Ruth & Patrick

Ruth & Patrick got married at Haarlem on Saturday 21st December 2019 and their beautiful day included some very special guests (Benson, we’re looking at you). Check out some of our favourite photos from the day here and also read all about the day from the bride herself.

Tell us a bit about you as a couple, how did you meet, when did you get engaged, who proposed and how?

We met on Tinder back in 2016 then Patrick proposed 3 years later just before Christmas. We’d recently been to London for our anniversary and I really loved these arty photographs of letters I’d seen in Covent Garden. You could buy different letters to make up a word of your choice so Patrick secretly got ‘Be my Mrs B’ and framed it. He cooked me dinner and told me I had an early Christmas present to open. When I turned around he was down on one knee. It was really personal and he put so much thought into the proposal. I loved that he proposed at Christmas as this is the only holiday when we both truly relax and have time off together. That’s one of the reasons why we also wanted to get married at Christmas. Patrick proposed on 22.12.18 and our wedding was a year later on 21.12.19 so it will always be a special time for us.

What was the theme or style inspo for your wedding?

We wanted quite a rustic theme for the wedding and didn’t want a colour theme as such or anything too ‘matchy’ ! knew that I wanted the bridesmaids dresses to all be different so all six bridesmaids felt comfortable in what they were wearing. I wanted quite a neutral colour but to tie them together, I picked dresses that all had a bit of sparkle, which I thought was quite appropriate as it was Christmas. We definitely didn’t want a Christmas theme but we wanted it to have a real warm feeling with a hint of Christmas sparkle! We bought votives and lanterns for the tables to try and create that feeling. We also bought lots of little vases and did all of the table flowers the day before at the cottage we were staying at - it was all hands on deck! As Patrick is a plumber, he made all of the menu stands, as well as the backdrop and welcome sign frames, from copper to go with our rustic theme.

What made you pick Haarlem Mill?

Haarlem Mill had an open day and on that day we visited a few other venues. For me, I just instantly knew that Haarlem Mill was the one; we’d seen quite a few venues but I was excited by Haarlem Mill and I could really picture us getting married there. It’s a bit like when you view houses - you just know when it’s the one as you get that feeling. I thought it suited us as a couple and the theme we wanted to go for.

What was your favourite part of the day?

The whole day was incredible but if we had to choose, we both loved the ceremony. It’s not a part of the day we expected to love but everything about it was just perfect. It felt really personal and we loved the readings; my brother adapted ‘a lovely love story’ to suit us and our friend Tiets, read a personalised version of ‘the art of marriage’. It was a fun ceremony and really set the tone for the day. We also loved our Mr and Mrs Quiz just before our first dance - again, it was a lot of fun! We wanted our wedding to be a big party and for everyone to enjoy themselves as much as we do at a wedding. We definitely achieved this!

One piece of advice for other brides/grooms?

Everyone said before we got married that it would be the best day of our lives but the day goes so fast. This is so true! We would just say to enjoy every minute and take in every moment as much as you can. Take a minute to look around the room during the wedding breakfast and see how much fun all of your guests are having - it’s such a nice feeling!