{"id":233024,"date":"2018-06-28T07:00:23","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T06:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=233024"},"modified":"2023-09-06T10:00:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T09:00:07","slug":"secret-barn-sussex-wedding-rainbow-colourful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/secret-barn-sussex-wedding-rainbow-colourful\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun & Colourful Rainbow Barn Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bride<\/p>\n

I can assure you that today’s real wedding<\/a> is\u00a0SURE to brighten up your day. Dara and Jamie tied the knot on 9th September 2017 at The Secret Barn in Sussex<\/a>. Their celebrations were a riot of colour and by all accounts a whole lot of fun!<\/p>\n

The\u00a0entire day was DIY and a real team effort. Cakes were provided by friends and family competing in a “bake off” and the results look simply spectacular. Following plenty of fun and games throughout the day,\u00a0friends took turns on the decks keeping the party going late into the night.<\/p>\n

Dara and Jamie encouraged their\u00a0guests to dress up in bright colours for the festivities and Dara surprised Jamie by wearing a traditional white dress,\u00a0changing into a different outfit for the evening, which\u00a0I think you’re absolutely going to love!<\/p>\n

Our pair weren’t originally sure that they wanted a photographer so\u00a0Yvonne Lishman<\/a>\u00a0stepped in at relatively short notice and captured these absolutely fab images. Thank you so much for sharing Yvonne.<\/p>\n

\"Multicoloured<\/p>\n\n

\"Secret \"Naked<\/p>\n\n

\"Secret \"Secret \"Secret \"Wedding \"Secret \"Unplugged \"Secret \"Tent \"Bridesmaids \"Secret \"Bride \"Secret \"Bride \"Bride \"Secret \"Secret \"Bride \"Table \"Secret \"Initials \"Buttercream \"Secret \"Bride \"Bride \"Bride \"Secret \"Secret \"Secret \"Secret \"Secret \"Lawn \"Bride \"Secret \"Multicoloured \"Bride \"Secret \"Secret \"VW \"Secret \"Secret \"Secret \"Secret \"Secret \"Secret \"Secret\"Secret\"Dance\"Secret\"Bride\"Secret\"Fire<\/p>\n

THE PROPOSAL<\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve known each other since secondary school! We didn\u2019t interact much in year 7 or 8, we became good friends in year 9, and by year 10 Dara plucked up the courage to ask me out. Ten years later, I proposed to Dara while on holiday in Cuba.<\/p>\n

THE VISION<\/h3>\n

We wanted a wedding where everyone could express themselves and dress however they want. The more colourful, the better. And we had activities where our friends could show off their personalities: a cake-making competition and late-night DJ sets.<\/p>\n

THE PLANNING PROCESS<\/h3>\n

We first sorted the venue in early 2016 – the amazing Secret Barn, near Brighton. Once we confirmed a date and number of guests, we spent around 18 months slowly but surely amassing as many colourful
\ndecorations as possible: Chinese lanterns, fairy lights, table decorations, anything we could get our hands on for a good price! A couple of days before the wedding, we chucked everything in a camper van, drove to the Secret Barn and had around a dozen close friends and family help with decorating the venue. We still owe them for all their help.<\/p>\n

BUDGET<\/h3>\n

Around \u00a310k.<\/p>\n

THE VENUE<\/h3>\n

The Secret Barn, Wiston, Sussex We didn\u2019t want anywhere particularly showy, and we loved the idea of having somewhere where our friends could camp overnight. The Secret Barn ticked all the boxes.<\/p>\n

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES<\/h3>\n

Dara always said she wasn\u2019t going to wear a dress, so you can imagine my surprise when she walked down the aisle looking absolutely beautiful in a traditional wedding dress. She managed to flip the rulebook slightly by matching it with light-blue converse. In the evening, she wore all-white dungarees and a rose-patterned shirt underneath. She\u2019s never tried to be fashionable, but she can\u2019t help it.<\/p>\n

Dara\u2019s wedding dress came from Ocean Brides in Hove (Dara: \u201cSimone helped me find a dress I loved even though I was terrified of wedding dresses!\u201d)<\/p>\n

