This summer Alexandra and Stuart tied the knot surrounded by close friends and family in the picture-perfect setting of Merewood Country House Hotel. Captured by Camilla Lucinda Photography, we’re thrilled to share this stunning day with all our readers…

“We started our wedding planning knowing that we wanted a really relaxed and fun atmosphere for the day, so we could enjoy celebrating with our close family and friends. We wanted the day to reflect us and our interests as a couple, so while we didn't really have an overall theme, there were nods to our favourite sporting teams and players. The overall colour scheme was Stu's favourite colour, blue (which conveniently also happens to be the colour Alex's favourite football team - Carlisle United - play in).”

“Our search for a wedding venue started with Alex getting a list from Cumbria County Council's website of all the places in Cumbria registered to hold weddings. Stu thought this was a sign that the decision was going to be difficult, but after filtering by size, location and style, we narrowed it down to a few venues to visit in person. The Merewood was the first we went to and we loved the large light main room, which was plain enough to be styled any way we wanted while still having loads of character throughout. We also loved that we would be able to have exclusivity at the venue as our family and friends would be staying with us.

“After this, we looked round a couple of other venues but we found ourselves comparing everything to the Merewood, after spending 10 minutes looking round it for a second time, we booked it as we were sure that was the venue for us.

“We would definitely recommend the Merewood to other brides (and grooms). Helen helped co-ordinate the day brilliantly and made everything really easy in the lead up to and on the day of the wedding. In fact, all of the staff on the day were absolutely fantastic and nothing was too much trouble. The food was beautiful and you'd have a hard job beating the views of lake Windermere.”

How did you choose your photographer?
“We initially met with Camilla as we loved her laid back style of photography, which fit in with our overall vibe for the day. Neither of us are big into posed wedding photos, so we loved the natural shots that Camilla manages to capture. After our first meeting with her we knew that we wanted her to photograph the day, she was just so personable and friendly, we knew she would fit in just like one of our guests.”

Advice for other brides and grooms?
“Make sure that you make your day your own, we used Pinterest for some inspiration, but ultimately we made sure we included our interests and things we would enjoy.

“Take the time to enjoy the day. It can rush by so quickly so pinch a little alone time together, have that dance with your friends and just take the opportunity to step back and watch everyone enjoying themselves.

“Ask for help. People love getting involved, even with the little things like putting batteries in almost 100 battery-operated tea lights!”

What was your highlight of the day?
“Waiting for Alex to come into the room, I couldn’t wait to see what she looked like and it was nice standing at the front of the room, seeing all our friends and family together in one place,” said Alex.

“There's just too many. That moment where you’re told ‘you are now married’, is just amazing, knowing that you get to spend the rest of your life with your best friend. I also loved the speeches. It was brilliant listening to people so unaccustomed to public speaking, telling everyone in the room how much they mean to them and sharing a few embarrassing stories along the way,” said Alex.

For more wedding inspiration, take a look at our dedicated real wedding section. To find more regional wedding suppliers, venues and bridal inspiration, order your copy of Belle Bridal Yorkshire available online now.