Sarah & Alex’s Autumnal, Rustic Yorkshire Wedding. By Mark Tierney

Good morning! I’d like to start the day with a black, thunderous cloud. No? Not right for a wedding blog? Well if the first image is wrong then I don’t want to be right folks. Taken by photographer Mark Tierney, Sarah and Alex’s wedding may look haunting and wild, but it’s also incredibly cosy, heart-warming and full to the brim with country styling and rustic charm.  I have so many favourite images from this couple so forgive me if this is particularly picture heavy. There was just too many beautiful moments worth sharing. Enjoy!

‘It was a perfect autumnal day in the Yorkshire dales, enjoying our favourite food, drink and music with our closest family and friends. The rustic church and barn created a cosy and welcoming atmosphere, complementing the time of year and reflecting us perfectly as a couple.’

Sarah and Alex were married on 9th November at St Wilfrid’s Church in Burnsall, North Yorkshire, with a reception at the Craven Arms in Appletreewick, Nr Skipton. “We got engaged on the 11th January 2013 and started to plan the wedding at the end of April (7 months). We both love walking in the Yorkshire Dales. One summer a few years ago we undertook the “Dales Way” Walk. This took us from our house in Leeds, right through the majestic countryside of the Dales to our final destination at Lake Windermere in the Lake District. We completed the walk in a week, walking a total of 106 miles. We were blessed with wonderful weather throughout the entire journey. We took in many sights along the way, and our favourite places by far were Burnsall and Appletreewick. We loved Wharfedale so much that we finally decided to get married there.”

How they met
We both work in healthcare. I am an intensive care nurse and Alex is an anaesthetic doctor. We met at Bradford Hospital whilst working on the same unit together. We’d been together for 5 years before we got married.

The proposal
Alex proposed on my 30th Birthday. We’d booked a 3 week trip to the east coast of Australia. On the morning of my birthday we flew into Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands for a 4 night stay. We were staying at the exclusive Qualia Resort. I knew Alex had arranged a few surprises for my birthday so I was excited waiting for the day to unfold. We arrived to a champagne reception (at 08:30am!) then enjoyed a wonderful breakfast overlooking the sea. Alex had planned a remote island beach drop-off by speedboat with picnic and champagne. The resort had sun loungers and parasols laid out for us already. I opened numerous birthday cards which I had brought from home, followed by some 30th birthday presents from Alex. Amongst these was a cuddly koala teddy who holding a small jewellery box. I opened it and looked up to see him down on one knee. He proposed and I said YES!. We had a lovely afternoon together on our private deserted beach . On arrival back at the hotel our room had been decorated with rose petals, with even MORE champagne and chocolates waiting for us. That evening we went on a sun-set catamaran cruise with nibbles and drinks. It was the most perfect day and totally unexpected.

How did you allocate your budget?
We decided beforehand on the simple things that make a great wedding; great food, plenty of drink, music through the day and guests sat with people they know. We wanted people to relax and enjoy the day straight away with friends they knew well. The most important thing was the involvement and personal touches from the people we love.

Why did you choose your photographer?
We wanted the wedding to be as relaxed and informal as possible. We chose Mark after looking at some examples of his work online. We wanted someone with experience shooting in the countryside and we wanted to make the most of the beautiful countryside. Mark was very professional and listened to exactly what we wanted. He faded into the background and we hardly noticed his presence. Mark took lots of reportage style photos so that they tell the story of our day from start to finish. We didn’t want many staged group photographs as we felt they would never be able to reflect the day as well.

The dress and accessories
My dress was beautiful and perfect for me. I can’t actually remember the designer, but this wasn’t important to me when choosing the dress. The more important thing was the fit, delivery time (as we only had 6 months) and the people who worked in the shop. The whole experience of buying the dress was very important to me. I did want to buy something from people who I didn’t have a good rapport with. When trying on the dress I wore some second hand shoes in the shop that were so comfortable that I bought them for the wedding!. They needed re-heeling, but they were so comfortable and I knew would be perfect for the day, especially as they would get muddy and damaged in the Dales countryside. I wanted to wear jewellery that Alex had bought me so my earrings were the ones he had given me the Christmas before. As it would be cold, I got a little caramel coloured faux-fur jacket from House of Fraser too. My bridesmaid loved it on the day, so after the wedding I gave it to her as a thank you present.

The suit and bridesmaids
I had one bridesmaid which helped to keep the day informal and relaxed. I didn’t want a huge entourage of people following me around! She wore a long Navy Blue chiffon dress (from Coast) with a silver stole and beading. I let her choose what she would be comfortable wearing. I also wanted her to get something she could wear again, not just for our day. Alex and his groomsmen wore light grey three-piece suits (hired from Slaters). With this they wore a pale blue shirt and gold tie, cufflink and handkerchief set. To finish off the look, they each wore grey tweed flat caps in true Yorkshire style!

The theme
The general theme of the day was trying to mimic the beautiful colours of autumn, the countryside and the natural surroundings.

The flowers
The flowers were seasonal and bunched together in a rustic manner. I didn’t want something clean and neat – nature doesn’t grow like that! Lisa was very good and understanding of my needs – she also added pieces of fabric used in the barn into the bouquet. She took great care and attention in all of her work.

