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 - Lizzie and Alessio

This is Lizzie and Alessio's wonderful wedding at St Peter's Church in Low Fell, and Healey Barn in Northumberland, the perfect venue for this stylish and relaxed couple.

As a recommended supplier at Healey Barn, we are in the very fortunate position of being a regular visitor to this great venue.  It's rustic styling, woodlands and rolling coutryside views never fail to impress us.  It was a joy to return for Lizzie and Alessio's big day last May.

"We both worked at Costa Coffee whilst I was at school and college. After I finished university Aless and I worked in the same store when he asked me to go out to a drink and we’ve been together since. Aless booked a trip to Copenhagen where he took me to Tivoli Gardens, where we sat and had a drink then he popped the question."

"We both loved every second of our day, but our first dance was very special. We will never listen to the proclaimers (500 miles) in the same way."

"We chose 2tone because their work was exactly the style we were looking for. They were also extremely thorough throughout the whole planning and extremely professional. We are over the moon with our photographs and wedding album, they couldn’t have captured the day any better."

Venue: Healey Barn

The wedding dress: Mia Sposa

The men's suits: Moss Bros

Wedding cake: Family and friends

Flowers: Wildflower

Hair and Make up:  F.A.C.E - Sarah Stonehouse

Entertainment: The Ultimate Wedding DJ