Amy and Maxwell's Autumnal Outdoor Wedding in Stoke on Trent by Silverleaf photography

Happy Friday everyone and Yay for the weekend! I hope you have all had a good week.? It has been a busy one here. I have been busy with my wedding planning hat on getting my May 2023 couple all organised. This week I have been organising their flowers and I have the lovely Tracey Campbell on board who I know will make their wedding day look AMAZING!! I can’t wait to work with this lovely lady again. What wedding planning jobs have you been up to this week? I would love to hear your stories, so why not join our wedding planning Facebook group HERE. On with today’s wedding and today it’s the turn of Amy and Maxwell who were married in November last year. They braved the English weather and held their ceremony outdoors which made the day super special. Mixing in some gorgeous autumnal details this wedding is the perfect way to end the week. Thanks to Silverleaf photography for the photos.

The most surreal experience. A day filled of everyone and everything that we have ever loved.

Amy and Maxwell were married on 5^th November 2021 at The Upper House Barlaston, Stoke on Trent. ‘It is in the home town of where the bride grew up. It has a very relaxed feel, and gives the option of getting married outside. The bride loves everything to do with nature, so being able to get married outside, was one of the main foundations for the wedding. The venue itself also has a lot of history, and is incredibly welcoming. We had 75 guests, in total it took 23 months to plan. We had initially planed to get married on the 24^th April 2021, but due to covid, we had to postpone the wedding until November 2021.’

How they met
The bride was good friends with the groom’s sister Ellie. Ellie has sent a photo of the bride to the groom and said that she thinks he would like her. Max asked for Amy’s number and from there they went on a date, and 4 years later, they got married.

The proposal
He proposed in Suffolk on the beach at midnight on the 01.01.2020. Suffolk is a very special place for the groom, as his Nanny has a log cabin that they have gone to ever since he was born. When he first felt serious feelings for Amy, he started to take Amy there, and it became their special place.

How did you allocate your budget?
We didn’t! We thought that considering we have had to postpone, why not just have the wedding that we want, and the wedding that we can afford.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on the photographer and the videographer, as we thought that we will be able to keep the photographs and videos forever, so why not go for the best?
We saved on the wedding favours, by buying our own miniature glass bottles and filling them with Gin, and buying our own miniature chocolate bars, and putting them into craft brown miniature bags and sealing them with a ‘love’ sticker.
We tried to save on the flowers also. We only asked for flowers that we thought were necessary.

How did you choose your photographer?
We spent a good month looking through photographers, but when we came across Maria, we saw the style and the specific way her shots tell a story and instantly, we thought that she was the best. And she definitely did not disappoint. The photographs are insanely good and definitely portray us in a real, and truthful light.

The dress
My dress was from Monsoon. And my shoes and Earrings were from Kate Spade. My Necklace was a diamond necklace given to the bride by her parents. And a gold bracelet given to the bride by the groom on the morning of the wedding.

The suit and bridesmaids
Dresses were from ChiChi London. Suits were from Aisle of Brides

Theme or colour scheme
The theme was autumnal We aimed to have berry reds, emerald greens, golds and burnt oranges as a theme.

Flowers
We aimed to have dried flowers, with bursts of colours. The bursts of colours were to be from our 4 chosen colours.

Decoration
We had very minimal decoration, with fairy lights, dried flowers and retro vases.

Food
We ate a three course wedding dinner, where guests had a choice of main: salmon, steak or mushroom bourgeon. For the evening reception, we provided a hog roast, with a selection of vegetarian options.

Wedding cake
The top tier was a lemon gluten free for the mother of the bride. The middle tier was a chocolate and orange layer for the bride, and the bottom tier was Victoria sponge for the groom.

Entertainment
We had a DJ and a Saxophonist. We provided light DJ and Sax entertainment for the drinks reception and a full evening of dancing music with the same DJ and Saxophonist. All booked with Jonny-Ross Music.
We had a photo booth available with double free prints for all of the guests available in the evening of the wedding.

Who supplied the stationery?
Sarah Wants Stationary, and Ellabee Design from ETSY.

Where are you going on your honeymoon?
We are going on a 14 day cruise through the Norwegian Fjords in April 2022.

Personal touches
We had a table by the entrance where the wedding guests entered, and we had pictures of the brides grandparents that has sadly passed away. The mother of the bride had also arranged a bouquet of yellow roses which were the favourite flowers of grandparents.

Special moments
The ceremony was the best part of the day for the bride and the groom. The groom in particularly enjoyed the evening ceremony, and the bride absolutely loved the bridal preparations.

Advice for other couples?
Forget about the little things. On the day, there is absolutely nothing that you can do to change the outcome of the day, so relax and embrace the day.

What was your biggest surprise of the day?
A close friend travelled all the way from Florida. This was unexpected, and the best surprise of the day.