Adele and Jak's timeless and romantic black tie wedding at Midleton Lodge Estate

Mr + Mrs Blanthorn 

20th May 2021 | Middleton Lodge Estate

Instagram: @adele_blanthorn | Guests: 30 | Photos: Josey Grace / Charlotte Nelson

Adele and Jak married in the Spring with a black tie monochrome theme that was modern and timeless. The bride wore a beautiful satin Stella York gown with an elegant updo and stunning cathedral veil. The now Mrs Blanthorn tells us all about their day, wedding planning during a pandemic and their favourite moments (and there's even an appearance from their adorable dog)...

Tell us all about your wedding theme and colour scheme...

Black, white and greenery. We chose this theme because black is my FAVOURITE colour ever and I always really wanted the bridal party in black, I even tried on a black wedding dress! So that was that really and Jak had no choice in the matter ha.. No, seriously; we agreed that black and white is timeless and looks classy so we’d never regret that decision. We also thought it would work really well with the venue we chose, particularly the fig house at Middleton lodge. 

Something Old: I didn’t have anything really old that I was using for the wedding, so just classed my engagement ring as my something old. It’s almost 18 months old so that counts, right?

Something New: Jak bought me a diamond tennis bracelet the morning of the wedding so I used this as my something new. Aside from this I was just going to go with my dress as my something new.

Something Borrowed: I borrowed a charm off Jaks mum that she used to wear on a bracelet every day, I attached this to the waist band on inside of my dress.

Something Blue: I had the traditional (and tragic) garter with a blue bow on. This irritated me so much though that I actually removed it as soon as the ceremony was over.

What was the most emotional moment of the day? 

For me, probably greeting my Dad at the stairs, and him walking me down the isle. Oh, and his speech, that got me. (Not that you’d know because I didn’t cry. I’m not really a crier).. For Jak I would say his speech. He said he really struggled not to choke up in parts of it. It was beautiful to be fair, it was definitely one of my highlights of the day. 

What kind of ceremony did you have?  

We had a registrar marry us. He was lovely too which made it even more special.

What was your favourite part of the day? 

It is really hard to pick a certain part of the day as it was just magical from start to finish.. As cliche as it sounds but it’s so true. That moment when they pronounce you husband and wife is such a good feeling though, I’d say this was my favourite part of the day. I just know that even if the whole day was different, that would have always been my favourite moment. Plus, it’s the most important part of the day, it’s essentially what you are there for. 

Song you walked down the aisle to: Stand by me – Florence and the Machine 

Ceremony Songs: We had some of the Vitamin String Quartet covers playing whilst we signed 

Song for walking back up the aisle as a married couple:  This will be – Natalie Cole 

First Dance: The One – Kodaline 

Is there anything you wish you'd done differently?

Honestly? Nope. We are so happy we decided to bite the bullet and have a small wedding. It was perfect for us.

Tell us all about the dress and dress shopping… 

I went dress shopping with my Grandma, mother in law, sister and best friend. I booked it quite last minute and it was only for a look and to get an idea to be totally honest. But I found THE dress after trying on about 6/7 dresses. The boutique I went too were amazing and very patient with me. I didn’t really know what I wanted, but I knew exactly what I didn’t want. Which actually made it harder, and if I’m being honest, I hated every dress I put on at first. Anyway, I tried on a black dress and I LOVED it, but I didn’t really want to get married in black. So, Brett (the owner of the store) brought me a dress he thought I’d like as it was a similar cut etc to the black one and VOILA! That was my dress. Now I won’t lie, there was no tears. But I did feel like this dress was made for me, it covered all the parts of myself that I am uncomfortable with and it was so comfortable on the day, I did feel the best I’ve ever felt in anything. I’m so happy I went with my gut and said yes to that dress at The Ivory Dressing Room.

