Elegant & Relaxed Countryside Barn Wedding

The beautiful countryside barn wedding of Lydia and Daniel is gracing our pages today, hooray! They were married in a meaningful church ceremony followed by a reception at The Clockbarn in Hampshire on the 21st August 2019. It’s really lovely to hear how their ceremony was the focus of their wedding day and they chose a church which was special to them. Following the ceremony they whisked their guests away via vintage buses to the party! They set the tone for the celebrations with a confetti throw on arrival and a Sabrage, what fun.

They decorated the barn elegantly with festoon lights and stunning florals, which included a magnificent archway. Also look out for the quirky neon sign and the chic buttercream cake, it was all so stylish. Talking of style how amazing did Lydia and Daniel look? Lydia wore a flowing Catherine Deane dress with crochet top and Daniel was suited and booted in a Zara jacket and trousers combo complete with a bow tie.

Do enjoy these incredible captures of their day which have kindly been sent to us by Emily & Steve Photography, thanks so much for sharing guys!

The Proposal

We have been together for 11 years and although we always imagined getting married we wanted it to be the right time. It was Lydia’s 30th birthday dinner that Daniel got on one knee in front of both our families. It was a complete surprise to Lydia and the family so we had a great celebration after!

The Vision

We wanted it to be a super relaxed day with the service being the main focus. We chose to get married in a church which had ties to Daniel’s childhood. It is in a beautiful village right next to a stream so it was always going to be a English countryside wedding. The party afterwards we wanted it to be a great celebration, lots of lovely food and drink and in a space that worked well for people to really mingle. As the service was the main focus we wanted to plan the day so it went from the service straight into the party, we had a 2pm wedding so this could work. We organised old style buses to take guests to the venue through to keep it easy for everyone. We also knew we didn’t want evening guests. We wanted the focus on our closest friends and family so we had 87 guests in the end with us who partied from start to finish.

The Planning Process

Lydia runs a restaurant and Daniel runs a pub so it was important for us to choose a venue we knew we could trust to deliver the right style of service and to ensure we didn’t have to think about anything on the day! We planned it over a year but we definitely dipped in and out of it. We fell in love with the venue and the decoration inside we knew we didn’t need to do a lot to make it look great. We put festoon lights over long french style tables which meant it really felt like a party. I really wanted to have simple flowers with, we had a beautiful Asymmetric flower arch and a ‘Til death do us party’ sign on the dance floor.

Beauty

We used Helen from @the_boho_bride who was recommended via Instagram. She has such a wonderful demeanour and made the morning very relaxed. She did the bridesmaids hair and the brides hair and makeup.

Bridesmaids

I’ve never been a big fan of swishy bridesmaid dresses and wanted something different for them. We decided on a jumpsuit and the one in Phase Eight was perfect.

The Readings & Music

We really wanted our closest friends and family to be involved as much as possible. The address during the service was made by a family friend which meant it was so personal. We chose one bible readings: Corinthians 13 and ‘Tea’ by Carol Ann Duffy, Lydia’s favourite poet.

A close friend of Daniel’s family is a beautiful pianist and he played the entrance music ‘At Last’ by Etta James. It was a nod to fact it’s taken us 11 years to do this! We also had prayers read by Lydia’s mother which again made it so personal. During the signing a good friend who is a musician played the guitar and sang his own songs. We walked out to Handel water music.

Your Outfits & Accessories

The dress was from Catherine Deane – they do beautiful dresses and a lot of two pieces. The dress itself was very simple and elegant and a crochet top was added which made it look fantastic.

It was then altered by Nicolo Donati who was absolutely amazing and made the dress fit perfectly.

Groomsmen

Zara jacket and trousers, the bow tie was from Le Colonel Moutarde in Shoreditch.

Your Photographer

Emily & Steve Photography – they were such a great choice and worth every penny. They captured the day perfectly. They weren’t intrusive and were lovely people to have with you (especially when I forgot my bouquet and had to wait outside the church!).

The Venue

The Clock Barn

The Cake

The cake was made by a friend who makes amazing cakes. It was 3 layers, red velvet, lemon and Victoria sponge. It was so delicious and fit the style so perfectly! Her Instagram is @bakeitnice.

The Details & Décor

The venue itself was so lovely we didn’t need to do much but we did have a neon sign, festoon lighting and lots of flowers.

We wanted a confetti shot and unfortunately we couldn’t do it at the church so we set it up so when we arrived at the venue the guests were lined up ready for it. We used dried rose petals which we had put in large kilner jars for guests to throw.

We really wanted to Sabrage on the day – the photographers caught the moment perfectly. This was the way for us to get the party started.

There are a million ways to do a guest book and we decided to buy instax cameras that guests used to take their photos are write in the book. It meant we had a lot of great candid shots and was great fun for the guests. It’s also a lovely way to remember it.

The Flowers

The florist was Early Hours @earlyhoursltd and they did all the flowers in the venue, bouquet and button holes. We chose a local lady to do the flowers at the church.

The Honeymoon

We decided to stay in the UK after the wedding and went to Dartmouth. We stayed in the most perfect and stylish B&B Kaywana Hall in Kingswear. They have buildings for each room with their own outside space. It’s private and quiet and walking distance to the local pubs and restaurants. We had such a relaxing time after the build up to the wedding.

Memorable Moments

I loved the days just before the wedding when family starts to arrive. We had a rehearsal the day before which gave us time to really respect the commitment we were making.

Lydia won’t ever live down turning up to the church without her flowers and the father of the bride having to race back to the house to pick it up. The vicar had to let everyone know there was a delay but meant it relaxed everyone.

Advice For Other Couples

There are plenty of opportunities to spend a lot of money, don’t run away with it too much. Keep it simple, the most important thing is that you both celebrate your relationship with your closest friends and family.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

How very stylish.

Lydia and Daniel, thank you ever so much for sharing your very special wedding with us xo Lou