Beck & Lewis

How did you meet?

- We met on a dating app by swiping right (Tinder!). After weeks of chatting and getting to know each other we had our first date at a local pub. It may sound cheesy, but it really was love at first sight. We passed time together so easily and we couldn’t believe how much we had in common. Later that evening, Lewis rang his best friend to debrief after out first date and he told his friend that I was the one he would marry (big words!). After many more dates, we made it official. Fast forward 3 years and we brought our first home together. We then added a new addition, a puppy - Reggie. Reggie played a very important role in Lewis’s proposal where he ran over to me wearing a collar that read “will you marry me”. Unfortunately, Reggie couldn’t attend our wedding as we had him booked in at his groomers for a spa day!

What made you choose Haarlem as your wedding venue?

- As we got engaged during Covid (March 2020) we started looking at wedding venues online. I had known about Haarlem Mill for a while having passing it on the way to work. We went straight to Haarlem Mill’s Instagram page and totally fell in love with the venue. We absolutely loved the exposed brick walls, authentic wooden floors, trendy decor, remote location and stunning views, it was exactly what we were looking for. Later that year, as the Covid restrictions were easing, we were finally able to go and visit the Venue. It was everything we had hoped and more. I remember the first time that I walked into the ceremony room, it gave me butterflies instantly. The twinkly lights, wooden floors and industrial look made it all so perfect! We could both imagine getting married here. We loved the huge space but at the same time with the stunning decor and twinkly lights it felt intimate and cosy which was important to us. After our visit that we had been so excited for, we knew it was the right venue for us so we had everything confirmed and our wedding date was officially in the diary!

What has been your favourite part of planning your wedding?

- We probably had the most fun planning and choosing our Music for the day. We had a band with us all day, playing during the ceremony, reception drinks and our first dance. We chose ‘Here comes the sun’ by the Beetles for walking down the aisle, ’She’s Electric’ by Oasis for walking back up the aisle and then ‘Ho Hey’ by the Lumineers for our first dance. We also loved visiting the venue on the build up to our wedding day for planning meetings with Shannon, wedding fairs and the menu tasting evening. Each time we visited Haarlem we would come away feeling incredibly excited and grateful that this would be where we get married and we were so excited for our friends and family to share how stunningly beautiful the venue is.

What was the most memorable part of your wedding day?

- We genuinely loved every second of our wedding day. Haarlem are such a fantastic team and the day ran so seamlessly. It’s difficult to choose one part so we have chosen our top 3 moments of the day. The first being the ceremony. It was so perfect and everything we’d hoped. After two years of planning, walking down the aisle to ‘here comes the sun’ by the Beetles played acoustic, with the twinkly lights and Lewis looking back at me will forever stay in our memories. Our second favourite part was the confetti. This happened straight after the ceremony and it was such a joyous moment and the photos are brilliant! Our final favourite moment was probably our wedding breakfast. The speeches were amazing and the room was stunning. We had the chicken pie for our main course which was incredible, even in 30 degrees weather during a heatwave!

Tell us a bit about your theme or colour scheme? What inspired you, have you made anything yourself or added any personal touches?

- We had a colour scheme of neutral colours - green, beige and black with a hint of dusky pink to complement the bridesmaid dresses. One important thing to note about Haarlem Mill is that as the venue is so stunning to begin with, we felt less was definitely more. Lewis is very creative so was able to design all of our signs, name places and invites which had a modern but simplistic look to them. We added a Moongate and neon sign at the end of aisle which was decorated by our florist. As we got married in August we also had lots of garden games outside for everyone to play, including a giant Jenga and a Mr and Mrs cornhole game. We love puddings so it felt the only option to have a treat table. This included a wedding cake, chocolate brownies, homemade cookies and a donut wall (proudly made by Lewis’s dad). This was definitely enjoyed by all of our guests.

Full list of suppliers:

Photographer - Team Edwards Photography (Gary Edwards).

Stylist - Willow Grace Styling (photo back drop, balloon orbs and a neon sign).

Florist - Julie Harding (Willington)

Hair - Cally Wyles at The Bobby Pin hair salon.

MUA - Beauty by Taisiya (Taisiya Marsh).

Dress - Gracie Blue Bridal (Matlock).

Suits - Next.

Music - Daniel Sams (acoustic band and DJ)

Cake - Baked by Holly

Anyone else you want to shout out - The fantastic team at Haarlem Mill for making our wedding day so special from start to finish!