Good morning folks. Have you been enjoying the lovely weather we have been blessed with this week? The blue skies, sunshine and bird song have certainly put a spring in my step, especially after last week’s artic wind, hail and lashing rain. Hooray for Spring!
With a little help from their family and friends, today’s couple worked together to create a beautiful homespun barn wedding entirely personal to them. Ellie, a book designer, married Matthew, a blacksmith, on the 25th of July, 2015, at Bartholomew Barn, set amidst the rolling West Sussex Downs.
“We envisioned a relaxed wedding filled with family and friends. Neither of us wanted a rigid, colour-coded and themed wedding, so we just went with things that we liked. We wanted our wedding to reflect us a couple so I designed the invites and Matt made corkscrews for all the tables as well as our chalkboards.
Being a book designer, I wanted to incorporate my love of children’s books, so we named all the tables after our favourite childhood stories and I had great fun designing a fairy-tale themed table plan. It was important to us that we created as little waste as possible after the day, so everything we made or bought is currently being used in our home!”
Photography by Sarah Legge Photography
Our bride wore an elegant, custom made, orange blossom circlet crafted from clay and inspired by a wreath of orange blossom worn by Queen Victoria on her own wedding day in 1840. Created by Lagoa Clay Creations, the sweet smelling blossom has been associated with a prosperous marriage since the ancient Romans and Greeks.
“My dress was quite traditional and I wanted to wear a traditional floral headpiece that I could keep after the day.”
“Matthew and I met at Sussex University and both of our families have ties to the area so we wanted to get married here, plus it’s a beautiful part of the country. Bartholomew Barn was one of the first venues we saw and we fell in love with the barn and its surroundings straight away.”
With help from her family and friends, our talented bride bravely arranged all of the flowers the night before the wedding…
“Myself and a friend went on a flower arranging course in the weeks leading up to the wedding and, along with my mum and sister, arranged all the flowers and bouquets the night before the wedding. We didn’t get to bed until midnight but we were so happy with how they turned out!”
“Matt and I bought the flowers from New Covent Garden Market a couple of days before the wedding. We went with green and white flowers because they are fresh and simple colours, with blue thistles for contrast.
The bouquets had white lisianthus, thistle, green chrysanthemums, and rosemary from my grandma’s garden. Matt’s buttonhole also had rosemary and thistle to match the bouquets. We didn’t particularly plan the colours but they worked very well with his suit!”
During the day, Ellie wore a classic, off the shoulder gown by Katerina Scola, which she purchased from Berketex Bride, opting for a more lightweight number, from LightInTheBox.com, for the evening celebrations.
“It was the first wedding dress I tried on and I just really loved it! It felt classic and timeless. It was a very special moment because my mum, sister and grandma were all there, which doesn’t happen often as my family lives overseas. My mum and grandma very generously bought the dress as a gift. It originally came with a very long train but I had it chopped off, much to the horror of the ladies in the shop! Without a train, the dress was simpler and perfect for me and our wedding.”
“I had a second dress for the evening which I bought from LightInTheBox.com. It was lighter and more comfortable to dance in, which was just as well as Matt and I spent most of the evening on the dance floor!”
Ellie’s flat, blush pink, peep toe shoes were from Jenny Packham and her scent was Dolce by Dolce & Gabbana.
“I accessorised with a sapphire ring, borrowed from my mum and a pair of diamond and tanzanite earrings as my ‘something blue’. I also wore a jade bracelet which I haven’t taken off since I was 16, so I don’t know if it counts as an accessory!”
Ellie’s two bridesmaids wore dove grey maxis from LightInTheBox.com, with her little flower girls dressed in ivory gowns and flower circlets from Monsoon.
Matthew looked very handsome in a three piece, grey, tweed suit from Victor Valentine, a red tie from Debenhams and his own pocket watch and shoes.
“We got engaged under the lights of London’s South Bank, where we currently live and tied the knot two years later. We started planning the wedding about a year into our engagement.”
Ellie’s dad walked her down the aisle to the sounds of Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’ played on the guitar by her brother.
“As well as playing me down the aisle, my brother performed The Beatles’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’ for our register signing. It created a really lovely and informal atmosphere.”
Our couple wrote their own vows and chose two readings: ‘I Like You’ by Sandol Stoddard Warburg and ‘On Marriage’ by Kahlil Gibran.
