A Chic Pronovias Gown for a Colourful, Food-and-Wine-Inspired Barn Wedding

As we rapidly approach the season of celebration, I have this simply delightful wedding to share of groom Scott, a builder, and his gorgeous bride Lucienne, who works as an artist’s assistant.

The 27th of May 2017 was the date they held their stylish and colourful nuptials at St George’s Church, followed by Priors Tithe Barn in Brockworth, Gloucestershire.

Lucienne’s dress was the stunning ‘Trisa’ style by Pronovias, purchased from Lauren Charlotte Bridal in Cheltenham, complete with a detachable train. What a beautiful bride – and, like Lucienne, I just love the simplicity of this style.

“There’s something about the simplicity, the weight of the material and the fact that you could get two dresses in one thanks to the detachable train that I fell in love with. Oh, and the fact it showed off the tattoo on my back! I actually went alone to try dresses on, which whilst unusual, I’d definitely recommend. Without other people’s opinions, the dress I chose was entirely mine, so I knew that I’d 100% made the right decision.”

Images by Dan Walker Photography

The bridesmaids donned incredible skirt and top combo’s that added a big bold pop of colour and I utterly adore them!

“We decided to shy away from traditional bridesmaid dresses as I wanted to get the girls something that they could wear again. A skirt and top combo was agreed on, and in the post-Christmas sales I found the ‘Tansia’ skirt in L.K. Bennett for £75 down from £250 – winner! I wish I’d bought one for myself now. After a lot of trying on, Natalie and Sophie found a simple white cowl neck top from John Lewis … it’s all about the skirts! We found some classic courts in orange from Debenhams, matching the flashes of orange that were in their skirts, and I bought the bridesmaids a necklace to wear on the day as a thank you present. Sophie had the ODIN oversized circle necklace from Lines & Current, and Natalie had a gold-plated leaf necklace from ‘LHG Designs’ on notonthehighstreet.com.”
The florals are absolutely spectacular and added more colour to the couple’s beautiful day.

“Someone I know got married last year, and after seeing some photos pop up on social media, I asked her who did her flowers. Emma from Flower Girls Style was the culprit, so I instantly got in touch. Poor Emma battled a mega heatwave prior to the wedding, so had to do everything as last minute as possible. She did an incredible job.”

“I saw Luna Bea ‘Constellation’ hair pins on Instagram so long ago, and couldn’t stop thinking about them. The flat gold-plated discs added some glitz without being diamante-sparkly – totally not me. I’ll definitely be wearing them again!”

“Both Scott and I wore our usual perfume/aftershave; we wanted to smell like us!”

The bride donned a single tier cathedral-length veil, also bought from Lauren Charlotte Bridal, a comfy pair of heels from Clarks and accessorised with classy black and gold tunnels from Custom Plugs and brass studs from a Bristol based designer, Larch. And Lucienne’s gorgeous hair and make-up look was by Sarah Russell.

“The trouble with living in The Cotswolds is that sometimes everything can be a little twee. Natural makeup and soft flowing locks? That’s not my bag. Give me backcombing and big eyeliner flicks! I spent so long searching the internet for someone relatively nearby that would be able to do the kind of thing I wanted, and came up trumps with Sarah Russell. She’s super cool, super friendly and managed to make me look like a better version of me!”

“Scott and I went to the same school, had a few mutual friends, but never crossed paths until after we’d left. It was during my Easter break from University when we first met, so we had to squeeze in lots of dates before I had to go back. Something clicked, and sure enough Scott was driving almost 2 hours every weekend to come and see me (a good sign of a keeper!).”

I just adore their utterly romantic proposal story, as Lucienne shares below.

“During the first year in our new home, a local jeweller – Beards – held an event called ‘The Diamond Rush 2014’ where 10 diamonds were hidden across the town, and the only way to find them was to purchase a treasure map. So many people took part, and one by one there were only a couple left! Just as we were about to give up – we’d been searching for hours – we tried our luck at our first port of call, 131 The Promenade (a snazzy bar and restaurant). The terrace was filled with eager diamond hunters, but it was Scott who hit the jackpot.”

“I couldn’t believe it! After a celebratory glass of fizz, we were ushered back to Beards to collect our prize. Surrounded by people and press, Scott got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It’s quite funny really, we’ve always said how cringey public proposals are, but ours couldn’t have been more public if we tried. We were even on the local news!”

“We wanted to get married somewhere where we could have everything in one place. We’ve been to so many weddings which require you to drive from A to B, and it always wastes time and complicates things. We were so lucky to find such a cute little church close to where we live (in Cheltenham), which just so happened to be right next door to a big empty barn available for hire. No travelling involved!”

