Sarah and Chris’ Autumnal Wedding

Chris and Sarah, celebrated their special day with a stunning Autumnal themed wedding at their favourite venue. With 79 daytime guests and an additional 33 guests for the evening, Sarah and Chris made use of 3 of Wynyard Hall’s stunning staterooms for their perfect day.

MEET THE GROOM

Chris Glancey, 28, Marketing Manager

MEET THE BRIDE

Sarah Glancey, 27, Student Engagement Manager

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT HOW YOU MET AND THE PROPOSAL?

We both studied at the University of Sunderland and met through mutual friends in different years. We were out separately in Newcastle one night in December 2014 and ended up bumping into each other in a club. A few drinks later, we exchanged numbers and the rest was history! We went on a string of festive dates during the Christmas period, drinking far too much coffee in café’s and also tied in meeting the parents given the time of year of family get-togethers! Chris says to this date, I am his best Christmas present and I couldn’t agree more about him!
We got engaged in Edinburgh in January 2018 which is also the first place we went to when we started dating. It was snowing and we had checked in to our hotel and fancied a walk around the city to get some fresh air and head for a coffee. On the way back, we came across a private park which you could tell no one had been in as there were no footprints or paw prints from dog walkers, so we really wanted to head inside and find a quiet bench to sit on to rest our legs. We were chatting away and I turned my head away to take in the surroundings and the next moment Chris is down on one knee in the snow. It was the most emotional moment. Chris is a private person and it really suited his nature to propose in this way. We are a big lover of being outdoors, going for walks in the woods and we met in the Winter too, so that time of year really means a lot to us.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE WYNYARD HALL?

The first time we went to Wynyard Hall was when we got an afternoon tea voucher from my mum as a Christmas present and we fell in love with the place. We have been back numerous times for nights away, the Christmas Fayre and more afternoon tea and have also passed on vouchers to family and friends to let them experience the venue for themselves. We knew Wynyard was where we wanted to get married and everything in the wedding packages suited the type of wedding we wanted and Wynyard looks so beautiful in the Autumn! The venue is grand and it takes our breath away when we visit as the staff are so friendly and really do deliver an exceptional service.
Our favourite room at Wynyard Hall is the Mirror Room. Not only as it was the room we got married in, but every time we go in there, we notice something else beautiful about it and all its intricate details. The ceiling is a work of art and the mirrors in the room with the golden frames really capture how grand Wynyard Hall is. The golden frames and grandness of the room worked really well with our theme. The Mirror room now holds new precious memories as the place we said ‘I do!’.

WHAT COLOUR SCHEME AND FLOWERS DID YOU CHOOSE?

Our theme was Autumnal as it is our favourite team of the year. We had a lot of rustic oranges, berries, creams,and warm hues to match the time of year and the stunning grounds at Wynyard. It tied in really well with our love of woodland walks.

WHAT WEDDING MENU DID YOU CHOOSE?

We wanted to give our guests a choice for their meal, so we selected two options to choose from, including a vegetarian option. We loved how the food matched our theme perfectly with punchy, seasonal flavours such as Beetroot and Vodka Salmon, Spiced Butternut Squash Soup, Curried Fish and Gooseberry and Apple Crumble with Lavender Ice Cream – delicious! For the evening, we kept things traditional and chose the British menu which our guests loved. It included fish and chips, mini burgers, pork pies, salads, sandwiches and of course our wedding cake.
We particularly were impressed with the service from the Wynyard Hall team! They were always making sure if we needed anything and all the food was served at the same time, so no guests were waiting for other people on the table to get their food.

DID YOU DO ANYTHING SPECIAL ON THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR WEDDING?

Chris played a couple of rounds of golf at Wynyard Golf Club with his best man and some of his ushers. They then went out for a meal at Wynyard Golf Club and had a private dining room for the evening.
I had my nails done in The Spa at Wynyard Hall and enjoyed a drink sitting by the lake to try and calm my nerves a little. I then joined my mum for a cosy night in our room together with some room service, nibbles and a gin & tonic.

TELL US ABOUT THE DRESS… WHAT STYLE WAS IT? WHERE WAS IT FROM? WHAT DID YOUR BRIDESMAIDS WEAR?

