Alex & Andy | Intimate Winter County Durham Farmhouse Wedding

Alex and Andy had an intimate Winter wedding at the beginning of December at New Hall Farm in County Durham. It was such a special day - they'd hired the farmhouse for two nights with only their immediate family, everyone got ready for the wedding together and were all staying over in the same place both nights - it was just what an intimate wedding should be.

Alex and Andy can tell their story better than I can, so I'll pass you over and you can read about it from their point of view.. 

"We met whilst working at James Cook Hospital in the Biochemistry Lab. I met Andy in May 2013, but didn't go on a date with him until December 2013/January 2014. My initial impression of him was that he was a bit of a surly fella, but after a few dates he had surprised me so much with how funny and charming he was that i was pretty much smitten from the get go!"

"We got engaged in July 2016 in Edinburgh. We're the type of couple who make all of our decisions together so we made a decision together to get engaged and went to Edinburgh for a trip away with the intention of finding an engagement ring for me to seal the deal. We went in a few shops, and stumbled across a tiny antique shop called 'Cavanagh - The Antique Shoppe' on Cockburn Street. As soon as I tried the ring on I knew it was the one, gold band with sapphire and diamonds. We walked back to our hotel and he asked me officially then, mainly because I wanted to wear my gorgeous new ring!"

"I'd always had the idea that i would want a winter wedding, so that helped to narrow down a theme, if you can call it that. We tried to pick things we liked rather than make everything match on purpose. It worked out better than we expected and it all went together quite well. We tried to centre everything about the wedding around the winter theme. Lots of green, white and festive gold tones. "

"We had discussed the idea of hiring a large house in the countryside so that our whole immediate family could attend with our nieces and nephews; and having a large celebration party a week later. We happened across New Hall Farm in Wolsingham, County Durham and ended up centering a lot of our plans around that. We wanted to have a big table for everyone to sit around, where the children could run around and play and the adults could relax. The farmhouse itself did not need much in the way of decoration as it was a really beautiful place with amazing views and beautiful stone brickwork."

"My dress was Ronald Joyce and I got it from the Bridal Outlet in Northallerton and my fur jacket was from Monsoon. My shoes were by a vegan shoe company called Beyond Skin, gold bow was from the childrens section in Monsoon and was £6 - bargain! My veil was from an etsy store BlossomAndBluebird. I wore Kate Spade 'Mrs' earrings and a plain gold bangle from there too - I adore Kate spade so had to have a bit of that on for the day!"

"Andy's suit jacket and waistcoat was by a company called Gibson that he adores, he bought them alongside his trousers and tie from Psyche in Middlesbrough. His shirt was from River Island and his shoes were by Base London . He also bought a Gibson overcoat for the day as it was going to be so cold - it was -4 degrees by the evening."

WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE WEDDING PICTURE AND WHY?

"Agh I couldn't possibly choose, it changes on a daily basis. A particular favourite is one of my Mam telling the children to be quiet during the ceremony, it is just the most pure and sweetest photo and it makes smile from ear to ear every time i see it. I adore all the ones of the children and all the details. There is no favourite, I love them all so much, they will be so cherished. Sally Thurrell is the best IDST!"

WHICH MEMORIES FROM THE DAY WILL YOU MOST CHERISH?

"My sisters, Mam and I getting me into my dress. My dad walking me down the aisle, I know how lucky I am to have that privilege. Seeing Andy as I walked into the ceremony room. The fact the children talked all the way through the ceremony haha. Giving out our gifts/favours for our guests and seeing how animated everyone got. The sparklers outside.The drinks flowing and music turned up for some dancing right into the early hours! And mainly that moment when the registrar named us as Husband and Wife, no matter what happened after that I was still the happiest girl ever!"

"Sally is a Queen/Wizard/Angel IDST! Sally you are amazing, and you made the an amazing day even better for being there. Not just for the beautiful amazing photos, but you fit in so well to our intimate wedding. It was like we'd all known you for donkeys years. We adore all of the detail shots, the candid photos. I didn't even know you were taking most of them. The ones outside of me and Andy are insane, Andy said you've made us look like film stars :')! You've got not only a very happy pair of newly weds, but also an elated Henson family and Yale family who are made up with some of your gorgeous photos. Thank you so so so so so much."

SUPPLIER LOVE

Our AMAZING Videographer was Craig Crouchman of C&C Parties
Florist - Butterflies in Middlesbrough https://www.butterfliesflorist.com/
Cupcakes - Songbird Bakery Middlesbrough http://songbirdbakery.com/
Caterer - The Cellar Door, Durham http://www.thecellardoordurham.co.uk/
Venue - New Hall Farm, Wolsingham, County Durham www.newhallfarmcottages.co.uk