Newlyweds Michelle and Jonny chose the beautiful Lartington Hall in County Durham for their summer’s wedding last year, complete with a timeless colour palette of white and navy.
Details on the day included gold-foiled stationery, a marble seating plan and a glamorous four-tiered cake adorned with glitter and ruffles. The stunning bouquet meanwhile consisted of elegant white calla lilies, avalanche roses, eucalyptus, fountain grass and gyp.
The couple surprised one another with gifts on the day too as an extra special touch, with the bride being treated to a new car wrapped in a bow.
With images by Joel Skingle Photography
The proposal
Jonny whisked me away on a surprise trip to Paris. To ensure our time there was perfect, Jonny thought of every last detail – from the stunning hotel with its breathtaking location and views of the city to romantic outings. Jonny proposed at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower in the gardens. It was so romantic.
The venue
We got married on Saturday 28th July 2018 at Lartington Hall. We knew we wanted a venue where we could stop over the night before and have an intimate dinner party with family and friends.
When searching for a venue, Lartington Hall was the most breath-taking we visited by far. Its interiors are designed beautifully; giving the grandeur of Lartington yet it still feels welcoming, warm and cosy.
The best aspect of Lartington is that you have the venue to yourself. There are no other weddings, parties or residents there other than your own guests, which just makes it feel so exclusive. Jonny and I were beaming as we had our first tour, blown away room by room.
Owners Shona and John were remarkable throughout the planning and on the day itself; we cannot fault them or their beautiful venue. Not once did we doubt our choice, nor have we regretted choosing Lartington since.
The photographer
Joel Skingle was our wedding photographer and he came highly recommended to us. I instantly fell in love with how Joel captured those once in a lifetime moments in his shots without them too looking staged. We were genuinely blown away with not only the quality of the photos produced but the service Joel provided. Our wedding photos have more than exceeded our expectations, with special moments that will stay in hearts forever captured beautifully.
The details
We wanted our wedding to have a simple yet elegant feel with a fresh colour palette ranging from white to navy. With regards to the style, we opted for a less is more theme to keep everything timeless.
Our wedding invites, name place cards, napkins and table numbers were made by the incredibly talented Natalie Lucas of Lucas and Co. The invites were luxurious foil printed with personalised wax seals and our napkins were a grey linen effect with our names pressed in gold foil. The table numbers were clear acrylics with pressed flowers and brass screws.
Sam Green provided us with our breath-taking marble seating plan, which was a pure work of art. Sam also created confetti cones filled with fresh ivory rose petals.
My bouquet, created by Diana Kaye, consisted of white calla lilies, avalanche roses, eucalyptus, fountain grass and a touch of gyp. We had a long and low floral arrangement which we used in the chapel and also for the top table. Our centrepieces featured flowers in tall vases with an iced effect and stood on mirrored plates with candles.
Isabelle Bambridge of The Designer Cake Company created our stunning four-tiered cake – the bottom tier was ivory/white Vera Wang draped ruffles, followed by a grey marbled iced second tier, a third glitter finished tier and topped with a delicate diamond design final tier.
The dress
I got my wonderful wedding dress from The Bridal Collection in Harrogate. My mum picked out my Sassi Holford, Amaris gown and there were tears in her eyes before she even saw me in it. I never thought I wanted something so bridal but it just felt amazing on.
The special touches
On the day of our wedding Jonny had a beautiful handwritten letter sent in to me along with some thoughtful gifts for our honeymoon and also a little black box. Our photographer, Joel, had sneakily shut the curtains, which he said was for lighting reasons. In fact, it was to ensure I didn’t see what was happening outside. Inside the little black box was the key to my new car; at that moment the curtains were opened and there it was parked outside with a bow on top and a handmade label saying ‘Mrs French’! Thank goodness I had bought Jonny a gift! On his gift label I wrote, ‘be on time’ and inside was a watch.
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