I am so so so excited to share with you the AWESOME band that played at our wedding in June. Phil Lyons and the New Vintage Band happen to be the most adorable bunch of people you will ever come across. Clearly passionate about what they do, you can see how much they enjoy themselves when up on the stage.
We came upon them at a Wedding Fair in Wetherby and as soon as I saw their stand when we arrived I was over like a shot. I knew for a fact we could not just have an ordinary DJ for our wedding nor could we have a really awful tribute act that would make me cringe (don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!)
The guys have class. In bucket loads. Phil Lyons voice is just so typical of a 1940’s parlour club singer but on an even bigger and better scale. There is nothing cheesy about these guys. The Frank Sinatra covers are almost like they were wrote for them.
I’ve realised that one of the Summer Bell Sisters is not in any of the photos who provides extraordinary background vocals for the band. I think she could have been in between her outfit changes because they do two sets. They do the soul, swoony songs first and then move on to the jive & rock n’ roll songs for everyone to have a real boogie before the night is over.
We opted opted for the 6 piece band rather than ten piece (this was mainly down to cost and space!) but we were delighted with our choice. These guys really know how to get the crowd up and dancing!
If you need some entertainment for your wedding or just any event I would definitley recommend these guys, without a shadow of a doubt – so go, what are you waiting for? Go check them out here! You will not be disappointed.
When you live somewhere for a long time you very rarely look past what meets the eye. You take things for granted and don’t see for what it is worth. This weekend proved that despite our local town being a ‘’same old, same old’’ kind of place we were wowed with the Wetherby Food Festival this past weekend. And as soon as someone mentions food, I am there.
So on Sunday afternoon we found ourselves heading down to the Ings by the river to experience some culinary delights and get our senses lusting after food that we don’t normally get to try! Cue photo overload.
First things first, we had to wet our alcoholic appetite and we were not dissapointed with the amount of drinks stalls availabe. As much as I love prosecco I really fancied trying some locally made raspberry cider. I can’t say I was overly overjoyed with my choice as it was extremely tart and still tasted like pear cider. I expected it to be like a mixed fruit type of cider. Clearly not.
Despite the terrible choice in beverage it was time to have a look round and see what food was on offer. I have a penchant for filling my stomach & I enjoy good food. Hence the gut that you may see in a few photos time. I am determined to go on a health kick so what better way than to spend my last Sunday as a ‘’free eating woman?’’
Who doesn’t love a good old, restored, vintage caravan? Hands down. THIS is my ultimate dream. I would just adore the chance of being able to restore my own caravan and create a pop up cafe from time to time as a little hobby. The guys at Crepe Escape have done an amazing job. And what’s better they have painted it in my favourite colour too!
Yep, there is fatty bum bum – I have indulged in a few cream cakes recently, my hair is windswept and Mr C can never take a good photo of me. I will stick to a tripod next time.
For those of you who care I kept my look simple and despite the glorious weather it was pouring it down in the morning so I thought I would put some jeans on. BIG MISTAKE.
Top | Zara (eBay find)
Jeans | Topshop Baxter
Shoes | Birkenstocks
Now, on to the food…
Mr C indulged in a super, doubly spicy chorizo burger which he said was extremely tasty. I have to agree it looked amazing as well.
I opted for Paella from Black Bull Paella. It was fresh and had just been made which made even more appetising. Big chunks of chicken & chorizo is exactly what I like in a paella. It was quite oniony but it was still delicious and quite spicy too. As fan of a little kick we were not disappointed with our choices.
I’m sure you will agree, EVERYTHING, looked amazing & so delicious. In fact my mouth is watering at the sight of the beautiful, hand pick strawberries. (Insert strawberry Emoji / heart eyes face here!)
Not only was there food and drink available they had kitted out the festival with two stages for performances it so it really felt like you were at a festival with some local, home-grown musical talent too! These guys below were awesome with the little accordian!
Honestly, credit goes to the organisers because I have never seen Wetherby so busy before and it was clearly enjoyed by all. The entry was only £2.50 to get in which was an absolute bargain for a full day of entertainment. I hope it is back next year, even bigger & better than this year!
What did you do this weekend? Does your home town offer something similar every year? I’d love to hear from you!
Rebecca xxx
Ps. If you want to get Festival ready why not head over to my giveaway and enter to win a pair of Hunter Wellies, click here!
So, here it was. My first ‘’OFFICIAL’’ Blog Meet. As the wedding took up a lot of my time and effort I had slightly forgotten about my wee, little blog! So I have been determined to ramp up the volume and get involved in the ‘’Blogosphere’’ (Ah yes, I just pulled the ‘’B-BOMB!’’)
