day was fabulous from beginning to end. Being surrounded by family and friends meant so much to us and we have special memories to last a lifetime. After a super busy week with very little sleep trying to get the venue and grounds ready we were just so pleased for everything to turn out just as we'd planned. All our hard work paid off and seeing everyone enjoying the day meant so much to us! The children spent hours running around in the meadow and the day was topped off by Storm Function Band getting everyone up on the dancefloor and we partied until the early hours..... after all that dancing we were ready for some sleep!'

The Photographers

'Capturing special moments to create a long-lasting memory of our Wedding Day was very important to us. 2tone had photographed our friends' wedding and we knew that there was no one else for the job. From the first moment that we contact Chrissie and Nigel we knew that we were in safe hands.'

Any advice?

 'We knew that we could 100% trust everyone involved in our wedding to deliver and to make our dreams a reality. You just get that gut feeling when you meet people that these are people you can work with and rely on - trust your instincts! We were lucky to have attended quite a few weddings over the past few years and that really helped us with our wedding planning..... we knew who had done a good job for our friends!'

THE SUPPLIERS

The Venue - Whitburn Parish Church. Reception - bride's family home. Marquee provided by Fairbairn Marquees

The dress - A Pronovias gown from Mia Sposa, Newcastle

Hair and Make-up - Wedding Hair and Make-up North East

Venue styling -  The bridal party

The suits - Moss Bros

The cake - The cake was made by a family friend, with real flowers provided by florist

The flowers - Blossoms and Bows - East Boldon

The music - Jessica Avison

The band - Storm Function Band

The videographer - The Big Day Productions

The dessert - Afternoon tea - with all cakes provided by Beckleberry's

The rings - Both Ashleigh and Richard's wedding rings were made from their respective grandfather's wedding rings.... 'it was lovely to know that they were with us on the day and will remain with us throughout our married life!'

Healey Barn - Melissa and Alex

Laughter, fun and emotion, warm people with warm hearts, stunning light for a late afternoon walk in the woods and a wonderfully atmospheric venue.  All words that go together to describe Melissa and Alex's wedding at Healy Barn last year.

Handing over to Melissa to let her tell us about their day...

How did you meet? How did he propose? What is your story?: 'Alex and I met at secondary school; he was 2 years older than me and once I got his attention we were inseparable. We were childhood sweethearts! 9 years later we bought our first home and I never thought Alex was actually going to propose. But in 2015, on a very wet and windy holiday in the lake district; he got down on one knee and proposed. I cried and cannot even remember saying yes but it was perfect.'

What was the inspiration behind your wedding?: 'We always wanted a very relaxed and laid back affair and Healey Barn was actually the only venue we visited. We loved the setting and rustic nature of the barn and booked it straight away. We didn't want a traditional wedding and Healey Barn was the perfect escape from this. We chose not to have a specific theme for our day but the tables were each named after a family from Game of Thrones - the head table obviously being Stark.'

What was the most memorable or your favorite part of your wedding day?: 'We loved absolutely every minute of our wedding day from getting ready, seeing Alex waiting for me at the end of the aisle and enjoying the company of all of our family and friends. Our favourite part was dancing to our amazing wedding band on the evening.'

Why was photography important to you and why did you choose 2tone Photography ?: 'We both agreed that this was the most important choice to us as we wanted the pictures to be perfect and capture the memories forever. We met Nigel and Chrissie at a wedding fair at Healey Barn and loved their work and how they managed to capture natural moments rather than any forced poses. They are both very friendly and we felt at ease with them, which was so important for our wedding day as we wanted everything to be relaxed. We like the fact that it was a husband and wife partnership and they work so well together, each capturing different moments for us to look back on. They were excellent to work with and cannot thank them enough, everyone was so impressed with them on the day! The pictures they captured are amazing and their attention to detail made it really difficult to narrow the pictures down for the album.'

What is your favorite part of being married now?: 'We are expecting our first child next year and we are looking forward to raising a family of our own. We cannot wait for all of the exciting moments we are going to share in future.'

Do you have any advice for brides and grooms who are currently in the planning process?: 'We planned everything very gradually and did not feel stressed or worried about it at all. The best thing to do is remember that it is your wedding day and therefore choose what you want and pick what will make you happy. It should be an enjoyable planning process trying on suits / dresses and eating plenty of wedding cake! The day goes unbelievably fast so make sure you both enjoy it and take a moment to yourselves to take it all in.'

Venue: Healey Barn

Venue styling: Emma Bunting

The wedding dress: Mori Lee

The men's suits: Moss Bros

Wedding cake: Dreamworld Cakes

Flowers: Healey Flowers

Hair and Make up: Hair - Kerry Mobile Hairdressing. Make Up - Lucy Matthews Make-Up Artist.

Entertainment: The Emerald Thieves

Photobooth: Limelight Photobooth

Light up letters: Coco Luminaire

Transport: Lovedub Cars

Gisborough Hall - Ashley and Johnathon

Matfen Hall - Janet and Ben

Our first wedding of what was to be a very busy August was that of Janet and Ben.  They met and become a couple whilst still at school and chose to tie the knot last summer.  They were married in the pretty church in Stamfordham, just up the road from their reception venue, Matfen Hall.  Looking smart as a dart, Ben wore his Naval number one's for the special occasion.  After the ceremony, Ben whisked his new wife Janet off to Matfen Hall in his own BMW Z3.  Their guests happily greeted them as they made a grand entrance into the Great Hall of Matfen Hall, announced in to the room with music played by the string quartet, a special surprise gift from Janet's father which then continued, setting a wonderful mood for the drinks reception.

It was a wonderful day with a great couple, picture perfect weather and a stunning venue.

Here are a few of our fav's from the day...