Rich reds, yellows, mustards, green and orange – all the warmth for an wild and whimsical styled Autumn wedding at the beautiful Whirlowbrook Hall – stunning imagery by Neil Senior
Having loved autumn from being young and obsessed with autumn leaves, pumpkins and halloween, Lauren and Phil’s wedding was always going to follow an autumnal theme. With both of their birthdays in October and on the same date, they love this time of year, so there was never any doubt!
Earthy browns, touches of wheat and a mixture of burnt ambers with rich burgandy was the starting point to Lauren’s earthy wedding bouquet. Pampas and crocus heads , while the mixture of Dahlia and Teasel acted at focal points.
Autumn Buttonholes
THE GROOM
Phil wanted his suit to stand out from his groomsmen and wore a Marc Darcy herringbone tweed suit (from Tweed and Groom). The strips of velvet on the suit matched my bordo velvet Harriet Wilde shoes.
A buttonhole of Dried Fern, Eryngium Thistle, Berries and Waxflower bound together with twine and finished with a decorative pin sat proudly on Phil’s dark blue check suit from Tweed & Groom.
Whirlowbrook Hall is a stunning Sheffield Wedding venue located on the Yorkshire and Derbyshire border. The venue is situated in 39 acres of beautiful landscaped gardens it’s just a short drive from Fantail Florist‘s workshop and cut garden in Holdworth.
Like many couples, we had to postpone our wedding due to the pandemic which was a tough decision to make at the time. However, we feel that everything falls into place when it is meant to as we could not have asked for a more beautiful autumnal day!
says Lauren.
At Whirlowbrook Hall, you have the sole use of the entire venue including a ‘Ready Room’ and a ‘Chill Out Room’. Originally a manor house built in 1906, the Hall boasts many original features such as ornate fireplaces and a stunning woodwork. The neutral décor throughout means you can decorate the venue in a way to match your colour scheme and theme to ensure your Wedding is exactly how you have envisaged it.
Lauren says, for them, the surroundings of the venue was possibly more important than the interior as regardless of the weather, they were going to venture outside into the woods!
Whirlowbrook was the perfect venue for this firstly due to the stunning grounds that have an array of different trees, many of which shed to create a blanket of leaves (which Neil Senior captured flawlessly with his photography) and secondly due to the woodland area found behind the venue, as we wanted to be able to have a wander! The first time we drove up the driveway in autumn we were amazed by the grounds.
“When you know you know”
As a bride I wanted to feel ethereal and as though the dress was a part of me that flowed with my movements rather than a garment that I felt I was carrying around. My dress (Willowby Galatea, Dotty Bridal) was the epitome of what I wanted and weirdly, was the first dress I tried on. It’s a complete myth that you have to try on loads of dresses to be sure- when you know, you know!
Over to Lauren, who explains the STYLING…….
We very much wanted our wedding to celebrate the colours and natural elements of autumn, therefore our decor consisted of pumpkins, squashes and pinecones (the latter we collected from around a local dam – Agden).
Kurly Bird Events also provided atmospheric lighting as we wanted it to feel like a cosy autumnal day. Sue (For Goodness Cake) created a semi-naked cake with an orange hue, garnished with chocolate pinecones and topped with two iced ‘Mrs and Mrs’ pumpkins.
Leanne (Keetley Creative) designed our autumn leaf stationery which complemented our theme perfectly.
We wanted our flowers to reflect our natural theme the creations were the most stunning wild and whimsical pieces!
Above is the creation we designed for the staircase at Wirlowbrook Hall, featuring all the florals and foliage from Lauren’s bouquet.
A personal highlight for me was definitely the flowers as they made our wedding come to life. The staircase display was the talk of the wedding, it was stunning. I wore my flower crown all day and even down to breakfast the next morning as I loved it so much! I’m still obsessed with my bouquet a year later and have had it preserved and displayed in our home.
Lauren Webster
Finding bridesmaids dresses in an autumnal orange tone proved to be quite a task prior in 2020, when Lauren and Phil were planning for their original wedding date.
Eventually they were spotted and pruchased on ASOS
The highlights of the day….
The highlights for us were walking the grounds during our portraits with Neil (Neil Senior) and Paul (Cherish Media), as it genuinely felt like we were having photographs/videography taken by a good friend. We all loved taking in the nature and even spotted a Raven!
The whole day was a ‘highlight’ but I also loved giving my speech as I had the opportunity to thank the people closest to me who have supported me through my whole life and were there for me during the planning of our wedding. I only told my close family and friends that I were doing a speech, so it was a bit of a surprise for our guests.
Like many couples, Lauren and Phil had to postpone their wedding due to the pandemic which they say was a tough decision to make at the time. However, they felt that everything fell into place when it was meant to and they could not have asked for a more beautiful autumnal day!
Photographer @neilseniorphotography
Venue @whirlowbrookhall
Florals @fantaildesignerflorist
Bridal @dottybridal
Stationery @sheafstationery
Transport @vintagevolksweddings
Stylist @kurly.bird.events
Cake @sueforgoodnesscake
Tales from an award-winning Florist, Wedding Cut Gardener, Traveller 