26th Nov 2020
Anoif Photography
The team at Birdsall are bursting with small wedding ideas. For lots of couples, the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled or dramatically changed their big wedding plans. Large, extravagant events were postponed or people came up with ideas for small, intimate wedding ceremonies. On the 4th November 2020 we were delighted to host a wedding for fifteen! Hannah and George were determined to get married and were not going to let ‘lockdown 2.0’ stand in their way. Cara, who heads up the team at Birdsall House and lives here with her family, tells us more:
Hannah and George first made a visit to Birdsall House when they had just found out that their wedding venue had unexpectedly closed its doors. When one door closes, another opens! We were very honoured that Hannah and George subsequently chose Birdsall House for their wedding.
Anoif Photography
George and Hannah were the most gorgeous couple. They were fun, easy going and just wanted to get married surrounded by their nearest and dearest. We planned their wedding for the end of November. Without warning, a second lockdown was announced starting five days later on Thursday 5th for four weeks. The race was on, Hannah and George asked if we could hold their wedding with 48 hours notice and just before lockdown was due to start. Thankfully, the stars aligned, all the suppliers were on board, and we did it!
Anoif Photography
That morning was bright sun and Yorkshire was looking its absolute best. The couple married at St Peter’s Church in Norton surrounded by 12 family members and closest friends. Very sadly, the number restrictions meant that none of Hannah and George’s grandparents were able to join the celebrations. Some managed to watch the couple come out of Church. Others managed to keep in touch throughout the day via the wonders of technology!
Anoif Photography
Anoif Photography
Following on from the service they drove the four miles to Birdsall in a beautiful old Bentley. A small wedding offers the couple the luxury of time. With the sun shining and the gorgeous autumnal colours around the park there was time for a photo stop by brilliant photographer Fiona (@anoifphotography) before getting to the house. With such a stunning day, the couple and guests were able to have drinks and some photos outside amongst our stunning ruins before returning inside to champagne, delicious canapes and roaring log fires.
Anoif Photography
Anoif Photography
Dan Graham (@atthedinnerpartybydangraham) is the most wonderful chef from Malton, and one of our preferred suppliers at Birdsall. Dan managed to ‘pull everything out of the bag’ at short notice, including going to 5 different supermarkets to gather all the ingredients as the country went into ‘lockdown trolley dash’. Luckily, before Dan started his own catering business, he had worked at the venue Hannah and George had originally booked. He had been part of the team creating the wedding menu so knew exactly what the couple were looking for. He gave all the guests perfectly executed and divine canapes followed by Italian antipasti starters, the best smelling traditional Roast Beef and Yorkshire puddings finished with a delicious and comforting Apple Crumble.
Anoif Photography
Throughout the evening Callum and Kieran from The Yorkshire Bartender (@yorkshire_bartender) kept guests topped up with champagne and divine cocktails. With fewer guests than normal, the possibility of having free flowing cocktails all night was real and made the celebrations very special indeed.
Anoif Photography
The reception was very relaxed and held in our Long Hall with the party moving through to the Ballroom for the wedding breakfast. One long table, with plenty of socially distanced seating, was in the centre of the room, with beautiful flower arrangements by Gemma, from The Topiary Tree. Hannah’s brother is a beautiful pianist and played the most exquisite pieces on the piano throughout the evening, with George’s brother and father also taking to the keys. Music, singing, happiness and laughter rang out, all the things we have missed so much at Birdsall this year.
Anoif Photography
Anoif Photography
We got lots of ideas lot from Hannah and George’s small wedding. The big one was that nobody should be afraid of ‘only having’ 15 people at a wedding. Their wedding was just perfect! Yes, of course they would have liked to have had a few more people to celebrate with. But, the wedding they had was beautiful, intimate, relaxed and generous of spirit. The couple and their guests had time to enjoy their big day as well as spending precious moments with their nearest and dearest. The tears, laughter, music and sheer happiness in the room was magical and it was one of the best weddings we have ever had at Birdsall House.
Anoif Photography
View even more pictures from photographer, Anoif Photography, here. If you’d like to talk about small wedding ideas at Birdsall for your special day, get in touch, we’d be happy to help.
Posted in PhotographyWeddings
