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!'

A Chinese wedding at Jesmond Dene House - Nico and Cherry

To anyone who knows us, it doesn't come as a great surprise when I say how much we love shooting Chinese weddings.  The colours, the traditions, the fun, the abundance of energy and most of all the warm hearted wonderful people.  Nico and Cherry's wedding at Jesmond Dene House certainly didn't disappoint.  

The day started at the crack of dawn with both the bride and groom at the Village Hotel in Newcastle as they prepared for the traditional tea ceremony.  Before they could leave the hotel to join their families, Nico took part in the traditional door games.  A hilarious mix of challenges designed to see how far the groom is willing to go for his bride.  Nico and his groomsmen of course took upon the games with gusto and spirit, and the results were priceless!

As time drew on, together they travelled across to the grooms home for the tea ceremony.  It is always such an honour to bear witness to this ancient tradition with such profound meaning.  The tea ceremony simply put is the traditional Chinese marriage ceremony.  The bride and groom kneel in front of their respective parents, serve them tea and thank them for their upbringing.  It is a devout way to express their gratitude for raising them.

Cherry was every bit the perfect bride, graceful and elegant as she walked down the aisle to meet her groom at Jesmond Dene House.  They gave their vows in front of all of their family and friends in the great hall and enjoyed a drinks reception with their guests in the grounds of the beautiful stately home.

For their great wedding banquet, Palace gardens in Newcastle's China town was the perfect location.  The bride and groom were warmly but very loudly welcomed into the room to the sounds of drums and symbols, cheering and applause.  Guests lined up in front of the bride and groom acting out another tradition, the dragon boat, leading them to the stage to give the first speech.  The huge feast was attended by friends and family from far and wide all coming together to celebrate the newlywed's union.  Around 12 courses of delicious Chinese delicacies were provided for the guests with entertainment from the guests themselves on a karaoke machine and speeches from the family throughout the course of the meal.  The tea ceremony commenced once again for a number of their relatives who could not attend the house that morning, and then came the toasts.  Moving through the room, Nico and Cherry visited every table to toast the guests and thank them, in return the guests toasted the bride and groom. 

A quick trip back to the grooms home for another tea ceremony was followed by their evening reception and the bride and groom's first dance as husband and wife in Great Hall at Jesmond Dene House.

What a day!  It was exhilarating, fast paced and an incredible experience we will never forget.  Thank you to you both for welcoming us into your lives and allowing us to document your first day as husband and wife.   

Wynyard Hall - Vicky and Tom

Wynyard Hall's grand pillars, state rooms, ornamental lake and private chapel make it one of the most admired buildings and one of the most sought after wedding venues in the uk.  It is always fantastic to photograph here and so it was great to return once again to photograph Vicky and Tom' big day last August.  

Their love for one another was clear, Tom overcome with emotion could not take his eyes off of his beautiful new wife and she beamed with happiness the whole entire day.  Vicky and her girls enjoyed a morning of relaxing and pampering in the hall's own beauty salon the Reef before they got dressed for the big day while Tom and the boys met Nigel in the Wellington bar for a few getting ready shots and pre wedding drinks. They were made man and wife in the charming Brooks Chapel, located within the estate of Wynyard Hall before heading outside.  After much celebration on the terrace, canapés eaten and the string quartet listened to, they all headed inside to dine in the magnificent ballroom.  

It was a fantastically fun day with a great couple and a great crowd.  It was a pleasure as always to work along side Paul Lytton the Magician, Coco Luminaire supplying the light up letters and of course the fab team at Wynyard Hall.

Eshott Hall - Rachel and Ben

It was a joy to be heading back to the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist at Killingworth for our last wedding in May for Rachel and Ben's wedding.  

We were welcomed with open arms - literally by the church's lovely vicar who has a real knack of making everyone feel at home in his church.  It was really enjoyable to see him insisting that everyone fully take part in the ceremony by putting a microphone in front of random guests while they were singing hymns which resulted in lots of giggles throughout and certainly eased the nerves of the couple.  

After a really wonderful ceremony and a few pictures in the grounds of the church, we all head north for the wedding reception at the gorgeous Georgian country house, Eshott Hall in Northumberland.