Any advice for future brides… 

I’d say don’t stress the small stuff too much. On the day of your wedding you really aren’t even bothered about all those little things you think are important whilst you are planning. I’m a sucker for the finer details and I honestly didn’t even have time to consider half of the things I thought about whilst planning. It will be the best day of your life even if not everything goes to plan, so just don’t worry too much about the timings and the details of the day. That’s what your venue staff and planners are for! Oh, and on the day try and take a moment to sit back and enjoy it. Take it all in, because it really does pass you by so quickly.

Favourite wedding supplier:  I simply can’t answer this question. We were so lucky with our suppliers. They were amazing throughout all the planning and changes of dates due to Covid. I’d say Glen for me was a huge implementing factor of the day, he kept the music going with the momentum of the day. He knew exactly when to pick up the pace and everybody was in total awe of how great he is at his job. Plus he made our first dance really unique and even more special which I loved.

That being said, our florist was amazing, her work was simply stunning. Our photographers and videographer worked so hard all day, they genuinely barely even stopped to eat, they were just constantly looking for the best photo opportunities. Our hair and make up was all perfect. In fact, my hairdresser really helped me out on the morning of the wedding, I think at one point I was close to losing my head because we were so far behind and she really helped me out. She even helped me put my dress on.. I can’t pick a single favourite, I just know they all helped make our day perfect and for that we can’t thank them enough.

Favourite wedding planning moment: I think booking the venue is a mega exciting moment in planning. When you start booking all your suppliers and finally start seeing everything coming together is lovely too. Its all just super special and should be cherished as you only do it once! (hopefully)

Worst wedding planning moment: When my make up artist cancelled on me 2 weeks prior to the date. However, I suppose everything happens for a reason and I’d never have found Hannah without that happening.

What food did you have at your wedding?  

We had fresh breads and tiger prawns to start. Followed by fillet steak, chunky chips, grilled tomato, garden salad and bearnaise sauce for our main. We tried the original wedding menu dishes and as lovely as they were, they weren’t really very “us”.. So, we decided to change/upgrade to fillet steak and we are so glad we did! It was delicious and every guest commented on how good the food was, and how different it was to other weddings they’d been too. Which is always lovely to hear. We had an Eton Mess style dessert, which Middleton Lodge put their own twist on, it was all just perfect. Exactly what we wanted for our wedding breakfast.

Top money saving tip: We don’t have a money saving tip. I think Covid and lock down helped us save massively... I would just say, find a manageable, realistic amount that you can save per month and stick to it. It adds up before you know it.

Tell us about your Honeymoon...

No honeymoon booked as of yet. For obvious reasons due to Covid. We did however mini moon in York and it was perfect to soak up the wedding and just lap up being in that wedding bubble for a few days before going back to reality.

Did you make any Wedding DIYs? 

We made our favours. We really struggled for ideas for favours but wanted something on the tables for our guests, so we just did little white and gold boxes with truffles inside. Finished them off with some black ribbon, the same wax stamps we put on our invites and a little thank you label.  

Wedding must-have:  I personally think that good music/entertainment is a must. I’m really big on music anyway but I really think it sets the atmosphere for the whole day. We couldn’t have wished for anything better than the singer and the band we chose. They had such a fab energy and it really rubs off on your guests.

What was your first dance song?

It was “The One” by Kodaline. Our singer Glen did his own version of this for us and it was beautiful. We chose this because the words really ring true for us. More so after the past 12 months for personal reasons, this really special to us and every time I hear it it makes me smile. We totally winged the first dance; we were having such anxiety it would all go horrendously leading up to the day, but it was absolutely fine! 

You can watch Adele and Jak's wedding video below...

Photographer:  Josey Grace / Eduard Perez / Charlotte Nelson

Videographer:  Eduard Perez

Venue:  Middleton Lodge Estate

Flowers:   Sprig and Thistle

Cake:   Lytham Cake company

MUA:  Hannah Carson

Hair:  Wedlocks (Mairead Meechan)

Dress: Stella York / The Ivory Dressing Room

Shoes:  Badgley Mischka

Bridesmaids dresses:  Jarlo

Suits: Moss Bros

Musical Artist: Glen Roughead Music

Band: City Sounds / Kudos Functions