David & Rachel's Wedding Story
How Many guests did you have?
About 87 in the day and 110 in the evening
Can you tell us how you met and who and how the proposal went?
We met when we were both working at the Student Loans Company in Darlington in the summer of 2010, David was at uni in Leeds and I was at uni in Sheffield. David proposed in January 2018 in the living room of our old flat in Newcastle.
What made you choose Beamish Hall?
We loved the fact we could have the wedding breakfast and evening reception in different rooms (and both rooms are gorgeous), the fact we could have the whole hall to ourselves (it’s huge!) and also that we could have the 32 bedrooms for our guests. That was an important factor for us as we had lots of guests who needed accommodation so we wanted to make it easy for them, and it was really nice to see so many guests at breakfast the next day.
Did you do anything special the night before your wedding?
David went to our local pub with his friends and I stayed at Beamish Hall with my bridesmaids in the apartment (which is also huge!) We had booked an area in the Stables pub next door so our family and friends who had travelled up the night before came along. It was great to be able to speak to them before the wedding day so I wasn’t seeing everyone for the first time the next day. Then me and my bridesmaids went back to the apartment, put our matching PJs on and cracked open the prosecco – we didn’t get much sleep as we had to be up for the make up artist arriving at 5.40am!
Tell us about the dress… what style was it? Where was it from? What did your bridesmaids wear?
My dress was a Stella York dress from Blue Bow Bridal company in Durham who I would highly recommend. It was quite fitted with a low back and a long train, I had a long veil too – my dress got absolutely filthy on the night but I think that’s a sign I let my hair down! My bridesmaids wore dresses from Silkfred, they were a very light pink/almost nude colour with lots of beading on them, they all looked gorgeous and the flowers from Wild & Wonderful complimented them really well.
Did you have any other extras? (Hair, make-up etc)
We all had our hair done by Kerry Wedding Hair and our make up done by Urszula Klesna-Carr. They are both so talented and the apartment was the perfect place for us all to get ready together with my mum too. The photographer came at about 9am so had chance to get some great photos of us all in the morning.
What did the groom wear, and where was it from?
The groom and his groomsmen wore brown tweed-style suits from Master Debonair with light pink ties – we were so pleased with how well they matched the bridesmaids.
Tell us about your wedding photos… which one was your favourite and why?
Our photographer was Joel Skingle, we had a phone call with him before the wedding where we explained we wanted our photos to be as natural and laid back as possible and we’re so pleased with how they turned out. One of our favourites just sums up our relief and happiness to see all our family and friends in one place enjoying themselves, and also to see how amazing the room looked. Our other favourite caught the moment perfectly, we didn’t stop laughing all day really!
Tell us about your entertainment…
We had David Stoker playing guitar and singing during our drinks reception, Paul Lytton the magician came towards the end of the meal and filled the gap before the evening reception started, and Switch were our band for the night. We were so pleased with all our entertainment, and would highly recommend getting a magician as the photos are hilarious and so many people commented on what a great addition to the day he was.
Where did you both jet off to for your honeymoon?
We went to the Lake District for a couple of nights first then we went to Italy – Florence, Lake Garda and Venice.
Do you have any wedding planning tips?
Try and get a videographer or ask a guest to film the speeches. We have loved watching them back and reliving the day. Make sure you enjoy the planning! Go to some wedding fairs for ideas, that’s where we found our photographer, cake maker and florist. When we first got engaged I went to a wedding fair with my Maid of Honour and that’s where I saw the centrepieces we had (pink blossom trees) and the magician too. It helps to see venues dressed for a wedding and they often have entertainment so you can imagine what it would be like on the day. We went to a ‘Battle of the Wedding Bands’ with some friends where we chose Switch and David Stoker. That was a great way to choose as you could see how the audience reacted to them and also our friends’ opinions were important. Try and keep a few things a secret so your guests have some nice surprises on the day. We didn’t tell anyone about the magician, our centrepieces, table names (Liverpool players) or signs from Coco Luminaire – the less the guests know in advance about the details the better! And one last thing…provide flip flops for the evening – it will keep your guests on the dance floor until the lights come on.
