Lovely DIY Orange & Mint Conservatory Wedding

A wedding which has a lot of love poured into it is just oh so special in my opinion.

Louise and Tim’s nearest and dearest all came together to craft their day. From crafting evenings to a wine tasting get-together and using meaningful fabric for the 99 meters of bunting, they really enjoyed the planning process.

I love the unusual orange and mint colour scheme complete with colour pop bouquets and vibrant attire. Not to mention Louise’s divine LouLou Bridal ‘Cynthia’ frock which she accessorised with a pretty hair comb. Just lovely.

Thanks so much to the brilliant Tierney Photography for sharing these photographs with us this morning.

THE PROPOSAL | Tim asked me to marry him in one of our favourite places, Greenwich Park. He picked a spot overlooking the river, with a view over the city skyline. In the evening we went to Blackheath fireworks with our two best mates (the best man and the maid of honour) and it felt like the perfect celebration.

Tim asked my dad beforehand in the traditional way! However he asked him when they went on a brewery tour (they both love real ale) and they both got so drunk that he couldn’t remember if my dad had said yes the next day.

THE VISION | We wanted a really fun and personal day involving everyone we love, with lots of DIY touches that we could do ourselves and that meant a lot to us and our family and friends. We loved the vintage, English countryside vibe so we made 99 metres of bunting (the last metre went wrong so we just cut it off haha). We used my parents’ curtains, Tim’s grandma’s old pillow cases and any material we could get our hands on. Loads of people, particularly my mum, helped which was lovely. I wrapped jars in twine for the table decorations and my mum and dad grew beautiful sweetpeas in their garden to put in them. We chose pictures of our favourite places and made the photos look like old railway posters on photoshop. Tim’s step dad also made us a cut out ‘bride and groom’ board like you see on Brighton pier which was great fun on the day. Tim’s uncle played piano during the ceremony, Tim’s step dad’s skiffle band played after the food and Tim’s dad sang a beautiful Yorkshire folk song after the speeches. Our three friends also made our bunting themed cake which had three different flavoured layers. I’m completely biased, but it’s definitely the best cake I’ve ever seen. It really felt that everyone completely helped us ‘make’ the day and we were so grateful.

We were also really keen to not just enjoy the wedding, but the run up itself. We did things like hold a wine tasting evening with our best man, maid of honour and parents in which we cooked our wedding food and tried some wines that would go with it. I also had a prosecco and bunting night with some of my closest friends. We didn’t make much, but we had fun in the process!

THE PLANNING PROCESS | It took us about 18 months to plan the wedding. Once we had the venue, the marquee and the colour scheme, everything just flowed from there. We chose a colour scheme of peach/orange, mint and cream as we thought it was really summery and complimented the look of the day beautifully. I started the bunting and the jars wrapped in twine really early as I knew they would take ages. I basically watched the entirety of breaking bad and game of thrones making them.

THE VENUE | We knew straight away that we wanted to get married at Wentworth Castle Gardens in Stainborough, near Barnsley. We used to go there with Tim’s family and loved the setting, the gardens, the mini castle and the rolling countryside. We were so pleased when Wentworth started using the newly restored conservatory for wedding ceremonies. It’s a gorgeous, peaceful place and felt like the right venue as soon as we stepped inside. It also needed absolutely no decoration as it looks incredible. Tim is a history teacher and he enjoyed researching the history of the estate and the Wentworth family.

The catering was provided by Complete Catering in Doncaster. Their customer service was brilliant from start to finish. Danielle at Complete listened to all of our ideas and designed the ‘different’ menu that we wanted – a mezze starter and Greek inspired barbecue menu, served to the table on big boards which got everyone sharing dishes and talking. The food was delicious! They also thought of every detail, including tankards for the real ale that we bought locally and a teaspoon on Tim’s little sister’s place setting. She mentioned to Danielle that a teaspoon made her dessert last longer once months before the wedding and Danielle did not forget on the big day!

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | I knew I wanted something a bit ‘vintage’ from the off. I did loads of research online and fell in love with the dresses by Lou Lou Bridal. I adored the ‘Cynthia’ dress and my mum and best friend agreed that it was ‘the one’. I found a stockist (Twirl Bridal) near my parents’ house and tried on six dresses, including Cynthia. It was the second one I tried and I knew as soon as I put it on that the dress was ‘it’. Two hours and I was sorted! I also scoured everywhere for a hair comb and found a gold, pearl and diamanté one on eBay.

My hair and make-up and the hair and make-up of the bridesmaids and my Mum was all done by Lauren O’Hara. Lauren is a very talented make-up artist, based in Sheffield and I would thoroughly recommend her. She was so calm and chilled on the day and made the whole morning really fun and peaceful.

GROOM’S ATTIRE | Tim wears a suit everyday for work and really wanted a suit that was a bit more ‘special’. He went for a Moss Bros three piece bespoke suit which he loves, and he looked the bees knees.

THE READINGS & MUSIC | Music was a huge thing for us to get right as we are passionate music lovers. We chose three cheesy, but wonderful songs to play during the wedding. All our favourites and all holding great meaning to us both. Tim’s uncle played ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ by the Beach Boys on the piano as I walked in with my dad. He then played ‘You Make My Dreams’ by Hall and Oates as we walked out which was great fun. We then had ‘Sweet Disposition’ by the Temper Trap as our first dance which was a real crowd pleaser. However, more importantly Tim’s dad and step-dad were crucial to our music throughout the evening. Tim’s dad sang a beautiful Yorkshire folk song after the speeches about marriage and Tim’s step dad’s group ‘The Buskin’ Buddies’ played a stonking set of old tunes which got everyone warmed up and dancing away 🙂

Our final band were the brilliant Stereo Soldiers. They basically played every indie and pop song from the 90s and 00s that we loved and the dance floor was heaving from start to finish.

