Europe Weddings

Between the bride’s modern Calvin Klein dress, her fabulous L.K. Bennett shoes, and the fern filled sperry tent reception, we are obsessed with this insanely stylish, Northumberland wedding by Albion Parties. After the celebrations, guests were provided with overnight accommodations in bell tents and were treated to a delicious farewell brunch the following morning. Every detail of this fashionable affair photographed by Lucy Davenport is a can’t miss, so be sure to check out the full gallery, right here.

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From Albion Parties… When the wedding planning began, Anna’s father offered her a choice of getting married at his house in the Bahamas or at his house in Northumberland. Keen to make sure all her guests would be able to travel easily to their wedding, Anna shunned the sunshine of Harbour Island and instead chose Northumberland.

Anna has a strong sense of style, choosing a Calvin Klein wedding dress and colorful shoes, the latter of which were cast off immediately after the ceremony and photographs in favor of a pair of white trainers (all the better to dance in). Her bridesmaids wore dresses from Monsoon that tied in with the fern theme.

The brief Anna gave her wedding planner, Katie Crichton-Stuart from Albion Parties, was to create a beautiful and stylish wedding, balancing being conventional in some aspects with being entirely relaxed in other aspects. With a keen eye for detail, Katie worked with Anna to develop a theme incorporating pink tones with dark green ferns and a touch of gold. Anna’s mood board for the look of the wedding, which Katie helped her put together, focused on beautiful fabrics of fern motifs, which was a year before this trend became mainstream when it was seen at House of Hackney and Graham and Green. The highly stylized tent interior focused on clean lines, with pink flowers in the center of the tables surrounded by more whimsical ferns pouring out from underneath. High and low arrangements gave texture to the overall look of the dinner set up, and intermittent plants positioned up the tent poles created a sense of scale inside. Katie recommended Anna and Jamie use sperry tents for their wedding, which was a nod to both Anna’s love of being slightly different and ensured the tents themselves looked good in their surroundings. Sperry tents have the fortunate appeal of looking good from the outside as well as inside, unlike their frame tent counterparts.

A strong family feel came through the wedding, with Anna’s younger sisters and brothers being her bridesmaids and pageboys, Anna’s friend playing the piano, and her uncle officiating at the ceremony. The estate team was invaluable to Albion Parties, helping with every aspect of the set up onsite. A further touch was Anna’s father’s chef, James Davie, who catered for the entire wedding. Anna chose canapés that included favorite dishes from her childhood like steak frites and warm chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream.

Having a great band was really important to Anna and Jamie, and they chose The Faithettes, the backing band of Paloma Faith, followed by friends who DJ’ed late into the night. Guests were given the choice of staying in bell tents pitched in the next door field, where Katie had put “Hangover Packs” filled with essentials for guests. The morning after, guests who had stayed the night were treated to James Davie’s brunch of bacon rolls, eggs to order, mini pastries, suckling pig with apple sauce, and large bloody marys.

Photography: Lucy Davenport | Event Planning: Albion Parties | Floral Design: WILD | Wedding Dress: Calvin Klein | Cake: Liggy Cakes | Shoes: LK Bennett | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Monsoon | Catering: James Davie (private chef) and Splendid | Makeup: Jodie Hazlewood | Hair: Charlie Miller | DJ: DJ Babysoul (Elinor Fahrman) | Band: Faithettes | Venue: Harehope Hall | Lighting and Sound Design: Tower Productions | Tent Rentals: Bell Tent Hire Scotland | Tent Rentals: Papakata

Elegant yet approachable, this sweet Eshott Hall totally made me fall head over heels in love with this adorable couple. Their wedding was a wonderfully timeless affair, but their personality still seemed to seep through each gorgeous image captured by Sarah-Jane Ethan. Her images paint the prettiest picture of their special day, and you can get lost in all the goodness here.

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From The Bride…David being Irish and me being a northern lass it was meant to be that we met in a bar on a night out in Newcastle in 2004. I guess you could say our eyes met across a crowded dance floor! After a year of knowing each other David moved to Leeds, where I followed soon after. We then moved a little further with David’s work taking us to Romania and Norway!

