Hannah and Lauren's
Sensational Wedding at The Mill Barns
Planning for the future
5 years into the relationship, the time was right for a proposal. Legalisation of same sex marriage was announced in 2013 so it seemed like the perfect time to begin planning our same sex wedding.
Lauren had already proposed by accident and hinted a few times but Hannah had made plans and didn't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet so shunned her initial advances!
The Proposal
Completely oblivious to the occasion, Lauren declined her favourite cocktail (which was part of the set-up), espresso martini, with a casual, "no, I'm alright thanks".
Flowers, candles and Michael Bublé lay in wait in the potting shed and Lauren still didn't twig. Hannah tried to engineer conversation and steer towards plans for the future. Lauren had a tough week at work and couldn't get over it. Out of the blue, Hannah dropped to one knee (we are unsure which one) and opened up a tiny black box. She proposed. Lauren cried and then went silent. Hannah clarified that this meant "yes". 5 years later, the wedding finally took place. Never ones to rush things eh.
The Perfect Venue
The Mill Barns is such a grand and impressive venue by itself but with endless opportunity for personalisation - this was really important to us. The transformation at night time is breathtaking and leaves you feeling like it is a whole new venue.
We had complete trust in the Mill Barns Staff, they not only facilitated our ideas and plans but encouraged them (both in person and via the wedding planner).
Modern Styling
We love metallics - gold, rose gold, copper and put a lot of thought into the styling. We wanted a warm and romantic take on elegant sophistication.
Lauren compromised on the degree of Art Deco and negotiated with Hannah about the intensity of glitter and how many gold dinosaur table holders were appropriate.
As a same sex couple, it was important to give a nod to our LGBTQ community during our wedding, which we did with rainbow flags and a charity donation as part of the favours.
Last Minute Décor
Last minute realisation that additional lighting in the wedding breakfast barn would complete our look directed us to "Jam Jar Weddings and Events". Nadia had exactly what we needed. She dressed the ceremony barn beautifully and complemented our flowers. She fulfilled last minute requests with a smile and helped Hannah's mum, our florist for the day.
We loved the idea of having our decorations being revealed gradually throughout the day and night.
Family Flowers
Hannah's mum did all the floral arrangements and bouquets! We really wanted to use the bouquets on the tables as our centrepieces to show them off! Our adult flower girl, Grace, collected and dried the petal confetti herself for months!
Our inspiration came mainly from Pinterest - styles and colours that we liked were passed onto Louise who worked her magic!
Beautiful Brides
Our dresses came from Brides of York. Sharon was a dream to work with, both in helping us select dresses and in keeping them secret from each other.
Lauren ended up choosing Sharon's "wildcard" dress - champagne coloured, beading and lace with a hint of Art Deco style of course by Kenneth Winston. Lauren's grandma Maureen lent her a beautiful single diamond necklace to complete the look.
Hannah thought she had chosen "the dress" and even celebrated with prosecco. However in the proceeding few hours, had a small melt down and realised it wasn't the dress for her. In a panic, she emailed Sharon who put the dress on hold. Hannah made another visit to Brides of York, armed with her chief bridesmaid Sarah. Sharon was incredibly accommodating and helped Hannah to figure out what sort of dress she wanted. Her gorgeous dress was by White Rose Bridal. Sharon was ALSO right about Hannah's veil - it looked incredible.
Incredible Photography
Jade at Gasp Photo Co was a very early booking in our wedding plans as we were mesmerised by her work and style seen at a wedding fair in the North East.
Jade had set-ups and images in mind but worked with us in a relaxed way to create them. She knew exactly how to get the best out of the pictures and approached the day with a great sense of humour and creativity. We are astounded by the quality of the preview photos she was already sent us and feel proud to show them off. Of particular note is her ability to work with lighting and create atmosphere in her work. We would absolutely recommend Jade for wedding events.
Words of Advice
A planning app like Bridebook and the Mill Barns online wedding planner are very helpful to structure your planning - it can feel a bit overwhelming at times.
Give out jobs! People generally love to be involved in creating your big day - don't feel like you have to do everything yourselves.
Look around at all things wedding-related to find out what you think is important and a priority for you - try not to pre-empt this! Go to wedding fairs and dressed venues, cruise Pinterest and Etsy!
It sounds obvious, but talk with your partner about what you both do and don't like - we were fortunate in that we were engaged for 5 years so had plenty of time to do this!
Super Suppliers
Videographer Gill and Gee Media
Hair
Lauren - Bridal Hair By Shawnie
Hannah -Louise Price Hair Stylist
Make Up
Lauren- Gabrielle Hunt Makeup Artist
Hannah - Michelle G Makeup Artist
No Fireworks Allowed!
Please be aware that we do not allow Fireworks at The Mill Barns. The Fireworks seen in these photographs and the video were let off from a private residence near the venue.
We Love a Sparkler Shot
If you fancy a gorgeous ‘sparkler shot’ please discuss this with the Events Team at The Mill Barns who'll talk you through our guidelines on this.