Crook Hall - Gill and Grant

Gill and Grant - what can I say about these two!  I could talk for pages about what a joy their wedding day was, however I am going to leave that to Gill, her own words expressing so much more than I could ever do.  Such beautiful souls, they share a deep love and respect for one another which not only is marvelled, but also inspiring.  I knew from the moment that we met that I wanted so very much to photograph their wedding.  Grant, is sumed up simply as a gentleman, charming and courtious, to everyone but not least of all to Gill, naturally graceful and warmhearted.  Their story could have been taken right out of a romance novel.  I adored working with and getting to know Gill and Grant, their children and their extended families.  What a joy it was, a day that we won't ever forget.

What is your story?

"We met when we started infant school when we were 4 years old in 1967. In 1974 we moved into the same street as Grant, opposite end. Our parents still live there. We went through infant and junior school in the same class, and secondary school in the next class to each other. We left school at 16, I started work at Barclays Bank, and Grant at Rolls Royce Engineering. We never saw each other for over 30 years. We both got married, Grant had a son and I had two daughters. In 2011, when our circumstances were different, I saw Grant's name pop up wishing a mutual friend on face book Happy Birthday! I was really pleased to see it!" 

"I'd always liked him at school, he even went out with my friend for a while, and I thought it would be nice to see where his life had taken him. He could have been living in Australia, with 10 children for all I knew, so I sent him a message! He was really happy to hear from me ......... and that was the start."

"We chatted on FB for ages hearing each other's love stories, and eventually met up. We still had so much in common. The same memories of school friends, our teachers, favourite music & old tv programmes. We never stopped talking. Our dads, both electricians, had worked on different sites together years ago, and our mum's were happy to get to know each other better."

"In 2014 we moved in together. We got on so well settling in to our new home, and went on lots of lovely holidays to Kraków, Budapest, Prague, Barcelona, Madrid and as many weekends away as possible. Living life to the full. We had dancing lessons, played table tennis, went walking and generally squeezed as much as possible in to our new life. In August 2016 we went to the Greek island of Santorini, famous for its glorious (romantic) sunsets. The last full day of the holiday was my birthday. I was opening my cards on our balcony that morning, and Grant went down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He gave me a little wooden box with 2 wedding rings that he'd made himself from titanium. I said yes :-)"

What was the inspiration behind your wedding?

"Crook Hall was the main inspiration. I'd been to a friend's wedding there in 2010 and loved the place - though as I was married at that time, I never dreamt what would happen there in the future! It's gardens are stunning and the medieval hall is so small and atmospheric I knew the backdrop wouldn't need dressing in any way."

"We knew we'd like Gareth as best man, Megan and Holly as our bridesmaids, and just close family at the ceremony, with a party for friends afterwards. The girls and I love navy, so their dresses were easy, and we chose the the boys blue tweed checked suits to go with them. My mum loves making cards and crafty things so she made all the invitations and favours with me. And anything else I saw in magazines or Pinterest that I loved the look of."

"I love white hydrangeas so our bouquets were full of them. And candles - we had candles and fairy lights everywhere."

What was the most memorable or your favorite part of your wedding day? 

"We both had the happiest day of our lives, which I think is obvious from your amazing photos, but Grant says his favourite moment was me walking into the room with my dad, and mine is probably the ceremony itself and saying our vows, closely followed by our first dance."

Why was photography important to you and why did you choose 2tone Photography ?

"Photography has played a significant part in my life particularly, and I have even helped photograph a couple of weddings myself. Crook Hall is beautiful, and we think each other are too ;-) so we knew we wanted lots and lots of memories of the day. We hadn't given our photographer any great thought though. Then we came across 2tone Photography at a wedding exhibition at The Sage Gateshesd. Their pictures stopped me in my tracks. We stood looking at the albums for a while. I instantly loved the style and the light in Nigel & Chrissie's photos. We wandered off and looked at other stands. No one else there came close. (Or at the other 2 exhibitions we went to later). We chatted to N&C and liked them both a lot, such a lovely couple passionate about their jobs, and I felt Chrissie & I clicked within that first few minutes."

Do you have any advice for brides and grooms who are currently in the planning process?

"The music ever throughout the day was important to us, and we took a long time to put playlists together for different parts of the day - took us much longer than we expected."

