{"id":249619,"date":"2019-03-05T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T07:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=249619"},"modified":"2024-11-21T12:21:48","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T12:21:48","slug":"stanford-farm-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/stanford-farm-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Relaxed & Beautifully Boho Wedding Weekender"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bride<\/p>\n

I have to say, Dayna and Gareth’s wedding<\/a> is right up my street! As someone who is planning a wedding weekend, I couldn’t agree more with their advice to draw out the fun! I’m also loving their relaxed style and beautiful outdoor styling.<\/p>\n

Their celebrations took place on the 28th July 2018 at Stanford Farm in Shropshire<\/a> and the location made the perfect backdrop to their wedding. There was plenty to keep their guests entertained and music was an important feature throughout the day. Their ceremony and daytime artist was supplied by WWW Supplier Love members Bands For Hire<\/a> so of course we wholeheartedly approve!<\/p>\n

Dayna and Gareth searched high and low for a photographer before they found Andy Griffiths Photography<\/a> and by the looks of these images, he was worth the wait. Thank you Andy for sharing these spectacular shots with us.<\/p>\n

Finally, I have to mention Dayna’s gorgeous gown, which was a bespoke creation. The lace and drop shoulder detail, I’m in love! Enjoy it all.<\/p>\n

\"Stanford<\/p>\n\n

\"Stanford \"Bride<\/p>\n\n

\"Gift<\/p>\n

The Proposal<\/h3>\n

We got engaged in Tenby. We were on a trip with Gareth\u2019s family. I had never been to Tenby before and fell in love with the place straight away. The first night we were there we had a rum fuelled pirate party which left us all a little worse for wear the next day. Gareth insisted we went for a walk along the coastal path, despite our horrific hangovers. After lots of walking we stopped at an opening in the woodland to admire the view and Gareth got down on one knee. I was completely shocked and the happiest girl in the world. My ring was the most beautiful antique 1920s ring which I had admired a while back when we were in an antique shop in Chester which I regularly visited. It was the perfect choice and felt even more special that he had remembered me looking at it.<\/p>\n

\"Stanford \"Stanford \"Stanford \"Floral<\/p>\n

The Vision<\/h3>\n

We wanted the day to be as relaxed as possible with the least amount of structure as possible. More like a party than a wedding. We wanted everyone to feel chilled and at home. We decided to have it over weekend so that we could spend more time with our friends and family. When do you ever have every single person you both love in the same place! We wanted the wedding to be personal to us with lots of family and friends involved in the planning and creation of our day. We wanted the day to include all our favourite things. The people we love, our dog (Chester), pizza, picnic food, ice cream, auntie Lesley\u2019s famous quiche and Gareth\u2019s mums amazing sausage rolls. Crisp butties, camping, beer and great music.<\/p>\n

\"Bride \"Bride \"Stanford \"Tweed<\/p>\n

The Planning Process<\/h3>\n

We planned the wedding over two years which looking back I think it was far too long as I had too much time to obsess over everything. The first thing we did was book the venue, photographer and band as those things get booked up very quickly! Then everything else we booked much later. We both planned the big things together then I planned all the other bots and bobs. I literally ate, slept and breathed this wedding for two years! It was a rollercoaster of emotions which I thought I wouldn\u2019t miss, but now I want to do it all over again.<\/p>\n

\"Bike \"Bride \"Bride \"Bride<\/p>\n

The Venue<\/h3>\n

Stanford Farm was our venue and it was perfect in every way. The family who own the venue Cindy & Becky are the loveliest people who made us feel so special. They made everything so easy and relaxed from start to finish. The moment we visited the venue we fell in love it\u2019s like nowhere else we had seen. Having the venue for the whole weekend sold it to us as well as the flexibility to do whatever we wanted. It\u2019s a beautiful venue that is a blank canvas which is perfect for creating your dream day. It will always hold a special place in our heart.<\/p>\n

\"Stanford \"Bride \"Stanford \"Stanford \"Bride<\/p>\n

Your Outfits & Accessories<\/h3>\n

I knew that I wanted a relaxed boho style wedding dress. One that was comfy and that I could dance all night in. I just couldn\u2019t find what I had in my mind. Then one day scrolling through Etsy I found a bohemian style dressmaker called This Modern Love Bridal owned by the most wonderful lady called Anna. After looking through all her designs I knew I wanted her to make my dress. Admittedly it was a bit of a trek from Chester to Brighton, but I figured some girly weekends in Brighton would just make the whole experience even more fun.<\/p>\n

After visiting Anna\u2019s studio at her home in Worthing I was just in love. All her dresses were so beautifully handmade with so much love. I fell in love with her Cecile gown, an ivory gown with corded lace bust, cold shoulder sleeves. One of Anna other dresses the Victoria had the most beautiful waterfall chiffon train and I thought why not combine the two dresses and this is what she did, creating my dream dress. The whole process was stress free and so personal having a customised gown made just for me. To finish off the whole look, I completely fell in love with a floral embroided veil called \u2018\u2019Alexa\u2019\u2019 also from this Modern Love Bridal. Anna also made me a gorgeous lace kimono called \u2018\u2019Helena\u2019\u2019 for getting ready on the morning of the wedding.<\/p>\n

