Amelia and Tobias were married at Cissbury Barns in West Sussex on a soft spring day in May. Captured beautifully by Bowl of Corks Photography, their wedding was relaxed, personal and full of thoughtful detail, reflecting their shared love of the South Downs and its natural beauty.
They wanted their celebration to feel like a garden party rather than a formal affair, and Cissbury’s setting offered exactly that – open countryside, rustic barns and room for guests to enjoy the day at their own pace. Amelia wore a dress with statement puff sleeves from The Wedding Studio Berkshire, and her bridesmaids each chose pastel-toned gowns, including designs by Rewritten.
The couple’s evening entertainment came courtesy of Super Soul, booked through Fix The Music, who brought everyone to the dancefloor. With homemade touches, locally grown flowers and a relaxed approach to styling, Amelia and Tobias created a wedding that felt authentic, joyful and completely their own.
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Venue/Inspiration
We got married at Cissbury Barns, Findon, West Sussex
We both love walking in the south downs and its natural beauty. We had previously attended a few weddings in the surrounding area with the barn aesthetic and loved the feel of the days. When we first saw Cissbury it instantly felt right.
The Dress
The Wedding Studio Berkshire
My dress was from The Wedding Studio Berkshire. I had a fantastic experience and Emily the owner was lovely. The wedding studio was the first place I visited and Emily made the whole experience relaxed and enjoyable. I did not feel rushed or pressured into making any decisions.
Emily listened to what I was looking for and was able to make some great suggestions on how to customise my dress and how I could have blended together designs to match my vision.
I always left an appointment with Emily feeling like she had taken the time and was interested in my day, rather than leaving feeling like just another customer.
I would 100% recommend Emily to any future brides.
I was really torn between Luna and another simpler dress. But in the end it had to Luna. I loved the large sleeves and she made me feel confident in something that felt like me, with just a little extra, without being too much.
I also wore a god bracelet that my grandma gave me several years ago. It was originally a necklace she had made into three bracelets for myself, my sister and my aunt.
I wore some gold platform I got in the sale from Russel & Bromley. I wanted something comfortable that I could wear again and not be a one day only shoe. I have since worn these to several other weddings and feels nice to have a memory of my day to wear again.
I wore the Harriet veil by Eden B Studios which I also got from The wedding Studio Berkshire on Emily’s suggestion. I loved the simplicity of this veil with the lace trim edge. As my dress had no lace I loved having a small nod to the lace detail as part of the veil.
I wore the Lyla stud flower earrings from Eden B Studios. I absolutely loved these and felt they made the dress! I have since worn them several times and love that they are something from the wedding day I can re-wear.
I wore a Jo Malone ‘Pear and Sweet Pea’ perfume that I had already had and loved. I wanted to wear something I was familiar with. I did not feel I needed a new specific wedding scent.
The bouquets, button holes and bud vase flowers were all from Chalk Farm Flowers. Dan and Molly’s flower farm was based around the corner from the venue. We really wanted local, seasonal flowers and wanted the flowers to be taken away and enjoyed by friends and family after the day. I gave Dan and Molly the colour scheme and was thrilled with the flowers on the day. Both Dan and Molly were lovely.
The rest of the flowers, including the metal troughs used for the aisle and potted plants used for decoration around the venue were all created and planted up with my parents a few weeks before the wedding using flowers from Fairways Garden Services.
I knew I wanted Ailums for the aisle planters, which my dad grew from seed. The rest of the flowers were selected from the garden center to match the colour scheme. This is a part of the planning I really enjoyed!
I had mismatched bridesmaids. My bridesmaids all picked their own dresses in the style and colour they felt comfortable in – blues, greens and lilac. Dresses were a mix of Zara, Maids to Measure, Rewritten, Ghost and Vinted. All the bridesmaids worse their own shoes and accessories.
The Ceremony
My dad accompanied me into the ceremony, to the sound of ‘I Giorni’, by Ludovico Einaudi.
We wrote our own vow’s and promises together and both read out the same to each other.
We had two readings. One which a family friend wrote and the other was ‘The Art of Marriage’, by Wilferd Arlan Peterson.
Our rings were from Reve Diamonds London. I found this company when looking for an engagement ring, as I was looking for a jewellers that could provide a bespoke service. It was a great experience, so felt natural to return when looking for our wedding bands together.
Photography
We chose Bowl of Corks after a recommendation from Amelia’s sister, who had seen their amazing photos online. When we first met with Archie and Abigail, you did not feel like just another client in their busy wedding calendar but that actually cared and were interested in our day.
They provided the right amount of contact and support prior to the wedding day without overwhelming us. On the day itself, Archie was a calm and friendly presence, able to direct guests as needed for photos and helped make our day flow without making us feel we were missing out by constantly being pulled aside for photos.
We received multiple compliments from our guests about Archie’s professionalism and friendliness on the day. When we received our professional photos they really captured the day and all the moments that mean so much to us. We would 100% recommend Bowl of Corks to others.
How They Met
We both met ten years ago at Southampton University through mutual friends.
I had planned to propose to Amelia on hiking trip to the Dolomites, Italy. However, this did not quite go to plan as unfortunately Amelia broke her foot just before the trip.
We changed our plans last minute and had the week in a remote wooden cabin by a lake just outside of Cambridge. I didn’t have the proposal in mind as we were worried about the broken foot. That week we had a lovely relaxed time and perfect weather, so after dinner in the sun one evening it felt like the right time to propose.
The Reception
We used paper lanterns for the stretch tent outside to add pops of colour.
Tobias is known for making mango chutney, alongside other condiments and marmalades, for Christmas to give as gifts to friends and family, so as wedding favours, I made small jars (190ml) of mango chutney for everyone.
We designed and printed all our own stationery, with the help of Canva for the designs.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Try not to get too bogged down and stressed by the planning. Allocate time to do wedding planning and time to not do any planning, otherwise it can feel like it is taking over.
Also, we do wish that we’d Stayed an extra night the day after the wedding so that checking out did not feel so rushed.
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