After 11 years together we knew we wanted a magical day surrounded by our closest family and friends. The inspiration for the wedding came from the type of wedding we wanted – small and intimate! It was important to us that we got to spend time with all of our guests especially as we live in Norway and don’t see people as often as we would like. Being able to spend quality time with family and friends who had travelled to be with us was very important.

Inspiration for the theme of the wedding came once we chose the venue. The ballroom at Eshott Hall, where we had the wedding breakfast and reception is so full of natural light and has beautiful ornate gold mirrors and chandeliers. I chose the colour scheme, blush and gold, to compliment the elegance of the room and to be in keeping with the light and warm tones.

We chose our venue based on the size of wedding we wanted and because having accommodation at the wedding venue was a priority as many guests were traveling from overseas…including the bride and groom! Being from the North East looking at venues in Northumberland seemed like the way to go. Plus it’s a beautiful part of the country! We came across Eshott Hall whilst doing an Internet search of venues and then because we live abroad I sent my sister and niece to scout it out! With their approval we booked it without visiting it ourselves! Luckily we trusted their judgement. Not only was the hall, grounds and location perfect but the size too! This helped us keep the wedding to the numbers we had initially set.

I left choosing my dress a little last minute – 4 months before the wedding! This did limit my choices as most dresses take a least 6 months to make. But in my case, thankfully, it couldn’t have worked out any better! I chose my dress with some fabulous help at Y.A.P bridal boutique. From the moment I walked into the shop I was made to feel like the most important bride in the world! The dress I chose was an A-line style dress made of lace with an overlay of tulle and hand-beaded lace appliqué. I fell in love with the neckline and delicate capped sleeves on the dress. The lace edging at the bottom I thought was simply stunning! As soon as a stepped into the dress it had a real romantic feel! I knew it was the one!

There were so many elements of the day that we simply loved! We stayed at the venue the evening before the wedding along with most of our guests so this was a great way for everyone to get acquainted. Saying our vows during the ceremony was so special and magical. It was as if I had already said them years ago! We had some time between the wedding breakfast and the evening reception where we were all hanging out in the various rooms of the hall, relaxing on stately sofas! David and I loved this time where we were really able to chat with our guests and share lots of fun moments. We also loved the evening reception where we had a band and despite it being a small wedding the dance floor was never empty!

The first supplier we booked was our photographer, Sarah-Jane Ethan. We fell in love with her creative, fun and unique style of photography! When I viewed images on her website I loved that all of the couples she had captured seemed so relaxed! We simply couldn’t have asked for a better photographer! She captured the day as it naturally happened and she did this in a professional and friendly way. Her photography is so personal and her ability to capture all that happens, a laugh, a tear and kiss is something we are truly thankful for when we look back at our photographs!

Advice we would give to couples is to choose a venue that suits the wedding you want e.g. budget, theme and especially size. Discussing how we both imagined our day to be before looking a venues was really important in making sure it fit the bill.

I love being creative so it was really important for me to design and make our wedding invitations, order of ceremony cards and table plan and place cards. It saved money and those weekends when we were both cutting card and tying pieces of string was so worth it to see it laid out on the day. And because everything was handmade it was a lovely when guests complimented on the stationary and we could say we made it!!

The first supplier we booked was our photographer, Sarah-Jane Ethan. We fell in love with her creative, fun and unique style of photography! When I viewed images on her website I loved that all of the couples she had captured seemed so relaxed! We simply couldn’t have asked for a better photographer! She captured the day as it naturally happened and she did this in a professional and friendly way. Her photography is so personal and her ability to capture all that happens, a laugh, a tear and kiss is something we are truly thankful for when we look back at our photographs!

Photography: Sarah-Jane Ethan Photography | Floral Design: Fleur Couture | Wedding Dress: YAP Bridal | Cake: Cake Poppins | Bride's Shoes: LK Bennett | Jewelry: Oh No Rachio | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Debenhams | Makeup: Cordelia & Co. Inspired Makeup Artist | Hair: Lisa Cameron | Band: The Heist | Groom's Attire: Tiger Of Sweden | Venue: Eshott Hall | Chairs: The Finishing Touch Company | Photo Booth: Snaparazzi

Considering a longer engagement? What if I told you that this wedding right here is what 19 months of planning gets you? Amazing, right?! It’s the ultimate Pinterest worthy celebration complete with a homemade cake, garden romance, and of course endless love. As far as we’re concerned Andy & Emma had the BEST wedding day. See it all captured by the majorly talented Sarah-Jane Ethan in The Vault!