The groom was also stylishly decked out in a deep purple Dolce & Gabbana three-piece suit, found in desperation at Bicester Village, but for a bargain and the perfect fit. He added a pair of Grenson’s classic style brogues – the ‘Luther’ – in a high shine burgundy colour, a burnt orange bow tie via Mrs Bow Tie (which unintentionally tied in with the bridesmaids), and a very cool accessory that ended up being presents for his best men.

“Scott had always planned on getting himself a set of sharp&dapper shirt stays for the wedding day, and sets as a present for his best men too. They’re such a clever idea; clipped from the top of your socks to the bottom of your shirt – underneath your trousers – they make sure your socks don’t slip down and your shirt never comes untucked. Scott was keen on showing everyone his ‘man suspenders’ the whole day.”

“Scott’s two best men, his brother James and friend Sunil, had navy suits from Slaters, and matching bow ties from Mrs Bow Tie.”

The bride and her maids travelled in style to the church in a vintage burgundy and silver Daimler DS420 Limo via Premier Carriage. Lucienne’s ring was by Sophie Cudworth at Beards, whilst the groom chose a palladium option from Martin & Co. The bride was accompanied by her dad for the aisle walk, to ‘The Wedding March’ tune, and the couple stuck to traditional vows.

“We weren’t part of the parish, so Scott and I went to St George’s once a month for about 8 months in order to qualify to be married at the church. In that time, we’ve felt as though we’ve become part of their little family, and as such didn’t want to pick the same old church wedding reading. It took us a long time to find something that was about our love, rather than solely about God or about having children (an idea we’re not really into):

Ruth 1:16-17

But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”

“Scott and I are the best of friends; sure, we do things separately but together we’re so much stronger, and we’d definitely be lost without each other! And that certainly goes for our other reading too; Edward Monkton’s ‘That Still & Settled Place’ read by my bridesmaid Natalie:

In that still and settled place, there’s nobody but you.
You’re where I breathe my oxygen, you’re where I see my view.
And when the world feels full of noise, my heart knows what to do.
It finds that still and settled place,
And dances there with you.”

Along with their venue, the photographer was the first thing the couple booked. They discovered Dan Walker via a local food company and were so happy with the resulting images.

“There’s something about Dan’s style of photography; the colour, the focus, the natural-ness. He manages to capture a real wedding; no cheesy posing, no group shots of everybody waving at him, just the best selection of photos which tell a story of the day. From the nervous morning preparations, right through to the dodgy dancing at the end of the night, Dan was there.”

“He felt more like a friend rather than someone we’d hired; we totally wanted him to stay and play! The photos we’ve received from him are stunning; I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve looked through them. Seeing his candid snaps of all our friends and family having such a good time was like a massive pat on the back for us (we pulled it off – yay!), and he managed to make us look amazing! We couldn’t recommend Dan highly enough.”

Crafty Lucienne prepared the stationery herself, tapping into her Fine Art uni degree and calligraphy course learns, with printing by Prom Print. And the favours were handmade drinks from recipes from Ryan Cheti’s ‘Good Things To Drink’ book and chocolates for grandparents, non-drinkers and kids – as well as a sweetie pick’n’mix table to everyone to tuck into.

“The barn was a complete blank canvas, so we had fun jazzing it up. Wine was a running theme; we put empty bottles on the tables with giant balloons tied to them, dotted bottles around with foraged flowers in them, and we hung lots of bottles up as a sort of backdrop in the bar area.”

“We bought some dried hop garlands from a farm in Hereford, and draped them along the walls. I got lots of paper lanterns from Pretty Little Party Shop and strung them up behind the top table. Scott and his brother made the bar out of some old pallets – it looked so good – and we put balloon letters spelling ‘PARTY’ across the front. Then we had peg boards with the bar menu on.”

The barn was a blank canvas which meant the bride and groom could decorate as they liked, as well as choose their own caterers and drink options. With many friends in the industry, and lots of local suppliers, they were able to pull in as many favours as possible and arrange everything themselves.

“Food and drink was a big thing for us to get right. I do food blogging in my spare time, winning Young Foodie of The Year at The Taste of Gloucestershire Awards 2016, and both Scott and I are well known for frequenting all the best bars in town. Essentially, we eat well and drink well; that’s where we spend our money, and that’s how we like to live. All our friends and family know this, so we were under a lot of pressure!”

“It was a stroke of luck that we found The Cotswold Kitchen; a little husband and wife team that create some seriously delicious food. We knew we wanted long tables in a supper club style set up, where everyone gets to know one another over sharing a big ‘feast’, and that’s exactly what they specialise in. When we met Rob and Bea, we were all on the same page, all had an extreme enthusiasm for food, and generally just clicked.”

“We love Middle Eastern food, so had that theme running throughout the menu. We started with bread and a selection of accompaniments; houmous, minted pea dip, harissa yoghurt and a pomegranate and tomato salad.”

