Our Couples | Neil and Marie

Navy and reds with natural wood and greenery and an amazing festival theme. This was the stunning colour combination chosen by Marie and Neil for their summer wedding at Healing Manor on 17 June 2023. The scheme married perfectly with the rustic interiors of the Wedding Barn, and the guests danced the night away with music reminiscent of the couple’s favourite gigs and festivals.

“We both loved the beautiful wedding barn. It is such a lovely space to have your ceremony and wedding breakfast and we loved that everything is in one place. The grounds and manor house are also stunning which allows you to have some beautiful photos in different locations around the venue. We also loved that there are plenty of rooms for guests to stay the night if they wish. The food is fantastic and the staff are very helpful and friendly.”

The couple worked with Amy of Jack Loves Jill for their wedding styling, which featured festival-style signage, colourful ribbons and tables named after festivals.

“We both have a love of live music and have been to many memorable gigs and festivals together over the years. So, it was only right that we incorporated this into our wedding day. Our tables were named after gig venues or festivals we had been to together, and we had welly centre-pieces with dianthus pink kisses. On each table was a photo of us at that gig or festival.”

“Our wedding favours were specially-designed festival wristbands with our names and the wedding date for all our guests to wear. Jack Loves Jill did an incredible job bringing our festival vision to life and added little touches such as an amplifier card box, outdoor festoon lighting and ribbons with greenery trailing the barn’s beams. One of my favourite items was the directional sign seating plan, which reminded me of the signage common at festivals.”

Marie and Neil, who are both from Lincolnshire, met twelve years ago when working in Norfolk.

“We found we had a love of travel and music, and a friendship turned into romance. Neil proposed on my birthday in 2021. It was a lovely surprise and I was so excited about this next chapter of our lives together.”

“We had a civil ceremony in Healing Manor’s Wedding Barn in front of 68 guests. I stayed the night before at the hotel with my close family and bridesmaids, and had such a relaxing morning getting ready in the Bridal Suite. It was comforting knowing I was already at the venue and had everything I needed already there.”

Capturing their day were photographer Robert Scatliffe Photography and Rustic Bear Wedding Films.

“We met Rob at the Lincolnshire Wedding Show in Grimsby, and he was so friendly and personable. We loved that he had a drone and could capture some great group shots with this. Rob also provided our rustic photobooth for the evening which was popular with our guests and captured some really fun photos for them to take away and for us to keep in our own photo guestbook. Rob was fantastic on the day; he captured some lovely candid shots as well as the formal photos we wanted. We made full use of the grounds and had some lovely photos of just the two of us as well as with lots of family and friends. Rob was there from bridal prep to beyond our first dance and Rob captured everything so perfectly. We look forward to viewing these photos for years to come to remember our special day.”

“We used Lawrence from Rustic Bear Wedding Films to capture the key moments from our wedding day. Lawrence was also one of Neil’s ushers so it was very kind of him to work on the wedding day.”

Marie visited Louth boutique Take A Vow (now closed), where she selected her Stella York gown.

“I wanted to shop local. I also wanted to be able to dance the night away and this dress was perfect with its A-line style. I loved the flower and leaf embroidery which incorporated my love of the outdoors.”

“Before I started my search for my wedding dress I never thought I’d wear a veil but, after trying some on, I knew I had to have one. I visited Champagne & Lace in Grainthorpe and Lisa was fantastic in helping me choose my perfect veil. I went for a Twilight Designs chapel-length Ivory Tulle Veil with light-catching diamantés around the edge. This was the perfect finishing touch for my bridal look and I kept it in until the evening after my first dance.”

The bride’s eye-catching shoes were ‘Carriage Ride’ by Irregular Choice.

“I wanted some wedding shoes that would stand out. They were perfect and I loved the pink and pearl accessories. My engagement and wedding rings are gold, so I went for gold and pearl accessories to match the pearls on my dress. My necklace and earrings were from H. Samuel. My hair piece was purchased locally at Hats & Tiaras wedding boutique. Tina was really helpful in helping me select the perfect piece. My sister gifted me a Jersey Pearl anklet which was my something blue and I wore one of my grandmother’s rings. It felt very special to have something of hers with me on my special day.”

Marie’s make-up artist was Rachel Bray Make up Artistry and her hair was styled by Emma-Jayne of Mirror Mirror Cleethorpes.

“Rachel was fantastic from day one. She is super-organised and made me feel really at ease. She is so talented and my bridal makeup gave me a huge boost of confidence. And, it stayed in place all day.”

“Emma-Jayne did a fantastic job of taking what I had envisaged and making it a reality. My hair stayed in place all day and night and Emma-Jayne ensured it looked perfect with the veil and after I had removed it. The bridesmaids’ hair was perfect and I loved how we incorporated plaits into all of our hair. My bridesmaids had some beautiful hair clips with rose detail to match their bouquets.”