"If you're on a budget, decide what's definitely necessary, and what's just be nice to have, and spend in that order."

"It was definitely worth a few dance lessons as our first dance was one of our favourite parts of the day."

What is your favorite part of being married now?

"Although nothing has really been changed, everything feels even better. Plus we have beautiful photographs and memories of our day for always. And it is pretty lovely being a 'Mr & Mrs'."

...and anything else you feel like you would like to add.

"Just that you, Nigel and Chrissie will always have a place in our hearts for your lovely part in our day. You helped make it perfect! xx"

Venue: Crook Hall, Durham

Venue styling: Just me - but not too much needed as the place is perfect

The wedding dress: Anna Sorrano - from WED2B

The men's suits: Master Debonair are East Boldon

Wedding cake: Best friend, Linda

Flowers: Charlotte's House of Flowers, Sunderland

Hair and Make up: Hair, Show Beauty in House of Fraser (Marie) Make-up Marissa Bennett

Entertainment: Lovely friends Neil and David Atkinson singing with their guitars, and DJ Colin Cook

Doxford Barns - Sarah and Max

Our first wedding at Doxford Barns in Northumberland was for Sarah and Max.  A stunning venue filled with rustic charm and perfect for lovers of the outdoors.  Max met us as we arrived, getting out of the car, he pulled us in for a huge bear hug.  Their warmth continued throughout the overcast late August day, brightened by their mutual cheerful and relaxed disposition.  Two people so likeminded in every way, beginning their married life together.

Thank you to you both for your warmth and friendship, it was a joy to attend your beautiful wedding day.

How did you meet? How did he propose? What is your story?

"Max and I met at work. I worked in the box office of a music venue and he worked for the security that were contracted for events taking place there. 

We were going on holiday to Center Parcs and he was locking the house up. I’d moved his bag into the back of the car and when he got in he started panicking about where his bag was. This was odd; he’s never normally like that. I had no idea why but then brushed it off and we headed off. When we got there we checked in as normal, and went for a walk. I didn’t have a clue he was about to propose but we stopped at one point in the forest and went down on one knee. Instead of crying or anything all I could do was laugh. Turns out he was panicking about his bag because it had the ring in it! I feel so awful now for laughing, sorry Max!"

What was the inspiration behind your wedding? 

"We just wanted to have a day filled with fun and joy and laughter - a day the two families could really come together. Pinterest was also a big help!"

What was the most memorable or your favorite part of your wedding day?

"The most memorable part has to be the registrar calling Max by the wrong name in the middle of the ceremony! It was hilarious then and still is now! As for the favourite, the first dance was pretty special for us. One of our favourite songs played acoustically by my cousin. It was a beautiful rendition."

Why was photography important to you and why did you choose 2tone Photography?

"Photography was so important because it’s the way of capturing those little moments you may miss, forever, and telling your own story through images. We chose Nigel and Chrissie because, from meeting them once, we knew they could do just that for us."

Do you have any advice for brides and grooms who are currently in the planning process?

"Make sure your plans are for you, no one else. Everyone else will be happy for you both no matter what you plan.  Take it easy in the immediate run-up to and on the day itself.  Take a few minutes to just be together after you’re married. You’ll thank yourselves for it afterwards!"

What is your favourite part of being married now?

"Our favourite part of being married is just being together! Being able to share memories and planning our future together is so much fun."

Venue: Doxford Barns

The wedding dress: Ronald Joyce - Robyn - purchased at Something Special, Low Fell

The men's suits: Slaters Menswear

Wedding cake: Sarah’s mum

Flowers: Sarah’s mum

Hair and Make up: Hair: Danielle Hurst, make up: Sarah’s sister

Entertainment: DJ: AMV Live

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

Wallworth Castle - Shonaegh and Conner

Shoneagh and Connor's wedding day last summer was fast paced and filled with energy.  Everything, from singing waiters to bagpipes, owls escorting messages and even a first dance sung by the mother of the bride herself all made their way into their day, along with the most spectacular sunset that we had seen all year.  Married in St Mary's church in Richmond, they went on to celebrate in style at Walworth Castle.  Thank you to you both for your kind words, your warmth and your friendship. 

Here are our favorite picks from their day...

