Beamish Hall - Joanne and Steve

Joanne and Steve chose Beamish Hall for their glorious early summer wedding day this year.  It was one of those days that the weather just couldn't make up it's mind.  Showers in the morning, crazy wind during their drinks reception, and some beautiful summer sun later, which made for some amazing portraits.  It was a day for fun and cheer, filled with love and wonderful moments and a joy to attend.

Venue: Beamish Hall

Venue styling: Beamish Extras - Beamish Hall

Hair: Lisa Cameron

Make up: Patrycja firmanty

Entertainment: Hip Operation - evening band & Snaparazzi photobooth

Healey Barn - Rosie and Anthony

School teachers, Rosie and Anthony were married at St Robert's R.C Church, heading over to Healey barn for their wedding reception.  I asked them to tell us more about their school themed wedding day, their favourite moments and any advice that they could offer to couples getting married.

How did you meet? How did he propose? What is your story?: "Both of us are teachers and Anthony and I met as we were both teaching at the same school. Three years later, Anthony proposed when we were on a trip to Edinburgh, a couple of days before my birthday. I had no idea what he had planned and was so surprised when he got down on one knee in front of Edinburgh castle. It was very romantic!"

What was the inspiration behind your wedding?: "We wanted quite a relaxed and rustic theme to our wedding day. We visited a wide range of venues looking for the perfect place and as soon as we visited Healey Barn (even though it was still being built!) we fell in love with it straight away. As we are both teachers and that is how we met, our wedding had a school theme to it. The table names were the names of different subjects written on chalk boards and our favours were school-themed cookies! Our master of ceremony (my brother, Chris) used a traditional school bell throughout the day before making his announcements."

What was the most memorable or your favorite part of your wedding day?: :"I think our favourite thing was having all of the people that we love all together in one place and being able to celebrate with them. We both smiled from start to finish! We also made sure we snatched a few moments together throughout the day. The car journey from the church to the Reception was really nice as we had some time just the two of us to take it all in and enjoy it."

Why was photography important to you and why did you choose 2tone Photography?: "Choosing the photographers is such an important part of planning your wedding as the memories are so lovely to look back on. It's vital to have a good rapport with your photographers so that you all feel at ease on the day. As soon as we met Nigel and Chrissie and saw examples of their work, we knew they would be perfect for our wedding. We cannot praise them highly enough and all of our family and friends were so impressed with their professional and friendly approach on the day. The group shots were planned in advance and there was no waiting around on the day.  Nigel and Chrissie got so many fantastic pictures without us even noticing they were there! We could not be happier with the wedding photos we have received, the difficult thing was narrowing them down for the album!"

Do you have any advice for brides and grooms who are currently in the planning process?: "Just enjoy it! We had a two year engagement and planned the wedding very gradually. Everyone says that wedding planning it such a stressful time but it honestly doesn't have to be, we really enjoyed planning ideas around our theme and just had fun. Remember that it's your day and go for whatever will make you happy. Do look around at a range of venues, photographers, florists etc so you can choose your favourites rather than just going for the first ones you see. Try not to stress too much over who to invite or sorting the table plans, do what you feel comfortable with, it will all come together on the day and it will be the best day of your life!"

What is your favorite part of being married now?: "It's just nice to know that we are finally Mr and Mrs and can look forward to lots of exciting times ahead. It's been funny for the children at school to get used to calling me by a new name, so I just respond to both names now!"

Here is their day...

Venue: Healey Barn

The wedding dress: I Do

The men's suits: Slaters

Wedding cake: Vanilla Teas

Flowers: Flowers Unlimited

Hair and Make up: Hair- Lisa Cameron Make up- Sarah Stonehouse

Entertainment: Aaron Bayley Band

Slaley Hall - Sam and Shaun

For our last wedding of August last year we travelled to the beautiful Northumberland countryside and to elegant Slaley Hall for the wedding of Sam and Shaun.  They set the date and chose to tie the know almost exactly ten years to the day after they first became a couple - their stunning wedding cake was designed to feature these special dates alongside the date that they got engaged.   

