Bryony & Adam married with us November 2021 after postponing due to Covid – In their words their Autumn inspired wedding day was ‘Worth the wait’ and we couldn’t agree more. Full to the brim with love and laughter and gorgeous DIY details, read on to find out all about their day and be inspired by the stunning wedding decor.
Real Wedding at The West Mill Venue, Derbyshire
Your Love Story?
Our ‘how we met’ story isn’t so romantic! We first met in a local nightclub 10 years ago, got chatting and had our first date two months later.
Adam proposed at Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant The Fat Duck. We both love our food! We were having the tasting menu. At the beginning, I collected a ‘token’ to spend at ‘The Sweet Shop’. My ring was hidden in my drawer along with my sweet treats at ‘The Sweet Shop’ when we got to the final course. I had no clue!
What was your inspiration and vision for your day?
We had decided on an autumnal theme – copper, burgundy and greens, filled with lots of flowers (protea are my favourite) and foliage, candles and photographs of our memories together. We also wanted to incorporate some of Adam’s love for cycling into the day and this inspired some of the DIY projects. We wanted fun, plenty of drinks and dancing, celebrating together with all of our loved ones.
Why did you choose The West Mill Venue?
We visited quite a few venues before we found The West Mill, but as soon as we walked inside we knew it was the one. We loved the idea of moving between floors and each floor being a little bit different – and the industrial style building is stunning itself without needing to add much (or any!!) decor, just your own touch of styling. We had a good gut feeling when meeting the team that first day, and it was right! Everyone was a dream to work with.
Did you do any DIY projects?
Yes lots!
I designed the stationery:
* Wedding invitations
* Menus
* Place segngs
* Personalised wine labels
* Signs – our welcome sign and order of service on the ground floor
* The confetti cones
* Copper peg board for the gin bar
* The seating plan – a bike wheel sprayed copper and decorated with artificial flowers, with
our guest names listed on plaques on the spokes
* A bicycle cupcake stand with floral buttercream cupcakes to sit alongside the wedding
cake, made from a repurposed garden planter and artificial flowers
* A photo eucalyptus garland
* Copper stands with swinging photo signs for the wedding table names
* Wedding favours (macarons with hand painted initials of the guests’ name)
* Flip-flop basket with a sign for the dancefloor
* Photos of the bride and groom’s grandparents to be displayed with our guest book
* Gift boxes for the bridesmaids and mother of the bride
Tell us about the details…
Our florist Laura captured our vision perfectly and we had floral hoops at the top of the aisle, floral centrepieces on the tables and big bouquets for myself and the bridesmaids.
Our cake by Adele was a three-tier semi-naked cake with three different flavours: toffee and cream, lemon and vanilla jam and buttercream, decorated with flowers and a copper personalised cake topper.
The seating plan was made with a recycled bike wheel, sprayed copper, decorated with flowers and listing our guest names on plaques on the spokes. Our table names corresponded to years we have been together, and on the table were copper stands with polaroid-style photos of us from that year – 2012 through to 2020.
What was on the Menu?
Reception Drinks: choice of bottled beers and a gin bar(Bombay Sapphire, Gordon’s Pink Gin, Opihr and tonics/lemonade) – this went down very well! Plus a choice of soft drinks in Kilner jars.
Drinks Reception: Bar snacks
Wedding Breakfast:
Starter: Crispy pork belly, served with roasted black pudding, mustard calvados sauce and
apple salad
Main: Braised short rib of beef, served on a bed of creamed mash, roast carrots and winter
greens
Dessert: Duo of desserts – Warm chocolate brownie, served with salted caramel sauce, and
vanilla ice cream and a lemon posset with fresh raspberries
Evening Food:
Hog Roast rolls with apple sauce and crackling
Grilled halloumi with sweet chilli sauce and baby gem lettuce
What was your favourite part of the wedding?
We were originally due to get married in 2020, but postponed due to Covid. Our wedding day was the first time we were able to see all of our loved ones in one place and properly celebrate together after all of that lost time during the pandemic.
The atmosphere was amazing and the feeling of love was overwhelming; we will never forget that feeling! One of our highlights of the day was that little window straight after the ceremony, where we escaped into the Bridal Suite so we could excitedly catch up on our morning/the vows and have a drink together – discussing how surreal it felt to actually be married!
Do you have any advice for future brides & grooms?
We heard this advice many times before the big day, but take it all in! Every single moment. You spend so much time planning and worrying about each tiny detail, but on the day, it flashes by in an instant. Enjoy that time with your new husband/wife and your nearest & dearest! It really is the best day. I wish we could do it all over again (without the nerves!!)
If you’ve been inspired by Bryony & Adam’s wedding and would like to know more about The West Mill, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to download a Wedding Brochure or get in touch.