“Both Rachel and Emma-Jayne were fantastic on the morning of the wedding, arriving in plenty of time to make up me and my four bridesmaids with time to spare before the ceremony. With their organisation and experience, they ensured everything ran smoothly, they put us all at ease, and we had such a lovely and relaxed wedding morning. It was the perfect way to start my wedding day.”

The bride and bridesmaid carried bouquets made by Neil’s mother, a talented florist.

“She lovingly made all of the bouquets and buttonholes. We wanted to incorporate our navy and red colour scheme but I also wanted something colourful with lots of greenery. Louise did a fantastic job: they were beautiful.”

Neil chose a Marc Darcy suit in navy from Hancocks Menswear in Grimsby, pairing it with a red tie and handkerchief. The ushers hired Cavani suits from Lincolnshire Menswear.

“We would definitely recommend them; their service was great.”

The wedding ceremony was held in the barn, against a gorgeous backdrop of festoon lighting, navy and red ribbons and foliage hanging from the barn beams, to bring the festival feel to life.

“My dad walked me down the aisle. I chose a song from one of my favourite bands – ‘Swing Life Away’ by Rise Against – which Phil Richards performed live. It gave me goosebumps hearing the song start as I was waiting to walk down the aisle. It was a very special moment walking down the aisle, seeing Neil waiting for me at the end of the aisle and all my family and friends’ smiling faces looking back at me.”

“Our ceremony was perfect. My sister did two readings which incorporated our love of travel and our love of ‘Lord of the Rings‘. We both wrote personal vows to each other that we had written privately so it was wonderful to hear them for the first time at the ceremony. They were very personal words of affection and included promises we vowed to keep.”

Musician Phil Richards set a gorgeous atmosphere for the day with his live acoustic music.

“Having live music on our wedding day was very important to us as it’s something we love to enjoy together and it fitted in well with our festival theme. We first heard about Phil Richards on the Healing Manor wedding blog as he had performed at a wedding there previously. After talking with Phil, we knew he was the right musician for us. Phil provided live music at our ceremony, during our drinks reception, played our first dance and performed an evening set. Phil was amazing, he even learned two special songs for us to play down the aisle and for our first dance. His evening performance was so much fun and really made it a night to remember. He stayed to support us to play our own wedding playlist to dance the night away to. We were able to incorporate our love of rock music into the evening playlist and Neil gave a memorable performance of Limp Bizkit’s ‘Rollin’.”

The newly-weds and their guests sat down to a wedding breakfast in the barn.

“We chose the three course wedding breakfast as I think it’s really nice to sit down and relax after the ceremony. We gave our guests the choice of two starters, mains and desserts and always had a vegetarian or vegan option available. The food was absolutely delicious and all our guests commented on how fresh, flavourful and well-presented the food was. For our evening food, we selected the hog roast which was also delicious and kept our evening guests well-fed and able to dance the night away.”

Rather than a traditional wedding cake, Marie and Neil ordered donuts from fab local business DoughNotts.

“We wanted to go for something out of the ordinary for our wedding cake. We have a love of the doughnuts from Doughnotts and so it was only right that we chose them to make our wedding cake. We wanted to keep with our colour scheme and chose a red velvet celebration cake, made of three ten-inch doughnuts stacked on top of each other and covered in delicious frosting. To treat our guests, we also added Biscoff, Homer, Oreo and Blue Cookie Monster mini doughnuts.”

‘Have Faith in Me’ by A Day to Remember was the couple’s first dance track, performed by Phil Richards. Watch out for special appearances from a cardboard cut-out of Marie and Neil’s beloved tabby cat, Jesse.

“This is a special song for us and it was an amazing way to start the evening entertainment. I loved it when all our friends and family joined us on the dance-floor.”

“It’s impossible to select just one part of the day as our favourite as it was all so special. Everything, from the morning preparations to the last song of the night, was magical. Neil and I could not stop smiling all day long. The ceremony was absolutely perfect, and such a wonderful way to make our loving commitment to spend the rest of our lives together. Spending the full day with our friends and family, those closest to us, and having everyone in one place to celebrate with us was fantastic. I would not change one single part of the day. It was perfect and we will cherish the memories we shared on that day forever.”

Advice for other couples

“Firstly, enjoy every moment! Definitely make use of the wonderful grounds for photos; it makes a stunning backdrop.”

“The hotel is a great way for you to spend the night before and the night of, so you have nothing to worry about on the day. You are already there and, particularly for the bride, you can have a relaxing, stress-free wedding morning. The bridal suite is perfect for you and your bridesmaids to get ready in so I recommend booking the night before. It’s also great if you and some of your guests book to stay the night of your wedding as you can extend your wedding day by having breakfast together the following morning to share memories of the day before you go your separate ways.”