Sian and Oli's Modern Industrial Autumnal Derbyshire Wedding by Matt Moore Photography

Today I am taking you to Derbyshire for a wedding that happened only a month ago. Sian and Oli wanted a venue that allowed them to hold the ceremony and the reception all in the same place. They wanted something modern with an industrial edge and this they got when they found The West Mill. They filled the day with rust and navy accents from the outfits to the flowers. Oli’s dog Leo made a star appearance and a wonderful addition to the wedding party. I just love Sian’s classic modern look, her gown is exquisite. The whole wedding is classy, modern and full of style. Big thanks to Matt Moore Photography for the lovely images.

It was an amazing day which went 99% to plan and made all the preparation worthwhile. We both felt amazing and truly humbled by the love and support, particularly from our amazing wedding party including the bridesmaids Anna and Sammie, Best Man Andrew, and three Ushers Sam, Mike and Campbell.

Sian and Oliver were married on 6th October 2022 at The West Mill, in Darley Abbey, Derby. ‘Friends and family are dotted around the country so it made sense to pick somewhere in the middle. Sian is originally from Chapel-en-le-Frith, in the Peak District which made it relatively easy for most of her family and friends to travel to. Venue wise, we wanted somewhere that could host the full day, had some onsite accommodation and was a bit quirky. We looked at other Barns as an alternative around Cheshire but none had the same wow factor as the West Mill. We also liked how the wedding day is broken up logically by the different floors at the West Mill, creating a new experience for our guests as the day evolved and without the logistics of switching rooms around for different uses. We had 60 guests in the day and 70 at night, it took 12 months to plan.’

How they met
Been together for 6.5yrs. We met in a bar in Alderley Edge, close to where Oli lived/now both live in Wilmslow.

The proposal
Extract from Groom’s speech:
Covid put a stop to our travels abroad, leading us to Pembrokeshire in July 2021, AKA the start of the story, which brings us all here today. I’d planned to keep the proposal nice and simple-ish, with Leo (our dog) as my wingman. But the unprecedented Heatwave, soon put a stop to that, with Leo instead, checking in to a luxury air-conditioned Doggy Hotel for the week.
We went on to hire two kayaks, and headed down to a place called the Witches Cauldron, with the ring in my pocket. When we arrived, the sky was light blue with not a cloud in sight, and the sea was crystal clear. I decided to pop the question whilst floating out at sea. I pulled the two Kayaks together, said a few awkward words, and asked, “Will You Marry Me”. Sian didn’t answer immediately, and looked even more surprised than I was, with how the trip was unfolding. Fortuitously, a seal then decided to raise his head from the water, cutting the tension, with the puppy dog eyes, I’d planned on Leo delivering. Before Sian went on to say yes!<

How did you allocate your budget?
We didn’t have a set budget but monitored costs closely whilst not compromising on what was important to us. We started with the Venue hire and kept an eye on costs from there onwards.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
Splurge: venue, entertainment, food and drink
Save: place names (did these ourselves), cars (ours), wedding coordinator (us), stayed at separate hotel the night before, requested people who cancelled last minute to refund us for their incremental food and drink costs (still chasing payment)

How did you choose your photographer?
It was based on Matt Moore’s gallery of previous photos which matched what we were looking for. We didn’t want to be too posey or gimmicky. Mainly though it was the rapport we had with Matt. We wanted the photographer to be easy (and fun) to be around for ourselves and our guests and be flexible in meeting our requests to suit what we wanted, whilst also someone who could be creative and think of photo opportunities, we would never have thought of ourselves.

The dress
Wedding dress – Toni maticevski purchased from The White Closet

The suit and bridesmaids
Suit: Paul Smith, Waistcoat: Reiss. Bridesmaids: Dress – Etsy

Theme or colour scheme
Industrial modern vibe with Autumnal rust and navy

Flowers
Florist – Funky Florists. We let Denise (funky florist) decide and she nailed it

Decoration
Table set up/ decor: Long trestle tables, Rust runners, Candlesticks and tea lights, Bud vases, Sweetheart table for the bride and groom, Neon sign ‘the wheatleys’, Hired out tables décor from Tara Knott, Personalised cookies.

Food
Canapés: Mini Fish and Chips with Tartare sauce, Mini Cheese Burgers, Tomato & basil crostini (VE)
Starter: Garlic & Thyme Mushrooms served on Toasted Sourdough.
Mains: Butter Roast Fillet of Beef, a slow cooked Beef Shin Pie*, served with seasonal autumnal vegetables, roast potatoes & a light beef jus.
Desert: Sticky Toffee Pudding with Toffee Sauce and Butter Toffee Ice-Cream
Evening: Pizza and Chicken Gyros

Wedding cake
Vintage 2 tiered wedding cake by the palms bakery. 1x Vanilla cream and 1x Chocolate ganache

Entertainment
Emily White pianist and singer- simply amazing. And a 5 piece band in the evening.

Who supplied the stationery?
Suppliers from Etsy.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Hygge vibes! We went to Copenhagen the day after the wedding for a 4 night mini-moon to celebrate and decompress which was ace Plan to go somewhere special for the main honey-moon next summer tbc.

Personal touches

Polaroid photos of all our guests on lighted wire behind the cake
Memory table with old photos of family and us Place names: torn parchment paper
Sian’s mum made an Italian trifle to be served with the evening food
Decals on Oli’s car
Put perfume, aftershave, toiletries in both toilets
Set up an account on the wedshoots app for people to share photos

Biggest surprise
The support from our friends in the wedding party really blew us away and made us feel incredibly loved and supported. Leo (our dog) also stole the show but that’s not a big surprise and we were very happy to have some attention deflected from us.

Special moments or highlights

Seeing each other for the first time at the ceremony
10 minutes to ourselves after the ceremony to just be together and enjoy the moment.
Food was fantastic.
We were very lucky with the weather – only dry day of the week.
Dancing in the evening was fun – including oli picking up and spinning sian around for the first dance and the ushers dancing with the mums.
For Oli it was seeing Sian for the first time walking down the aisle – he had to ask his bestman and dog (Leo) to stand up next to him to help settle him down as he didn’t want to ball his eyes out.

Advice for other couples?

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking everything is sorted once the venue and all the suppliers are booked…there is so so much more planning still to be done.
Do make the effort with the little details- they will be noticed.
Don’t cut costs on food or drink – it can really make or break the day
Consider just sitting together as a pair on the top table. That’s what we did and it gave us some extra time to ourselves to chat and reflect.
Allow more time than you think you’ll need in the morning for getting ready and doing last minute jobs.
If you’ve got your dog with you, ask someone specific to be responsible for them at all times to save you having to think about it.
Stick to your gut on who you want to invite and don’t be pressured by others.