Both Beth and Tom work within the NHS and at times, described their jobs as being immensely stressful, so the thought of planning a big, fat wedding seemed overwhelming and unnecessary to them both.
Instead of planning a wedding that potentially could stress them to high heavens, they decided to plan something smaller, something more intermit with their absolute nearest and dearest, an enjoyable day for them all. Because Tom’s Dad and Beth’s Mum are religious people they chose to get married in their local church, at Huntington, knowing how much this would mean to them both. There were only 13 people, including Beth and Tom on their day, but getting married in the church meant that some close friends and other family members could turn up and watch too. This really meant a lot to them. Beth couldn’t believe that friends and colleague from work had waited to watch her arrive and leave the church, I know this touched her massively, as she said afterwards, how lovely and unexpected it had been to see them.
When it came to the colour palette, Beth and Tom kept things natural and simple, using lots of green foliage to fill out their decor and where necessary they added rustic, seasonal flowers, which complimented both the church and the venue afterwards. A great tip for savvy couples who would like to keep costs lower, whilst using what's available at the time. Using flowers to decorate the church and the transporting them to then venue later is a great idea too, not only does it save money, it's eco friendly too.
After the service, the couple headed back to The Mill, at Stillington, a place they both describe as, ‘their little secret place.’ They discovered the mill post lockdown as things began to open back up. They loved the fact that only a few people knew of it's hidden location; also, they really liked how beautiful, peaceful and friendly the place is. They’d made some wonderful memories there already, enjoying afternoons and evenings together, before they were engaged. They told me how they'd often both commented what a wonderful place it would be to have a wedding as well.
When Tom proposed to Beth in October 2021, whilst in Canada, at Lake Louise they knew right then where they would celebrate. They wanted to keep everything as local to them as possible, so people didn't need to stress and worry about getting from place to place. With this in mind, they got Kiki, a cook living nearby to come and cook to most incredible Mediterranean, veggie food for everyone to graze and enjoy. Both of them enjoy travelling, so representing this within their cuisine meant a lot to them. They wanted it to be an informal affair so opted for finger type foods, that people could enjoy as they chatted and listened to the band. The band another thoughtful addition was lead by one of Tom's friends, it added the most lovely feeling to the afternoon as their acoustic notes gently floated through the trees.
Their day was just as they had wanted, they spent quality time with their immediate family, grazing on olives and almonds as they sipped gin and tonic in the idilic gardens of the Mill. Carefree and no stress at all.
Maggie and Paul the owners, have a keen eye for details and they’d decorated the tables beautifully with assorts of nick-knacks, I’ve actually never seen anything like it, take a look and see what you think.
WORDS OF ADVICE FROM THE COUPLE
"Do it for you!
Don’t do it for everyone else.
This was made so simple by the fact that we were never worrying about what would be a crowd pleaser or who would sit next to who, how they would organise transport and potentially going down the route of creating a wedding website- so many couples do this now. By choosing to have only family, we knew they would be happy with whatever we chose to do; we knew they'd be happy, knowing we were happy, which meant nothing else mattered.
Everything was local which again made the logistics easier for the day, for everyone involved."
Credits to Suppliers