Here’s the story behind Cathy & Andrew’s Anglo-Scottish Prestwold Hall Wedding Photography last summer.
The day had a real Celtic feel about it, with kilts on display, a bagpiper and a Ceilidh band providing some great entertainment in the evening.
It was my last time working with Dennison Classic Cars. I’ve worked with Jo & Peter on several occasions before, and they’ve always been an absolute pleasure to work with. Jo mentioned on the day that they were retiring, and they’d only a few months left before hanging up the driving gloves. The loveliest of couples, I’ll again take this opportunity to wish them both all the very best for their future and to say that they’re greatly missed within the East Midlands wedding industry.
Always a pleasure to work with the fabulous team at Prestwold. Here’s some more information about the day and some of the other vendors used written by Cathy & Andrew themselves.
So, how did you meet? – tell us a little more about yourselves.
“We met on Match.com – I winked, and Andrew e-mailed, the rest is history. Andrew is an Architect, and I’m an Occupational Psychologist. We were both in our mid-forties when we met, and neither of us had been married before. We got engaged 18 months after meeting.
We found we have similar values and both love walking and the outdoors. We had many things in common and just felt comfortable with each other. We had a fantastic time planning our wedding and took our time.”
The proposal – who proposed, where, when & how?
“Andrew went down on one knee in the centre of Wirksworth the village on the edge of the Peak District. We first held hands there during a visit to the art festival, so when Andrew thought of a romantic location, Wirksworth Marketplace was a special place for us both. We celebrated after the proposal in a local pub and went on to have dinner in nearby Bakewell.”
How was the wedding planning process for you?
“The wedding planning process was a real pleasure. We both like getting organised and talked about who would do what early on. We liked sharing the tasks and got some fantastic suppliers in the end.
We started early with a two year lead up to the wedding which looking back on it now was just the right time period for us. We could progress the decisions without ever feeling pressurised into anything. We could take our time to get things right and the way we wanted them. It also meant each supplier could be given the time they needed too.”
Where did you get married and what was it about the venue(s) that appealed so much?
“We got married at St Leonards Church in Swithland, and the reception was at Prestwold Hall. Swithland is where Cathy’s parents live, and they attend the church regularly. It, therefore, seemed like the natural choice. We both love the church as it is so pretty and luckily would just accommodate the numbers of people we needed.
We chose Prestwold Hall for our venue. This was quite a hard choice as we wanted to go with a period property but still wanted somewhere that felt homely. Prestwold fitted perfectly on the day, and the staff were absolutely fantastic. They really made an effort, and the food is to die for. MJ couldn’t have been better. When she says they will make the day special, they really do.”
How would you describe the style of your wedding and what made you decide to go down that route?
“Our wedding style was natural and organic. This permeated many of our decisions, from the style of flowers, favours, our branding and entertainment through to Cathy’s dress and Andrew’s ring.
The flowers were hand-picked from Cathy’s parents’ garden and reflected the flowers that were natural at the time and local to the wedding. These were displayed in jam jars adorned with hessian bands and lace bows.
Our favours were homemade shortbread biscuits for children, jams for the ladies and chutneys for the men, made by Caroline, Cathy’s sister. We personally hand-wrote messages for each guest.
While Andrew is an architect by profession, he is an artist by heart. To represent us, Andrew drew a beautiful, enchanting watercolour image of two trees entwined, amongst wild flowers and a bunny all lit by moonlight. This image pervaded all stationery, from engagement, hen party and wedding invitations through to Order of Service, Order of the Day and nameplates.
During the evening we had differing activities that our guests could partake, including a Ceilidh and games on the lawn: egg and spoon race, three-legged race and wellie throwing.
Cathy designed her wedding dress in partnership with Kula Tsurdiu, a designer from Lace Market, Nottingham; an elegant lace design topped with a Bohemian lace headband. Andrew designed his wedding ring in collaboration with a Peak District jewellery designer: a rose gold design embracing Cornish moorland colours.”
Cuisine. What kind of food and drink was served and why?”
“Our wedding took place in June, so we were keen to have food that was light and tasty. We find Prosecco easier to drink and so we opted for this, along with beautiful New Zealand wines.
For our main we had Salmon which was cooked to perfection, balanced with a richer starter of Pate and home-made Bread and Chutney.
For pudding, we had a trio of summer desserts including Key Lime Pie, which helped to cleanse our palettes.
To help us to sustain ourselves through the evening activities, we served bacon and sausage baps and chunky chips, which were very popular!”
What were the most memorable part(s) of the day and what was the funniest moment?
“MJ, the wedding co-ordinator from Prestwold Hall invited us to view the Drawing Room before we had our Wedding Breakfast; unexpectedly this turned out to be an emotional, memorable moment. In private we were able to view the efforts of two years of planning: framed paintings from our family members on each table representing milestones of our relationship and telling our story, the huge chocolate cake designed by Andrew and beautifully presented favours and stationery.
Through to the wood-panelled library, we could hear Tanja, Chief Bridesmaid, playing Einaudi on the grand piano.
One of the funniest moments was in the church when Cathy’s train inadvertently filled the whole of the aisle creating problems for the bridesmaids who were trying to work out how they were going to get to their seats!”
Did anything go wrong on the day and were there any surprises?
“Our wedding day exceeded our expectations; we loved every moment of it! Our only surprises were spontaneous things that happened including the best man’s daughter singing and the Ceilidh band sensing our energy and continuing the entertainment for an extra 1.5 hours until midnight.”
Is there anything you would have done differently?
“No, we were very very happy with our wedding day.”
Do you have any advice for other couples in the stages of planning their own dream day wedding?
- “The two years between our engagement and wedding was a wonderful time to learn to be together and work in partnership. We learnt so much about each other and became even stronger and closer as a couple. Our advice would be to enjoy the planning and to enter into it together, viewing it as the beginning of the rest of your lives.”
Our Photographer
“We would totally, totally recommend Ian as a wedding photographer; his photojournalistic style creates a powerful photographic narrative allowing you to have a unique, natural record of your special day.”
Other Vendors
- Dress: Kula Tsurdiu
- Flowers: Justine from Just Flowers
- Hair: Marc from Toni and Guy Nottingham
- Make up: Jo Lale Beauty
- Cake: Dominic at David North
- Acoustic Duo: Something Acoustic
- Ceilidh Band: Govannen
- Car: Dennison
- Piper: Carl Wilkinson