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From the Bride… Andy proposed on my 21st birthday. He left me hanging all morning and just before my birthday party that afternoon he approached me with our little girl, got down on one knee and proposed with the most beautiful ring, I was so shocked! Having Poppy there with us made it all the more special for me, together we shared another new chapter in our lives. Four days later Andy continued his romantic streak and we travelled first class to Paris, which was my birthday surprise. We had 4 magical days finishing of my 21st and celebrating our engagement. It was perfect.

Once we had discussed a wedding date there was no question about the venue. Before I had even met Andy I attended a small wedding at Newton Hall and just fell in love with the place. I remember saying to my dad that day ‘This is my dream venue if I get married’ Andy was so easy going he agreed to make an appointment with Newton. We didn’t want anything too formal and Like me Andy loved the unique vibe and felt it was perfect for us. SOLD, this was the beginning of planning my dream wedding.

I used Pinterest a lot when planning the wedding, you can find so many different ideas and styles on there. I created boards to collect things I liked and it helped me vision the look I wanted. The great thing about Newton Hall was that it already had so much character, we didn’t want to take away the unique interior. I made a few bits myself to add a little personal touch. Instead of wedding favours we made mini thank you bags for those who helped us throughout the planning and had personalised activity bags for the kids. Andy’s job was to create the cake, it was a complete surprise to me on the day and he done really well, I loved it and it fitted our theme perfect.

My dress was actually my second bought, oops! I finally found ‘The one’ 6 months before the wedding after doubting my original choice. I chose it from the very first shop I visited back in the early stage of planning. I loved the lace detail on my dress and the tiny buttons that ran right up the back. I also tied a small sequin belt to add a little extra sparkle.

After 19 months of planning our special day finally arrived. Andy was so nervous for the ceremony, it really meant a lot to him. The whole day was just magical, a highlight was our cocktail reception; the nervous part was over, everyone was now relaxed and we were introduced as Mr & Mrs for the first time to all our family and friends and that was a great feeling.

Sarah-Jane Ethan was our photographer. When I first browsed her website I loved the way she captured people’s weddings. Her images were bright and seemed to have that natural feel, which is what we were looking for. Talking to Sarah-Jane Ethan was always a pleasure, she was always so happy and friendly and on the day she made us feel so relaxed. We didn’t want a lot of formal pictures, we wanted our day to be captured naturally with life and laughter. I love the close up shots from around our venue and the finishing touches which make memories of our long planning. I love looking back at our photos they tell the story of our day and how everything fell into place so perfectly.

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More Wedding Day Looks Right Here! 

Old Hollywood Gowns | Lace Gowns | Beaded Gowns | Classic Gowns

Photography: Sarah-Jane Ethan Photography | Floral Design: The Finishing Touch Company | Wedding Dress: AJ Bridal | Bride's Shoes: Irregular Choice | Makeup: Tara Makeup Artist | Hair: Luxe Mobile | Groom's Attire: Ted Baker | Wedding Venue: Newton Hall | Decorations: The Finishing Touch Company | Photobooth: Snaparazzi

There is just something so incredibly special, so incredibly timeless about an English wedding. And it’s made all that much more darling when the couple infuses their personalities among the traditions, which is just what happened with this beauty captured by Sarah-Jane Ethan. Complete with gorgeous English gardens, beautifully classic gown and tweed a plenty, this gallery is English wedding gold.

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From The Bride…Warren & I met in a bar in Tynemouth, our local village, at Christmas time but I was only home for a week as I was going back to uni in Leeds so we ended up chatting and swapping numbers but once I was back in Leeds nothing happened – I was a student and warren was working full time in Newcastle. It wasn’t until the following October where we bumped into each other again at a party when I was home for the weekend and we got back in touch and Warren came to visit me in Leeds for a weekend a few weeks later and that was that!

