Joyful Wildflower Inspired Swaffham Prior Village Hall Wedding

Village hall weddings are steeped in both history and community. So what better location for a meaningful and joyful wedding 😍?

Katie and Sim chose to host their reception at Swaffham Prior Village Hall in Cambridgeshire back in the Spring. They were inspired by wildflowers and so included lots of seasonal blooms together with bright colours. The result was just gorgeous.

Some of the elements I love most about their day have to be the illustrated banner sign, the petal cake and the utterly lovely outfits.

Lisa and Neil have kindly shared these funfilled images and I can’t thank them enough. Be sure to take in every little detail.

Swaffham Prior Village Hall Wedding

The Proposal

In Spain, at a viewing point along a cliffside walk, the first evening of our holiday following us both graduating with our Masters and me (Katie) completing Ironman triathlon, desperate for some sun and sangria!

The Vision

Something quite relaxed and rustic; we wanted to focus on the ceremony and what that meant to us, anything else was a bonus. My maid of honour described it initially as a village fate! Wildflowers and greenery, hay bales and back garden games.

Budget

We didn’t really set a budget but knew we didn’t want to spend a fortune! We wanted to source things locally. We were very fortunate to have financial help from both sets of parents and so could prioritise the things we specifically wanted – great food, great photos and great music (although at the time we got married we couldn’t have a band).

The Venue

Married at St Mary’s church is Swaffham Prior and we walked to the Village Hall about 150 metres from the church. It was a beautiful village hall with a long stretch of grass out the front, perfect for the garden games. We were able to ‘dress’ the hall with help from one of our providers (Highfields) to make it really intimate and soften the room for 30 guests.

Your Outfits

I (Katie) wasn’t allowed to know anything about Sim’s suit so it was a complete surprise on the day. Finding a suit in lockdown meant a lot of deliveries and returns from Moss Bros. Sim chose an amazing suit, it was classy and will be one he wears for years to come.

My dress was from Coco Couture Bridal Boutique. I didn’t have a clue what type of dress I wanted but absolutely fell in love with the lace on my dress as soon as I saw it. My only criteria was being able to eat and dance in it! I wore a pair of white converse with lace details – flat shoes was the best decision.

Jewellery/Accessories – borrowed from my mum.

The Ceremony & Music

We had our worship band from our church play music in our ceremony: all things bright and beautiful (a classic), The Blessing, and Be Thou My Vision. The processional music was I Vow to Thee my Country, which is the same music that is used for World in Union, my family are big on rugby so it was quite emotional! Our recessional music was Chariots of Fire.

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

Our photographers were Him and Her Photography and they were everything and more we could ever have wished for. It was like having two friends at the wedding. They captured the day beautifully and looking back through the photos I get to relive it all over again.

The Styling & Decor

Wildflowers colour theme (although Sim says that isn’t a theme…).

On the church pews, we had little frames of our grandparents on their wedding day, a nod to those that were no longer with us, as well as our parents on their wedding day.

Gave free rein to our florist, whatever was in season and lots of it!

My nan’s old ladder was used to put old bottles with labels of the seating plan and all the bottles, flower jars, and little touches were things passed on to us from our friends who got married over the last few years.

Cake was a Victoria sponge, iced with dried flowers decoration and our cake topper was a metal wire shaped into two cyclists, one with a top hat and the other with a veil. We also had a fruitcake to be frozen (for tradition).

Cake – local baker in my parents’ home town.
Entertainment – garden games, sourced our own.
Transport – my uncle’s rally car.
Marquee/Tent – tipi tent, blankets and hay bales all borrowed from friends.

The Honeymoon

Yet to happen! But we did a mini-moon to Tenby in our little camper van.

Memorable Moments

Father of the Bride’s first look
Sim seeing Katie for the first time
Walking out of the church to all our friends who could not be in the church due to C-19, ringing cowbells (Sim is from Switzerland and his parents had got mini cowbells to ring!) and throwing confetti
Speeches – they were very emotional!
Moving the seating outside to the front of the hall, sitting at golden hour and just taking the day in

Advice For Other Couples

Keep it simple, schedule in ‘chill time’ in the morning when getting ready so you can take a moment to soak it all in, focus on what is actually important – the marriage!

Everything else is just a bonus on top of making that commitment to your person.