From Qatar to The Bannister Estate in Cold Coniston & Hotel, Overseas wedding management ..

Wow its so long since I wrote a blog, NEWP has been incredibly busy over the past year with lots of beautiful weddings in the UK and overseas. I thought this morning I should start to write blogs again, not only to let everyone know where and what the team is up to but to show off some of our stunning brides too.

In August after many months of planning Christie and Andy, flew to the UK from Qatar to marry in the awesome setting of the Bannister Estate, Cold Coniston in Yorkshire. Mrs Bannister, opens the manor house  her home and estate to only a few brides per year in addition to the beautiful Coniston Hotel which is also based on the edge of the grounds.

So nearly a year prior to the wedding, the office received a telephone call from Christie who was struggling to manage her wedding plans from Qatar, with time zone issues, suppliers not replying and simply sourcing professional suppliers to assist her....... so the story starts. Christie and I got on straight away, Christie is originally from the north east of England but now teachers in the middle east. From the start we created a plan/schedule and identified suppliers and designs integral to the ideas both Christie and Andy had for the day. Lets just say, family, friends and FUN! they both wanted a very relaxed wedding day with attention to small details.

So here is part one .......

Hopefully the images show just how relaxed and stress free the day really was, Stan Seaton photography captured the day beautifully. I ve worked with both Stan and Jane many times now and they approach to photography suited this fun pair perfectly, in addition Christie's friend had secure Stan for her wedding so this just all fell into plan. 

The little church in Embsay was perfect for the very intimate wedding ceremony, A & C stayed in the village for three weeks prior to the wedding to ensure they could have this wee church. Sometimes its not the chair covers or the colour of the grooms shoes that is important, it really is the ceremony and all its meaning..

 Did I mention not only the bride and groom loved fun, but so did the guests. The NEWP has never seen such hilarious posing and general good humour at a wedding.

 Good food and wine (Yes Christie the WINE) so important! Christie and I worked on menus and wine and champagne options for months, no one starved that day. Coniston chefs designed and served stunning canapes, a fabulous reception dinner and well the evening dinning was exceptional..

Lastly I find it only fitting to mention the "HATS" wow guests really made an effort with hats that resembled flying saucers, creative design and the wild and wacky. The ladies could easily have popped over to ascot for the fashion walk. Beautiful ladies.

So until party two.... (Suppliers and Design)

Light up your wedding...

The venue is booked and the dress is "The ONE" but finding a venue dressing company who can see your vision is sometimes just a little harder..... Well that needn't be the case. 
The Timeless Table is pushing the boundaries with some very daring and different styling ideas. The team excel in creative design, and really do manage to get inside your head to understand your vision and ideas.

 Blog one:- Creative lighting.

 

For more details on lighting up your wedding www.thetimelesstable.co.uk

 

A year in a blog

2012 brought many exciting changes to North East Wedding Planners, working with some wonderful bride and grooms and some new fabulous suppliers.

I ve found it really difficult to narrow done the best bits of the year when each and every wedding or project is special. So I ve selected weddings a random and will feature the missing ones at a later date..

In the spring Cheryl and Shaun tied the knot at the stunning Wynyard Hall, this was a family affair with the children involved at each step of the way. Both bride and groom wanted the day to feature entertainment at each stage, from live music in the church, magicians during the canapes to the fantastic Central Park band belting out the notes on the evening...

During the summer season, the team traveled around the beautiful north east from the Scottish borders to the lake district planning and co-ordinating weddings. Working with in house teams in beautiful locations - Longhirst Hall and Alnwick Gardens and Castle but the moment no bride wants happened at Louise and Graemes  weddings at the pavilion at Alnwick Gardens. The room looked stunning and every little detail had gone to plan until... the registrar annouced "Sarah and Graeme" yes she called the bride by the wrong name.... some things are just simply out of our control, at least Louise laughed it off with "Who is Sarah" OOPS. Images by Jamie Penfold - Memories and Emotions.

