Today I have another gorgeous wedding from my good friend Jon at S6 Photography. Jon launched the blog last week with the most stunning wedding that came from Cornwall, today he brings us another corker this time from Doncaster. This beautiful wedding is set in an old mill which gives it a unique feel. Ruth and Daniel chose a subtle theme of ‘Hints of Vintage’ with pale pink and grey and mixed in lots of handmade details and decorations.
‘Surreal – in a good way, and worth all the stress’
Ruth and Daniel were married on 9th May 2015 at Fishlake Mill, Doncaster. ‘We wanted somewhere we could have the ceremony, reception and evening party all in one place and where we could bring outside caterers, decorate ourselves etc. to make it all special to us. We were willing to go about an hour outside of Sheffield (many of our guests would be travelling from London anyway), and originally thought somewhere in the Peak District would work for us, but nothing quite fitted the bill. I randomly found Fishlake Mill online and after speaking with the owner Graham we decided to visit. We decided straight after that first visit it was the place for us – it was a little bit quirky but with everything set up for us to make our mark on it – it ticked all the boxes. The venue is set up so that you get married in the mill and then there is a marquee for the reception and party. We invited 40 (family only) for the ceremony, another 30 for the reception and a handful more for the evening. I started making plans for the wedding pretty much as soon as we got engaged! But my twin sister got married on 9th August 2014 (exactly 9 months before us), so I didn’t want to make too many plans until they had their day. We had booked the venue and date by then but we did everything else after August.’
How they met
We met when Dan’s mum, Tina, bought the pub where I worked (it was my weekend job while at school/college). We got together a couple of months after that. We have been together 11 years.
The Proposal
Dan took me to Venice for my birthday (which is New Year ’s Eve). He has never planned our holidays and it was coming up to our 10 year anniversary (plus my twin was getting married that coming year!) so I was pretty sure it was coming.
It was a slightly bumpy start – our flight was delayed 3 hours and we sat on the tarmac that whole time. By the time we got into Venice (it’s an hour boat trip from the airport and our hotel wasn’t on the waterfront) it was midnight, we didn’t know where we were going or if there would even be anyone to let us in to the hotel when we finally arrived! Fortunately there was and we then spent a couple of days wondering around Venice and enjoying being away together.
For New Year’s Eve we had booked a table in a small restaurant (before we left) but it was the worst meal either of us have ever had we walked out! It was definitely one of those moments that was so awful it was funny. It did mean that we were able to go to St. Mark’s Square for the NYE celebrations which is what we wanted to do anyway. Dan waited until the stroke of midnight then popped the question! Even though I had expected it, I was still surprised. An Italian family who had been standing near us took our photo then gave us a bottle of champagne to celebrate which was so lovely.
When we got back to the hotel later I text my family but they already knew! Dan had been to my mum’s house and even shown them the ring!
How did you allocate your budget
My job involves events so I think I had a rough idea of what things would cost. We knew the venue and the food would be the big costs so just worked everything else around that. My dress was a little more than I had expected to spend but I made all the invites so saved money there. eBay was brilliant for all the little bits – it helped to save money but I also really enjoyed being able to pull it all together myself.
How did you choose your photographer
I’ve known Jon for a while and always knew I wouldn’t want anyone else! We originally looked at the weekend before as it was a bank holiday but when Jon said he was already booked we went for the weekend after. His photos are just beautiful and we love the non-posed ones.
The Dress
My dress was Mori Lee (the new). Shoes – New Look! I kept my accessories really simple – diamond studs (an 18th birthday present) and ring that belonged to my grandmother (the old) that she had given me years ago (also an 18th present I think). My veil was the same my sister wore – borrowed from a friend of hers that I have never met! I had given my sister her something blue for her wedding day (vintage napkins which I embroidered with their initials in blue) so she gave me an Oliver Bonas gold pendant with the wedding date engraved and a blue tassel.
The Suit and Bridesmaids
Dan’s suit was all from ASOS! It was a bit of a risk, but fit perfectly. It also meant his brother (best man) was able to buy the same suit from America (where he lives). My sister’s bridesmaid dress was also ASOS, and my flower girl (Dan’s seven year old cousin and Goddaughter) wore an H&M dress to match. I bought dusky pink ties for Dan and his brother to match the bridesmaids.
Theme or Colour Scheme
I was working towards a vintage theme but with hints rather than an all-out theme. I knew Dan would look great in grey and I love the combination of grey and pink. I had been “pinning” on Pinterest for a long time so I had an idea of the overall look in my head.
Flowers
Bouquet – A natural, vintage, wild flower bouquet with pinks to include thistle, bright pink sweet peas, menthe rose, silverado rose, pink astrantia, pink astilbe, eucalyptus, parvifolia, tied with an ivory lace bow with a twine underlay.
Button holes – Blue thistle, lilac sweet pea and sprigs of foliage, tied with twine.
Both from Swallows ad Damsons. We bought a selection of wild/bright flowers from the wholesale market and I used jam jars for the table flowers. I also make two small “bouquets” for the bridesmaid and flower girl.
Decoration
The flowers were the main decoration, but I also made some bunting from white lace.
Food
Starters – canapés – Cone of fish and chips, Mini Yorkshires with roast beef, Feta and red onion tarts, Mini duck pancakes, Chicken liver, Asparagus and red pepper bundles
Main – Beef and a veggie option
Desserts – mini deserts – Crème brûlée, Mini strawberry tarts, Marshmallows and chocolate fondue, Mini Victoria sponges, Macaroons on vintage cake stands
Wedding Cake
Three tiered cake – fruit on the bottom, Battenberg for the middle and Victoria sponge on the top. All with white icing and a simple hessian ribbon. We had a topper made to look like us, plus our three cats made an appearance in icing!
Entertainment
Band – Junkyard Dog and the venue’s DJ
The Stationery
DIY
Personal or Handmade Touches
I made as much myself as I could including the butting, invites, menus, place settings and doing the flowers. I also made “mad libs” – a card for people to fill in the blanks and give us advice for our future!
I also made our guest book – based on the drop top frames I had seen on Pinterest – my step dad cut a slit in the top of a frame and a bought 100 wooden hearts so people could write their messages then drop it into the frame which is now hanging in our living room.
Special Moments
The best man’s speech. It was the prefect mix of being hilarious and sentimental.
Doing all the traditional things like first dance, cutting the cake etc. It felt really good to do all of that.
Advice to other couples
Getting stressed is normal! But it’s all worth it.
Biggest surprise
How special it felt. We knew we would have a good day, but we were both just extremely happy!
Supplier Shout Outs
- Venue – www.fishlakemill.co.uk
- Photographer – www.s6photography.co.uk
- Flowers – www.swallowsanddamsons.com
- Catering – www.littlemesterssheffield.com
- Cake – www.crumbs.me.uk
- Band – www.facebook.com/junkyarddogdronfield
Wedding Dress – Blushes, London Road (no website). Could not recommend highly enough. They are so helpful and found a few dresses that would work for me just by explaining what I liked. Mine was the second I tried on there and had that moment where I didn’t want to take it off! A took a friend who got married in July there too and she also found her dress there.
For more information on S6 Photography go to:
www.s6photography.co.uk / www.s6photography.co.uk/blog / FACEBOOK / T:@s6photography I: @s6photography
The post Ruth and Daniel’s ‘Hints of Vintage’ Wedding in a Mill, by S6 Photography appeared first on Boho Weddings™ For the Boho Luxe Bride.