We had two readings which were extremely special to us during the wedding. Tim’s Mum read excerpts from the Supreme Court Ruling on same sex marriage (Obergefell vs Hodges). The ruling had some beautiful passages about the importance and evolution of marriage and it meant a lot to us and our friends. The second was ‘I Like You’ by Sandol Stoddard Warburg which summed us up very well!

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | I had my best friend, Lizzie, and Tim’s sister, Catherine, as my bridesmaid. I’m an only child and was over the moon to inherit Catherine and Tim’s other brothers and sisters as my own. They looked stunning in mint My Pretty Dress Company dresses.

THE FLOWERS | Jill at Plantology in Sheffield did an incredible job of all of the flowers. They were a big part of the day for me as I love flowers. We had peach, orange and cream alstroemeria and roses and eucalyptus. My mum had alstroemeria in her wedding bouquet and it was very special also having them in mine.

As I said, it was also so special for my mum and dad to grow the sweetpeas. They live near Portsmouth so it was a bit of home brought to our wedding day.

THE CAKE | Our three wonderful friends, Steph, Lauren and Alice made our fantastic cake. It was a complete surprise until the day – we had no idea what it would look like or what it would taste like. It looked sublime, completely echoing the theme of the day and had tiny, home-made bunting on it itself! It also tasted fantastic – there was a fruit, chocolate and orange layer.

The wonderful Gemma of Honey Cupcakes in Barnsley made six different flavours of cupcakes that we ate as dessert during the meal. They were sublime and looked amazing.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Mark Tierney was brilliant. Patient, unobtrusive and totally captured the essence of the day. To say we were thrilled with the photos was an understatement.

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | It was so important to us to DIY the details and décor or to use local suppliers where we couldn’t do things ourself. We designed all of the invitations and table settings/orders of service ourselves and put them together using pegs and lolly pop sticks! We made the bunting, the jars and posters as I said. We collected jars for months and used material for the bunting donated by family and friends or visited local charity shops. We made a ‘thank you’ and ‘leave a message’ board from some of the material and canvases and did the same for our table plan with our vintage posters. We used an old suitcase from our friend Holly for the cards and used Tim’s grandma’s table cloths for the cards table. Our absolute favourite thing that was made was our ‘cut out’ bride and groom. Tim’s step dad, John, makes scenery for plays at the village hall and the village school and he did such an amazing job of the cut out – it looked incredible and would have fitted in nicely on Brighton pier. Everyone loved having their pictures with it and we gave it to Wentworth at the end of the day.

THE HONEYMOON | We had a few days after the wedding in the Lake District in a gorgeous cottage in Borrowdale. It was so relaxing and the walking in the valley/around the lakes was brilliant, even in the rain. In October we were lucky enough to go to Vietnam for two weeks for our main honeymoon. It was fantastic to backpack around the country but at the same time stay in some first class hotels! We had lots of adventures and ate incredible food and loved every second of it.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | The actual ceremony itself was the best moment of my life. I felt like no one else was in the room when I looked into Tim’s eyes. Making my vows to Tim was the most happy moment, which I will never forget.

I am completely biased as well but the three speeches by Tim, my dad, and Alistair the best man were the best I’ve heard. They were all heartfelt, funny and brilliantly written and delivered. I was so proud. Other memorable moments were all of our friends and family crowding the dance floor at the end of our first dance and the big cheer as we entered the marquee for our wedding breakfast as husband and wife.

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Enjoy the run up to the big day as much as you can. It is stressful planning a wedding, but it should also be fun, so try and enjoy the process and get as many friends and family as you can involved, it just makes it even more special. On the day itself, just wake up and let it all wash over you and enjoy it! Before the day Tim and I were really worried about how the day would run and the rain that was forecast. However, when it starts, the day runs itself and everyone is there to help you have the best day ever even if things go a little off plan! When it rained on our wedding day, it didn’t matter a jot. Our outside drinks just moved inside, and the staff from Wentworth and Complete Catering were fantastic at making that all happen. Another top tip is to find great suppliers and trust them – they do weddings all the time and specialise at making wedding days run as smoothly as possible, so just concentrate on having a great time!

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Our rings were made by the Best Man’s sister, an incredibly talented lady called Victoria Kelsey.

Photography | Mark Tierney – we were over the moon with our photos and Mark was brilliant to work with. We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending him.

Make up and hair was the very lovely Lauren O’Hara.

Wedding dress | Designer was Lou Lou Bridal – from Twirl Bridal Boutique (not local though, from down south!)

Tim’s suit | Moss Bespoke

Our extremely talented pianist who learnt our two wedding songs | Pete Anderson

Cake | Our incredible friends Steph, Lauren and Alice.

Cupcakes | The amazingly talented Gemma from Honey Cupcakes in Barnsley.

Flowers | Plantology Floral Creations in Sheffield – Jill did an amazing job.

Venue | Wentworth Castle Gardens – Del did a great job on the day.

Caterers | Complete Catering – Danielle was a rock throughout and we would highly recommend them!

Marquee Company | Thom Thom Events were professional throughout!

Band | Very talented Stereo Soldiers.

Buskin’ Buddies | John, Rob and Frank! So retro that they don’t have a website…

Car | MB Executive Chauffeurs

Beer | Bradfield Brewery and Arundel Brewery

Bunting, wedding stationery and table decs – all of it made by us, our friends and Louise’s mum who also donated a pair of curtains to the process and then used it as an excuse to buy some new ones… 😉

The weather may have been damp but spirits were most definitely high. And how gorgeous was the conservatory setting?

Thanks so much to Louise and Tim for sharing their story with us today xo Lou