Norman by name, Normans by nature. Step forward Annie Norman who decided to get married at The Normans simply because of its name… Well, this plus the fact that The Normans is the world’s BEST WEDDING VENUE EVER (so says my Mum, anyway).
In fact, it’s amazing to think now that Annie and her beau Chris first viewed the venue by way of Zoom during the dark days of Covid. Even more amazing: the couple booked the venue in spite of this writer’s shaky camerawork and questionable onscreen presence. Phew.
Fast forward a few years to a sunny day in August, where we find Annie and Chris preparing to Get Wed.
We love the quiet time before a wedding, when the venue looks its finest having been lovingly decorated and adorned by the couple. Indeed, Annie and Chris ensured The Normans looked spectacular for their wedding day.
All was quiet outside, but their was a fizz of excitement inside The Normans Cottage - figuratively and literally. Here’s Annie popping open a bottle of bubbly to get proceedings underway.
We love every last detail of this wedding - from the personalised footwear and dress hangers to the personalised wedding gifts.
Nix from Capelli (Straight outta Wetherby) was enlisted to coiffer the bride’s coiffure. (Don’t mind us: just throwing around some fancy French verbs and nouns, no big deal…)
Meanwhile, Georgia Cutts (should have been a hairdresser with a name like that) artfully applied make-up to bride and bridesmaids’ already-fancy faces.
Behold the dress… a stunning Justin Alexander number from Emily Bridal, Sheffield.
“This was the ‘wildcard’ option," explains Annie. “And [it was] the last dress I tried on at my appointment!”
“I was really anxious shopping for a wedding dress and felt the pressure to find ‘the one,’” continues Annie.
“I had been to one budget boutique before my appointment at Emily Bridal and I'd watched as other brides were pressured into buying dresses. Emily Bridal was nothing like this - they were so lovely and put no pressure on me at any stage.”
“It was my Mum and sister who knew it was going to be my dress before I did,” recalls Annie. “They saw it on the hanger and apparently silently signalled to each other. I worried about it being ‘too much’ in the build-up to the Big Day, but I finally accepted that I was the bride!
“My advice to other brides: don't get hung up on a dress being ‘the one’, if you take people that you trust dress shopping, everything will come together on your day and you will feel amazing!”
From the reaction of Annie’s bridesmaids and her father, the dress did, indeed, turn out to be ‘the one’. Beautiful!
And here’s Annie, in all her glory, making her way out of The Normans Cottage towards her destiny (The Normans Ceremony Barn, just a few metres away).
But before we walk down the aisle with Annie, a quick pause outside the venue to give a shout-out to her brilliant bridesmaids, pictured here in their matching dresses from Pretty Lavish, clutching bouquets by Emily aka Crop The Botanical Florist.
And, of course, a special mention for Annie’s dad…*
[*Writer dabs tears from eyes and bravely continues with blog…]
And here comes the bride.
Annie’s dad walked her down the aisle, at the end of which she paired up with here intended.
What a stunning couple.
Aside from the stunning setting that is The Normans Ceremony Barn, our couples are very lucky to have their marriage ceremonies officiated by the wonderful registrars from North Yorkshire County Council. Without fail, they manage to make each and every ceremony relaxed, personal, intimate and fun.
The beautiful ceremony culminated with Annie and Chris exchanging vows… and wedding guests signifying approval by pelting fistfuls of clammy confetti at the couple as they tried to leave the Ceremony Barn for a drink.
Once confetti had been removed from hair, eyes, ears, and nostrils, Annie and Chris enjoyed drinks and canapes served by the kings of catering, The Hog & Apple Food Co.
“We were blown away by the quality of the canapes. The mini Yorkshire puddings were described as ‘perfect’ by a guest who was a self-anointed Yorkshire pudding connoisseur,” laughs Annie.
“We were so glad we didn't miss out - Holly from H&A brought us our own tray of canapes! Lots of our guests said it was genuinely the best food they'd ever had at a wedding.”
The glorious day afforded bride, groom, and guests some time in the sunshine…
… before Laura from Lumiere Photographic stole the couple away for some fabulous shots in the surrounding countryside.
A regular at The Normans, lovely Laura knows all the choice spots in and around the venue.
Back inside the venue, guests could admire the handmade, personalised decorative items, as well as the couple’s themes and colour schemes.
“We wanted to stick to a natural theme with lots of green,” says Annie. “As much as possible we wanted to reuse items and not buy too many brand new things. We also wanted [the décor] to have links to us: for example all lavender was picked from Hitchin Lavender, Hertfordshire, not far from where we used to live.”
“We were really proud of our table plan,” continues Annie. “Laura, our photographer said she'd never seen one done this way before! Our shared love of music brought us together - we are known for going to gigs and collecting vinyl, so we really wanted to have this reflected somewhere in our day.
“We decided to use our favourite albums and their covers as our table names and hopefully some of our guests left with a ‘listen to’ list! “
“We agreed on a green-and-white colour scheme and Emily from Crop worked her magic to put together seasonal, affordable arrangements,” chips in Groom Chris.
He continues: “We asked friends and family to save up glass bottles in a range of sizes, and corks that we used to hold place cards. The signs were a mix of chalk pen calligraphy by Annie, and digital ones that were in keeping with the theme. Annie's Mum and her friend made all of the bunting using materials from the colour scheme. Lots of items like lanterns and table runners were borrowed or bought ‘hardly used’ second-hand.”
“We made the sloe gin ourselves over the course of our two-and-a-half year engagement, and Annie made the personalised clay hearts for each guest,” says Chris. “We hope these little details brought everything together for our guests who felt like it was definitely our wedding, not a strangers!”
Once guests were seated, the Father of the Bride was introduced for the first speech, followed by the man of the moment, Chris and his best man.
Food followed thereafter…
“We worked closely with Doug at H&A,” continues Chris. “We were keen to have a sharing element [to our meal], so our first and easiest decision was to have the Italian antipasti boards. These were a real showstopper - perfect for a hot summer day. Doug suggested the chicken and chorizo plated main to follow, which was a massive hit! For pudding, despite Annie's love of chocolate, we went for the ‘Solero’ tube dessert since it was completely unique to H&A.”
High fives and chest bumps to guest Alice Kay who crafted this beautiful three-tier cake…
… which was duly decimated by the knife-wielding bride and groom. By all accounts it tasted great. Bravo Alice!
Guests then circled the dance floor, Night Owls Disco pumped up the volume, and Annie and Chris took did The First Dance.
The couple were soon mobbed by their adoring fans (aka their guests), and the dance floor became a bubbling pot of frisk and frolic for the rest of the evening.
““The Normans is the best wedding venue. Every single detail is thought of and every member of the team made us feel so welcome during our set up day. .”
