I love exploring Britain’s wonderful venues, thanks to Love My Dress weddings and I’m totally intrigued by this gem of a place; Le Petit Chateau in Northumberland.
On 11 August 2021 account manager Olivia wed systems analyst Tom at Le Petit Château in Otterburn. The couple fell in love with the Chateau’s beautiful gardens and countryside gardens, and styled it with fresh, natural flowers for a minimalist, contemporary vibe. Images by Paul and Nanda Wedding Photography.
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“We ideally wanted to get married abroad in France but it would have meant quite a few guests wouldn’t be able to make it so we ruled that out. We then found Le Petit Château which ticked every box. It had the French feel with a modern twist.”
Olivia selected two gowns for her day. The first, a contemporary, one-shouldered gown by Toni Maticevski, was chosen at The White Closet in Didsbury, Manchester.
“The boutique was beautiful. I had the lovely Molly who looked after me and she was amazing.”
“She was extremely helpful and got to know me and my style before selecting dresses to try on.”
“As I needed to buy a dress during Covid the boutique followed all the Covid safety protocols which meant a mask and gloves needed to be worn throughout the appointment. Not the most glamorous of looks but it didn’t taint the experience.”
“I loved the simplicity and shape. It was minimal with romantic twist. I didn’t want to take it off.”
Her veil was by Helen Martin Veils and was encrusted with tiny pearls and her shoes were embellished satin ‘Gilda’ sandals from Amina Muaddi.
For earrings, Olivia chose statement gold and pearl drop earrings from Missoma.
“I just love all the Missoma jewellery. I like chunky gold jewellery so when I saw these pearl drop earrings I knew they would go perfectly with my dress.”
The couple had originally planned to wed in May 2021, but in April pushed their date back once the government had announced their plans for easing of lockdown.
“Our first date was Saturday 29 May which we moved to Wednesday 11 August 2021.”
“We were fortunate that all our original suppliers were available on our new date.”
“Even though it was a Wednesday, nearly all our guests could make it and the day could be exactly how we wanted it to be with no restrictions.”
“We advised guests to take lateral flow tests prior to the wedding and take their own precautions to avoid any chances of them catching the virus.”
“There were also plenty of hand sanitiser stations around the venue for guests.”
Tom wore a tailored, double-breasted suit from Reiss, worn with a statement button hole.
The bridesmaids wore gorgeous wrap dresses in peachy gold from Never Fully Dressed, with their own shoes and accessories.
The bridal party’s make-up was applied by Faces by Lauren Rippin and their sleek up-dos were styled by Emily Hawkes Hair.
Olivia’s father walked with her down the aisle, as the guitar solo of ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri was played.
The service was led by Northumberland Registry Services.
“We kept the vows short and sweet without any readings. We are not into the soppy mushiness.”
“We had a guitarist who serenaded our guests throughout the register signing.”
The couple’s rings were family heirlooms.
“My wedding band was passed down from Tom’s mum and matched by engagement ring perfectly.”
“Tom’s wedding band was his grandad’s old ring that we got melted down and made into a wedding band.”
The ceremony was one of the bride’s favourite parts of the day.
“I can’t decide so I’m going to say the minute I was stood at the bottom of the aisle with Tom and thinking ‘We’re here! We’ve done it!’, and also the whole evening. Everyone was relaxed and having a good time and that all we wanted.”
Olivia and Tom selected Paul & Nanda Wedding Photography to capture the day on camera and their crisp and clean, artistic style fits so well with the day’s style.
“We found Paul and Nanda on Instagram and fell in love with their page.”
“We loved the style and composition of their images and thought they would be perfect to capture our day.”
“I couldn’t recommend them enough. They are the perfect duo and were the best addition to the day.”
The ceremony room was decorated with up-lighters and an extravagant arrangement of white flowers and fresh green foliage.
The florist for the day was The Finishing Touch Company.
Olivia designed and printed most of the stationery.
“I laser-cut the vinyl for the table plan, welcome sign, guest book and card box. The table names were from The Studio at 22 on Etsy.”
The cake was dreamed up by The Master Cakesmith.
“We had a three-tiered, semi-naked cake with toffee drips. We wanted to keep it minimal and modern and chose two flavours as we simply couldn’t choose.”
“We ended up with Salted Caramel and Toffee Pecan.”
“Later on, the guests and newly-weds sat down to a wedding breakfast provided by Le Petit Château, to the backdrop of a pink neon sign from HeyLightsCo on Etsy that read ‘Dearly beloved’.
“It is the opening sentence of one of our favourite Prince songs.”
Ready for the evening party, Olivia slipped on a sparkling, sequinned, kimono-style white gown from ASOS.
“I bought my evening dress first in the view to wear this all day. I fell in love with it. It fit like a glove and was so much fun to wear.”
Their music was provided by The Pretty Shapes.
“Our first dance was ‘You Do Something To Me’ by Paul Weller. We really liked the song.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“As much as you can overplan and overthink, what will be will be and everything will still be perfect.”
“Take time in the day to just be present and soak it all in. It goes so quickly and you’ll want to cherish every moment.”
Paul & Nanda Wedding Photography, thank you so much for these romantic images. And Olivia and Tom, congratulations and thanks to both of you, too.
For more weddings at Le Petit Château, why not take a look at these celebrations.
Ele xx
Eleanor Crossland
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Ele lives in the Lincolnshire countryside, close to the beautiful coast. A qualified Pilates teacher, she loves fitness, yoga, Pilates and has a healthy addiction to baking, writing and travel.