4 minute read
A modern fairytale
Sam and Iestyn had an instant connection and celebrated their big day at Craig Y Nos Castle surrounded by their friends and family Images courtesy of Dominic Lemoine Photography
Sam and Iestyn first laid eyes on each other in a country pub. “We bonded over our love of the outdoors and good spiced rum,” shares Sam. “Our relationship grew and one evening, during lockdown, we just decided to get married. Craig Y Nos Castle and Dominic Lemoine Photography were both at the top of our list, so I emailed them with a list of potential dates. They were both free on the 1st October, 2022, so we booked them straight away and didn’t tell anyone for months. We designed my ring together as I’m not one for surprises, and shortly after, we announced our engagement and told everyone that the wedding was already booked.”
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We chose Craig Y Nos Castle because we spend a lot of time in the Brecon Beacons walking our dog Rocky, and we love the venue.
We love darker hues, so we chose a navy and burgundy colour scheme. We had our wedding breakfast in the conservatory, overlooking the beautiful trees, and had our photos taken in the country park.
For our favours, we chose miniature bottles of our favourite spiced rums and gins.
We wanted showstopping centrepieces, and Flowers by Joy brought our vision to life.
Iestyn and I opted for a simple cake with flowers that matched our centrepieces.
We named our tables after the mountains we’ve climbed together and made all of the signs ourselves. We also had light-up letters from Written In Lights, which looked great.
My gown was called Nefertiti by Blue by Enzoani. It was the first dress that I tried on, and I just knew it was the one. I wore Jimmy Choo heels during the day and changed into Crocs in the evening. I completed my look with a long veil, full of glitter, which complemented the dress perfectly.
Hannah Williams Harpist played during the reception. She was incredible, everyone loved her, and as only a handful of people knew we were having a harpist, it was such a lovely touch. We aren’t typical ‘romantics’, so we found it difficult to pick songs, but Metallica and Guns N’ Roses sounded very fitting on the harp.
We were really excited and relaxed on the day. Everything went smoothly and to plan. Our first look at the conservatory was a wow moment, and we loved seeing all of our planning come together.
In the evening, we had a DJ, a photo pod and arcade games. We are hired magician Adam James Reeves, who was a massive hit and our guests loved him.
All of our guests made our wedding special and we were very privileged to have such amazing people around us. Dominic and his wife Ruby photographed our wedding so effortlessly; they made us feel at ease and our guests fell in love with them too. We wanted photos taken in the derelict part of the castle, and they were very keen to do this and not afraid of the ghosts!
SAM AND IESTYN’S CONTACTS
Venue and catering, Craig Y Nos Castle, www.craigynoscastleweddings.com | Photographer, Dominic Lemoine Photography, www.dominiclemoinephotography.co.uk | Bride’s dress, Laura May Bridal, www.lauramaybridal.co.uk | Dress alterations, Rhiannon J Ltd, www.cardiffalterations.com | Bride’s necklace and earrings, Carat London, www.caratlondon.com | Bride’s shoes, Jimmy Choo, www.jimmychoo.com and Crocs, www.crocs.co.uk | Groom’s suit, Moss Bros, www.moss.co.uk | Mother-of-the-bride/groom’s dress, Rosemary’s Abergavenny, www.rosemarys-abergavenny.co.uk | Hair and make-up artist, Minxie’s Beauty, www.minxiesbeauty.com | Cake, Bella Cakes, www.facebook.com/bespokebellacakes | Flowers, Flowers by Joy, www.joysflowersaberdare.co.uk | Light-up letters, Written In Lights, www.writteninlights.co.uk | Harpist, Hannah Williams Harpist, www.hannahwilliamsharpist.com | Magician, Adam James Reeves Magician, www.adamjreeves.com | DJ, Pure Wedding DJ’s, www.pureweddingdjs.co.uk box
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