GROOM\u2019S ATTIRE<\/h3>\n

I (Jamie) wore an all-green suit from Next, mainly because it complimented my red hair! I had it tailored by No One Famous Tailoring in Leytonstone, London.<\/p>\n

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS<\/h3>\n

ASOS<\/p>\n

THE FLOWERS<\/h3>\n

Provided by Petal & Feast and my (Jamie’s) mum made the buttonholes,<\/p>\n

THE CAKE<\/h3>\n

We also held our own wedding cake competition, which encouraged a bit of friendly rivalry AND meant everyone got fed!<\/p>\n

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER<\/h3>\n

Yvonne Lishman was our photographer. We\u2019re quite camera shy (or at least we thought we were), so it took us a while to decide we actually wanted a wedding photographer. Yvonne was asked fairly last-minute whether she was free for our wedding weekend. Thankfully she was, and she was incredible to work with. She captured the bizarre personality of our mates like nobody else could, and she somehow managed to make a camera-shy couple seem completely at ease.<\/p>\n

THE DETAILS & D\u00c9COR<\/h3>\n

We made our own save the dates, decorated the venue ourselves, my mum helped with the buttonholes, and we asked our mates to play DJ sets instead of hiring a band. We wanted it to be colourful, the more colourful, the better. We encouraged friends to turn up in snazzy, bright suits, and we decorated the secret barn with dozens and dozens of multi-coloured lanterns. Dara\u2019s mum made giant wooden D and J initials to hang over our wedding table and during the speeches she added a red heart to the centre of the letters.<\/p>\n

THE HONEYMOON<\/h3>\n

We spent two weeks in Vietnam – first in Ho Chi Minh City, then in a really relaxing resort on the coast in Nha Trang, and finally in the bustling capital Hanoi. We swam lots, read books, tried delicious food
\nand drank huge amounts of coffee. It was amazing!<\/p>\n

MEMORABLE MOMENTS<\/h3>\n

It was all perfect! I\u2019m not sure it would have been the same without the outdoor orchard we had our ceremony in, or the fact that the sun stayed out (the skies opened immediately after we tied the knot!). We asked some of our closest friends to play their own DJ sets towards the end of the night. They had their own DJ stage name (eg. \u2018DJ Pink Fizz\u2019 for our resident bubbly fan), and they all lived up to the task of making almost 100 people dance the night away. Everyone probably thinks their friends are the best in the world, but they really made the day what it was: ridiculously fun, hilarious and silly. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anyone else in the world quite like our mates.<\/p>\n

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t worry about whether the day will go to plan, or the nitty-gritty details, or whether your guests will have a great time. They will, and if they don\u2019t, you\u2019ll be too caught up in a happy bubble to notice! It really will be the best day of your lives.<\/p>\n

Credit Where Credit Is Due<\/h5>\n
\n
\n

Photographer
\nYvonne Lishman<\/a><\/p>\n

Wedding Venue, Food and Flowers
\nThe Secret Barn<\/a><\/p>\n

MUA
\nFran Carter<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Wedding Dress
\nOcean Bridal Studio<\/a><\/p>\n

Grooms Attire
\nNext<\/a> and\u00a0alterations by No One Famous Tailoring<\/a><\/p>\n

Transport
\nDara\u2019s dad\u2019s purple VW camper van<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wow, what fun Dara and Jamie! Thanks so much for sharing your day with us here at WWW. Rachel x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can assure you that today’s real wedding is\u00a0SURE to brighten up your day. Dara and Jamie tied the knot on 9th September 2017 at The Secret Barn in Sussex. Their celebrations were a riot of colour and by all accounts a whole lot of fun! The\u00a0entire day was DIY and a real team effort. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":233043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,4],"tags":[972,357,234,5917,23,2060,3479,4580],"class_list":["post-233024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-wedding","category-real-weddings","tag-asos-bridesmaids","tag-autumn-wedding-ideas","tag-barn-wedding","tag-diy-wedding","tag-multicolour-wedding-ideas","tag-rainbow-wedding","tag-sussex-wedding","tag-the-secret-barn-wedding"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":233043,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/whimsical-cdn.wedissimo.com\/2018\/06\/Secret-Barn-Sussex-Rainbow-Colourful-Yvonne-Lishman-Photography19-300x200.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}