Yorkshire Wedding Photographer | Faversham Leeds Wedding

Faversham Leeds Wedding Photography | Yorkshire Wedding Photographer

Looking for some cool wedding photography at the Faverham in Leeds? This pub venue is such a gorgeous setting with a conservatory, victorian lounge with original features and the pub has featured some awesome bands like the Clash and the Arctic Monkeys! I am finally getting back into sharing some more wedding photos from my lovely couples so a big thanks to Jess and Calvin for talking to us about their wedding in late December. It was pretty impressive seeing Jess brave the snow in her open toe shoes to take a few portraits outside! As a Yorkshire wedding photographer, I was thrilled to shoot this beautiful winter wedding in Leeds that just oozes with style in it’s simplicity.

Julia Jeckell – amazing! http://www.juliajeckell.com/
Shindig Event Styling – Cristel https://shindigeventstyling.co.uk/
Perfect Fit Bridal Couture – https://www.perfectfitdressmaking.co.uk/ (Wendie)
Owl House Flowers – Rachel, https://www.owlhouseflowers.co.uk/
Christine Berrisford – Humanist Ceremonies Leeds https://www.facebook.com/humanistceremoniesleeds
Faversham – https://www.thefaversham.com/ events@thefaversham.com (Lucie)
Pretty in Print Design Studio – Pippa https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PIPdesignstudio?ref=search_shop_redirect

Date of wedding: 29 December 2017 Location of ceremony and reception: The Faversham, Leeds

What made you decide to get married where you did? Even though we live in London, as a proud Yorkshireman, Calvin really wanted to get married in Yorkshire. We knew we wanted to get married in the winter and, on a tight budget, we looked at a few venues that were a bit ‘outside the box’. After a full day of venue searching, we went to the Faversham and as soon as we walked in, we knew it was the venue for us.

How many guests? Approx 75 How long did you take you take to plan the wedding? Almost bang on one year

How would you describe your wedding day in 2 sentences? A cosy winter wedding full of laughs and love.

How did you meet? And how long have you been together? We met through friends of friends at a pub in London in 2012, a few months after Jessica moved to London from Canada on a two year visa. 5 years later, we’re still here!

Tell me about the proposal. Calvin planned a surprise weekend away in the Peak District, which automatically made Jessica suspicious – Calvin is not that organised! We stayed in a quaint hotel in a village near Bakewell, and Calvin has originally planned to pop the question on the grounds of Chatsworth House, where we had gone to see their Christmas exhibit. The weather didn’t cooperate and he ended up proposing back at the hotel, but it was still a perfect weekend!

How did you spend / allocate your budget? We knew the two most important things for us were good quality photos and money behind the bar so our friends and family could really enjoy the day – with that in mind, we allocated our modest budget appropriately and spent just over 13,000.

How did you prioritise your budget ? We knew the two most important things for us were good quality photos and money behind the bar so our friends and family could really enjoy the day so those were areas we wanted to focus on. As well, as it’s more common in Canada for bridesmaids to have their hair and make-up done professionally as well, we also made sure the girls were taken care of in that area. In the final few months, Jessica realised she was not going to be able to do the décor/make anything and paid for some venue styling – worth every penny for the beautiful touches that helped cement the feel of the day. Savings-wise, we got married in the winter, up north in a non-traditional wedding venue, and didn’t have two venues and subsequent transport, which gave us some initial savings off the bat. We let bridesmaids and groomsmen pick their own outfits, with the help of very loose guidelines, so they covered that expense. We also didn’t spend much on flowers – our bouquet and buttonholes were gorgeous, but we didn’t get additional flowers to decorate the venue, as it just wasn’t needed!

How/Why did you choose your photographer? Jessica was doing research for Yorkshire wedding photographers, looking for clear, vivid images with people at the forefront and once we save Danni’s photos, it was a no-brainer. Literally, we only met with and talked to one photographer. As soon as we met her, we knew that her philosophy and aesthetic really matched with what we were trying to do and we couldn’t wait to work with her!

Who was your dress by? And your accessories and shoes? I bought the dress back in Canada and it fit well enough off the rack that I took it back to the UK with me straight away! It was Harlem by Enzoani and I must give a shoutout to Wendie from Perfect Fit Bridal Couture for working magic on the alterations as it did still need some tweaks.

My hair vine and veil I picked up from Wendie as well. The shoes I got in a sale from LK Bennett and they were perfect, even though they were open toed in the winter. The chunky heel meant my feet didn’t get sore at all.