We were engaged over scrambled eggs! I was stood in our kitchen in my pajamas on a Saturday morning making us scrambled eggs for breakfast and Warren started following me round the kitchen looking a bit nervous and I told him (repeatedly) to get out of my way and I would shout when the eggs were ready. He then blurted out that I made the best scrambled eggs in the world…my response was thanks but seriously get out of my way and then he said “what I’m trying to say is I would like you to make these scrambled eggs for the rest of my life” whilst looking at me right in the eye and then it dawned on me…and I said “are you trying to ask me what I think you are trying to ask me as that’s the worst proposal ever and where’s the ring?!” Well yes he was asking me what I thought he was asking and there was no ring as apparently it just occurred to him at that moment when I was making him scrambled eggs! But I did get to choose my own very beautiful and unique engagement ring! Our friends and family still debate whether it’s the least romantic or most romantic proposal but we all agree it was very “us”.

We were engaged for 3 years before setting a date or doing any planning. We weren’t really in a hurry to get married but one day we were driving to Rothbury and decided to try and visit Brinkburn Priory, the English Heritage site on the way – my family had a caravan in Rothbury for a few years when I was younger and I spent lots of time there and I had told Warren about this interesting old Priory and we had tried to visit it twice before to get there and find it was closed so we thought third time lucky. It’s a beautiful venue in a lovely area of the Northumberland countryside 40 minutes drive from our home at the coast and we’ve always loved walking up there. Third time lucky in one sense as it was closed but there was a sign with an arrow giving directions to a wedding. When we got home I looked up Brinkburn Priory as a wedding venue remembering how lovely it was when I went as a child. We decided to go to their next open day and instantly knew it was perfect for us. It was November 2014 and a crisp autumn day and the colours of the trees and the river and beautiful forest seemed magical combined with the tipi and the lovely cottage. It had a really relaxed, fun, quirky and unique vibe which was just what we were looking for. We wanted to do something a little different but that matched our love of the outdoors and of Northumberland. We asked about dates and every weekend in 2015 was already booked apart from one Saturday…which was the day before Warren’s 40th birthday. This seemed perfect as many of our friends and family were beginning to ask after over 3 years of being engaged, were we ever going to get married and warren would always respond that he would definitely have to get married before he was 40…it seemed too funny to end up doing it the day before so we set about planning a weekend of celebrations rather than just one day. I decided I wanted to get married in the huge beautiful old Priory which is steeped in history and have the reception in the fun and very unique giant hat tipi which was adorned with fairy lights, comfy leather sofas with animal print throws and quirky barrel tables. The accommodation on site was also beautiful and sleeps 17 people so we thought it would be perfect to have close friends and family stay with us for the full weekend. 

I chose the very first dress I tried on! I made a few appointments in Newcastle after an internet search, having no real idea where to start. I went to the first shop and the girls were amazing. One of them did a consultation with me asking what I was looking for. The only thing I knew I would like was a lot of lace and long sleeves. Danni picked a dress from the rail and I tried it on and loved it and said I will go for this one – I’m pretty good at making decisions and I knew I’m not the type of girl who would enjoy trying on 50 dresses in hot cramped changing rooms. My mom and Danni had to make me try on a couple more styles to make sure but I kept thinking about the first one. Danni wouldn’t let us buy it before going away and thinking about it as I think she wanted me to be really sure and was worried I had made a snap decision. We went for lunch and a cocktail and went back and bought the dress. As easy as that. My shoes were also pretty easy – I waited until about a month before the wedding and thought oh god I best buy some shoes! I spent way longer mulling over bridesmaid shoes than my own! I knew my shoes wouldn’t be visible under my dress so I went for comfort and a relatively cheap pair from debenhams which I’m really pleased about as I’ve never worn them since and they couldn’t be seen on the day. I didn’t go for any accessories other than a floor length veil which really complimented the dress. I wanted the dress to do all the talking. 