The day was interchangeable. Sudden rain showers throughout the day attempted to disrupt the flow but a little forward planning meant that the weather didn't become too much of an issue.  The whiskey snug became a great choice for their family photographs and looked very stylish and the corridors with their mirrors and interesting lighting offered us an opportunity for some creative portraits.  Thankfully the rain came down in short bursts so we were also able to get back outside for a few more relaxed photographs of the two of them together.

Sam's beautiful updo was styled by super talented Lisa Cameron, her wedding shoes featuring a sixpence sunk into the insole of the shoe were from Charlotte Mills, and the bride also chose to personalise a pair converse for the evening.

Healey Barn - Helen and David

Healey Barn is the beautiful new wedding venue in Northumberland, located close to Riding Mill and Corbridge, accessible yet still rural.  It's rolling landscapes, surrounding woodlands, and countryside lanes sit it in one of the most beautiful area's of northumberland and the traditional barn buildings offer a cosy candlelit interior, dark beams and wonderful views of the surrounding area.  Sheltered by the farm buildings themselves is a charming courtyard perfect for relaxing with friends and enjoying the fire pits in the evening.   

As you can most likely tell, I completely love this venue, it seems to have everything you could possibly want from a venue for a relaxed wedding, and for those like us who have a love of the outdoors it's a no brainer really!  

We first heard about Healey Barn back in September 2014 while it was still in it's planning stages. Our bride an groom Kirsty and Adam getting married at Healey Barn got in touch and told us all about the exciting new venue, showed us the plans and booked us for their wedding this coming June.  I could hardly wait to work there for the first time and so I was delighted when only 12 weeks before their wedding last summer, Helen and David got in touch to book us for their Healey Barn wedding.  We first met Helen and David at Helen's sister Laura's wedding at Doxford Hall in the summer of 2014.  We all hit if off so well at Laura's wedding so to return to photograph for the family was an honour and a delight.

Helen and David's amazing wedding day was to be the 9th wedding after Healey Barn's opening, and the first Military wedding at the venue.  It was one of the prettiest weddings I have ever attended, filled with soft pastel shades, delicate florals and details inspired by nature.  The couple themselves, warm hearted, fun and completely besotted with one another surrounded by some pretty amazing people to help celebrate the day with.  

I got in touch with Helen and David who are now living in America to fill me in a little on a few more details of the day.  Helen says:

"I knew exactly what I wanted for the table arrangements and exactly where to get the flowers from, so I decided to do all of the table arrangements myself!  Courtesy of my parents and grandparents gardens, that's here I found the beautiful flowers!!  So the day before the wedding off I went with my garden shears.

We planned the whole wedding within just 12 weeks (due to David's RAF posting to the US), with so many ideas floating around this seemed the perfect option and gave chance to add some of our own creativity.  We managed to pull off exactly what we wanted with this personal touch which I am very proud of!  I wouldn't ave done it any other way and without the help of family and friends, who I'd say were our room stylists (they followed orders perfectly)."

After their wedding, we got in touch with Letty and Leanne from Healey Barn to thank them for the wonderful day and to show them a few pictures from the day.  We were simply overjoyed when they asked us to join forces with them and become a recommended supplier for the venue.  We were incredibly proud and honoured to accept their invitation.

A talented team came together to help make Helen and David' day perfect.  The bride sourced her stunning dress from the Wedding dress company in Corbridge, Lisa Cameron styled the bride and bridesmaid's hair working alongside Kristina from KF makeup.   The lads who wore suits from Burtons - except the groom who for part of the day wore his RAF military No. 1's got ready for the day at the Lord Crewe Arms.  The bridesmaids dresses were sourced from the high street and became a good find from Miss Selfridges.  The beautiful wedding bouquets were from Jackie Fox in Gosforth with the fireplace garland by Flowers unlimited.  The table runners and table setting stand were by the finishing touch company, the cake was made by Zoe's cakes in West Moor and the the Ice Cream van was hired from the Parlour at Blagdon.  Coco Luminnaire and AMDJ were hired for the evening.  It just goes to show, that with a little careful planning creativity what you can achieve in just 12 weeks!

Helen and David, it was amazing to work with you both, your sense of fun, creativity and love for one another is inspiring.  We both wish you the very best for your new lives together in America and look forward to seeing you at your cousin's wedding at the end of May! x