A very warm welcome to WWW readers Olivia and Rhys today who are sharing their cosy and romantic wedding in Yorkshire. Yay!
I love that they aimed to create a day that was comfortable and relaxed for their guests, as well as themselves. Doesn’t that just sound so perfect? Of course, they wanted a great party too!
I adore the orange and green colour scheme with rustic styling and sensational outfits all around. There were the prettiest blooms, meaningful song choices and modern stationery to name just a few.
Hannah Shearman Photography, thank you so so much for sharing with us these totally dreamy images. Swoon.
Cosy Romantic Wedding
The Proposal
Rhys proposed on a cold evening in November 2020 up on the Yorkshire moors, overlooking Haworth. We’d gone for hot chocolate and a walk in our favourite place in the Dales before Rhys got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
There wasn’t a soul around and it felt like we were the only people in the world – it was really special.
The Vision
We wanted our wedding to feel cosy and rustic with an air of elegance. At the same time, we also knew we wanted to host the party of the year!
But what was most important was ensuring we and our guests felt comfortable and relaxed the whole day.
The Venue
The Venue Bowers Mill is part of a transformed 17th-century textile mill, with original industrial features in the heart of West Yorkshire.
The moment we stepped into The Venue, we received such a warm welcome and knew it was the one – it had the perfect balance between urban and rustic with its exposed brick and stripped wood floor. The Spinning Room acted as the most gorgeous but moody setting for our ceremony.
The Ceremony & Music
We had our ceremony in the Spinning Room which was glowing with Edison bulbs, lanterns and candles up the aisle. The stripped wood floors paired with the copious amounts of greenery made for the cosiest setting.
We very much planned our wedding as a couple which meant we had a ceremony song each! Rhys waited for me while an instrumental version of Champagne Supernova by Oasis played, and I walked down the aisle to Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine.
I always expected to be a bride that cried myself down the aisle but as I was faced with our closest friends and family beaming back at me, I could only smile and laugh! When my eyes met Rhys’, I realised it was him who was dabbing his eyes with tissues which made me laugh even more – it felt so special and personal.
While we signed the wedding register, our lucky songs This is the Day by The The and Summertime by My Chemical Romance played. Then it was time to walk back up the aisle as Mr and Mrs to an instrumental cover of I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness.
Rhys and I are two peas in a pod, and this moment truly felt like the start of our lives!
Your Outfits
Rhys
As I don’t wear formal suits that often, I struggled to know where to start when choosing my suit although I knew I wanted to buy rather than rent, which opened options up.
Eventually, I settled on a grey and earthy brown checked three-piece suit from Slaters which suited the autumnal and rustic décor perfectly.
Olivia
I always thought my wedding dress would be satin and A-line with full-length sleeves. I tried 2 boutiques and found the Dotty dress by Bianco at Confetti and Lace Leeds which ticked two of the boxes.
The dress was sleeveless with a V-neck and a low back. I felt absolutely stunning and so elegant, I knew it was the one as soon I tried it on and couldn’t stop crying – I didn’t want to take it off!
I chose a pearl belt to add to the waist and a full-length pearl-trimmed veil to add some classic details. My bargain of wedding planning was my ASOS heels which were less than £30 in the sale!
Bridesmaids
The girls’ dresses were from the Infinite collection at Wed2B. The emerald green matched the décor and venue perfectly. The fit was so flattering on my gorgeous bridesmaids – although I was relaxed on style, they each picked out the same dress separately which worked so well!
Your Photographer
I originally found Hannah Shearman Photography after seeing a friend’s wedding photographs on Instagram and knew I had to book her – I don’t think we were even engaged then!
Hannah is a very special person and photographer. Her romantic storytelling on social media is how she drew us in, but her warmth, kindness and exceptional talent is what really blew our minds.
We knew Hannah was lovely after having our engagement shoot with her in early 2023, but she slotted into our day perfectly. Even before the day, she was de-stressing us on a Zoom call! She coordinated our guests in such a friendly manner, made sure we had lots of time to enjoy ourselves and even made sure my veil was in properly. I’m not sure I could’ve got through the day without her!
When we received our gallery, we couldn’t stop crying as we were able to relive the entire day captured perfectly by her and second shooter Rosie.
The Honeymoon
We headed off for a mini-moon in the Lake District a couple of days after the wedding – it was lovely to get away, enjoy the quiet and reminisce for the first time as a married couple.
We’re jetting off to Mauritius in June for our official honeymoon which couldn’t come quicker!
The Styling & Decor
The Venue speaks for itself and we wanted our décor to complement the stunning original industrial features, bringing a cosy, romantic and moody vibe.
Our stylist Emily K is a regular at The Venue so we knew we could trust her with anything and she really smashed our brief! The Venue was filled with copper and burnt oranges, set against neutrals like blacks and whites with green foliage and dried flowers. The colours glowed under the warmth of candles and exposed bulbs.
We incorporated elements from our proposal, such as a Wuthering Heights sign! This all complemented our classic and elegant stationery from Lilac and White.
My hand-tied bouquet from Walter and Blossom featured the most stunning autumnal hues with gorgeous greenery to complement. I loved my bouquet so much that we used it as décor during the wedding breakfast and I was very quick to preserve it after our day.
We were very lucky as Rhys’ mum handmade our three-tiered semi-naked cake which was decorated with those same florals. She did an incredible job, and our guests were absolutely blown away with her talent.
Memorable Moments
After the wedding breakfast, we’d planned for the Undercover Artists to gatecrash! We’ll never forget our guests’ faces when Tobias, who’d been posing as a waiter, crashed to the ground with a tray of spoons before bursting into Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen!
He and Alex got every single one of our guests on their feet singing and dancing and really started the party! It set the tone for the rest of the evening and the dancefloor was never empty!
How we kept it a secret I’ll never know….
Advice For Other Couples
Trust your suppliers – they are the experts and weddings are literally their bread and butter! If you need advice, don’t be afraid to ask them – I always had so many random questions and our suppliers always above and beyond!
Oh my, how utterly beautiful!
Olivia and Rhys, I can’t thank you enough for sharing with us your cosy and romantic wedding story.
Further Reading
