{Real Wedding} Jessica & Richard - A Simply Stylish December Wedding

Jessica Addley (now Harwood) and Richard Harwood • Wedding Details

Date: 06/12/18 Photography: Emma Kenny Weddings

Wedding Style: A Simply Stylish December Wedding with so many family DIY projects ♥

Real Wedding at The West Mill Venue, Derbyshire

Your Love Story?

Richard and I were on placement together, a year in industry whilst we were both at uni. We met there knowing that Richard would go back to Northern Ireland but that didn’t put us off.

We have been together 7 years and a lot of that we spent long distance, flying to see each other every 6 weeks. Between us we have lived in something like 11 places during thar time but eventually we managed to make it work to live together and not long after we purchased our first home in Ashbourne.

We had been living there a couple of months when we walked to the top of stanage edge one evening and Richard asked me to marry him!

What was your inspiration and vision for your day?

We wanted simple, rustic and not too much fuss. We both have super busy jobs so we spent time on the things we felt people would enjoy and remember and everything else we just decided not to do.

Why did you choose The West Mill Venue?

We looked at loads of venues but the West Mill was just perfect for our style. As we had a December wedding we knew we had to be prepared for bad weather and the West Mill was perfect for that.

We loved the history of the West Mill and that you could still see all of that there.

A couple of people have said to us that they don’t think they’ll ever go to a wedding in such a beautiful venue again.

Did you do any DIY projects?

Yes SO many.

On the tables:

The centre pieces were terracotta pots that me and mum waxed painted with Annie Sloan and then we sourced some beautiful white Christmas roses to go inside them.

We had a small cracker on each place with a silver hat and a chocolate in, we hand made these and they took forever.

The name places were small circles of wood which my dad had cut and then the DT teacher at my mums school lasered everyone’s names into them.

We did all of the flower decorations ourself in the church, it was such a team effort. Grandma made two beautiful trees for the front of the church. We made a massive flower arrangement with the in-laws for the pulpit and everyone helped to make bunches of holly and ivy tied together with white ribbon for the end of the pews.

Tell us about the details…

Everything was rustic and simple so we kept everything white and green which I loved!!

What was on the Menu?

We had mulled wine on arrival and a few nibbles but we had provided the guests with mince pies and Tayto (Irish version of Walkers) crisps at the church.

For starter we had a cucumber and mango salad, we wanted to make sure that everyone, no matter what dietary requirements could have the same starter.

For main we did host a roast with the most beautiful beef and cauliflower cheese. People loved this and the room was amazing.

What was your favourite part of the wedding?

We loved the whole lot but one of our favourite buts was we asked a family friend to play the oboe in the church whilst we signed the register and she had learnt one of our songs as a surprise. I cried my eyes out!!

Do you have any advice for future brides & grooms?

Make sure you put your own touch on the day, the West Mill is such a great venue for that.

Take 5 minutes for just the two of you and make sure you enjoy the day.

Can you sum up your wedding day in 3 words?

Simple, rustic and from the heart

The Dream Team

Photographer Emma Kenny Weddings (best money we have ever spent)
Dress I really wasn’t interested in “finding the one” when it came to my dress but “Brides of Bakewell” really made my experience so special. The dress I chose was Stella York.
Shoes I wore the comfiest shoes I could find which ended up being from Carvela.
Headpiece Richard chose my head piece, it was from Debenhams and it was perfect.
Necklace & Earrings I wore my great granny’s necklace which my mum had repaired for the day and I borrowed my mums wedding earrings (both of these brought on a few tears)
Hair KH hair in Ashbourne
Make Up My beautiful best friend Beth, she did it just how I wanted and I got to keep all the make up - win, win
Grooms Attire The suits were from Moss Bros, Navy with wine ties, Richard chose a blue tartan waistcoat and he looked so handsome.
Bridesmaid Dresses I let each bridesmaid chose which ever dress they wanted as long as it was full length, wine colour and no sparkles. 3 of them had D’Zage dresses and I was very lucky to have 2 with baby bumps so they had their dresses from Tiffany Rose. They all looked so beautiful.
Cake My Mum made a 5 tier fruit cake which my Sister stirred in a plastic box and my Dad iced - was a fabulous team effort, absolutely delicious and we got to keep some for Christmas Day.
Florist The bouquets and button holes were from The Flower Shop in Ashbourne, my granny had grown early blooming snow drops (snow drops are what she brought to me when I was born so they are my favourite) and one managed to make it into my bouquet. I was absolutely thrilled.
Stationary My multitalented best friend Beth also wrote the invites and save the dates and table names which we then got printed on Kraft paper by 45 degrees in Belper. Richards mum also has the most amazing hand writing so she wrote the menus.
Band Hipster - we were up all night dancing and had the absolute best time with them.
Transport Dad was in charge of this so we had a double decker London red bus, of course, we had a whole lot of fizz on the way which topped it off nicely.