Flowers were strangely harder than the dress for me as I just didn’t know where to start with colours and styles etc but the venue recommended a local florist who was amazing. I went to her house with my mom only 2 months before the wedding and I described the colour scheme and theme of the wedding – we were going nautical! And she instantly said burnt orange would look great with the midnight blue bridesmaid dresses. Not something I would have thought of but she was so right. I went for beautiful bright bouquets for the bridesmaids with lots of orange colour to compliment their dark dresses and a mixed bouquet of colour and ivory for mine. We didn’t go for any flowers in the Priory as we felt it didn’t need any as it’s such a grand building. I went for a wild and natural look for the flowers to compliment the countryside and autumnal feel and the men’s buttonholes had herbs and birch included in them. 

I struggled with bridesmaid dresses more than anything! I had 6 bridesmaids plus my 4 year old niece as a flower girl and I basically left it too late to order any from most bridal shops or online suppliers – I was far too relaxed in the beginning! But i also knew I wanted navy or midnight blue and floor length and when I got my dress in March, all of the bridesmaid dresses were short and in summer colours which wouldn’t work for an October nautical themed wedding. I hedged my bets and waited until August when I knew high street retailers would be getting their autumn/winter stock in and my mom found the perfect dresses on monsoon’s website and I ordered one for my sister to try and she loved it and the other bridesmaids loved them too. The flower girl dress and jacket were also from monsoon. One of my bridesmaids works in fashion so I asked her to help me with the bridesmaid shoes and she found amazing and really unique silver shoes with a jeweled heel on asos which were comfortable too. I only wish I had ordered a pair for myself now as they still love wearing them. 

The groom wanted to wear tweed – he loves tweed and we wanted to go a little different. We thought blue tweed look great in the countryside setting and keep the men warm and tie in with the nautical theme. Warren’s tweed 3 piece suit was bespoke, made by a tailor in Northumberland who is now in his 70s and has been making suits his whole life – John Blade. The groomsmen suits were also blue tweed and were from a very quirky shop called Most Suitable in Newcastle. We said on the invites that tweed for gents was encouraged but in no way mandatory and so many of our guests turned up in tweed which was amazing. 

I chose Sarah-Jane Ethan as our photographer after a recommendation from one of my bridesmaids who had been at a wedding as a guest where you were photographer. She said SJ had been brilliant and got some amazing quirky and unique shots but just blended into the background but were really good fun too. She knew that warren and I were kind of dreading the photo side of things as we both hate having our photo taken! So SJ’s relaxed vibe sounded perfect. I checked out her website and immediately got in touch! The images are amazing, she captured every one of my favourite moments of the day – from the sublime to the ridiculous moments!The colours are captured so well – the colours of the trees etc and she caught some great natural, in the moment pictures of all of us just looking like we were having a really great fun time – which was my aim of the day :-) 

Well I was very relaxed and was adamant I didn’t want the planning of the wedding to take over our lives or become a bridezilla! Although I probably did have my moments at times..mainly because we booked the venue with just under 11 months to go but I really didn’t do any planning until about 5 months before the big day – which sounded like more than enough time to me but it turned out it wasn’t really – not with both of us working busy jobs and having busy lives – it turns out planning a wedding is kind of like another full time job! But my advice would be to have as much fun as you can along the way as it should be a really happy time in your life and your relationship, not a stressful one. But be more organized than I was and don’t leave things till the last minute. Accept help from friends and family when they offer it and use the wedding planner book you were given as an engagement gift. Oh and stick to the budget you agreed on – sticking to a budget has never been a forte of mine but costs can quickly spiral out of control! And on the day, enjoy every minute of it, it will fly by but relax and know that after all the planning, the day will be just how you wanted it. I genuinely never stopped laughing all day! I would also recommend a photo booth – it made the evening! 

Photography: Sarah-Jane Ethan | Wedding Dress: YAP Bridal | Cake: Marks And Spencer | Catering: Wilkins Fine Dining | Band: Grooveallstars | Venue: Brinkburn | Photo Booth: Snaparazzi

Owning a wedding dress shop no doubt helped this Bride pick her dress in no time—a gorgeous full-lace Charlie Brear creation! Add in the quirky charm of Newton Hall, fitting perfectly with the couple’s personal touches (dinosaur centerpiece planters!) and we have a beautifully captured celebration, thanks to Sarah-Jane Ethan. Get whisked away with the full gallery right here!