The lovely Carrie-Ann of Beauties Unlocked & Faith of Music and Eyeliner decided to create ‘’Blog Yorkshire’’ to showcase Brands with us lovely Bloggers, and thus it was born. They had an amazing response to tickets with people clambering to get one for the event & I was lucky enough to snag a ticket, making it officially my first little outing as ‘’QueenBeady.’’
The theme was (my favourite theme of all!) FESTIVAL. So out come the flower crowns, the sparkle, the glitter, the kimonos & everything in between. Dust it off, because it was welcome at this event. In the morning I thought to myself, ‘’Am I nervous?’’ and the answer was a resounding NO. I was so looking forward to meeting some lovely, lovely people who all shared a common passion with me.
The venue was Revolution Bar on Call Lane & I couldn’t help fall in love with this little piece of gorgeousness! I want one. It’s pretty awesome, right? I think we should try and fill one of the frames with a snap shot of the event!
So after mingling and saying hello, meeting new faces it was time to get down with the brands that were showcasing at the event and we were not disappointed with what was on offer. I of course had a personal favourite which was Country & Attire a typically english, out in the countryside type of company. As soon as they mentioned Hunters & Barbour to me, I was there! I spend a lot of time on Mr C’s parents farm so these brands are a must when you rolling up your trousers and wading through mud frequently.
Gee, thanks Faith! Gosh, I do love your macaroons!
They hosted a bit of welly croquet later on in the day which was so much fun! And, they even contributed a pair of Hunter wellies to the raffle. If you didn’t win, you could win with my giveaway here!
Because I am more in to Fashion & Lifestyle blogging, Quiz Clothing were another firm favourite at the event. They brought along some super cute dress (albeit some were a little too glitzy for me!). A firm favourite was a colourful, tropical dress and the metallic heels.
I loved the Great Gatsby style of this dress!
I was lucky enough to get the chance to style an outfit with the dresses, shoes & accessories they had brought along. Everyone had to vote for their favourite outfit, and guess what? Little old me WON! Yes, the unluckiest person, who never wins anything WON! So, I now have a £50 voucher to spend with Quiz. If you can think of any options for me, feel free to suggest.
Because I’m not really a beauty addict I had absolutely NO IDEA about ESPA & I am so glad that they were there because Danielle gave us a run down of their products and taught us that depending on our skin type we are swayed to certain smells. 95% people are drawn in to a particular scent and I fell in to that statistic. I technically chose the dry skin smell!
They also gave us the most gorgeous goody bags depending on our skin type & it has tempted me in to actually creating a skin care regime for myself. Let’s see how my trial run goes with these little beauties.
Pastille Leeds were also there on hand to create the perfect mani. I so would have had my nails done, but I already had them painted & couldn’t bear to part with my own Ciate Mani that I had created the night before. But I am sure you will agree Jenna from Hepcat Blogs nails looked amazing in a matte finish.
The wonderful Georgina from She Might Be Loved another super, talented blogger was also offering the services of a beautiful make over. No amount of pretty can fix my ugly so I didn’t take up the offer, but, the makeovers she did were incredible & I really hope this has encouraged her to get out & just DO IT!
The amount of prizes in the raffle draw was just ridiculous! I bought a strip of tickets but failed to win any prizes! Like I said, I’m terribly unlucky (bar my earlier win!) so a big congratulations to all the winners, you are so so soooo lucky! With prizes from Zatchel Bags, to Nair products to the penultimate prize of a pair of Hunters from Country Attire there was literally something for everyone!
The sweets, biscuits, cupcakes & even strawberries kept our palettes happy. A bit of indulgence is always acceptable and I have to say, whoever baked those buns is nothing short of a genius.
I met so many lovely people & quite frankly the blogging world is lovely. It’s inspirational to meet people who are just as passionate as you are about reading and writing (our little babies!) Like my new Blogging BFF Frances from Then Let’s Begin(She has probably hit block or delete once she reads that!) it is like a Solidarity, Sisterhood and it’s empowering that we are kicking ass and showing the people out there that we are a voice & you better well damn listen to it!
I am so looking forward to our next meet which word on the grapevine is not going to be until November! But, it something for us to look forward to when I get a serious case of ‘’Winter Blues.’’ I’d love to hear if there any sporadic Yorkshire Blog events in the future, keep me posted.
Now if you know what it’s worth, go follow all the lovely people mentioned and also head over to Blog Yorkshire and find some amazingly, talented bloggers/writers for all your fashion, beauty, lifestlye needs!
The Ice Cream Van was a MUST! I argued this point to every Tom, Dick & Harry who thought it was a stupid idea as the desert. In the end, everyone handed it to me. It was a great touch! Alex from Sweet Scoops was absolutely adorable and possibly the cutest little bean I have ever met. The whole thing just suits her down to the ground.
