Joyful Colourful & Handmade Oxfordshire Pub Wedding

WWW readers Hayley and James are with us to share their joyful Oxfordshire pub wedding which was not only relaxed and family-focused but filled with colour. It’s a dream!

They were married in the summer and went all out to create a day that reflected them as a couple. I especially love all of the DIY homemade decor, it all looked incredible and has such heart. The confetti throw, speeches and dancing all looked so wonderful too.

Look out for the prettiest florals, Hayley and James’ beautiful outfits and some delicious sweet treats.

PhotoBart, I can’t thank you enough for sharing with us these dreamy captures.

I was a complete WWW addict during wedding planning and my pinterest was full of links to so many gorgeous featured weddings.

Oxfordshire Pub Wedding

The Proposal

Having swiped right (yep, it does work) just over a year before, James completely surprised me with a proposal on my ‘lockdown’ birthday.

After a morning of opening cards and presents, he told me he’d found a little pond in the middle of Swinley Forest and wanted to head there on our daily dog walk so we could have a secret picnic. We settled down next to the water and he handed me my birthday card. As I got to the last sentence, I realised he was referring to a joke he’d made about getting engaged and, after re-reading the same line a few times, I turned around to find him down on one knee, holding the most beautiful sapphire ring.

I was speechless for the first time in my life. It turns out he’d stood on my parents’ doorstep on his way home from work to ask for their permission because he wanted to make it a lockdown birthday to remember/a great story to tell the grandkids… That explained why my mum had been so quiet in recent weeks…

The Vision

We wanted our day to reflect us as a couple – we love the outdoors, feasting on hearty food and being around our favourite people. We’ve been to many weddings that look amazing but feel too manufactured so we were keen to create a relaxed, homemade day filled with colour, joy and personal touches.

We knew it would probably be the first time everyone was back together again so we wanted it to be a happy, fun-filled experience for all. I was determined to make everything myself and, if not, I wanted to support small businesses as much as I could.

Budget

£15,000 – somehow we came in under budget!

The Venue

The Crown Inn, Pishill, Oxon, is a truly magical venue, it’s a real hidden gem. A former 16th century coaching inn with a stunning thatched barn in its grounds, it gave us the relaxed feel we wanted but with an added touch of sparkle.

Your Outfits

I wore the Lenora Dress by Wtoo Watters. I knew I wanted something a little different and a dress that would enable me to move around/dance with ease. I also knew I wasn’t prepared to pay thousands for something I’d wear for a matter of hours which is why I started looking for sample dresses.

I visited ‘& She Loves Bridal’ in Wokingham and met the lovely Rochelle who was armed with an array of dresses. It turns out she’d tracked down the exact dress I’d sent her when she asked for my vision and I fell head over heels in love with it despite trying on lots of others.

I paired it with a floor-length veil, some sparkly block heels from New Look (super comfy) and some vintage pearl earrings from Copper Lane Gift Co. The bridesmaids looked truly gorgeous in their knee length dresses from New Look (an absolute bargain).

James was keen to wear a mismatched suit and despite having to order everything during lockdown, we managed to find grey herringbone blazers and slim navy slim suit trousers in Next (which then went into the sale so we saved over £400 by doing a quick return and re-order). The boys teamed these with a skinny navy polka dot tie, a sage floral pocket square and personalised tie pins. They looked very cool!

The Ceremony & Music

We were lucky enough to have our family friend, Nicki, as our registrar which made our ceremony even more special. I walked down the aisle with my dad to the instrumental version of ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ and somehow we both managed to hold back the tears.

I have never felt as chilled as I did on the wedding morning which completely surprised us all because I’m usually a bit of a worrier and I love a good cry! I loved seeing all our nearest and dearest gathered in the barn, it was truly special.

Two of my oldest, dearest friends did a beautiful reading of The Giraffe and The Monkey. We wanted something light-hearted and genuine. We played the instrumental versions of ‘Wildest Dreams’ and ‘All You Need is Love’ whilst signing the register and walked back up the aisle to ‘You Make My Dreams Come True’. During our evening drinks, we had a saxophonist playing – a perfect way to enjoy the golden hours.

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

PhotoBart was our photographer and he was truly magical!

The Styling & Decor

We wanted to inject fun and colour into our décor. We handmade every single one of the decorations over the year leading up to the wedding – a welcome easel, pallet signs, personalised log slice place holders, a gin-themed table plan (thanks bridesmaids for all your drinking efforts over lockdown), yards of bunting, tissue paper pompoms, family pick n mix, a copper frame for the photobooth and all of our wedding stationery. It was so much fun and I would happily do it all again!

We wanted our flowers to reflect the wild, colourful blooms growing outside the venue and we didn’t want anything too structured and rigid so we enlisted the help of Skylark to fill our gin bottles with pops of colour and joy. They did not disappoint and their motto ‘Grown not Flown’ is a motto every florist should live by!

Our best friend, Becci, baked our cakes and sweet treats and they were insanely good – they were all gone by the end of the night!  The venue provided our catering and we went for family favourites/pub classics – bangers and mash followed by sticky toffee pudding – a massive hit with all of our guests.

The Honeymoon

We enjoyed a road trip around Cornwall filled with tasty food, far too many carbs and a whole lot of gin. It was incredible. We plan to go on a proper honeymoon when covid allows (what a way to drag out the wedding celebrations).

Memorable Moments

Catching COVID two weeks before our big day… That was pretty memorable but maybe not for the right reasons…
Seeing each other for the first time as I walked down the aisle – a moment we’ll never forget.
Being together with everyone after so many months of being apart – it made it feel all the more special.
Travelling over Henley Bridge, during HRR, and seeing everyone excitedly waving at us in the VW camper – I felt like the Queen!
Standing back during the ‘Golden Hour’, watching our guests enjoying a drink whilst listening to our saxophonist.  Dancing with my dad to ‘My Girl’ – he took the lead and I think it’s safe to say we absolutely nailed it.

Advice For Other Couples

Enjoy it, the whole thing goes so fast – I’m already missing the planning!

Don’t worry about the tiny things, nobody will notice them!

Take some time to stand back and watch your guests enjoying themselves – it’s amazing to see everyone looking so happy.

Stick to what really matters to you and make sure your day reflects you as a pair.

Be savvy and think carefully about where you could save money – some things are so unnecessary and could save you money to spend on the things that truly matter.