Today, we are delighted to share Helen and Tim's beautiful wedding featuring Chatsworth House.
THE DAY OF THEIR WEDDING
Mark Pugh arrived at Cruck Barn Cottage where Helen was with her Bridesmaid and hair and makeup expert Emily Stibbs. The views across the Peak were stunning, and there was still a thick layer of snow which was only just starting to melt on this higher ground.
There was laughter. And cake. After her makeup was complete, and before she put her wedding dress on, Helen thought it would be good idea to do some ballet exercises in front of the long mirror in the barn. Mark has been to many weddings in his time, but this was certainly a first. Her Austin 7 vintage car arrived complete with driver Tom to take her to Hassop Church, where Tim was waiting for her.
It’s hard to describe Hassop Church in words to someone who has never seen it before. Huge pillars give it a Roman feel, and the interior has to be seen to be believed. It is simply an incredible venue for a wedding. The choir and band stuck-up on the balcony, and everyone was ready for the main event. Helen’s brother is a Catholic priest, so he took part of the service, and once Helen and Tim were officially husband and wife, everyone congregated on the lawn outside the church. In an unusual twist, Helen and Tim came out of one of the side-buildings by the church and served champagne to all of their guests; this was typical of their kindness and thoughtfulness.
The couple’s reception was at one of the most well-known and grandest of all stately homes: Chatsworth House. Mark Pugh left slightly early to be in position to photograph them arriving at Chatsworth, but the snow had other ideas. One of MP Media's vehicles is a large 4x4, and it was loving every minute of the snow down the narrow country lanes. But the fun was short-lived; other motorists had got stuck in the snow and had abandoned their cars.
Time for an alternative route. Mark Pugh said: "I was still able to arrive at Chatsworth before everyone else and photographed Helen, Tim and their lovely Austin on the bridge that crosses the river just in front of the house. All of the members of the public who were visiting Chatsworth for the day stopped to admire the couple; it was a lovely experience."
After the couple and their guests had settled-in at Chatsworth, a golf car arrived at the entrance to take Helen, Tim and Mark Pugh on a tour of the estate. The driver told them they could go anywhere we liked on the estate for photographs! Photography heaven. The park was just closing to the public, which allowed them to have the whole estate to themselves.
After taking a series of stunning formal photographs, the time had come to return to the Stables (although the name ‘stables’ barely does this building justice) for food and festivities. After a sumptuous meal and hilarious first dance, the fun casino was in place, and the guests partied the night away.
As Mark Pugh drove back over the bridge to head home, he stopped for a few minutes to photograph the house lit up at night, and to contemplate what an incredible day this had been.
Helen and Tim are a wonderful couple, and it was a pleasure for Mark Pugh to have been able to capture and share their special day with them.
Their final wedding photography collection contains 500+ images. However, we have decided to share 200 images on behalf of www.markpugh.com, and these can be viewed below.
As always, enjoy.
THE TALENT INVOLVED
Wedding Photographer: www.markpugh.com
Wedding Dress: Marylise Adora, supplied by Gracie Bleu in Matlock
Brides shoes: Jimmy Choo
Rings: Ingle and Rhode
Venue Styling: Love in a Mist and Little Miss Hubbards
Cake: Love Rosie
Disco: Rhythm of Your Choice
Florist: Tineke Floral Designs
Hair and Makeup: Emily Stibbs
Car: T&L Vintage
Evening Entertainment: Blackjack Fun Casino
Wedding Preparation Venue link: www.cruckbarncottagebarlow.co.uk
Ceremony Venue link: www.allsaintshassop.co.uk
Reception Venue link: www.chatsworth.org/weddings-hospitality
STORY FROM THE BRIDE
We got engaged on the 11 May 2012, whilst we were in Cornwall.
We had been on holiday in Fowey, on the last night we went for dinner and afterwards went on the little boat across the estuary for last orders on the pub on the other side. On the little boat on the way back Tim asked me to marry him...I spent the next 10mins telling him he was lying before pointing out that he wasn't even down on one knee...I never did give him an answer!!
We got married at All Saints Catholic Church in Hassop which is the beautiful little church that my parents go to. The reception was at Chatsworth. We'd looked everywhere for the venue and were really struggling. I was on a work trip in Sierra Leone when I got a text message from Tim saying 'what about Chatsworth?' - all my friends started screaming with excitement, I pointed out that he'd not looked into it properly and it was bound to be out of our price range. Tim called to book an appointment to meet Kay Rotchford at Chatsworth...she'd just had a cancellation so we could get an appointment the day I got back from Sierra Leone. I got off the plane and we rushed up to Derbyshire. Kay was amazing as was the venue and the price! We had no idea that Chatsworth did weddings...if we'd have known it would have been our first choice - it holds a million happy memories for me as I was growing up - it was beyond perfect! The main thing that sealed the deal was definitely Kay and the Chatsworth staff - so down to earth and willing to go the extra mile to make our day incredible and easy! Kay even turned up to say hello on our big day even though it was her day off and she had family commitments.
The main inspiration for the wedding was daffodils, my favourite flowers, also my late grandma's favourite flowers. From there it was easy - the wedding needed to be in spring, the colours needed to match with yellow. I originally tried yellow dresses on the bridesmaids but they hated them...and me!!! So we looked at other colours which would complement bright yellow daffodils. We found the navy blue ones and all felt it was spot on. Navy and yellow became the colours. My parents made all the order of services, invites and table names (my mum never wants to see another bow in her life!!!), but they all followed a similar design.