“One of my favourite parts of the day was the ceremony because it was so intimate and personal. For Matt it was when ‘we took five minutes out just to spend with each other – it was great to have that alone time during the busyness of the day’.”
Our couple’s big day was documented beautifully by photographer Sarah Legge and Video4aDay.
“Sarah did a fantastic job and was an absolute joy to work with from start to finish. She captured our day so well and we especially love the photos she did with the sparklers. Lots of our guests commented on how friendly and professional she was, and her unobtrusive style was perfect – a total recommend! Video4aDay captured our day wonderfully too. We recommend Steve if you’re looking for an affordable and talented videographer in the South of England.”
Ellie and Matthew found sourcing the booze for their big day particularly enjoyable…
“One of the great things about Bartholomew Barn is that you can provide your own alcohol, and one of my favourite parts of wedding planning was our trip to Calais to buy the wine. We booked into a cheap motel and tried at least 12 different types. Unsurprisingly, the wines tasted better the later it got… We bought far too much and will be drinking our wedding wine well into 2016!”
Ellie and Matthew decorated Bartholomew Barn with lots of handcrafted details including origami cranes, flowers and lots of photos…
“The venue was beautiful as it was, so we didn’t need to do much decorating. We had a polaroid guest book, which was lots of fun, and wanted to honour our parents and grandparents by including their wedding photos on the table too.”
The couple’s relaxed, BBQ style wedding breakfast was provided by Jigsaw Catering and their cake baked by one of Ellie’s bridesmaids, who is the proprietor of Ruby and Lola’s Cakery in London.
“My wonderful bridesmaid made our wedding cake, along with lots of cupcakes for our cake table. Her company is called Ruby and Lola’s Cakery and is based in London. It was a delicious gluten-free fruit cake and we’re planning on using the same recipe for our Christmas cake every year.”
The couple kept their guests entertained with lawn and board games as well as a unique game created by Matthew in a nod to his profession…
“We were lucky that our venue had lots of indoor and outdoor space so that guests who didn’t feel like dancing in the barn could play board or garden games. We were so lucky with the weather and it was a perfect summer’s day in the midst of two weeks of torrential rain!
One of the unexpected successes of the wedding was Matt’s nail game, in which guests competed to be the first to hammer a nail into a log. Otherwise known as ‘Beat the Blacksmith’, it was surprisingly competitive and has since become a fixture of family get-togethers.”
The couple hired band The Free Hands to help keep their evening party buzzing and their first dance was to ‘500 Miles’ by The Proclaimers.
“The Free Hands were great and kept people dancing all night. They also performed our first dance: ‘500 Miles’ by the Proclaimers – it’s always been our song. We asked the band to change the lyrics to replace ‘man’ with ‘one’ so that it was relevant to us both.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom:
“Food, drink, music and love are what guests remember. If those are sorted, your day will be wonderful. Try not to get caught up in what a wedding ‘should be’. I think there’s a lot of pressure to have the perfect wedding day – but it’s ok for things to go wrong, and for it not to be perfect or even the ‘best day of your life’. Weddings are beautiful and a great way to celebrate with people that you love, but after it’s all over it’s your relationship with your partner that’s really important, not the wedding itself.”
I couldn’t agree more. A huge thank you to Ellie and Matthew for sharing the details of their big day and to Sarah Legge Photography for the lovely images. If you’d like to peruse other lovely barn weddings, please follow this link. You can find DIY inspiration in our helpful projects section.
Not long ‘till the weekend now – enjoy!
Annora x
Photographer – Sarah Legge Photography
Film – Video4aDay
Venue – Bartholomew Barn, near Kirdford, West Sussex
Wedding Dress – Katerina Scola gown, purchased from Berketex Bride + evening dress from LightInTheBox.com
Headpiece – Orange blossom wreath by Lagoa Clay Creations via Etsy
Shoes – Jenny Packham
Bride’s Perfume – Dolce by Dolce & Gabbana
Groom – Victor Valentine suit + Debenhams tie
Bridesmaids – LightInTheBox.com
Flowergirls – Monsoon
Florist – Flowers sourced from New Covent Garden Market, arranged by the bride
Cake – Ruby and Lola’s Cakery, Winchester
Entertainment – The Free Hands
Rings – Bride’s engagement ring: Hyde Park Design, Hatton Gardens + diamond band from Offord & Sons, Winchester. Groom’s band: designed and created by himself.
Catering – Jigsaw Catering
Stationery – Designed by the bride
Hair & Makeup artist – Jenna West
