Louisa describes the Lake District as the most beautiful place in the world, and it’s no secret that I absolutely agree; if you keep up with my blog you’ll see I published my top tips for eloping in the Lake District recently and I was absolutely delighted that Lou and Jamie said I could blog their Lake District wedding near Loweswater from last summer. They married in Saint Bartholomew’s Church in the village and then returned to Lou’s parents house for the party to end all parties! I absolutely adore Lou + Jamie’s zest for life and sense of adventure and I hope I’ll get to head out into the fells with them before too long.

HOW DID YOU MEET?

At Newcastle University; Jamie was selling cakes to raise money for a charity trip to Malaysia and my friend Andy (his housemate) introduced us. Andy did a reading during our ceremony.

TELL ME YOUR PROPOSAL STORY

We were hiking the O circuit in the Torres del Paine national park. One morning Jamie insisted that we woke up at 4am packed up our tent in the dark and set off up the mountain to “beat the crowds” at the top. He went so fast that we basically ran with our full packs on up to the top of the John Gardner pass. The view was the most incredible that I’ve ever seen; overlooking the Southern Patagonian ice fields and grey glacier. Of course at the crack of dawn we were completely alone and he got down on one knee and proposed. We ran down the mountain on a huge high and celebrated with black coffee and camp porridge.

WHY DID YOU PLAN A LAKE DISTRICT WEDDING NEAR LOWESWATER FOR YOUR WEDDING DAY?

I am lucky enough to come from the Lake District (to me the most beautiful place in the world). I grew up in the mountains and couldn’t imagine getting married any where else. We got married in Saint Bartholowe’s Church, Loweswater (my local parish church) and had the reception at my parent’s house with beautiful views of Whiteside, Grassmoor and Low Fell. We spent the year prior to the wedding getting the old barn ready for dancing and hired a lovely marquee in the field for our wedding breakfast.

WHAT WAS IT THAT YOU LOVED ABOUT YOUR OUTFITS AND ACCESSORIES AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THEM?

Jamie is very traditional and so opted for a morning suit which he had made and fitted in London. Although his tailor was a bit of a character and got his trousers muddled about 3 times before he finally picked up the right pair. I prefer quite a relaxed style and love french fashion so went for a dress by Rime Arodaky who does really cool, less traditional dresses. I had a fun headband made with guided flowers by Miss Clemmie and a pair of gold loeffler Randall shoes that I have worn to every occasion since! It was great to change into my comfy glittery gold  converse high tops  for the dancing in the evening! Of which there was a LOT!

TELL ME ABOUT THE VISION YOU HAD FOR YOUR WEDDING

We wanted a very summery, pretty and natural vibe; my mum worked on the garden in the months leading up to the wedding planting pastel pink and peach dahlias and garden roses. Our flowers tied in with big blousey roses, dahlias and loose romantically styled bouquets.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST DANCE AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE IT?

We love the programme “Schitts creek” and so chose a slow version of Simply The Best leading into the faster up tempo version that we all know and love by Tina Turner. Our band Dirty Weekend were awesome in helping us create this and we both agree it was our favourite part of the wedding.

WHAT WERE THE MOST WONDERFUL PARTS OF THE DAY FOR YOU?

Lucy (Jamie’s best friend) reading the poem “Patagonia” by Kate Clanchy for us in church
Throwing the bouquet from our barn window down into the yard
The dancing and the tents (the guests hired tents from Bellows Glamping for two days) and we partied all weekend like a festival!​

Why did you choose Hannah Hall Photography as your photographer, and what was your experience of your photography on the day?

We chose Hannah as she has a fantastic style- all our photos were so much fun and capture the laughter and magic of the day. We weren’t keen for too many formal posed shots and she really respected that and just captured the joy and fun! She was also friendly and wonderfully helpful in getting us all to the church on time- almost!!!

What would be your best bit of advice to other couples planning their wedding?

Remember why you’re doing the day! It really is the funnest biggest celebration of love and friends and family. Try to spread the time out over the days leading up to the wedding and the days after and appreciate all the amazing time with friends and family. Accept all the help you can get.

Try not to get bogged down in the detail and admin and forget that it’s a party to celebrate how much you love each other. The day will fly so enjoy every second and try to take it all in. When you think you’re forgetting all the moments a few weeks later the photos arrive and you will look at them for the next 90 years!

LAKE DISTRICT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHS

Lou and Jamie got married at St Bartholomew’s which is a tiny church in the village of Loweswater, not too far from the lake shore. Holding the reception at Lou’s parents house meant planning a DIY wedding with marquee hire and external caterers but also meant the couple could enjoy the dramatic quintessential Lake District backdrop for their wedding photographs that Lou had grown up with! The boys starting their morning with a fell run up Whiteside and Grasmoor, two of the largest peaks in Wainwright’s North Western fells and these dominate the backdrop for their portraits.

Wedding venues local to the area that would offer similar backdrops include Newhouse Farm and Low Hall, which is only a short drive away from lake vistas.

Check out the incredible suppliers who made Lou + Jamie’s Loweswater Lake District Wedding happen…

Dress Rime Arodaky from The Mews, Notting Hill / Flowers Made in Flowers, Kendal / Cake Jamie’s mum!

Bridesmaids Maids to Measure / Groom Oliver Brown / Catering Karen Rhodes / Band Dirty Weekend

Accessories Miss Clemmie, Loeffler Randall / Marquee Evans Marquees 

Getting wed in the Lakes? Take me too – click here!

Suppliers! Want images? Read this first.