“F*cking Finally” were the words that poetically graced the top of Shiv and Dan’s wedding cake - in glorious, glittery italics.
Indeed! After having to rescheduled their date three times because of the pesky pandemic, these fine folk finally got their wedding - on an August day, surrounded by symbolic Yorkshire roses.
From the word go, it was good-vibes-only in The Normans Cottage. Here, Shiv - along with her mum and her bridesmaids - readied themselves for her long-awaited wedding day.
“I loved getting my hair and makeup done with the bridal party in the morning,” says Shiv. “Getting glammed up while enjoying some fizz was the perfect way to relax!”
The dream team behind the girls’ glamorous looks? “The wonderful Jules Daniels did mine and my bridesmaids’ makeup, and the lovely Emily Hawkes did our hair,” tells Shiv. “I had a trial with each of them, which was really worthwhile as it meant things went really smoothly on the morning.”
“Good old ASOS,” says Shiv, on where her bridesmaids’ dresses were from. “I wanted to make sure that the girls all felt comfortable … blue wasn’t the colour I originally thought I would go with, but the style suited them all so well and they all looked beautiful in it.”
But, understandably, all eyes were on Shiv’s gorgeous gown - an A-line, full lace ensemble from Pronovias at Bridal Rogue Gallery in York.
“Its lace design is covered in roses,” says Shiv. “Roses are really special and symbolic to me for a number of personal reasons: one being that my Grandma was named Rosie, and another is that I am a very proud Yorkshire lass, so it really did feel like it was meant to be!”
Roses were a natural pick for the wedding flora - and Kate Mell the woman charged with making all of the floral creations, from the top table to the bouquets and beyond. “The two large arrangements in urns at the top of the aisle, looked gorgeous against the sparkly lights,” says Shiv.
“Obviously as roses are important to us, we knew they would be our main flowers,” says Shiv, “and as we were having a summer wedding we wanted to go with a dusky pink and white colour palette.
“We were really lucky in that our florist knows the venue so well, so she was able to make suggestions for the décor. She was brilliant as we did change our minds quite a lot!”
“We’d seen so many beautiful ideas on The Normans Instagram that helped give us inspiration, such as wrapping the Cow Stall beams in ivy,” says Shiv. “Kate Mell also created a floral photo frame covered in Baby’s Breath. It created a really fun and beautiful photo opportunity for our friends.”
Elsewhere, the couple’s favourite tipple made a playful decorative feature: “We are both big gin lovers so we had Hendricks bottles with flowers in as our centrepieces and had a number dotted around the venue. Our favours were also mini gin bottles,” says Shiv.
“Dan works in branding so we had a lot of personal touches,” says Shiv, “he was particularly proud of the logo he created which went across all our stationary and on our card and gift box.”
On top of all the pink roses and personal touches, the Yorkshire sun shone on the entire wedding party, prompting the relevant gents to do their speeches al fresco style, in The Normans Courtyard.
“The food was one of the best bits of the day,” adds Shiv, who chose Yorkshire deli platters and barbecue platters, including lamb and buttermilk chicken. “We’ve had so many messages from guests since, stating that they have never had food like it at a wedding before … watching our guests’ faces when the huge boards were placed in front of them was a highlight of the day.”
The sun-drenched August day also lent itself to some fabulous couple shots, taken on The Normans farmland. “The family feel of The Normans and the fact that there is still the working farm just makes it all the more special,” says Shiv. “Some of our wedding photos literally have a tractor harvesting behind us, it was so unique!”
“The Normans is a stunning venue run with a lot of heart and warmth by a remarkable team who will go above and beyond. I only wish we could do it all over again!”
