Debbie and Angelo picked an unusual venue for their September wedding – a cow shed! In fact when they visited the farm before they booked it, there was actually cows living in it!
“We were determined not to have a traditional reception venue or anything that resembled a package wedding”, said the bride. “We just wanted to fill our wedding with things we love. That includes Angelo’s batman socks and Star Wars cuff links, the James Bond themed Martini reception drinks, the Mariachi band, the homemade tea leaf bar, the tuk tuk to take us to our reception, the travel themed tables and the jam jar cups for every guest. All these are things that we love and remind us of some of the best times in our lives.”
“The reception venue was probably one of the most unique things about our wedding, certainly in terms of what our guests were used to. Before the wedding most of them didn’t know what to expect, and to be honest I think they all thought we were mad. But on the day they were all amazed at what we were able to do with a barn which, when we first visited it, had cows living in it!”
“One of the best moments of the day for me was when my sister surprised us by singing the song she wrote for us”, she continued, “it was a really emotional moment and such a surprise. Hannah, our photographer, surprised us again by getting a copy of the song to put to our slideshow . Angelo said his favourite moment was seeing me walk up the aisle. I also loved seeing the looks on our guests faces when they saw the barn for the first time.”
You May Also Like
Casual Barn Wedding: Kate & Dan
Kat
Joanna Brown
August 26, 2013
Kate and Dan wanted a big celebration for their May wedding, but one that was also relaxed for their guests and a lot of fun. They wanted to involve them in the day as much as possible and not only had their guests bring cakes instead of gifts, which were eaten instead of a traditional wedding cake, but sent everyone a little packets of seeds with their invitations, asking them to grow the flowers and bring them along on the day. The crappy weather in the run up to the wedding meant that a lot of the flowers didn't grow very much but everyone still valiantly brought along their little seedlings to show the couple and to display at the wedding. Don't you just utterly love that idea?!
Read more...
Bohemian Peaky Blinders Wedding with Lots of DIY
Kat
Sarah Morris
December 4, 2018
Charlie and Mark had a pretty unconventional, NSFW engagement shoot (which is actually one of my favourites we've ever published!) so, unsurprisingly, their September wedding shunned tradition too. They decided that they wanted a bohemian inspired by with elements of Peaky Blinders and Wes Anderson. They did lots of DIY projects to make their day feel really special and personal. In particular they arranged all the flowers and created all the paper goods (invites, table plan, order of the day etc).
Read more...
A Colourful Festival Wedding at Ridge Farm: Layla & Dan
Kat
August 24, 2012
Layla & Daniel were married in Rusper, Sussex in St Mary Magdalene's Church, followed by a festival style wedding at Ridge Farm. I've featured weddings at this iconic wedding venue before - why so iconic you ask? Well the farm has a recording studio where Oasis, Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody was written here!) Roxy Music, Thin Lizzie, Black Sabbath and many many others have recorded albums! AHHHMAZING.
"The wedding was all personalised by me & Dan", wrote Layla, "including the wine glasses, the moustaches & lips, the heart decor, the table plan & numbers, the 'LOVE' sign and the bunting. We had a two-day wedding. From the start we knew we didn’t want everything to be over with in just one day! Ridge Farm was the PERFECT venue as we were able to hire it exclusively from Friday to Monday which meant our parents, brothers & sisters, bridesmaids and best men could share the whole time with us. We also had some friends of ours camping on the grounds. Friday was set-up day, with everyone mucking in; Saturday was the wedding; and on Sunday we had about 100 of our guests returning for a Hog Roast, DJ’s and dancing till the wee hours!"
Read more...
DIY Farm Wedding for £800: Jon & Alex
Kat
Taylor Barnes
May 31, 2013
I am always so incredibly inspired when I see weddings where the budget was small. Far from it seeming like the couple had to make compromises, the ones I get to share always seem to prove that a small budget doesn't have to mean a budget-looking wedding. In my opinion it is actually often the weddings with the smaller budgets that seem to have the most heart, the most personal details and the most inspiring ideas.
Read more...
Junk and Glitter Themed Farm Wedding: Ellie & Ed
Kat
Emma Case
September 6, 2013
Ellie and Ed wanted their June wedding to not only reflect them - their likes and loves - but to be a fun day for everyone, full of DIY details. The day started with an emotional ceremony at Aldenham School, Elstree and the reception was in tipis on Buckettsland Farm, Well End. "We said the whole way through the planning process that we didn't have a theme but looking back it was essentially junk and glitter", began the bride. "If you ever saw our flat, you would know that we’re not matchy-matchy people in the slightest. I love tack and have a big collection of oddities, plus I have an obsession with the stars and the moon and anything glittery, so I always knew they would end up making an appearance."
Read more...
A 3-day Wedding at a Rockstar’s Retreat: Holly & Karen
Kat
June 6, 2012
Ridge Farm, a working farm and ex-recording studio in Surrey, proved to be the perfect location for Holly & Karen's May wedding. "What made our wedding Rock n Roll? Definitely the venue!" Holly told me. "Aside from being a beautiful farm that we fell in love with instantly, Ridge Farm is also a recording studio where so many of our musical heroes have recorded albums and stayed - so our wedding guests were partying in the very same place that Queen, Whitesnake, Muse, Roxy, Rush and many more have partied! We hired the farm for the entire long weekend - Karen is Irish and it's Irish tradition to hold 3 day long weddings so we had a big meal on the Friday for family and friends then the wedding on the Saturday, followed by a pool party with live music and a hog roast for everyone on the Sunday. The farm sleeps 24 plus there is a camping field so all our hungover guests could just crawl out of bed on Sunday morning and stumble over to rejoin the party. By Sunday evening everyone was in the jacuzzi swigging prosecco from the bottle, even Karen's mum!"
Read more...
A DIY Farm Wedding with the Ceremony on a Dam: Bobby & Gitte
Kat
July 31, 2012
There are certain weddings that literally made me smile from ear to ear... OK well yes, all of the weddings I feature are flippin' awesome but there are some that just have that extra something. I think in this case it's the bride & groom themselves. I want to be BFFs with Bobby & Gitte please!
For their May wedding the couple knew they wanted to do something different - something low key and fun. They spent just £2500 pulling off the event. The ceremony was held on Claerwen Reservoir Dam in Rhayadar, Wales. Although not the most practical of choices, they wanted it there for sentimental reasons. The reception was on a friend's farm in Ballingham, Hereford. "It took us a few days to get the venue together, as there were literally cows and horses – and their muck - in it prior," wrote Gitte. "But once we saw it we had our heart set on it, and didn’t stop until our hands were dirty and we were happy."
Read more...
Mid-Century Tabernacle Wedding: Fiona & David
Kat
Lisa Jane
August 30, 2013
Fiona and David's Kent wedding was influenced by the style of the 1940s through to the 1960s. "I think the whole day was defined by it really being a reflection of us as a couple", Fiona said. "We really didn't want an identikit, faceless, corporate feel. Also, we wanted it to be as relaxed as possible. We didn't want anyone to stand on ceremony or feel uncomfortable. We just wanted all the people closest to us there and to eat, drink, dance and have a lot of fun."
Read more...
