On the 30th November 2013 Daniel and Harriet tied the knot and held their wedding reception at Rushton Hall, Northamptonshire. They wanted a romantic winter wedding which was format and smart. Think black and white, candles and mirrors. So simple yet elegant.
I love Harriet’s chic Audrey Hepburn inspired bridal look while Daniel opted for a Downton Abbey inspired black tie traditional tails.
The beautiful imagery this afternoon is kindly provided by Aaron Storry.
The Proposal… We jetted off for 2 weeks in the sun to cancun Mexico in September 2012. A week in on the 22nd September I woke up to Danny pacing the room I asked if anything was wrong his response was I cant sleep and are you getting up soon?! I told him to let me sleep as it was still early he disappeared off then reappeared about half an hour later again urging me to get out of bed. So I told him to go and find 2 sun loungers and I would meet him down on the beach.
I walked down to meet him and could see him paddling in the shore I called to him that I wanted to go for breakfast his response was no I’m not hungry so I told him I was going and could he come and keep me company! (I wasn’t making it easy for him!) after breakfast he suggested a walk along the beach, further along there were some secluded rocks and he turned to face me he told me how special I was to him and how I made his life complete he then went down on one knee and produced the ring from his pocket. Tears filled my eyes and all I could say was I love the ring!! He then asked if it was a yes, I nodded my head and we hugged each other for ages we were so happy.
The Vision for the Day… From the start I knew I wanted a winter wedding full of candles and fairy lights to make it really romantic. I wanted the church filled with tea lights and candelabras as centre pieces. We wanted it to be formal and smart. I wanted no real colour just simple with shades of silvers, whites and blacks. I wanted the sit down meal and as we both enjoy a good party we wanted to really let our down in the evening with a good old knees up! So we wanted a band, the band we chose had also played at my sisters wedding and the response was brilliant.
The Planning Process… I LOVED planning our wedding I would spend most evenings researching something or other on the internet, talked non stop about it luckily my sister and best friend were getting married the same year so we had lots to discuss. I wanted to do a lot myself and really enjoyed it. I now really miss it.
The Venue… Rushton Hall, Northamptonshire. Since the first time I visited Rushton Hall I have dreamed of my wedding being there its simply stunning, the house, the grounds everything about it. We looked at another venue but after we had visited Rushton we knew no matter what it had to be there! We had goosebumps every time we drove down the sweeping drive so we just knew it was right.
The Dress + Accessories… From the beginning I had pictured myself in a fitted dress and even when I was trying them on I still thought it would be what I would end up with. I knew I wanted simple and elegant.
Finding the Dress… It was the second bridal shop (Courtyard Bridal Kettering Northamptonshire) we visited and I had took my mum and sister with me, I tried a few on I really liked. I then put on the dress I knew as soon as I faced the mirror in the changing room this had to be it and before I even opened the curtain I said to my mum you will love it and she did! it wasn’t the fitted style I had planned on it was a simple slash neck and Aline skirt. The diamonte on the belt and shoulders set the dress off beautifully and at that moment I fell in love with it! I wanted the fur shrug to cover my shoulders in the church and to fit in with the winter theme and the large diamonte headband was stunning along with my gorgeous birdcage veil, I felt like a princess. The whole look turned a bit Audrey Hepburn/Grace Kelly.
Groom’s Attire… We never wanted to go to traditional with the typical wedding morning suits. we had originally decided on black tie. We also wanted to give the guests the option of being black tie so Danny felt he wouldn’t stand out and wanted something a bit more. Being fans of Downton Abbey I loved the white tie and tails so decided this would look lovely with the colour scheme.
The Readings + Music… We walked down the aisle to trumpet voluntary which is the music my mum and dad walked down the same aisle to when they got married 30 years ago. we had Eva Cassidy for the signing and the bridal march for the exit. we had song of Solomon for our reading in the church read by Danny’s sister and my cousin Beverley read our other reading called these hands which is beautiful. My dress and theme had took a bit of a 50′s turn so we went for rat pack music for background music through the reception drinks and meal. We had NSYNC this I promise you for our first dance which we have loved since we met as the words fit so nicely for us.
Beautiful Bridesmaids… I had 4 bridesmaids my sister Alex my cousin Elizabeth and my 2 best friends Becky and Laila. I knew I wanted their dresses to be long and a charcoal grey. I happened to stumble across some online from M&S at £99 I thought they were a good price so I ordered one to try and they looked lovely on all the girls. these were actually my first purchase. they were all brunette so they all looked so similar and looked good against me being a blonde.
The Flowers… I wanted the bridesmaids to have simple gypsophlia against the dress it looked so dainty and pretty being cheap was also a bonus!! I wanted winter flowers so I had white roses, eucalyptus gypsophlia and thistles they looked stunning and weighed a ton!
The Cake… Now not being a big fan of cake I didn’t want the traditional cake! So I decided to have white chocolate rice krispie cakes with a sprinkling of glitter. My sisters friend is amazing at cakes so I set her the challenge I ordered some art deco cupcake cases. On top of the cake tier I had a large round rice krispie cake smothered in chocolate with silver ribbon round I bought a hair comb to use on it so it gave it some sparkle! Everyone commented on the cake and they went down a treat with the hog roast in the evening!
Your Photographer… Aaron Storry. What can I say he is amazing I’m lucky enough to know him and knew from the moment we started planning I wanted him and only him. he was great we had a really fun pre-wedding shoot with him and the results were fab. As soon as he arrived in the morning he put everyone at ease and had everyone laughing. People throughout the day were saying how fantastic he was it was a pleasure to have him there and the shots we have words cannot describe how pleased we are. I would recommend him with out a doubt!
The Details + Decor… As I previously said I wanted it to be cosy and romantic we filled the church with candles and tea lights. the tables had mirrors, crystals, candleabras with tall candles. We also bought props on sticks and put these on the tables and from what I’ve seen since on peoples pictures these went down very well as a bit of entertainment. The room looked stunning all lights were dimmed so it was all candlelit being dark outside the look was just how I had wished for. They also provided bay trees with fairy lights.
The Honeymoon… We stayed at Rushton Hall on the Sunday night and had some spa treatments this was part 1 as weren’t going on honeymoon until January. we also went down to London on the Tuesday we visited the Christian Louboutin shop where Danny bought me some shoes as my wedding present they have been a life long dream! We went on honeymoon in January to Cape Verde we were after a nice relaxing break with plenty of winter sun we got exactly as we wished. It was nice to have the gap in between with Christmas and seeing all our friends and family.
Memorable Moments… It’s so hard to pick, being alone with my dad in the car on the way made me emotional especially when he told me how proud he was. Saying our vows, the speeches, the band especially when they sang Hey Jude with everyone circled around us. We looked round and it was overwhelming.
Advice for Other Couples… Enjoy everything about getting married, from the proposal, the planning and the day itself. You’ll never have another day like it and it goes so fast. It truly was the best day of our lives.
Credit Where Credit is Due…
Dress | Courtyard bridal Kettering Northamptonshire
Photography | Aaron Storry Wedding Photographer
Band | The Replicats Wedding Band
Venue | Rushton Hall Hotel and Spa
Such a chic and classic day.
Thanks so much to Daniel and Harriet for sharing their beautiful wedding with us today and to Aaron Storry for allowing me to share his photographs XOXO Lou