Gemma and Richard’s rustic barn real wedding delivers a sense of fun, warmth and love. Every loving moment is beautifully captured by Samson Photography, from their wonderful shabby chic theme to the lovely personal touches they added.
Bride and Groom… Gemma and Richard
Wedding date… Saturday April 27th 2013
We met… At Morrisons, when we both worked there.
The proposal… Was on the 15th October 2011. It was the perfect surprise. After a romantic night spent at Fountains Abbey lit by floodlight, we went back to our log cabin. Relaxing in the hot tub I said it couldn’t get any more perfect than this. But I was wrong; Richard made his excuse and left the hot tub as I chilled out looking at the stars above. When I opened my eyes Richard was on one knee at the side of the hot tub proposing. My response was “Oh My God, are you being serious?” Then of course said “Yes!”
I knew he was ‘the one’… When he managed to make me laugh even on my darkest day. He is always there for me and I would like to think I am always there for him too.
Length of engagement… 18 months
How did Confetti.co.uk help in your big day? We went to Confetti for inspiration and I loved the magazines for my creative mood boards. We changed our minds on details so many times.
My dress was… by Madeline Gardner New York. I tried on so many dresses in so many different styles. I liked them all but they didn’t wow me. Even when I first tried on my dress I wasn’t sure but I walked out of the changing room and my maid of honour cried! My mum wasn’t sure but after a tweak with the feathers, a change of hair style and a magical veil it felt perfect and I knew when I didn’t want to take off the dress, it was the one.
Our bridesmaids… Were perfect. I couldn’t have walked down the aisle without my girls! They were stars helping out the day before the wedding especially. Maid of honour, Nicola was amazing, she organised my Amsterdam hen do, helped with the table plan and place settings. Bridesmaid, Jessica created all the bridal parties beautiful hairstyles. Jessica’s sister Florance was our make-up artist on the wedding day and I would highly recommend her. Bridesmaid, Kaye saved the day in the morning by fixing my bridal jewellery. Bridesmaid Leah made everyone cry at the start of the ceremony leading the way for the bridal party and her perfect throwing of the petals.
Our wedding ceremony was… Held at York Maze. 95 guest attended our civil ceremony in the barn. I thought I would be nervous walking down the aisle but seeing Richard there waiting for me at the end of the aisle, I was just excited. Our favourite moment was dancing down the aisle to “We are family” by Sister Sledge. It was a big surprise for all our family and friends as only the photographers knew about it! It turned out better than we thought as the bridesmaids, best men and other family members joined in dancing after us down the aisle. It’s started the party atmosphere off for the rest of the day as a married couple.
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Madeline Gardner New York | Wedding Shoes: Le Soulier| Wedding Suits: Greenwoods 1860 | Bridesmaid Dresses: Dessy, and Phoenix | Wedding Flowers: Sarah Bird at Home | Wedding Photographer: Sansom Photography | Wedding Hair and Make-up: Florence Falcus | Wedding Catering: The Amazing Wedding Company | Wedding Cake: Ivy Barker
Our wedding photographer was… Chris and Verity from Sansom Photography.co.uk, they were amazing! We couldn’t have asked for better images of our wedding. They even won an international award with an image from our wedding. Included in the package was a fantastic Pre wedding/Engagement shoot, which gave us the opportunity to get to know Chris and Verity better, as well as getting used to being in front of the cameras. They even came the day before to check out the venue. On the big day, Chris and Verity were brilliant; they felt like part of our wedding party.
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Madeline Gardner New York | Wedding Shoes: Le Soulier| Wedding Suits: Greenwoods 1860 | Bridesmaid Dresses: Dessy, and Phoenix | Wedding Flowers: Sarah Bird at Home | Wedding Photographer: Sansom Photography | Wedding Hair and Make-up: Florence Falcus | Wedding Catering: The Amazing Wedding Company | Wedding Cake: Ivy Barker
Our wedding reception was… Also held at York maze. Richard thought I was mental at first when I tried to explain that we could get married at a maze, which comprised of 3 large barns. But when we went to visit we knew it was perfect. The barns are a blank canvas so you can decorate however you wish. We were struggling to find a venue large enough to hold all our family and friends there was a lot of them, 370 people invited. It was worth it.
Our wedding style was… To reflect who we really are. We aimed for personalised shabby chic, with our initials R&G on confetti cones, invitations etc. We wanted to keep the rustic barn feel, with long tables and space. We choose cream, periwinkle blue, fuchsia pink and lilac displayed in our handmade bunting and flowers. We again wanted to keep our table plan personal, so we included the places we had visited together and our next stop the Maldives. We even created a handmade rustic signpost with miles to destination.
For the first dance… We couldn’t decide on one song, so we each picked a song. Richard picked She’s always a woman by Fyfe Dangerfield and I picked You got me by Colbie Caillat. We played them back to back.
Our favourite part of the wedding was... Seeing each other for the first time at the end of the aisle, and then dancing down the aisle. Having the confetti thrown all over us, dancing the night away and sleeping in a tipi tent on our wedding night. The day was better than we could have ever imagined.
Our wedding was unique and special because… We tried our best to make our wedding personal to us. We danced down the aisle instead of walking. We got everyone bouncing on the jumping pillow for photos to create some different shoots for our album and we slept in a tipi tent on our wedding night.
What is your advice for other brides? Have a contingency budget, as things always cost more than you imagine. Be careful of time creeping up on you, as you may feel you have lots of time to complete things for the wedding but before you know it, it’s the month or week of the wedding. Fortunately we were very organised and stuck to a timetable, which helped a lot. It made the run up to the wedding much more stress free. Create a wedding website; it’s an easy way to communicate with guests and keep them updated. We used getting married.com.
Have an engagement party it’s a great way to celebrate being engaged and inform family and friends about the upcoming wedding plans which can be a long way off. Also have an engagement shoot with your photographers it gives you an opportunity to get to know them and get used to being in front of the camera.
Why not have a post wedding party like we did, it’s a good way to show friends and family the wedding and honeymoon photos.
Our honeymoon was to… Kuredu Island Resort Maldives, it was Paradise! I would recommend it to anyone. We needed the rest after the crazy build up to the wedding. So many fantastic memories; flying in a seaplane for the first time, swimming with turtles, stingrays, and manta rays in the crystal clear turquoise sea, being surrounded by dolphins, parasailing, beautiful sun set cruises, night fishing, luxury joint honeymoon massage over the sea with the infinity view of the ocean and Maldivian islands.
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Madeline Gardner New York | Wedding Shoes: Le Soulier| Wedding Suits: Greenwoods 1860 | Bridesmaid Dresses: Dessy, and Phoenix | Wedding Flowers: Sarah Bird at Home | Wedding Photographer: Sansom Photography | Wedding Hair and Make-up: Florence Falcus | Wedding Catering: The Amazing Wedding Company | Wedding Cake: Ivy Barker
Create the Look
Love Gemma and Richards rustic wedding? then you’ll love all our Shabby Chic collection and the mini mood board below!
Above, clockwise from top left: Enchanted Hearts Ivory And Gold Disposable Camera | Classic Round Decorative Birdcage | Champagne Bubbles | Groom Wedding Socks