She had decorated the van with our wedding date and our married ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ and even played music as she came down. Everything about it just made me a little giddy kipper (more than I am normally!)
The ice cream flavours were the delicous Yorvale brand and it was so tasty. We had sorbets and ice cream flavours so there was something for everyone!
Sadly Mr C could not manage an ice cream (despite telling me everyday before the wedding he was going to eat 100!) as he was busy being a little bit sick after eating too much blue cheese from the cheese platters! (This makes me really sad that he spent some of his wedding day with his head down the toilet!)
What did you do on your wedding day that made it a little different or did you have an ice cream van too?
It’s the little details that mean a lot to me at weddings. I want to feel like I am taking a glimpse in to the Bride & Grooms life. Our special day was no exception.
James family are die hard farmers, we rear chickens and love the outdoors. So what was more fitting than a ‘’Countryfied’’ Wedding. My family are very crafty and creative so it was even better that there was so many home spun features on our big day.
The old potato chitting trays welcomed our guests on arrival. Despite the rain we managed to get the ‘’Mr & Mrs Clayton’s Wedding This Way’’ Sign out so everyone knew where they were going.
I think everyone was shocked when they walked in to the hall and saw just how amazing it was and how much love had gone in to decking it out. I have always imagined what peoples faces would be like when they opened their invites & saw that we were having our wedding reception in a village hall.
We managed to get a lovely shot the day before of the venue before chaos ensued. I’m sure you will agree it look PRETTY amazing, if I don’t mind saying so myself.
My mum sewed plenty of bunting to wrap around a few of the tables, like the top table and the Cake/Photo/Post Box table. It gave it just that extra pizzazz (is that even a word, it hasn’t got a squiggly red line under it?!) of colour to compliment the ivory marquee lining.
The ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ on the top table was a Hobby Craft special & so was the red post box that Mr C and I painted at his work. My mum paper mache’d the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ too, she is so super clever!
The napkins are from the Cath Kidston sale that I picked up right when we got engaged so we have always known that this was the type of wedding we were going for
The centre pieces & flowers were very natural and country garden style. We didn’t want a huge centrepiece on the tables that people could not see one another! The ceramic jugs were an ebay find, we had lovely duck egg blue, blush pink and cream jugs. Each Table was different. We were a little boring with the table numbers and stuck to ‘’1, 2, 3’’ (you get the picture!) but we bought so cute chalk board table number stands which looked great!
I loved our little place settings, simple brown luggage labels that my mum decorated with doilies and the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ ribbon. It was so simple but so effective. And I love how ours said Mr & Mrs Clayton on them!
Because we didn’t have ‘’favours’’ as such we created buckets for the children at the wedding that had sweets, magazines, colouring pen and pencils. One even had a set of fake moustaches which went down a treat! It kept the children happy during the speeches and throughout the meal and it was something we were so happy that we did. Thanks to my super Aunty Kate!
Like I said, we didn’t have favours so instead we opted for a cute Kandy Kart that kept guests entertained all day/night, rather than taking something home that they were going to stuff in a cupboard to never see again or, throw in the bin and never see again. Plus, it was a nice talking point for people to have a laugh & a joke about how many sweets they were getting.
Donna was fabulous & even sourced some material that matched the bridesmaid dresses. How’s that for service?
We got to choose 10 different types of sweets and we also got to keep what was left. So, we are currently wading our way through LOTS of sweets!
Our beloved ‘’R & J’’. I had seen these all over pinterest and thought, ‘’I HAVE TO HAVE THEM’’ and so I did. My uncle is super talented as he is a joiner by trade. I asked him nicely if he would mind doing them for us and he made sure they were perfect! They looked amazing when the lights were turned off. Again, it just added that extra little sparkle to our wedding!
Now, let me bring you on to the food. It was to die for! When we decided on a DIY wedding the first people we thought of were our local pub, The Fox & Hounds. Their food is amazing, delicious and locally sourced. They did not disappoint with their fairings.
The Chicken Liver Parfait is my particular favourite starter, add that to the succulently warm olive bread you have a winning combination.
Now, with James’ family mainly all farmers, meat is something of a task to them when they aren’t eating their own field fodder. So it was a welcome surprise that they were all saying it was some of the best beef they have EVER tasted.
Food was so important to us, because most weddings you go to, the food is just ‘’okay’’ and you want to feel full. I hate to blow our own trumpet but I think we got it spot on, 100% with the caterers, so a MASSIVE thank you to Alan and his team.
What made your day feel special and set you apart from other weddings you’ve been to? I can’t wait to bring you our other instalments of the big day, it is keeping the memory alive for me.
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