Becki and Stewart’s Beautiful Wedding at Bowcliffe Hall

THE BEGINNING

We had looked around a few venues, but we were really struggling to find a place that really ‘wowed’ us. We heard about Bowcliffe Hall through Becki’s mum, as she works in the wedding industry and was recommended by a work associate. Bowcliffe Hall is truly a hidden gem. We had never been before but as soon as we drove through the gates we knew we had found a breathtaking venue. Bowcliffe  Hall is so stunning, with every intricate detail the whole venue has so much class, but it’s all the tiny details about Bowcliffe that make it so special. We were so happy, relieved and knew we had found ‘The One’.

THE BRIDE

We met through a mutual friend on a night out round York. We had been together for three years before Stu proposed to me whilst we were on a road trip around America. The morning he proposed we had been in a helicopter ride over the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon, followed by a champagne breakfast in the canyon. The experience was  amazing, and I later found that it was in the Grand Canyon he was meant to propose, but when we got to there, Stu had lost the ring! Luckily the ring had just fallen into his suitcase.  I didn’t know this of course until he asked me back in our hotel room. We were staying at the MGM Grand in Vegas and had upgraded to a suite. The room was incredible and the moment was just perfect. I later admitted that I preferred that he had proposed within the privacy of our room; it was also so funny that in typical Stu fashion he didn’t think to check the ring box before we set off on the helicopter ride.

The vision for the day was for it to be very traditional and classic. I knew that I wanted lots of green, and a slight botanical, romantic and slightly boho feel. I wanted to have t he best day ever surrounded by all the people who mean the most to myself and Stu.

I wore a beautiful Enzoni A-line dress. It’s true the saying that you know when it’s the right dress when you try it. It was named after my grandpop’s favorite flower and as soon as I put it on I wanted to cry as I loved it so much. It had everything that I wanted, super girly, a bit boho and classy.

THE GROOM

I first met Becki in town through a mutual friend. And after pestering her to death we finally went on our first date ice skating. We had been together for three years before I proposed in Vegas. I had been planning to propose three months prior and I had been planning to ask in The Grand Canyon. To my horror in the Canyon I couldn’t find the ring so spent the entire time worrying, but luckily it was still in the suitcase when we got back, so I asked her in our room. I was delighted when Becki said yes and that she was actually happier I had asked her without the audience of lots of other people.

I always imagined my wedding day to be very traditional and we both had similar ideas of what we wanted from the day. Bowcliffe fitted the bill on every level.

I wore a slim fit green suit which I found in Moss Bross. I found the waist jacket online first and really liked it and wanted to incorporate with my suit and luckily they went together really well.

ARRIVAL

Luckily Becki’s parents own a vintage wedding car and décor business and so we already knew which vehicles we wanted well in advance! The bridesmaids travelled in a VW camper van. Amongst the classic cars to choose from it was always going to be the 1967 Morris Minor as it’s always been Becki’s favourite.

After the ceremony we put on a bus for our guests which dropped everyone at Bowcliffe Hall. We wanted our friends and family to relax and enjoy the evening without worrying about transport (as we married over a race day bank holiday weekend). Most of our friends and family live in surrounding villages and the bus driver was very kind to do stop offs for everyone.

THE VENUE

We wanted a beautiful venue that felt personal to us but also wanted somewhere that all our friends and family could be in an area that was accessible for both the day and night event.

How did you choose your venue?

When it came to choosing the venue we both knew Bowcliffe Hall was the one. We loved not only the house but the stunning grounds and beautifully kept garden. We adored all the little hidden quirks to Bowcliffe Hall which really make it such a special venue. It was defiantly the elegant green ballroom that won us over completely. Our colour theme was sage green, so we decided to have both the wedding breakfast and evening reception in the ballroom as we felt it is such a beautiful room. Also the huge light up chandelier really enhanced the atmosphere to our night do!  We also loved the drivers club and all the fixtures and fittings which makes Bowcliffe such a standout venue.

