Photo: Lucy Cuneo1/29I always knew I’d get married at our family home in Northumberland. This is a view of Bywell Castle, my family's country estate and a county seat of my parents' the 4th Viscount and Viscountess Allendale, from the River Tyne.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo2/29Our traditional English wedding invitation and the dinner invitation, which I designed using a pastiche of characters in a circus context.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo3/29Prize-winning roses growing on the 15th-century castle walls.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo4/29My mother Lady Allendale’s beloved hunter Matt.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo5/29Ivy-clad castle walls with the original castle gate built in 1430.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo6/29The fire lit in the drawing room at Bywell Hall.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo7/29My wedding dress by Stewart Parvin, hanging in my mother’s dressing room right before I put it on.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo8/29Our family tiara, inlaid with pearls and diamonds, also worn by my sisters for their weddings in the two preceding years.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo9/29Hair in rollers, chatting with my sisters in my parents’ bedroom—a special memory from the day.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo10/29Our ushers, fed and watered, leaving their ushers’ lunch to walk to the abbey to greet guests.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo11/29Anxious faces on the little bridesmaids as they waited for me to arrive at the abbey. I was a teeny bit late!
Photo: Lucy Cuneo12/29The bridesmaids had little posies of flowers and hair circlets to match their pale blue sashes.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo13/29The abbey has a long aisle, so we chose a long piece of music to get us all the way to the front.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo14/29Walking back up the aisle with my new husband!
Photo: Lucy Cuneo15/29The sun came out as we emerged from the abbey. We tried to gather for a photo with the little ones, which is always fun and chaotic.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo16/29Labrador Coco playing with one of our bridesmaids during our sunny cocktail hour.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo17/29With my new husband at Bywell Castle.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo18/29Our first “leaving” moment: We took a break between the reception and the dinner to give me time to remove my tiara and change my hair to be ready for the evening party.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo19/29Walking through the arch of Bywell Castle on my way to freshen up.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo20/29After the drinks reception, the reveal curtain was raised and guests gasped as they saw the pretty dinner tables appear with romantic trellises covered in greenery, and hanging lanterns and flowers by Laura Lee Flowers. I designed and painted the table number cards myself, keeping the look from the evening invitation and giving the feeling of a romantic garden to match the floral designs.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo21/29The placement table designed by brilliant Albion Parties of seed boxes planted with moss, and the escort cards were bordered with the same ikat pattern we used to wrap the bar and on the bespoke cushions.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo22/29The tabletop designed by Laura Lee Flowers, with hanging tea lights from a trellis wrapped in greenery. The whole effect was romantic and ethereal.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo23/29Albion Parties came up with an idea to wrap the bar in ikat fabric and to make cushions in the same fabric. The tree in the center of the bar gave it height and made it a focal feature in the marquee.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo24/29Arthur and I laughing at dinner.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo25/29The marquee from outside during dinner. We chose to have windows along two sides of the marquee to give an expansive view of the garden and to look back at the house, which was lit in changing colors.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo26/29I love table centers to have height, especially in such a large marquee, so we had alternating tables of greenery-clad candelabra and then low arrangements to give texture to the look.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo27/29Our first dance to Jake Bugg’s “Lightning Bolt.” We wanted something fun and lively to kick off the party with high energy.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo28/29The wedding cake made by a local patisserie, and decorated with flowers to match the reception floral decorations.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo29/29Gold confetti cannons showered us during our first dance. It kicked off a long night of merriment!
