A relaxed day: The wedding of Paul and Nicola Andrews

The wedding of Paul and Nicola Andrews at Grays Court, York

Photography: Georgina Harrison

We wanted to get married in York, and once we saw Grays Court we knew that it would be perfect. The house is a beautiful historic building, and having a garden overlooked by the city walls was very special.

I had a clear idea of what I did and didn’t want from a wedding dress. I chose a fitted, made to measure gold hued cream dress, with lace. Down the back was a cut out detail, with lace covered buttons running down the middle. It was complemented by a single drop veil.

Neither of us wanted an extravagantly themed wedding. We wanted a relaxed informal day, centred around our family and friends. A lot of the wedding details were homemade. We made the invitations, seating plans, and orders of service ourselves, and my aunt made the cake. Rather than having matching colours for the bridesmaids and groomsmen, we chose a mixture of blue, cream, yellow and burgandy. We were flower novices but Grays Court recommended Arcadian Weddings Floral Design. Anna took time to understand our ideas and ensured that the bouquets and buttonholes complemented the scheme. My vintage-inspired bouquet with roses, lisianthus, freesia and sweetpeas was beautiful, and the table arrangements were just stunning.

I had a very relaxing morning, having stayed at Grays Court the night before. My bridesmaids and I had our hair done at SOTA, before going back to Grays Court to get ready, with lunch and drinks.

We had a civil ceremony at Grays Court. Paul and I both spent most of the ceremony with huge smiles on our faces, once Paul worked out which way to face!

We had drinks and canapes in the garden at Grays Court, before the reception. It was great being able to relax in the sunshine after the months of planning. Having the ceremony and the reception at the same venue definitely made things easier.

We decided to do the speeches before the wedding breakfast, so that everyone could enjoy the meal without nerves. All the speeches went down brilliantly, and Paul even managed to shoehorn several references to his beloved York City FC.

THE DETAILS

Photography: Georgina Harrison, York, 07734 101181, georginaharrisonphotography.co.uk

Venue: Grays Court, York, 01904 612613, grayscourtyork.com

Dress: Bridal Rouge Gallery, York, 01904 656675, bridalrougegallery.co.uk

Groom: Moss Bros, moss.co.uk

Hair: SOTA, York, sotahairdressing.com

Flowers: Arcadian Weddings Floral Design, 07512 664227, arcadianweddings.co.uk

Entertainment: Club Class Entertainment, clubclassuk.com

To see more of Paul and Nicola’s wedding album see our online gallery or the 2013 issue of Yorkshire BRIDE