 

Then Hayley and John married at the Ramside Hall Hotel in Durham the main element of this wedding was fun..however this picture of John show his feelings a little more than he wanted..

 

Matfen Hall Hotel in Northumberland showcased the vintage wedding of Moira and Philip. Moira worked with Donna to create a lavish creative wedding using candelabras and large floral arrangements to decorate the venue. For wow factor string quartets, and singing waiters and live music ... watch the amazing film of the day by DS Media.https://vimeo.com/55270206

I thought I would leave the last tine as ...In September the wedding guide annouced at their awards dinner at Beamish Hall Hotel, that NEWP had won the outstanding customer service award - wow to say this made our year is an under statement. 

So thank you to everyone from you our brides to the suppliers who continue to support NEWP and have a fabulous working relationship - the key word being "Team work" 

 

What a difference a night makes...

Anyone who knows Donna Hartley-Redfearn knows her passion is working with clients to ensure they have their perfect wedding day. Over the past four years Donna and her North East Wedding Planners team have worked tirelessly to raise the profile of what a professional wedding planning company can bring to not only clients, but other wedding industry suppliers. Donna strongly believes in team work and surrounds NEWP with personally selected wedding specialists. It is very important to Donna and the team that their clients have access to venues, photographers and other wedding specialists who embrace the same professional and ethical ethos. From the very start of NEWP, Donna knew she was up against preconceived ideas of what NEWP could offer the industry. After working with the BBC, Channel 4 and other media forms to raise awareness, by developing Recessionista weddings, writing top tip columns and even becoming a wedding industry mentor…..last night received, what could only be deemed as a personal and professional high…..

Donna didn’t think she had any chance of becoming a finalist in the North of England Wedding Industry awards, but after being short listed in August 2012, was announced as the WINNER of the Wedding Specialist Services category last night at the industry ball at Beamish Hall Hotel. Why is this particular award a very personal achievement? The answer is simple. Previous NEWP brides voted, and the judges through reading very in-depth testimonials, got to understand that Donna is not only committed and passionate about what she does, bases the company ethos on the personal touch complete with total focus on Customer Service. 

So 2012 has been a fantastic year so far for Donna and her team. Earlier in the year NEWP achieved a successful accreditation from QWEST (Quality Wedding Establishment) and to date, is the only wedding planning company to achieve this accolade. Will this change anything? NO. Donna after receiving her own award went on to congratulate Lynn, a previous bride of NEWP who received an award for her new business The Wooden Ladybird Company.. and lets not forget without fabulous NEWP clients and individuals from within the wedding industry, this award would not have been possible.

This is one very special THANK YOU.  Donna would like to say.. without one incredible person who has been there from the very start and who in fact even created the name North East Wedding Planners, this award would never have been achieved. Donna is quite candid that without her rock and the total support from her husband Mark, NEWP would not exist. So this is her thank you to him……
Here’s to a good 2013.. x

Brides applaude professional commitment..

A refreshing new approach to rewarding wedding industry specialists. What is the best way to know you are securing an experienced, professional service for your special day? ... The North of England Wedding Industry Awards has been designed to allow previous brides to vote for suppliers who they believe provide

• Service Excellence
• Excellent Product Quality
• Value for Money
• Outstanding Commitment

 
North East Wedding Planners is extremely proud to announce that they have been selected as a 2012 award finalist (the only wedding planning company to make it to this stage), along with Memories and Emotions by Jamie Penfold Photography and another of our favorite NEWP photographers Neil Denham.

These awards mean a lot to industry individuals as it is previous clients/brides who have experienced the service that vote. Each finalist is selected following voting via a rating system. The next stage to select the winner is based on the individual comments forwarded by the bride to the North of England Industry Awards Judges. 

So its fingers crossed (and toes) for the gala evening on the 15th September.

Images below of NEWP wedding - Louise and Graeme at Alnwick Gardens captured by Memories and Emotions  by Jamie Penfold Photography  

Notice the startled look on Louise's face during the ceremony, the registrar announced her as Sarah! Oops!!!