My dress was quite simple and I figured that was something I wanted to continue with - my flowers were all the same kind, white ranunculus, and the bridesmaids were daffodils.
Most importantly we wanted the wedding to be really personal. All the decisions were made for a reason, the hymns in the service all had special memories - one was from my brothers ordination, one was from Tim's mum and dad's wedding, the ring cushion was made from cloth and beads from my grandma, great grandma, great great grandma, the flower girls carried Tigers instead of flowers as Tim is known as Tiger Tim - we even changed the last verse of All Things Bright and Beautiful to be 'Tiger based'. The wedding was very much about 'us' and we were really lucky to share it with really close friends and family, to ensure they all knew this we put footnotes in the order of service to explain our decisions, the table names also had an explanation with a little story of why it was a special place to us. The place names were little yellow envelopes with a personal message in it from us - hand written individually. We want to all our guests to feel welcome and special - we really appreciated everyone making the effort to be there.
The Dress: It was the first one I tried on! I was at Gracie Bleu in Matlock - possibly the most amazing bridal shop anyone could ever wish to go to! I tried on pretty much every dress in the shop, it came down to two that I really liked by the same designer, Marylise. One said 'I'm getting married at Chatsworth', the other said 'I'm marrying Tiger Tim'...I went for the latter...it was perfect! Quite simple with lots of sparkles around the neck line and down the back. I felt a billion dollars in it - and the girls in Gracie Bleu supported me all the way - offering service well beyond the call of duty.
Talk us through the suppliers you used for your wedding?
Photographer: This AMAZING guy called Mark Pugh!!! My dad was trying to find the name of a photographer he kinda knew and gave me Mark's name. We soon realised that it was totally the wrong person he was trying to put me in touch with but by that time I'd already seen Mark's work and absolutely loved it...It's great when you're dad's going a bit nuts!!!
Stationery: My mum and dad - they were amazing at doing all the stationary, it took them hours! They also did the bunting and various other 'bits'...they really supported us a lot in the run up. Totally amazing parents!
Cake: The cake was made by a wonderful lady and her sister who Tim works with. She makes cakes in her spare time. I loved the design she came up with - really interesting ideas and totally yummy!
Flowers: The totally wonderful Tineke Floral Designs. One of the most fantastic things about Gracie Bleu is that pretty much everything you need for your wedding is under one roof. Tineke was attached to the shop so when my mum was 'scouting out' bridal shops she found the flower shop as well. I met Kerry and decided to look no further - a wonderful lady with incredible ideas and an absolute beauty to talk to.
Transport: Standing outside church one day we saw some old fashioned cars coming out of Hassop hall from a wedding they were having there. Mine and my dad's eyes lit up! A friend at church gave us some suggestions about where we could find these sorts of cars. We went to meet with Tom - how could you not love him from the outset!
Choir: It was really important to keep the community involved, especially at All Saints Church.
We asked the church choir to sing and had help from various people within the parish - they were all amazing and supportive. We invited them all to the evening do - they were very much a part of our celebration.
Fun Casino: The casino company were great and really happy to help in anyway possible. It was also a great way to get people up and mixing, especially as not everyone likes to dance. We had a few guests that came on their own and it was perfect for ensuring they weren't left out. They were also fantastic at helping everyone, including our nieces and nephew (aged 3, 6 and 8) - they kept slipping them extra chips so they could play - everyone was made to feel included. It was MEGA-popular!!!
Did you go on a honeymoon? Where and why? Describe your experience.
We went to the Maldives. I was a little concerned that Tim would get bored - he's not really one for sitting in the sun, but I figured if I could get him into diving he'd be in heaven. I'd dived before and it was something that he'd said he'd like to try. Tim did his open water certificate, we dived pretty much every day - it could not have been more perfect! Hot but with a nice breeze to cool us down, beautiful apartment, lovely food, white beach - couldn't have asked for more!
Any words of advice for future brides about planning your dream day?
I was lucky to have worked with people who was just amazing on every level. My biggest word of advice would be to find your perfect team and let them do what they are good at! I totally trusted them all to pull it out the bag for me, I didn't feel I needed to check up on anyone - they were a dream team. Kerry called to ask if I fancied any sparkles in my flowers...she had understood me well enough to know that's exactly what I liked, but also I remember saying to her to do what she felt best - her flowers are stunning - how could it go wrong? Trusting your team is key to a stress free wedding!
Would you recommend any of your suppliers or anyone else involved in your special day? if so, why?
I would totally recommend each and everyone of them!
Kay at Chatsworth and all her team were so down to earth and helpful. The Gracie Bleu Girls were unbeatable! Through them I met Emily Stibbs who made me look a million dollars with my hair and make up, they also provided the chair covers at the wedding breakfast, when I went to pick my dress up they had someone in the shop doing nails so I could have my manicure, and of course it's where I met Kerry at Tineke. The Gracie Bleu Girls have become fantastic friends. I cannot recommend this bridal shop enough.
Then of course Kerry from Tineke - her flower designs speak for themselves. For my bridesmaids I just wanted plain daffodils. I can honestly say I've never seen such amazing colour in daffodils - the brightest yellow you can imagine - stunning!
It goes without saying that I cannot recommend Mark Pugh enough with his photographs and creative eye. Outside of the obvious, he was incredible with both us and our guests, keeping a friendly and relaxed approach to everyone. The highlight of our day was when the guy driving the buggy around Chatsworth slammed it into reverse at break neck speed - Mark Pugh's reaction was brilliant!
Needless to say our day was perfect because we had so many fantastic people helping us and supporting us every step of the way.
H.x