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!