Your North East Wedding - Jan/Feb 2020 (Issue 36)

A GRAND AFFAIR The guest list my parents have given us for our Asian wedding is far more than we expected. Is it really possible to host a reception in the North East for over 600 friends and family? Rebecca says: You’re in luck – Wynyard Hall is the perfect venue to host a wedding of this size! Our stunning Grand Marquee has been perfectly designed for large-scale Asian weddings, spaciously seating up to 650 guests. Styled in a modern, neutral colour palette, it’s Wynyard Hall’s most contemporary wedding offering – consider it a blank canvas to make your own. This versatile venue has a reception area for arrival drinks and greeting guests, plus plenty of space for dining and evening celebrations. Asian wedding parties wishing to use their own external caterers can also make use of the high- spec kitchens, which are included in the venue hire. Furthermore, the marquee also offers a beautiful adjoining garden, providing further space for guests to enjoy the celebrations. You will find vivid flowerbeds, carefully placed between lush, velvety lawns and a patio area to enjoy drinks outdoors. Rebecca Whitehead | Wynyard Hall | wynyardhall.co.uk TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME A lot of my married friends say it’s important to hire a wedding photographer that supplies more than one snapper for the big day. Do you agree? Chris says: Here at Christography we offer two photographers, as you’re right; it’s a massive selling point to many brides and grooms. The reason for this is it means we can cover both sides of the wedding party, from prep right through to coming together at the ceremony. We like to call ourselves ‘Swiss army photographers’, as we like to go above and beyond! From lacing up bride’s dresses to the groom and ushers’ buttonholes, we can help with it all. Having two photographers means you can capture different angles and different perspectives, whereas with one they can’t be in all places at the same time and may miss out on a fantastic shot as a result. Chris Todd | Christography | christography.co.uk christography.co.uk SAVE OUR PLANET I’m passionate about watching my carbon footprint and want my July wedding to reflect this as much as possible. How can I make sure my flowers are as eco-friendly as can be? Moira says: The very best way to make sure your wedding flowers have as little impact on your carbon footprint as possible is to simply make sure your florist buys British. Better still; make sure they have a local grower/supplier. As a florist, a lot of our product come from abroad – Holland, South America and Kenya mostly. However, I do buy from a local garden grower wherever possible and I think that most other florists are leaning towards that option too. July is the perfect month for buying British as there’s a huge choice available then. There are other ways to make sure your wedding flowers have a low impact on the environment, such as planning your venue dressing – such as centrepieces and arches – to be foam-free; that’s without using oasis as a water source. Table flowers in reusable containers such as vases or glass jars are far more ecologically-friendly than arrangements that require floral foam. A nice idea is to re-purpose your wedding flowers afterwards, taking them to a nursing home, hospice or women’s shelter, for example. I recently worked on a wedding where the guests were given succulent plants as favours (they were even grown by the couple) so that they could be kept and planted afterwards. I loved that idea. Small plants, packets of wildflower seeds and even having trees planted in the guests’ names as wedding favours are all good ways of helping the environment and wildlife. Moira Angua | Moira J Florist | moiraj.co.uk christography.co.uk Having two photographers lets you see your wedding from different perspectives, as these images show jossguestphotography.co.uk 94