Yorkshireman Phil, our groom for the day, has attended hundreds of weddings. Not as a drunken guest, you understand, but as a photographer. Which is why he and wife-to-be, Melanie, wanted to create a unique, informal, and thoroughly Yorkshire day here at The Normans.
First up: fabulous ferns! Melanie decided to do away with traditional wedding flowers, opting instead for green ferns, great and small...
While statuesque ferns paraded atop the barrels in The Normans Ceremony Barn, shorter specimens sat in bronze pots as table centrepieces...
...not forgetting 80 mini ferns, brought in as wedding favours for every guest...
The Cow Stalls were left in their natural state: relaxed and rustic, with bunches of pretty gypsophelia hung upside down using natural twine.
Since guests were sent Yorkshire tea-bags as Save the Dates before the big day - setting the tone for the couple's Yorkshire theme - a special tea station was set up in the Cow Stalls too. Fancy a brew?
Of course, there are some wedding traditions a girl simply can't forgo - a gorgeous gown being one of them!
Melanie looked magical in this intricate design by Needle and Thread, complemented by an Art Deco-inspired headpiece by Etsy.com. A 'brooch bouquet', made by Melanie herself, included part of her mum's wedding veil, as well as pearls and brooches that belonged to Melanie's two grandmas.
In The Normans Courtyard, Melanie and Phil joined their guests for Yorkshire Gin cocktails - with rhubarb and ginger - served in glass tankards.
Alternatively, guests could pull-their-own Yorkshire pint; a Wold Top Brewery ale. The perfect way to wash down miniature Whitby fish and chips, which replaced classic canapés.
Mel and Phil's caterers - The Hog & Apple Food Co. - worked closely with the pair to create a Yorkshire-themed menu that saw every morsel sourced from the county, including this hand-reared rare-breed hog from Thirsk.
Guests ate their way through sharing platters of Yorkshire charcuterie; the aforementioned handsome hog for mains; chocolate or lemon crémeux for dessert (made with the cream of Bore Lane Farm's dairy cows); and, finally, this tower of Yorkshire's finest fromage.
As for the speeches, these took place outside in The Normans Courtyard, adding to the relaxed vibe of the day (helped also by the 'How Yorkshire Are Thee?' quiz for added bants!)
Elsewhere, photographer Claire Penn - chosen to capture fellow photographer Phil's big day (no pressure!) - kept it real and rustic by shooting the couple against farm backdrops, creating the kind of quirky couple shots we love.
Who knew our Tractor Shed's roller shutter doors and harvested grain could look so good?!
“Although we didn’t really know what we were looking for in a wedding venue, Oliver and Laura blew us away with The Normans.
The way The Normans team worked on the day was fantastic; the venue wowed everyone and we really would not change one single thing. PERFECT!”
Melanie and Phil's wedding photos are by Claire Penn. (More coming to our Gallery soon!)
