Rustic & Autumnal Eco-Conscious Conwy Barn Wedding

Sarah and Jack’s Conwy barn wedding was stunning. They were wed at The Hayloft Bar & Grill at Bodnant Welsh Food in beautiful Wales during the autumn.

What I love most about their wedding story, is how they put so much heart and sentiment into their day. They love rustic interiors and brought lots of items from home that have meaning, into their wedding day styling. Not only does this save money but it is also kinder to the planet, with less waste being produced compared to buying items new.

From board games and pumpkins to tarot reading and crystals, they really stamped their personality into their celebrations. I adore Sarah and Jack’s stylish outfits, the bespoke bridal jacket, the dried flowers and the most dreamy portraits with rolling countryside views. Oh my.

I can’t thank Fox and Bear Photography enough for sharing with us these tremendous shots of such a rustic and gorgeous day.

Conwy Barn Wedding

The Proposal

2020 – the dreaded lockdown, on Saturday 20th June the summer solstice, Jack suggested our usual weekend dog walk in the Peak District – The Roaches. A very rocky landscape, which, is a bit of a scramble to the top but the views are worth it.

As usual, the rain came, but we carried on our way. Once the rain passed I started to take a video of the dog and when I turned around Jack was at the edge of a rock with the view behind him on one knee and asked me to marry him.

I was completely blown away on close inspection of the ring I said this looks like my nana’s engagement ring to which his reply was it is your nana’s engagement ring. It sat in a beautiful wooden box with our names engraved on with a mini Forrest.

The Vision

We are both very outdoorsy people, love rustic interiors and autumn is our favourite season.

With orange pumpkins, open fires, board games, dried flowers, hearty food and of course a Fleetwood Mac tribute band!

Budget

10K, actual spend 15K.

The Venue

The Hayloft Bar and Grill at Bodnant Gardens is one of our favourite National Trust Gardens. As we drove to the Hayloft restaurant Jack said ‘ow my granddad used to live around here.’

Little did we know that Dewi would take us past the house Jack’s granddad once lived in when Jack was a young boy. Jack shared lovely memories as we drove to the point for the photos. Jack realised it was a location they used to visit all the time on family dog walks and had since forgotten, it was just like his granddad was sharing the day with us.

The Hayloft was perfect it had a bar that was cosy with an open fire and soft furniture. The room in which we had our ceremony had dried flowers attached to the beams and gave a bright and open feel. The restaurant was very light with large beams and rustic furniture with big windows, which looked onto the patio.

The Styling & Decor

We wanted the wedding to be as environmentally friendly as possible, without creating a lot of unnecessary waste.

The tables were named after wildflowers, we had a “please be seeded” sign and our guests had to find their name on an envelope which had the seeds inside for those wildflowers – a bee-friendly touch.

Decorations were mainly from our walks and home; lots of pine cones, various different grasses, dried flowers, we dried fruits that were turning oranges/limes/lemons/apples, dried petals from gifted flowers, recycled Fever Tree bottles from a local bar, wooden stands, rustic ornaments from our home, wooden crates were our bedside tables, little plants as gifts, wooden boxes, photographs from our years together, photo albums of us, our board games, old golden frame, old art easel, fabric and foliage.

We had an old school chalkboard that made a perfect welcome sign. Our board games were put out for some entertainment.

Some items were bought lots of real pumpkins which The Hayloft used after for their Halloween period, fake velvet pumpkins but we gifted these to a shop in town for their Halloween display, favours boxes, wooden clipboards for children’s packs again re-gifted, children’s packs were a digital download from Etsy which we printed on recyclable paper, name tag cards with wedding dares inside, large wedding hoop – this has been given to our friends to use at their wedding.

We had blow-up instruments for the celebrations after, which we gave to all the children afterwards and so many sweet treats for Jack’s family who all have sweet tooths.

There was a whimsical element to our wedding, my friend Kirsty Nicol read tarot cards whilst photographs were being taken and canapés were being eaten. Our wedding favours were crystals and they were all mixed with a message explaining the crystal’s properties. There was definitely a magical feel in the air.

The Ceremony & Music

Music for the ceremony – La Ve Do Rose by Emily Watts

Music in the evening – The Chain – Fleetwood Mac tribute band

Your Outfits

I found a vintage-looking dress on a second-hand website as I like to be as environmentally friendly as possible. But my parents talked me into looking at a few wedding dresses in a wedding shop – Wedding Bells in LLanfairpg. 45 minutes of trying on dresses I fell in love with a dress that was nothing I would have ever worn. It was very daring for me, very fitted, and love cut but I just knew Jack would love it – and he did.

I also had an old jacket designed, with our saying – love you to the moon, sun and stars. This was by Bird and Bone Designs. It was perfect Scarlett did an amazing job and I still have the jacket hanging in our bedroom as decoration, a perfect reminder of our day.

I also had a flower crown made by Branch and Brush a local dried flower artist here in Beaumaris.

Jack always wanted a tweed suit he knew exactly what he wanted, he and his dad jumped on a train to Manchester and had a boy’s day out to pick out suits – more like 5% picking suits and 95% drinking and eating.

I made Jack and his best man buttonholes with little Lego figures of them as a keepsake for the day.

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

Fox and Bear Photography

We also had an engagement photo shoot, which was perfect for us to meet Dewi and helped us to relax in front of the camera. This also gave us some lovely wedding stationery (table signs) and the opportunity for us to have some lovely photos with our two dogs Jeff and Bee as they weren’t allowed to the venue on the big day.

The Honeymoon

We took a mini-moon straight away down to Fforest Farm, a glamping site with onsen tubs outside, it was so quiet and peaceful.

And then we went on a honeymoon to a rustic farm in Tuscany. We took part in many hikes, truffle hunting, pasta making and sightseeing. It was on this honeymoon that we found out we were expecting our beautiful boy Cybi.

Memorable Moments

Defiantly hiking up a mountain with Dewi for the best wedding photos! I don’t know how I managed to keep my dress so clean! I put on my Wellington boots and we headed to the top of a mountain for the most beautiful scenic wedding photos!

Jack’s will be using his dad’s classic Mercedes 500E. A special and rare car now immortalized in our lovely wedding photos and making it even more special when Jack and Cybi go to classic car shows with it.

Could also be the dessert, we had s’mores which was a quirky autumnal dessert. Everyone loved them especially the young cousins, nephews and sweet-toothed adults! We love camping and hiking and the s’mores were definitely well suited to us.

Advice For Other Couples

See what you have on hand first before you buy a lot of items. All the items in your home that you have collected throughout the years are memories and items that are your story. Your wedding is a part of your story, make your wedding truly your style by having items that represent you and your memories.

If you like board games include them in your wedding, if you like books these too can be great wedding decorations. I had a vintage champagne tin that was great as an alternative vase for dried flowers, and an old chalkboard made a perfect alternative to an expensive welcome sign.