And the suit? And bridesmaids? Calvin’s suit was from Adam of London as he wanted a more vintage style. He changed out the jacket for a patterned one from Paul Smith, which really suited both his personality and the style of the wedding, and ensured he stood out from the groomsmen who were also all in navy. Bridesmaids were flying in from Vancouver, Brisbane and Shanghai so they all chose their own dresses, mostly from the high street.

Did you have a theme or colour scheme you were working towards? We kept in line with some of the existing colours in the venue as they had lots of copper fixtures and greenery. It was very seasonal and kept with the cosy vibe we were going for.

What sort of flowers did you have? My flowers were all seasonal and local from Owl House Flowers. Lots of greenery with a few white flowers. The buttonholes were the same, with some dried flowers and thistle. They were beautiful!

What sort of decoration did you have? Shindig Event Styling coordinated the décor for us, which included a beautiful arbour for the ceremony that doubled as a backdrop for the top table. We had lots of candles with grey chiffon table runners and fairy lights everywhere for the wedding breakfast, and the rest of the venue we had metallic touches with C&J balloons, a gold table cloth for the cards/guest book area.

What did you eat? We had long tables and wanted to do the food family style to get people talking with each other, so large platters came out with ploughmans and antipasti platters to start, roast chicken and lamb, alongside butternut squash and feta salad and couscous for mains. Mince pies and brownies were the dessert. And the wedding cake? No cake for us! What did you have as entertainment? DJ for music, but we also had a photobooth, beer pong table and Calvin’s favourite activity: a goPro attached to a bottle of Fireball whiskey to capture a ‘unique’ perspective of the day!

Who supplied the stationery? Our tables were named after our favourite albums – we’d seen a table plan on a blog that we liked and went with her for table plan and menus (Pippa from PIP Design Studio). Other than that, we did invites through the Joy wedding app and thank you cards with photos on them from Maytree Photography.

Did you have any personal touches? Or things that you did yourself? We tried to add some touches to make sure people really came away feeling like the wedding was unique to us. With so many travellers coming to town, our guestbook was a globe that people signed. We are well known for bringing a polaroid camera out with us and polaroid photos from over the years are up all over our house, so that was reflected with not only a polaroid photo booth, but also polaroid-style name cards for everyone at the wedding breakfast. The one thing we made ourselves was a photo board with a bunch of photos – again in polaroid style – of us as kids and then as a couple through the years. We also brought in some Canada/UK touches, giving guests little packs of mini candy bars (1 Canadian chocolate bar, 1 British candy bar), and we put a picture of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on the men’s toilets and a picture of the Queen on the ladies. Calvin works in digital marketing and arranged a bespoke Snapchat filter for our guests to use as well, which featured bitmojis of each of us. We wanted to have as many unique and memorable experiences for our guests as possible!

What were your special moments or highlights of the day? It snowed! Looking out the window of the hotel as we got ready, and seeing big fat snowflakes to mark the occasion was a special treat. For Jess, spending so much time with family and friends who we don’t often get in the same place was also a bonus. Also, the ceremony itself was wonderful. Christine, from Humanist UK did our ceremony, which she personalised and it was so special.

As well, Calvin arranged letters and videos from Jessica’s friends and family back home who weren’t able to make the trip, which he revealed during his speech. It was such a touching moment and some meaningful well wishes we will have forever.

What advice would you give any other couples about planning your big day, or any tips for the day itself? Really think about what’s important to you and how you want your guests to feel – that will help you prioritise as it can be very overwhelming looking at everything you need to do. You don’t need to do everything! We didn’t have a cake and did not miss it. That said, sometimes you may just need to throw some money at the problem. Jessica spent so long thinking she’d arrange the décor but we are so thankful we went with Shingdig – not only did Cristel plan and arrange everything, but she included the rental of all the items so we were not stuck with 40 candles and random table runners after the wedding. For the day itself, make sure you have lots of other people who know what needs to be done and when everything is meant to happen. We had a mighty army of bridesmaids and groomsmen, as well as MCs, who made the day perfect. Of course, the advice everyone gives is to take some time during the day with your husband or wife and just soak it all in. After your vows, when you walk back down the aisle, really look at everyone there and take it all in. All your family and friends are there to support you and celebrate you and we were so joyful and grateful for it all.

What was your biggest surprise of the day? Snow!