My dress was Stella York and was from The Wedding Dress Company in Corbridge. It was a fitted vintage-style dress with a sweetheart neckline, v-neck back with delicate straps. Covered in pearls, beads and lots of sparkles! It had a beautiful lace train and I finished off the look with a cathedral-length veil, flower hairclip and jewellery to balance out the sparkle of the dress.
My bridesmaids and flower girl wore Mori Lee from Elizabeth George. They wore a cranberry red dress, along with my flower girl matching with embellished flowers on her dress. The dresses were beaded at the bodice and had a floaty skirt, with a slight v-neck at the back. They chose their own shoes, bag and accessories for the day.

WHAT DID THE GROOM WEAR, AND WHERE WAS IT FROM?

Chris wore a dark blue suit with a rustic orange tie and a tweed waistcoat. The suit was from Master Debonair in East Boldon.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR WEDDING PHOTOS…

We had Focal Point Photography to capture our wedding. They have a relaxed approach to photography but they really know their craft. We know how much they love shooting at Wynyard Hall and that was a big tick for us. They know the staff really well, the grounds and where the light is best – everything! Mostly, what we really wanted in our photographers everything being really natural, which Focal Point certainly deliver upon. We had a great laugh when we were doing our outside shots scrambling through the leaves and trees to get the best light!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR ENTERTAINMENT…

We had Persona Events as our DJ for the evening. Anthony was brilliant to work with and was very helpful in putting together our favourite songs as well as our guest’s requests. Our first dance was to ‘Live Forever’ by Oasis (Noel Gallagher acoustic version). We also had a photo booth which our guests loved dressing up with props and we also got a free photobook with everyone’s pictures in. We have been crying with laughter at how random the pictures are and had lots of comments on what a good idea it was to be a bit silly, have a laugh and also memories to take away!

WHERE DID YOU BOTH JET OFF TO FOR YOUR HONEYMOON?

We went to Dubai at the end of October for 9 nights, as we both love the Middle-Eastern culture and I (Sarah) spent 10 years in Saudi Arabia so it is very much part of my upbringing. We had a great time taking in all the sights, and unwinding after a very exciting and overwhelming time!

WAS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL OR UNUSUAL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING?

It meant so much to me to have that precious time with my mum the night before the wedding and enjoying the bridal preparations on the morning. My mum walked me down the aisle in the absence of my dad who was too unwell to attend the day. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room!
We were very blessed with the autumn sun, as the days before and after the wedding day were pretty wet and blustery. I’ll never forget waking up on the morning of the wedding at Wynyard, opening the curtains and seeing blue skies overlooking the lake. We had a little bit of rain whilst eating our meal, but that didn’t bother us one bit as we were all indoors anyway. Our guests were able to venture outside on the terrace and we could see how much all our guests were enjoying the day and felt really relaxed.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WEDDING PLANNING TIPS?

The first thing we bought was a wedding planner and we also kept track of payments and deposits in a spreadsheet which was a lifesaver! We are both very creative and our jobs revolve around marketing and event planning which came in very handy! We enjoyed scrapbooking ideas from magazines to stick in our planner as well as images we’d seen on social media.
It’s important to enjoy planning your wedding and try not to get stressed in the tiniest of details. Have a budget in mind and work out what elements you need. We’d also say to do your research and go to wedding fairs to get talking to the suppliers directly. That way you can get a sense of their work and how they set up on the day etc. We went to a Wynyard Wedding Showcase early on in the planning and met their recommended suppliers who know the venue really well and that was an instant win for us to book them up early.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND WYNYARD HALL TO OTHER COUPLES PLANNING AN AUTUMNAL WEDDING?

Definitely, we can’t recommend it enough. The venue is stunning! All our guests have said as soon as they arrived and walked into the main reception area, they were amazed with the grounds, interior and the stained glass ceiling. Everything was so well organised and we knew our wedding coordinator was a phone call or email away. It made us feel well looked after and at ease in the run-up to the day.
Our Wedding Coordinator was Clare and she was unbelievable in the planning for the day. She has a very calming nature and that really helped us put our trust in her, along with her wealth of experience, we knew we were in excellent hands for our wedding.
Our Master of Ceremonies Carl was exceptional and very easy to get along with. We really liked his relaxed nature which made us feel even more at ease on the day. Whenever we asked a question to him or he wanted to check in with us around timings, we felt we were being really looked after and he was able to accommodate any changes to the order of the day promptly without us having to worry.