How did you meet? How did he propose? What is your story? 

'After working away overseas in Canada for over 4 months Conner booked us a 5* all inclusive get away in the sunshine leaving just days after his feet touched down in the UK. On the first night of our holiday he suggested a walk along the beach to have a better look at our new surroundings. We came to a pier which gave us a beautiful view of the evening landscape after I’d finished admiring I turned back around and there he was on one knee.'

What was the most memorable or your favorite part of your wedding day? 

'I don’t think we could possibly choose, every single moment was filled with love, happiness and smiles (as cliche as it sounds), we loved that the room was filled with people that mean so much to us. There’s not one thing that we would change.'

Why was photography important to you and why did you choose 2tone Photography ? 

'Photography was such an important thing for us because our photographs are the lasting memory of our day that can never fade. Also to be able to capture moments that we didn’t necessarily see during our special day was such a joy to look back on! We chose Nigel and Christina because the quality of their work cannot be compared to, their talent and passion for their work shines through to create simply beautiful photographs, they also made us feel so comfortable in the lead up to and on our special day which is exactly what you need when nerves are kicking in.'

What is your favorite part of being married now? 

'Our favorite part of being married is most definitely living together, because of Conner’s work we only actually moved in together after our wedding day! We both love having someone to come home to after a long day, and sharing the workload in the house when we’re busy at different times.'

Venue: St Mary’s Church Richmond and Walworth Castle

The wedding dress: Blue Bow Bridal Boutique Durham

Wedding cake: Leonie Wilson

Hair and Make up: Amber Brooke Makeup

Wynyard Hall - Stephanie and Nathan

A beautiful setting for a beautiful couple.  Stephanie, a nurse married software developer Nathan last summer at the stunning Wynyard Hall in the Tees Valley.  They were married in the gold gilded mirror room, before sharing their first meal as husband and wife, with their family and friends in the hall's ballroom.  After dinner, the clouds broke and the sun came out, giving us a perfect excuse to head up to the walled gardens for a leisurely stroll and a few pictures.

The Proposal

"December 25th 2014, Christmas Day.  The ring was sitting on a new bauble on the Christmas tree (I love Christmas and decorating the tree so I was so impressed the bauble matched the colour scheme!) initially I just saw a pretty new bauble then I saw the ring on the top of it, Nathan got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, of course, I said yes! "

The Dress

"The dress was a Maggie Sottero.  A fitted dress with sweetheart neckline and handstitched sheer lace over the top with tiny pearls bought from yap bridal in Newcastle (who were fantastic!)" 

"Bridesmaids wore two birds dresses in colour putty"

THe Venue

"Our ceremony took place in the mirror room at Wynyard hall, followed by a drinks reception with canapés wedding breakfast in the ballroom then evening reception in the conservatory. We had a special remembrance table to honour my grandma and Nathan's great auntie who unfortunately are no longer with us and were a huge miss."

The cake

Our cake was from Burnett's 4 cakes.  It was a 4 tier cake with place white icing and edible orchids for decoration, bottom tier chocolate orange, next tier madiera, next tier lemon cake then top tier red velvet."

THe photography

"We met Chrissy and Nigel at a wedding fair initially, the amazing work they had previously done at Wynyard hall made us choose them and their relaxed and approachable attitude. They did an amazing job while making us laugh and feel at ease."

The honeymoon

Dubai for 4 nights then Mauritius for 10 nights 

The suppliers

Suits - slaters 

Flowers - floral quarter 

Hair and makeup - the face house 

Le Petit Chateau - Corrin and David

We visited Le Petit Chateau in Otterburn, Northumberland for the first time for Corrin and David wedding last october.  The cute and quirky setting of the chateau, along with the stunning natural colours of autumn supplied us with so many visual treats, along with a fabulously laid back couple who wanted nothing more than to spend their day relaxing with friends and family, and each other, enjoying their informal wedding celebrations.  Tiny Tim was the host with the most.  He joked, 'what was a Welsh man doing wearing a kilt in a French styled venue in Northumberland'!  He kept the pace of the day fast and fun, and made sure that everyone, including us, was well cared for.

It was a fantastic day, with energy in abundance and for our first time at Le Petit Chateau, it will be a hard one to beat!