A Romantic and Charming September Barn Wedding in Pastel Shades

Lovelies, stop whatever you’re doing right now because we have the most glorious wedding to share today – full of flowing ribbons, blowsy blooms including one of my absolute favourites – faded blue hydrangeas – and bridesmaids’ gowns designed and painted by the bride herself. Add in a beautiful, beautiful colour palette of French blue and pale rose and we really are being spoilt.

The beautiful St Mary Church in Worstead, North Walsham, Norfolk and Spixworth Hall Cottages, Spixworth, Norfolk played host to Aimee and Don’s elegant, romantic wedding on 23 September 2017. The couple live and work in America, Aimee as a print designer for Anthropologie and Don as a salesman, but they returned to the bride’s home county of Norfolk for their celebrations.

Jessica Grace Photography has captured the wedding preparations and the beautiful styling of the barns in such detail, which really captures the romantic, timeless vibe. Jessica is a much-valued member of our Little Book and brings her artistic eye to every wedding that she records. Please do visit her listing for more information, and to save 10% on her ten-hour photography package.

“Jessie was a wonderful photographer. She takes the most beautiful natural photos and captures moments that bring the day back to life. She was wonderful at rounding everyone up and organising the group shots as well as taking candid shots of people enjoying themselves. I would recommend Jessie to anyone.”

Photography Jessica Grace Photography

With her background in design, it’s no surprise that Aimee created a beautifully romantic vibe for her day, using ‘traditional with a twist’ as her inspiration and creating all of the details around a charming colour palette of French blue and pale rose. She worked closely with her amazing mum, who lives close to the church and Spixworth, to achieve her vision.

“I wanted the day to feel elegant, romantic and pretty. It was important to me that the wedding had a lot of personal touches and reflected our relationship.”

 

   

To complement the fullness of the skirt, she added a long lace-edged veil, attached with a handmade blossom tiara in delicate pink from Lena Rom.

Her glossy hair was styled into a vintage-inspired up-do and her make-up was classic and radiant, both done by Amanda Steed. Oh, and look at those Carvela chunky heels – so pretty in that pale pink.

“My headpiece was completely and utterly magical.”

The ‘traditional with a twist’ inspiration really comes into its own with Aimee’s choice of gown – a full-skirted, long-sleeved beauty by Allure Bridals, bought at Jay West Bridal in Haddonfield, New Jersey. She looks incredible with the dramatic train, sexy V-neck and lace detailing that covers the illusion sleeves and train.

I particularly like the satin ribbon that emphasises her waist and balances her silhouette.

“I knew that I wanted lace sleeves. I loved the back detail, the illusion neckline and the drama of the train. It made me feel so special and it was the one that made my mother cry.”

 

The final touch was these hand-tied bouquets from Flowers at The Forge, so natural and blowsy and finished beautifully with streaming ribbons in blue and pink.

“Flowers were very important to me. I wanted them to feel very free and not forced. Nathalie’s flowers were completely and utterly breath-taking. She was so easy to work with, took all feedback on board and completely understood my vision.”

This super-talented bride designed and painted these incredible maxi-dresses, worn by her bridesmaids. I love the misty blue hue and the gold painting is so special. The grown-up bridesmaids left their hair long with cute braids for a laid-back feel. They wore real flower headpieces and added bracelets and necklaces from BHLDN.

Don and his groomsmen look immaculate in their sharp blue suits from Calvin Klein. Printed handkerchiefs came from Liberty London, with their accessories from Mr Darcy.

Don and Aimee had a real whirlwind relationship, meeting after Aimee moved to America three years ago for work.

“Within a few months of being in the country I met Don at a spin class and we were pretty much inseparable ever since. On our first date we went canoeing on a harbour front and a year and a half later Don proposed at that exact same spot. When we got married we had been engaged for a year.”

   

Worstead Church is such a majestic space and Aimee looks wonderful as she sweeps down the wide aisle. She travelled there in a Humber with her father, then was met by Don at the church’s entrance and made her way to the alter with them both. The couple had officially got married in America before these English celebrations.

“My husband is Catholic and I am Church of England so we had a joint religion ceremony.”

“My parents live in Norfolk and I have many fond memories as a child of visiting Worstead church when visiting my aunt and uncle. Spixworth Hall was a beautiful, remote and rustic venue that was a perfect canvas for my vision. It also had great accommodation for guests visiting from America.”

The ceremony was made personal with a reading from Paulo Coehlo’s ‘The Alchemist’, and the exchanging of wedding bands.

“My ring was made out of Don’s grandmother’s wedding ring.”

After the ceremony, the newly-weds were transported to Spixsworth Hall Cottages in style whilst the guests piled in to a classic red London Bus.

The blank canvas of the barn has been styled to perfection by Aimee, with shimmering gold cutlery, French blue tapered candles and lots and lots of blooms for a romantic vibe full of faded elegance. The top table with its ribbon curtain and opulent cream and blue floral backdrop is one of my absolute favourite details.

“We had beautiful signage from Paper and Pine Co on Etsy, my grandfather’s suitcase for gifts, table runners from Williams Sonoma, a cake knife and table sign stands from BHLDN. Merrie Bently designed illustrations of us as labels for mustard jars on the table. Our favours were white chocolate buttons in little bags that said LOVE is sweet on them from Etsy.”

“Following on the barn venue theme, each table was named after a vegetable. I used botanical paintings of vegetables for the signage. My mother knitted 950 pom poms that draped around the room and acted like bunting. It was truly spectacular.”

The long tables were the perfect setting for a delicious wedding breakfast courtesy of The Flying Cockerel, and what do you think of this enchanting four-tiered gold cake, decorated with swirls of stems and leaves?

The evening continued with music and dancing, and a first dance for Don and Aimee to ‘Better Than Love’ by Griffin House.

“It’s a mutually favourite song that Don used to play to me. It is very romantic and was perfect for a barn setting.”

“There was a moment at the wedding later in the evening when we had a power cut. The music went off, the lights went out, no power… within minutes everyone started singing at the top of their lungs in candle light. This was so special to me.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“I would recommend making sure that everyone in your wedding party clearly knows their responsibilities for the day. Take a minute during the day to take it all in as it can be overwhelming. Have a plan A and B for weather potentials.”

“Enjoy it! It’s the most magical day of your life!”

I’ve had so much pleasure from sharing this wedding, so thank you to you both Aimee and Don, for letting us feature it. And of course, thank you also Jessica Grace Photography for your romantic photographs. If you’d like more inspiration for barn receptions then take a few minutes to browse through this gorgeous selection.

Ele xx