Fiona Bielby
- Apr 10, 2020
- 4 min read

Charlotte and David's Military Wedding at Birdsall House, North Yorkshire.

From meeting Charlotte and David, I knew they were an organised pair that said, they are literally the only wedding party who’ve given the ushers and maid of honour ‘ear pieces’ to communicate with one another. I can highly recommend it though! They had every base covered and the day finely tuned, even their group photos were done in half the time, leaving us extra time for the photos of Charlotte and David. I suppose with Charlotte’s sister working in event organising there’s no the wonder she was a true asset her sister’s wedding.

The cheeky grooms men thought it would be funny to grab an umbrella each.

The Bridal Party outside Birdsall House with bubbles and umbrellas...

Mr and Mrs Ashe chose to get married in Birdsall at the church, which is set within the grounds of Birdsall House where they held the celebrations. They were open minded when they began to look at venues, they didn’t have an ‘ideal’ venue in mind but they did know that they wanted to get wed near where they were both brought up and with Charlotte’s family living within a mile of the estate it was somewhere they knew they should look. From the moment they made contact with Cara Willoughby (owner of the family home) they were sold, she was warm, welcoming and happy to show them around herself. Charlotte and David loved the character the period property had to offer and to seal the deal they fell in love with the unique backdrop the grounds had to offer…A lake, a folly and the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Wolds, what a space!

The church had the most stunning organ and decor, there wasn't a lot you needed to do to make this spot shine.

Details of the day...

Mid ceremony, the couple ways had smiles on their faces.

David's military groomsmen looked super smart.

A view from the house towards the end of the day.

The tranquil, fields surrounding the venue, were full of these stunning beasts grazing peacefully.

The rear of Birdsall House where the lake is situated.

Portrait of the couple at Birdsall House.

The folly is set within the grounds of Birdsall House; this is the part of the day David enjoyed most, just being with his new wife.

When it came to styling and decorating the venue, the couple both agreed they wanted to keep this to a minimum, with the property already having such charm they didn’t want anything over-the-top, so most of the décor was placed in the marquee at the back of the house where the night do took place. Even here they kept things simple with paper lanterns hanging from the marquee’s ceiling a few photos and bits and bobs placed on the tables too. The dance floor was garnished with the odd giant glitter ball, which brought tasteful, glitz to the evening do. The most important things to Charlotte and David really were that they had a great venue, delicious food and drink along with a good photographer to capture it all. (This said I’m pleased to say they were delighted with their photos!)

I agree, Birdsall House is so tastefully decorated it doesn't need much to set it all off!

Small touches like this add to the day.

The pair had a choice a champagne and Aperol Sprtitz for their guests welcome drinks.

Plus a chilled larger for those who preferred something lighter...

Canapés drifted around the mingling guests...

Places of significance, is how the couple decided to name the tables: This can be a popular idea and personal to every couple.

The ballroom being set up by the catering company.

Each table got a joint of beef to carve, this made for lots of fun and was a perfect icebreaker.

Simple bits and bobs were placed in the centre of the tables where the night do took place.

Lanterns and candles in hurricane jars are on trend, plus they are a cost effective way to decorate outdoor areas of the venue and work particularly well on steps.

Stylish bar area, set up in the marquee at Birdsall House

The 'cheesecake' it looked so good, plus it made for good nibbles at the evening do.

Simple and elegant, the glitzy, mirror balls hung from the fairy lit ceiling of the marquee.

Something that every bride spends hours deliberating over is the dress and how to choose it… Charlotte’s story I have to say my be one of my favourites of last year…

“With my dress, again we wanted to purchase everything local to Yorkshire. I was very lucky and visited one bridal shop in the centre of York and found my dress. We knew it was the one, as a stranger outside the shop window stopped in her tracks and started crying, as she thought the dress looked beautiful. We bought it there and then.” Shared Charlotte. What a wonderful story.

When it came to the shoes Charlotte didn’t spend too much time worrying about this, her dress was so long and like she said, “I could have been wearing converse under there and no one would have ever known.” So she chose to keep the cost down here, only spending £20 on a pair of mid-heeled white sandals. #Money_saving_tip_here_ladies.

The elegant, lacy trail on this dress followed Charlotte perfectly down the aisle.

The high neckline added class to the lacy dress with the simple skirt hanging perfectly.

The dress during movement looked stunning and Charlotte is right, you can hardly see her feet even here.

The low cut, v-shaped back with button detailing is just beautiful and just right for Charlotte's slight frame.

Pastel glitter in blush pink, is what the bridesmaids wore and they looked incredible, the style of the dress was perfect for the time of year with ¾ length sleeves and a full A-line skirt it was elegant but comfortable to wear and I kept them a little warmer too. These, Charlotte had bought on a whim on Black Friday the year before her wedding, they had a huge 50% off and came from the high street shop, Dorothy Perkins another great money saving tip: It’s always worth checking out high street shops for the bridesmaids, you can literally save £100s.

Gorgeous and truly complimenting one another outfits.

There's even some ruins at Birdsall House, ideal for photos!

Simple, pastel roses with gypsophila and muted greenery made for delicate boutiques which set off the simple bridesmaid's dresses.

Stunning from behind too.

Whilst the bride chatted, these two where messing about in her veil :)

Here’s some words from the couple, I always like to find out about their favourite parts of the day and best memories. Charlotte goes first…

“For me, it was just the whole day that was memorable. When you see it all come together, it's amazing. Also, when you see all your friends and family there in one place (and some of them have travelled very far from Canada and Hong Kong), it was just wonderful.“

David's fondest memory…

“After the meal, it was lovely to just spend time wandering the grounds as a married couple, whilst we had our photographs taken.”

The driveway to the House is lined with these stunning trees.

Getting down to the folly was a little bit of a challenge in the dress, but Charlotte was determined.

A coming back up the hill from the folly was fun too...

The ground at Birdsall House, one of the reasons the pair chose the venue, I can see why.

On a night they light up the old ruins and they perfectly lit up Charlotte and David!

I was so chuffed to hear that David’s memories included the part of the day when we took photos.

Advice from the couple, to others planning their day…

“We recommend to start planning as soon as possible. We tried to stick to a budget and the best way for us to pay for things was little amounts each month, rather than one large sum. We used a spreadsheet to keep track of everything and spread the jobs between us. Also, use your contacts! A lot of our friends and family chipped in with their own skills to help with the process.” I’m always happy to discuss instalment, based payments with anyone who’d like to book their photography with me; it generates a monthly income for myself and helps you to spread payments making them more manageable.