“This was followed by a slow roast shoulder of lamb with salsa verde, beetroot, feta and thyme tart, chermoula aubergines, lemon and coriander carrot salad, griddled courgettes and green beans with parsley oil, and roast new potatoes with garlic and mint.”

“We got a range of vodka and gin from pals at Chase Distillery in Hereford, making a ‘Scucie (Scott & Lucie) Special’ cocktail with rhubarb vodka, ginger beer and fresh lime. We used the Chase gin for G&Ts on the lawn after the ceremony, with M&S Cava, and cans of locally brewed Bobby Beer, which we had in a big ice bucket made out of a whisky barrel.”

“We got wine for the wedding breakfast from The Grape Escape Cheltenham; Californian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as it’s not only our fave, but we’re off to Cali on our honeymoon in October. We used When in Rome wine boxes for behind the bar; awesome Italian craft wines at a great price! Wine boxes are cool again. And we had craft beer on tap from Cheltenham’s Deya Brewing Company – we love those guys! Bottlegreen Drinks are produced just down the road, so we got their tonics and selection of pressés for non-alcoholic options.”

“The show-stoppers were the tissue paper flowers my sister made. She’d seen them on Pinterest and spent hours the day before the wedding piecing them together. I’ve told her she should go into business; everyone loved them!”

The tantalisingly tempting cake was by Tam from Ahh Toots in St Nicholas Market, Bristol.

“Seeing Tam’s work on a daily basis on Instagram, I knew that whatever she did would look amazing, so I pretty much gave her free reign with the cake. We managed to narrow the flavours down to boozy ones (obviously). Tam created three semi-naked tiers with flowers, pink drips, dehydrated fruit, glittery fruit – *beautiful*.”

“A lady even walked past as I collected it saying “when I get married, I want to have a cake that looks exactly like that.” Bombing it back from Bristol on the hottest day of the year with the air con on full whack, and a rather nervous bridesmaid holding the cake in position was a very different story though!”

“We had a vintage Winstones Ice Cream van coming after the speeches for dessert and to feed everyone in the evening, we hired our favourite street food pizza guys, Baz & Fred (who’ve recently opened their own place in London). With fresh dough, Italian ingredients, and a few shiny Chadwick Pizza Ovens they stone bake ‘pizza heaven’.”

Gregory Porter’s ‘Real Good Hands’ was chosen as the couple’s first dance song.

“We’re huge Gregory Porter fans, and came across this song just after we got engaged. It’s perfect wedding material. Gregory played at a Chelt Jazz Fest house party a couple of years back, and drunkenly we told him we were going to have him as our first dance. He instantly said “Real Good Hands? That’s awesome!” and we’ve never thought about another song since. We kept it totally secret, and on the day it was the first time I heard it without shedding a tear … probably due to our dodgy dancing!”

“There was a moment whilst everyone was eating that Scott and I looked around the room at all our friends and family. They were chatting, getting to know one another, laughing and having fun, exactly as we’d hoped. We high fived.”

The couple’s long engagement greatly helped with being able to pay for their wedding. Is this something you might like to consider?

“We didn’t have a wedding budget per se, we wanted to do stuff as cheaply as possible, yet we also wanted to throw the best wedding ever. Quite the battle, but that’s why we had a three-year engagement. Of course we spent more money than we probably planned to, but being able to book things leisurely and pay them off a bit at a time made it so much easier.”

The couple organised a range of entertainment for the guests, including epic brass band Twisted Tubes from Manchester to play for the evening, an old school funk and soul playlist on Spotify for the wedding breakfast and a big playlist of all their favourite tunes – and kicked off with the soothing sounds of a groovy trio.

“For our drinks reception on the lawn, we had The Schmoozenbergs play their gypsy swing tunes. We’d seen them play at a jazz night at our friend’s pub quite a few years ago and loved them. Two guitars and a double bass provided the perfect English garden party backdrop.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Stick to your guns. Weddings can do weird things to people. You’ll probably get lots of “take my advice,” but you certainly don’t have to. If you say you’re not having children at the wedding but your friends with kids kick up a stink, then let them. The likelihood is that they’ll miss them for the first few hours, then be thanking you for your decision when they’re still dancing at midnight.”

“And if you say no plus ones, then you shouldn’t be made to feel guilty about it either. I loved the fact that I knew and cared about every single person there on the day, it would’ve felt weird any other way.”

Thank you so much lovely Lucienne and Scott – the love and joy oozes in each and every picture by Dan – and after seeing all your fabulous food and beverages for the lucky guests, I now feel all Christmas-ey!

Take a peek at these bright and colourful weddings from our archives, for even more inspiration.

Have a safe and happy Christmas lovely readers – and see you in the New Year for more utterly gorgeous real-life weddings. Just you wait to see what we have in store for you all 🙂

Love Jo -xo-