Once set up on a blind date, by friends, Rachel joked she thought she’s scared Gareth off, until he asked her on a second one. These two have now been together for ten and half years, they’ve built and renovated a home together and brought their son Isaac in to the world, who they are both clearly very proud of.
In fact, it’s because of this young man that they became engaged. I love their story! Rachel told me how Gareth had collect herself and Isaac from York hospital to bring them home not long after he’d arrived, they’d stopped at Thompson’s Fish and Chip shop on the A64 for tea and Gareth had surprised her by asking her the marry him as they ate their take away fish and chips.
Rachel got on to planning the wedding instantly; I remember her getting in touch to ask about the photos and her telling me how she had a six week old baby at the time. Planning was made easier, as they were pretty set on where they would host the wedding, after attending a charity ball at Deepdale Farm. After the ball, they’d both thought it would be a great place to host a wedding, so that’s what they did. Deepdale Farm is the coolest of venues, it’s a huge agricultural building, filled with fairy lights and cleverly decorated with draping, streams of white fabric hung from the rafters, as a base to start with, from this point the couples make it theirs. Because Rachel and Gareth live on a farm, it made sense to add touches of this in places throughout their day. They kept things rustic with a splash of colour. Vintage milk churns planted up by Gareth’s mum were dotted around the venue adding a country feel to the setting. Inside, the long, trellis tables were subtly embellished with sprays of fuchsia and navy balloons, along with strings of ivy, country flowers and little wooden place names, which made it feel relaxed, just as they had wanted. Rachel kept the floral decor low, on the recommendation of her Mum, Lynne and her friend Jennie, which meant everyone could see one another-making my job much easier during the speeches too.
They added their personalities to the events of the day as well as the decor; Gareth had arranged for Rachel to be collected from the cabin, by a tractor and trailer with straw-bale seats. I know Rachel had her reservations when it came to this, but told me later she’s so pleased she did it, because it meant a lot to Gareth and turned out to be so much fun. Plus, she’s the first bride to make her entrance on the back of a tractor at the venue, we since found out.
Not leaving it here; the couple ordered a bucking sheep to entertain everyone after the BBQ luncheon, this certainly added some humour to the evening and was very fitting with Gareth having sheep on the farm. They also had other fun games for the guests to engage in.
I’ve told you how and when they got engaged, so does it surprise you to hear that they had a fish and chip supper later on in the day? Their day was a lot of fun from start to finish, take a look below and also hear what advice they have to offer…
WORDS OF ADVICE FROM THE COUPLE. Rachel: “I love a spreadsheet and this helped with the budget, table plans and my to-do list. Book you essentials ASAP to get who you want.”
These two even got a rainbow, I wonder where they ordered this?
Credits to suppliers: Photos: Anoif Photography | Venue: Deepdale Farm, Nr Kirkbymoorside | Flowers: The Florist North Yorkshire | Make up: Emma Wilford | Hair Katy Rudd & Philippa Bentley (Based in Malton) | Venue Decor: Gillian & Sally (Gareth's Mum and Aunt) | Table flowers: Mum, Lynne and her friend Jennie | Balloons: The Little Ballon Company | Cake: Apple Charlotte | Food: Homegrown Hospitality and Fish and Chip Van