Seaham Hall - Steven & Derek
Steven and Derek chose to tie the knot at the lavish and elegant Seaham Hall in County Durham. Surrounded by family and friends, their day was relaxed and joyful. An event which combined style and red carpet glamour with celebration and love.
How did you meet? How did he propose? What is your story?
"As we work for the same company, we met on a flight from Shanghai China to London, Derek proposed on our hotel balcony at The Atlantis Dubai, both in our bathrobes with a bottle of champagne."
What was the inspiration behind your wedding?
"Classic, with a modern twist. Especially with our suits, we wanted more of a red carpet look than wedding attire."
What was the most memorable or your favourite part of your wedding day?
"We both loved spending the morning in the hotel spa with our closest friends and having best friends and family in the room whilst getting ready, the favourite part was when everybody was dancing the night away."
Why was photography important to you and why did you choose 2tone Photography ?:
"We looked across a lot of work by different companies but fell in love with the work you guys produced and also we loved how you work together as a couple."
Do you have any advice for brides and grooms who are currently in the planning process?
"Make memories of the whole process as once the day is over it’s nice to look back on how it all came together."
Venue: Seaham Hall
The men's suits: Dixon Anderson Tailoring
Wedding cake: Ivory Cake Company
Flowers: Fleur Couture
Hair and Make up: Amanda Bell Makeup Artist
Entertainment: WDC Entertainment
Wynyard Hall - Rachel and Kenny
As a recommended photographer, Wynyard Hall is a regular haunt of ours - but even after so many years, it still doesn't fail to wow us. The stunning stately north east wedding venue stops you in your tracks from the moment that you arrive. The Regency architecture with it's towering pillars invite you into the enormous octagonal statue gallery. A huge domed stained glass skylight and crystal chandelier above your head. The feeling is something like walking into a palace. Amongst its many other delights, Wynyard Hall also boasts the most stunningly beautiful private chapel, which last year, became the setting for Rachel and Kenny's wedding, and what a day it was!
In her own words, Rachel talks about their day.
THE PROPOSAL
'Kenny had travelled out to the United States where I had been working at the time. We had taken a short holiday on the Californian coast and one afternoon he had planned a trip to Newport Beach where we took a gondola ride around the canals to watch the sunset. I had absolutely no idea whatsoever that a proposal was coming my way!'
THE VENUE
'We were initially wowed by the statue gallery and it’s incredibly stunning stained-glass ceiling and imposing chandelier. As soon as we stepped in to the chapel, the deal was sealed: I couldn’t imagine being married anywhere else. The chapel is sensational in every sense of the word.'
'The wedding co-ordinator Ashleigh and master of ceremonies Ryan were there for us every single step of the way and on the day they were like my right-hand men (& woman)! There was no decision made alone and the help and guidance provided by the wedding team at Wynyard Hall was a godsend in areas where we felt we needed further advice.'
HER MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
'I wish I could rewind back to that moment where the Wynyard Hall chapel doors swung open, I could hear Canon in D playing and saw my husband-to-be waiting at the altar. I’ve never seen or experienced such emotion from so many people in one moment in my life, and that is something I’ll forever cherish.'
THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
'We spent a lot of time browsing bridal magazines that were specifically focused on the North for initial inspiration, and used social media to find the photographer who we believed would suit the overall tone of our day. We kept hoping that we would find a team that could work naturally around us and capture those beautiful shots without us even realising! We wanted the laughs, our smiles and even our tears. That’s when Nigel and Chrissie at 2Tone Photography came along…'
'Nigel and Chrissie are two of the nicest people we have ever met and so passionate about what they do. The whole experience felt incredibly personalised.'
'We received our beautiful wedding images when we were in the middle of the Eastern Cape on Safari in South Africa with the most hopeless Internet connection. We spent hours of our honeymoon “ooh’ing and aah’ing” with laughter, tears and the biggest grins on our faces reliving the day over again.'
THE DETAILS
'We envisaged a classic elegance at Wynyard Hall, combining ivory and sage green. We had enormous vases of fresh Roses on each table that filled the room with the most beautiful scent, and a carried a gorgeous bouquet of ivory Roses.'
THE DRESS
'I fell in love with a half satin, half lace Allure Bridals gown that I found at First Glance Bridal in Sunderland. The long train fluted out and accentuated my waist allowing me to feel demure, elegant and beautiful at the same time. I could never imagine getting married wearing anything else.'
THE SPECIAL TOUCHES
'I created and designed all of the stationery that we used on our wedding day with the help of my Dad. We spent hours together fussing over fonts, alignment and paper choices, eventually seeking help from the team at Prontoprint who ordered paper samples and printed our designs. The hard part was when we got to work tying over 200 ribbons and bows!
We had a range of spirits as favours – as you can never go wrong with a good old G&T – but tied a personalised tag for each guest around the bottle neck advising its exact use depending on the recipient: a truth serum, courage builder, love potion, or of course, the pain killer!'
RACHEL AND KENNY'S BEAUTIFUL CELEBRATION WAS FEATURED IN ISSUE 08 OF UNVEILED.
The Suppliers
The Venue - Wynyard Hall
The dress - Allure Bridals at First Glance Bridal
Hair - Show Off Salon
Make up - Katie Robson Make Up
The suits - Baker's Tailoring
The bridesmaids - Dessy
The flowers - Ashbrooke Florists
The cake - Joanne's Cake Creations
The cheese wedding cake - Blacks Corner
The band - The Andy Usher Trio
The photobooth - Party Pics
The Videographers - One digital Image
Helena and Gareth - Wynyard Hall
Helena and Gareth's beautiful wedding took place at Wynyard Hall in the Tees Valley the day before new years eve. Helena chose pretty pastel shades and delicate florals to contrast with the deep navy blue gowns that her bridesmaids wore. The overall look was stylish and classic, perfect for their elegant venue.
They were married in the Brooks chapel within the grounds of the Wynyard Hall estate itself, heading over to the statue gallery for their drinks reception, the ballroom for their wedding breakfast and then finally into the large light filled conservatory for their evening party.
Here are a few of our favourites from their day...
Haselbury Mill - Karina and Scott
Karina had head about our photography and had been following our work for some time, so when Scott proposed and she said yes, she got in touch to ask us to photograph her big day. The big day arrived and Nigel and I travelled down to Somerset to photograph their wedding. They were married in the picture perfect village church of St Michaels and All Angels Church in East Coker followed by a barn reception at Haselbury Mill and Tythe Barn near Crewkerne in Somerset. It was a day filled with fun and laughter, and a joy to be a part of.
The Ramside Hall - Lyndsay and David
Looking back at Lyndsay and David's wedding at the Ramside Hall Hotel at the end of May last year brings back thoughts of sunshine and light nights - and how I am missing those right now! It was a perfect day, spent with a fantastic couple who are warm hearted, have a seriously fun attitude towards life and are a laugh a minute - and for a couple who told me before hand they they were a little nervous about the romantic portraits, I think that they nailed it! They were a joy to work with and it was an honour to photograph their wedding.
They were married in their local church, St Cuthbert's in Seaham before heading over to the Ramside Hall Hotel in Carrville just outside of Durham. Here are a selection of their photographs that I feel really sum up the day.
Congratulations to you both and thank you for having us along! x