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From the beautiful Bride… We met during Christmas 2012 after two mutual friends set us up on a blind date!! Apparently, we would ‘get on really well… turns out they were right!

Ten months later, on a trip to beautiful Lake Garda in Italy, Dave proposed at the feet of the Madonna statue, on a hill overlooking the town of Malcesine, at sunset. We were the only two there and I was completely swept off my feet!!! And so the planning began….

We knew we wanted a relaxed wedding with lots of natural touches. I had seen an image of some flower centerpieces that used natural logs as vases – it was the first picture I saved and the theme took a natural course from there.

Having owned a wedding dress shop for over 5 years (I’ve since sold on the business), choosing my dress was probably the easiest bit – believe it or not! Over the years I had found out what shapes suited me and what didn’t, so could narrow styles down quite quickly. I wanted something with a vintage feel but that would still flatter my 5’2″ frame. My full-lace, Charlie Brear dress ticked every box! I also bought two separate tops to wear with it that would give me three slightly different looks for throughout the day! I had always wanted to wear a veil so I knew that was also a must but I kept the veil quite simple so that it didn’t over power the dress. My headpiece was a Richard Designs side tiara that added some vintage sparkle to the over all look.

We hadn’t been looking for too long until we stumbled upon Newton Hall, on the beautiful coastline of Northumberland. The North East being Dave’s home and both of my parents birthplace – it seemed the most natural choice. It had the rustic charm we were looking for, coupled with quirky, fantastical decoration – we booked it over the phone before we had even been for a visit!!

Both being Beatles fans, we had a piano version of ‘Let It Be’ for me and my brothers to walk down the aisle too. We walked out to ‘All You Need Is Love’ and Dave gave each of the groomsmen a guitar brooch to wear in tribute to his love of all things music!! We stuck with tradition for the vows but Dave’s usher read a poem called ‘The Lovely Other Dinosaur’ by Edward Monkton that seemed to sum us both up perfectly!! The poem also complemented the handmade dinosaur planters used along with the centerpieces, that I spent far too much time on!!!

As tribute to my Dad, my mum gave me a vintage brooch with a picture of him inside to attach to my bouquet, so I still felt like he was there in spirit.

We struggled to find the groomsmen ties to match the bridesmaid dresses so my amazing mum took it upon herself to hand crochet individual ties for them all! They loved them and have all worn them since! She also handmade button bouquets for all my flower girls, that they could also keep as mementos of the day.

All of the logs for the table centers were provided by close family friends and we stenciled the plinths for them to sit on ourselves.

It would be very hard to pin down just one thing we were pleased about- the whole day was a dream from start to finish!! Seeing all the individual elements come together is something that you can’t quite believe will work until you see it!! From seeing the room set up with all the flowers for the first time to watching all our close family and friends smiling and dancing to our amazing live band – to us, it was perfect!

To anybody still planning their big day – try to enjoy it! Try to make it personal to you and don’t just follow the crowd and do what you think people want you to do. If you want to add Star Wars figures into your centerpieces instead of flowers – do it!! (I wish I had!) It will show off your personalities and put a smile on other peoples faces!

For our photographer we chose SJ, the reasons will be hard to sum up in a few words!! She was amazing!! We wanted photographs that would capture the spirit of the day, were very natural and above all, weren’t ‘set-up’. We fell in love with the natural light images she produces. She captures moments in the day that you may not have even noticed – a happy tear, a loving glance, a far-away thought. Add to that the fact that she is the happiest, smiliest person ever put on this planet and you have the best photographer!! Her photos are as genuine and full of joy as she is and we couldn’t have asked for more – the photos speak for themselves.

Photography: Sarah-Jane Ethan Photography | Floral Design: Katherine Florists | Wedding Dress: Charlie Brear | Cake: Baked Cupcakery | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Two Birds | Make-up : KF Make-up | Hair: Lisa Cameron | Band: Grooveallstars | Groom's Attire: Victor Valentine | Wedding Venue: Newton Hall | Chair Covers: The Finishing Touch Company | Flower Girls : Monsoon | Luminated Letters: Coco Luminaire | Ushers: Next | Veil & Tiara: Richard Designs | Wedding Acessories: Lola Bridal