THE DÉCOR/THEME

The venue is so beautiful in itself that it really didn’t need to much decorating. We opted for a more glamorous, romantic style and so our florist added a little Ruscus foliage to the candelabras. We had little tea lights dotted sporadically on each of the tables with a mix of small vases with flowers. The table names were a single fern leaf tucked into the napkins with peoples name placed over the top. We wanted the theme to be as fresh looking as possible so we opted for more foliage over flowers. On the top table we had a runner of Ruscus that draped over the end of the table, with candles at varying heights to add a bit more of a romantic look. We also had a weeping willow arch tree behind the top table to create a dramatic but beautiful effect.

THE FLOWERS

I went for a very soft, natural foliage look, with lots of greens and a few white flowers. My bouquet consisted of Ruscus, Eucalyptus, Eustoma, Daisies, Eryngiim, Roses and white Freesia. All the bridesmaid had a smaller version of my bouquet and the men had matching buttonholes.

THE BRIDESMAIDS/GROOMSMEN

We had seven bridesmaid, four groomsmen, one flower girl and two page boys. The bridesmaids wore beautiful halter neck sage green dresses. Our flower girl wore a gorgeous dress from Monsoon which complemented the breidesmaids dresses. The groomsmen wore slim fitted dark green suits which worked really well with the colour theme. They also wore a tweed waist jacket and green ties. Everyone loved the waist jacket and we found matching replicas for our two page boys from the same website that we got the waist jackets from.

THE CEREMONY

The night before the wedding during the rehearsal, We both felt so nervous, we could barely get our lines out. Luckily our village vicar is so lovely and supportive, and encouraged us throughout the ceremony and neither of us managed to fluff up our vows!

When me and my dad were about to walk down the aisle I felt calm and excited that I was about to marry Stu. Just before I walked into church we had playing Andy Williams ‘This Is The Moment’. The lyrics are so beautiful and perfect for all my emotions and feelings for the day. When walking down the aisle and seeing Stu, I felt over whelmed with happiness and didn’t feel nervous at all. We both grinned like Cheshire cats the whole way through the ceremony.

When we were greeting everyone outside we suddenly realised our pet Border Collie, Dylan, had been brought to the ceremony and had sat through the whole church and not barked once! It’s so lovely that our fur baby was there, as he is such a huge part of our life.

THE FOOD AND DRINK

The food, service and general ambience of Bowcliffe Hall just added to the overall amazing day! We had our drinks reception on the garden terrace with a ‘Pimp My Prosecco’ station and beers. We chose for our canapés goats cheese, mini Yorkshire puds and nori rolls which went down a treat..

For our wedding breakfast we chose butternut squash spring rolls, belly pork for mains with Anna of root vegetables for the vegetarian option and a raspberry tart for desert.

We went with tradition by giving all the ladies a wedding favour. We used a lovely lady who owns a business called Sweet Chic that specialises in cakes and favours, she made a beautiful box with three chocolates with a green topping to match our theme.

TELL US ABOUT THE CAKE…

We are so fortunate that Stu’s sister is the best at baking, and she asked if she could do our cake which of course we agreed! We went for chocolate, as it’s always been our favourite! She also made us a second cake for just us two to devour in the comfort of our home!

THE ENTERTAINMENT

For our drinks reception we had a Frank Sinatra tribute singer. He was absolutely incredible and he set the atmosphere! He first sang on the garden terrace and then finished with Frank Sinatra’s biggest hits during the wedding breakfast. It was probably one of my favourite moments of many when everyone had their arms in the air swaying and singing to Frank Sinatra. He fitted the venue and the theme perfectly!

Our first dance song was Ray LaMontagne ‘You Are The Best Thing’. It’s a beautiful song and the lyrics are so lovely.

For the evening entertainment we had a band called The Undercovered. They were fantastic! They sang all the best classics from ‘Summer of 69’ to ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and had everyone up dancing all evening. I can’t recommend them enough. We loved the entire evening and just wish we could do it all again as it went by in a flash!

THE END

By the end of the night and maybe a few too many, apparently I was begging the band not to finish and went to the very lovely girl behind the bar and again begged her to play Meatloaf ‘Paradise By The Dashboard Light’ which she very kindly did. Then I believe it was a case of trying to rally everyone off the dance floor and back onto the bus. In true classy style me and Stu ended up going through McDonalds drive through before staying at Hotel Du Vin for the evening.

THE PHOTOGRAPHY

Silver & Light Wedding Photography

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