Rachel and Joe's Relaxed DIY Wedding in North Yorkshire by Amy Jordinson photography

Hello you lovely lot, how are you all? Cold?? Yep winter is definitely here isn’t it! The weather is COLD here in the UK! It really needs to warm up a bit, anything above freezing would be good at the moment! So to get away from the snow and ice I am taking you off to warmer times back in September of this year when Rachel and Joe held their DIY wedding in North Yorkshire. They wanted a chilled, laid back day, full of their own DIY projects and hand made detailing. They chose a venue that let them bring in their own suppliers, making their day more them and super personal. Amy Jordinson photography was there to capture the day for them in all it’s sun filled glory.

A big party with all our favourite people! Relaxed, DIY, and very personal.

Rachel and Joe were married on 17th September 2022 at Jervaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire. ‘The abbey is very close to Rachel’s parents, and her family have been there many times in the past, so we knew how beautiful the ruins are. We wanted somewhere where things weren’t dictated to us- we could bring whatever caterers we wanted, organise the day just how we wanted it, and importantly bring our own bar! We had about 100 guests and it took 12 months to plan.’

How they met
We first met on a night shift in the A&E department we were both working in at the time. Very romantic! We’ve been together for just under 5 years.

The proposal
We were travelling around the North Coast 500 in Scotland in our self-converted campervan, so it was an impressive feat to keep the ring hidden for the trip given how small the space was! Joe proposed just off the coast of Orkney where we had walked to see a puffin colony, so the proposal was just the two of us and a few of Rachel’s favourite birds.

How did you allocate your budget?
We adjusted it throughout the process as when we started, we had no idea how much things cost. Rachel had an unreasonable number of spreadsheets which were constantly updated throughout the year.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We love food, so we knew that was what we were going to prioritise. We also love craft beer and really wanted to have a free bar, which we thought was going to be impossibly expensive until we found somewhere where we could bring our own. So that ended up being a saving! Rachel made all the decorations and the wedding cake, and her mum dried the flowers for the table decorations. Joe’s dad is a vicar who we always wanted to do the ceremony, but it turns out you can save a fortune if you bring your own officiant!

How did you choose your photographer?
We spent time online and on Instagram searching for a photographer. We loved Amy’s photos because they looked so relaxed and unposed. Every series of photos just has a series of people looking happy and themselves, which is just what we wanted. We both hate posing and formal style photos, and Amy seem to match us perfectly.

The dress
The dress was from The Bridal Emporium in Leeds, the jewellery were gifts and I can’t remember where the shoes were from!

The suit and bridesmaids
Joe and his groomsmen all had suits from Next, the bridesmaids from Etsy.

Theme or colour scheme
It was autumnal theme so the colours were oranges, browns and greens.

Flowers
We had dried flowers from Shida preserved flowers for the bouquets. To match this the table flowers were also all dried, but from our and Rachel’s parents garden. Firstly we thought that dried flowers matched our autumnal theme, and also it was so lovely to be able to keep the bouquets afterwards and have them up in our home.

Decoration
We didn’t feel we needed that much as the Abbey is so beautiful it didn’t need dressing up. In the marquee we had dried flowers, photos of our travels together and lots of fairy lights.

Food
We had BBQ sharing boards for dinner, followed by a trio of puddings. In the evening we had mac and cheese and hot chocolate with all the trimmings!

Wedding cake
Rachel made the wedding cake, which included fruit grown in our garden. The flavours were chocolate, lemon and raspberry, and cherry bakewell.

Entertainment
In the evening we had a number of garden games in the area outside the marquee. The most elaborate of these was built by Joe and called ‘guess Hulatt’ (a pun on Rachel’s surname), which was based on guess who but including photos of our guests instead! After dark we had a playlist for dancing which we put together ourselves.

Who supplied the stationery?
Our stationary was a very generous wedding present from family friends who own a printing business.

Where did you go on your honeymoon
We have just got back from 3 weeks in Mexico where we went travelling, the highlight of which was visiting Oaxaca for the Day of the Dead celebrations.

Personal touches
Most of the day was done by ourselves! Joe’s dad, who is a vicar, did our ceremony in the Abbey. Rachel and her mum made all of the signs, marquee decorations and table flowers, and Rachel made the wedding cake. The garden games were made by Joe.

Special moments
Joe’s highlight of the day was the drinks reception in the Abbey where we got to catch up and say hello to all the people that we love, particularly everyone we haven’t seen for a while. Rachel’s highlight was a sunset walk through the Abbey just the two of them. This probably says a lot about our different personalities!

Advice for other couples
Only do the things that matter to you and that you think are important. Also, it really is the best day of your life, there is nothing that can go so wrong that it should upset you!

Biggest surprise
How quickly it went, we know everyone says that, but it really took us by surprise by how soon it was the end of the night.