Sarah’s creative flair as an artist set the tone for her and Daniel’s beautiful wedding within the stunning rooms of Teesdale’s Bowes Museum – home to a world-class collection of art that adorns the walls and provides a truly unique setting.

With handmade miniature oil paintings given as favours and personalised performances of live folk music, no attention to detail was spared by the pair, who met at work in London while Sarah was also studying for an MA at the Royal College of Art.

The Venue:
With its internationally-renowned collection of fine and decorative art, the Bowes Museum, at Barnard Castle, provided a breathtaking setting for Sarah and Daniel, who had their ceremony in the beautiful Music Room followed by drinks in the 19th Century Picture Gallery and reception in the Jubilee Room.
Guests were even treated to a performance by the museum’s world-famous Silver Swan - a musical, clockwork mechanical swan dating from the 18th Century.
Sarah said: “We had such a lot of positive reactions to our choice of venue and we loved that we were able to incorporate the Silver Swan into the order of the day.
“Each of the rooms at Bowes is so distinct and the Museum grounds are perfect for wedding photos. I would definitely recommend it to future brides.”

The Outfits:

With its eclectic mix of vintage and custom-made gowns, Bexbrides, in Darlington, helped Sarah find the perfect dress on her very first visit.
“Bexbrides is a treasure trove of lace, jewels and accessories and Bex herself was brilliant, I trusted her implicitly. After trying on a few different styles, I chose a simple, ivory satin slip dress and Bex sewed on a lace trim and added a lace cape; it was exactly the look I wanted.”
Sarah had her hair done by Durham-based Kerry Wedding Hair and her make up by Laura Mac. She chose pretty floral dresses from Hobbs for her bridesmaids.
Daniel and his groomsmen wore suits from Bakers Tailoring in Middlesbrough.

 

Photography:

Sarah and Daniel chose Emily Hannah Photography on recommendation. “She specialises in pretty and stylish storytelling through her photography and has a lovely sensibility with colour and light. We liked her relaxed approach capturing the little moments and details with minimal posing. Her images are just beautiful,” said Sarah.

Music:

Live music played a large role in Sarah and Daniel’s day, with Sarah’s brother Sean performing in folk group The Young’uns during the ceremony. “Sean wrote a song telling the story of how my Nana met my Grandad called ‘Love in a Northern Town’ which they performed as we signed the register. It was incredibly moving.”
Acoustic folk singer Edwina Hayes played the couple’s first dance, while North-East band The Funk Collective provided the evening entertainment.

Extras:

Sarah worked with florist Clarey, from Manor Garden, to create her statement bouquet and quirky buttonholes for the groomsmen, together with seasonal flowers for the tables and ceremony room.
“I wanted my flowers to stand out and reflect the venue and feel of the wedding. I love Manor Garden’s wild and natural signature style and Clarey visited Bowes to get the perfect sense of what we wanted.”
Gabriella Grace Cakes made the wedding cake, with hand crafted sugar flowers in muted autumnal tones.
Transport was provided by Elite Wedding Cars, videography by Total Wedding Videos and stationary by Bluebird Wedding Stationary.

Sarah’s Advice:

“Do your own thing! We tried to keep a lot of our wedding planning and decision making under wraps – firstly, so we didn’t get swayed by any unwarranted opinions, but more so that everything was a surprise for our guests on the day.”

For more inspiration take a look at our dedicated real weddings section, or take a look at the glossy pages of our regional magazine.