Pared back elegance is what firm favourite venue Middleton Lodge is known for, and Chloe and Aston’s wedding was no exception. Sometimes it really is best to keep it simple…
If you’re still venue shopping, you might want to add the stunning Middleton Lodge to your ‘To See’ list because we’ve yet to find a wedding held at the beautiful Yorkshire estate that isn’t unbelievable amounts of pretty. It’s hard to go wrong when the backdrops are this downright gorgeous, something today’s couple, Chloe and Aston, spotted right away.
Bride Chloe chose to accent her venue of choice with an all natural palette of white, greens and a hint of very pale pink, and then kitted out her bridesmaids in matching forest green Rewritten dresses. It’s a match made in colour combo heaven. Read on for your daily dose of wedding inspo.
With photography by UNVEILED Network Member Laura Calderwood Photography
Proposal
Chloe says: We got engaged on the 26th of May 2018. Aston took us to one of our favourite cafés for brunch and proposed in the grounds overlooking the countryside in North Yorkshire. He had then arranged a surprise get together with our closest family and friends that afternoon to celebrate, which was so lovely.
Setting
We chose August as we really wanted a summer wedding so that we could have music and photos in the gardens. We also have a lot of friends and family who are teachers and, as our wedding date was a Friday, we wanted to make sure they could easily join us!
We got married in the Main House of Middleton Lodge with the reception in the adjoining marquee. We chose Middleton Lodge because the house and grounds are absolutely stunning. As the venue is totally private, we were guaranteed to have the place to ourselves for the whole day which was something we really wanted. We particularly loved the main house as the indoor and outdoor venues for the ceremony were both amazing, just in case it rained… and it did! The indoor venue has a huge spiral staircase which my bridesmaids and I walked down. It was so special!
Theme
We wanted everything super simple and elegant. Middleton Lodge offered so much in terms of style that I felt I didn’t need to add too much! I chose very natural colours. whites, cream, very pale pink and green. My flowers were mainly white and green with a hint of pink from some amazing blush David Austin roses. My stationery was also white with very pale green accents, all wrapped in ivory bows on each place setting.
Dress
I chose a dress by Pronovias. I felt it suited our ‘simple and elegant’ theme for the day. It was very simple, a fitted white body with a hint of sparkle in the beaded, embroidered cap sleeves. It had a low back and long train which I loved!
I bought it from Victoria Robson Bridal in Northallerton and I would recommend Victoria and her team no end!
Groomsmen
Aston decided to buy his own suit so that he could tailor it to fit perfectly. He ended up buying a navy suit from M&S which was brilliant value and quality. Our Groomsmen also wore matching suits from M&S.
Bridesmaids
Our bridesmaids wore forest green dresses called Berlin from We Are Rewritten. Initially I didn’t think this was the colour I would have gone for but, when trying the dresses on, all of the girls looked amazing in this colour and it actually contrasted the white and pink flowers so well! The girls all wore the same style of dress too, as it was a very simple shape it complimented my dress too!
Beauty
Hair was done by Natasha Rodrigues and our makeup artist was Cara Davison.
Photographer
Our photographer was Laura Calderwood. We chose Laura because her style of photography was so natural and really captured the feelings and atmosphere of her weddings. Laura made us and our guests feel so comfortable on the day. She was super approachable and of course, her photos were absolutely amazing. Laura captured all of the perfect moments that we can now look back on forever. The turnaround of the photos was also super quick; we received a preview of all of the best shots a few days later when we were on our honeymoon which was amazing.
Videographer
We used York Place Studios for our videographer. After seeing our friend’s wedding videos I knew this was something I really wanted for our wedding day. York Place Films didn’t disappoint and what they produced was incredible. They capture so many moments you don’t see on the day or just forget about! We’re a year on now and we still want to watch it all of the time! Our friends and family have also loved watching it back, especially the evening part where some interesting dance moves were caught on film!
Styling
Our florist was Felicity from Briar House Flowers. I loved working with Felicity, she made the build up so special and executed my vision for the flowers perfectly.
Through our bouquets, centrepieces and button holes we decided on a mix of Sweet Avalanche, palest pink roses, blush pink David Austin perfumed roses, ivory spray roses, ivory wax flower, ammi, white lisianthus, white and pink astilbe, with eucalyptus and trailing ruscus foliages.
Our stationery was done by Lilac & White on Etsy.
Favours
The Mother of the Groom, Sam, did an amazing job and made us some sloe gin using sloes from the family garden. I set these up on a separate table so that our guests could help themselves throughout the evening. They went down so well!
Cake
I wanted a very simple, lemon and elderflower butter icing cake, decorated with flowers to match my bouquet. My brother-in-law is an extremely talented chef and kindly offered to make our cake for us. Andy did a spectacular job and we couldn’t thank him enough. Our guests couldn’t believe he made it! We also benefited from Andy’s many months of practicing beforehand, I think we must have eaten three or four wedding cakes before the big day!
Dining
We went to a full menu tasting at Middleton Lodge with our family in the run up to the wedding. This really helped us choose the perfect menu for the reception. We went for Yorkshire chicken and mushroom terrine followed by sirloin beef & cheek, smoked potato, carrots and kale. Then for dessert, passion fruit panna cotta, maple and almond granola with a mango sorbet.
We also had our favourite martini cocktails waiting for us on the top table as a little extra treat!
Entertainment
We decided on a band who could provide both music for reception drinks as well as the evening party. We ended up choosing Matt Strafford Band after watching hundreds of preview videos online and I honestly can’t recommend them enough! They had the dancefloor full the whole night and all of our friends commented on how great they were! I can’t wait to book them again for another event. We also hired a DJ/Sax for in between the band sets which kept the party going!
Special touches
Both of our dads did a speech, which we loved, and our two sisters were our witnesses which was super special.
We didn’t want the party to end so decided to carry on the celebrations into the following day. We hosted our guests at home on the Saturday. We hired a Mexican street food van, played garden games and danced into the night (again!) with family and friends. The Father of the Groom, Tony, surprised us with a spectacular fireworks display which topped off the two days! We loved this second day as it meant we could hear everyone’s stories of the wedding day and the celebrations weren’t over too quickly!
Thanks to
We would give our venue an outstanding 10/10. Every detail was perfect. They helped us co-ordinate the most seamless, fabulous day. I would recommend Middleton Lodge to any couple because the venue is so beautiful but also because the staff were so supportive. The whole experience was super easy and fun!
Best Bit
Our favourite part of the day was being on the dancefloor with all of our friends and family in the evening. Our first dance was to Lovely Day by Bill Withers and we have the most amazing memories of everyone joining us on the dancefloor after the first dance. We remember looking around seeing everyone having just the best time!
Advice
Our band really made our evening so I would recommend other couples to put the time into researching this. Also, relax! Take it all in and enjoy spending the time with all of your family and friends. Don’t worry if something small isn’t exactly what you planned – it really won’t matter!
Contributors
This is a sponsored post
Contact us to work with UNVEILED in print or online.