The decoration
The Cruck Barn is a beautiful building so the decorations needed to work in harmony with it. We wanted the barn to be warm, cosy and inviting, knowing the weather would probably be cold and wet for the time of year.
Our good family friend Sarah Walker is exceptional at this sort of work and kindly agreed to decorate the barn for us. She made up mood-boards to see what we liked and it went on from there. We had candles of different sizes everywhere in the church and barn. We all collected tea-cups and saucers from charity shops and she put wicks and melted wax into them for the tables. Sarah made table runners using map-themed wall paper, such a simple idea which brightened the tables and tied into a theme of travel and adventure which we enjoy. She also made bunting to hang around the whole barn (tartan, cream and maroon). A few of the chairs on the ends of rows had tartan chair covers too. We also collected fallen autumn leaves, conkers and acorns which were placed on the tables too. To add an even more personal touch, Sarah Walker made individual wine glass charms for people to choose, use for the night and take home afterwards.
My auntie Ruth made all the table flower decorations. She makes the most beautiful flower pots and hanging baskets. I wanted pot plants on the tables so people could take them home and enjoy the flowers afterwards. Ruth went out looking for the perfect sized pots and aged/weathered them outside months before the wedding. She also sought some local heather and seasonal plants from the Ilkley Moors. After the reception they were taken home by friends and family. Ruth also finished off the place names by wrapping string around the serviettes with an acorn and the guest’s names.
The flowers on the mantle above the fire were made by Lisa (florist) and they sat in wooden vases. These were made by Sarah Walker’s husband Charles from wood sourced near Alex’s parents’ home.

The food and wedding cake
The food at the Craven Arms and Cruck Barn is fantastic, and we were so grateful to the chef Dan. We met Dan a few months before the wedding to go through food choices and he tailor-made the menu to our needs. Again we kept the food seasonal and nearly all sourced from the local area. He allowed us to offer our guests from 4 mains and 3 deserts which we asked them in the RSVPs. We didn’t eat starters as we had canapés on arrival to the barn. The food was all of exceptional quality, good value and very generous! For mains we had pheasant wrapped in bacon, pork steak, beef and ale pie and pan-fried seabass. For deserts we had sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownie and crème brulee.
My Mum made cup Cakes (80 in total). She was busy trailing different recipes in the months before the wedding (which isn’t help when trying to slim down)! In the end we had chocolate with a salted caramel centre and vanilla with a gooey lemon centre. The cup cakes went down a storm and were all eaten. We had tried cupcakes from bakeries and high-end supermarkets before asking mum but they just weren’t as good. Mum also made a slightly larger cupcake on which we put the bride/groom decoration, a little Lego doctor and nurse in wedding attire! They looked just like us!

The entertainment
Alex is very musical (he sings in a band) and many of our friends and family are musicians. We therefore wanted music to play a big part of the day. I walked down the aisle to Alex’s bandmate Al Novak playing Jose Gonzalez “Heartbeats” on guitar. His family friends sang a 4-piece hymn while we signed the register. On arrival to the Barn we had a fiddle and accordion duo, this was very much in keeping with our surrounding and created a great atmosphere. Alex knew them through friends and we’d also seen them play at the Grassington festival earlier in the year. For the evening we hired a Beatles Tribute band. This was great fun appealing to all of our guests. Alex’s other bandmate John sang our first dance “Feeling Good”.

Buy or DIY your Stationery?
Alex and I made all of the stationery on his computer and printer at home including invitations, RVSPs, food choice cards, information sheets and orders of service. (see decorations sections)

Personal or handmade touches
The table planner was done by Alex as were table signs to show which table is which. These too had a Yorkshire Dales map and place-sign look. Outside the church, village and barn my Dad had etched directions onto wooden signs which were placed on bird tables (complete with seed obviously!).
We didn’t want favours cluttering the tables so put them in big basket for people to take home at the end. The favours were bird feeders and some flower seeds (for the “birds & bees”), which Alex and I had made. The theme was nature and natural surroundings so this was perfect.

Special moments
My dad drove me to the church which was very special for me. I didn’t want any strangers involved where possible – it just felt more personal and special on such a big day. I had a hairdresser come to the house in the morning but then all the ladies (myself, Mum, Bridesmaid and Sarah) did our own make-up with a glass of champagne. I was so excited arriving at the church to see everybody – Alex and I had our rings for 4 months prior to the service but had promised to not look at them until the time we exchanged the rings (this was very special also). I just loved the joy and happiness that surrounded the day and I will always hold this perfect day in my heart.

Advice to other couples
Let go of all of the stuffy traditional wedding formalities that you don’t like. It’s your day so pick and choose aspects that reflect you as a couple. Don’t do things to simply please others, instead involve as many people in the day as you can but not so that they have lots to stress about on the day. Spend your time planning what’s perfect for you both, Plan your day so it reflects who you both are, your journey and your love for each other. You don’t need 18 months to plan a wedding and don’t dismiss a winter/autumnal wedding. These seasons are so beautiful and are often more predictable than the summer. Keep the numbers down – you can plan a much more personal wedding with fewer guests. Don’t let the venue prescribe a very set and generic day. If they don’t allow the little touches that you want, look elsewhere.

Biggest surprise
Having planned the whole day between us I didn’t expect any surprises. However, just before setting off for the church my dad produced a rather large present from Alex. I opened the present with my close family around. It was a painting of the church where we were due to be getting married in a few hours’ time. This was very emotional for me but a wonderful surprise. It even had the time of our wedding on the clock tower, 14:00.
The day also went incredibly fast – everyone said it would and it did!

Supplier Shout Outs:

• Decoration in the Barn – Sarah Walker [email protected]
• Florist – Lisa Bragg [email protected]
• Name Cards – Ruth Lyons [email protected]
• Wedding Gown – Wedding Belles of Otley
• Stationery – Samual Taylors
• Blackbeards Tea Party [email protected]
• Fab Beatles www.fabbeatles.com
• Photographer – Mark Tierney

For more information on Mark’s work please go to:

www.tierneyphotography.co.uk
www.tierneyphotography.co.uk/blog
FACEBOOK
@tierneyphoto