Now I had to find shoes to go with my amazing boho gown. A post from This Modern Love Bridal featured Harriet Wilde shoes and I knew the peony low shoes in ivory were the ones. Beautiful floral laser cut shoes with a silk ribbon tie.<\/p>\n

Gareth\u2019s outfit took him a long time to find, we wanted his outfit to also to have a relaxed feel that wasn\u2019t \u2018\u2019too smart\u2019\u2019 but still looked the part. He went for a brown textured jacket with matching waist coat with colourful flecks in it. With a white cotton shirt all from Moss Bros. He wore Mocha coloured chinos with brown shoes from Next. He wore a sage green pocket square made by his mum to complement the bridesmaid dresses.<\/p>\n

\"Bride \"Bride \"Bottle \"Pallet<\/p>\n

The Readings & Music<\/h3>\n

My walking down the aisle song was \u2018\u2019Better together\u2019\u2019 by Jack Johnson. We both love the song, it\u2019s such a happy song and sums us up. It was sung beautifully and played on acoustic guitar by Robin, an acoustic artist. Robin played during our ceremony with our exiting song being “Your love is lifting me higher”. She stayed and played during our picnic. She had the most amazing, quirky voice and was loved by everyone. In the evening we had a band called The Cave. We were so excited to have our own band and super excited we were able to book them. They are a Mumford & Sons style band and literally kept the party going the whole night. Everyone thought they were amazing!! Gareth chose our first dance song, “You are the best thing” by Ray Lamontagne, he couldn\u2019t have picked a more perfect song and the band played it beautifully.<\/p>\n

\"Just \"Semi<\/p>\n

The Cake<\/h3>\n

Our beautiful cake was made by our wonderful friend Lorna. We loved everything about it. It was perfect. Not only is she super talented at making cakes she also handmade the most beautiful cake topper to go on top. It was delicious and went down a treat with everyone.<\/p>\n

\"Table \"Rustic \"Bride \"Hair<\/p>\n

Beauty<\/h3>\n

My sister Ashleigh did the make-up for me and my five bridesmaids, I knew I wouldn\u2019t want anyone else to do my makeup. She was amazing on the day and it make it so much more relaxed.<\/p>\n

Mine and my bridesmaid\u2019s hair was done by my local hairdressers Amour hair and beauty in Chester. From the first trial I knew that I wanted Nadia to do my hair, she listened to everything I said and tried lots of different ideas until we got exactly what I wanted. Nadia came on the day with another hairdresser called Chelsea who did my bridesmaids’ hair, they had no trial before hand and all the hair looked perfect on the day.<\/p>\n

\"Bride \"Bride \"Tweed \"Bride \"Bride<\/p>\n

Groomsmen<\/h3>\n

The groomsmen included Gareth\u2019s best man and both our fathers. They wore brown textured jackets from Marks and Spencer, with beige chinos and brown shoes from next and a white cotton shirt from moss brothers. Gareth\u2019s mum made pockets squares for each of them from a sage green fabric to complement the bridesmaids’ dresses.<\/p>\n

\"Stanford \"Cards<\/p>\n

The Details & D\u00e9cor<\/h3>\n

We wanted lots of colours and lots of flowers with a real festival feel to the day. Lots of our family and friends were involved with the sourcing and making of all our beautiful decorations and making the venue look perfect. My auntie was collecting lots of vintage vases for me over the year before and I searched charity shops far and wide as well as eBay to source colourful crochet picnic blankets for the hay bales for our outdoor seating and crochet doilies for the tables.<\/p>\n

We had a gorgeous copper arch for our ceremony decorated with foliage from Ginger Moon. They also created a hanging log with ribbons to match our theme, to hang from the chapel ceiling. Gareth\u2019s sister made all our signs for around the venue as well as our pallet sign for our order of the day, and as the cutest tags for our picnic boxes.<\/p>\n

My mum decorated a billion jars for candles and Gareth\u2019s mum made heart cuttings out of books to sprinkle on the tables. I collected random pieces of furniture and accessories from skips and sides of roads to decorate our venue. We had festoon lighting, fire pits, a horse box photo booth, face painting, henna tattoos and a crisp butty station. We had wheel barrows and troughs for our booze. It was truly magical and having all our family and friends have such a big part in the creation of our day just made it even more precious.<\/p>\n

\"Bride \"Tweed \"Stanford \"Stanford \"Bride \"Bride<\/p>\n

Bridesmaids<\/h3>\n

The bridesmaids’ dresses were made by the same lady who made my bridal gown, Anna at This Modern Love Bridal. The dresses were Grecian style sage green full-length gowns with a lace trim and lace tie round the waist. They were custom made for all my five bridesmaids and suited them all. The dresses were relaxed and so pretty and went with the relaxed feel of the wedding.<\/p>\n

\"Bride \"Foliage<\/p>\n

The Flowers<\/h3>\n

In Chester where we live there is a gorgeous botanical coffee shop called the Flower Cup. Its mine and Gareth\u2019s favourite place for brunch as they do the best toasties ever! They also do they most beautiful flower arrangements. I knew straight away Anna the florist from the sister shop, the Violet Palm would create the most beautiful bouquets for us. We weren\u2019t sure what we wanted exactly but knew we wanted wild flowers, lots of foliage and the hand tied scooped up from a meadow look! So we hand no Idea what the flowers would look like until the day before the wedding. Anna created the most beautiful bouquet for me including forget me nots in memory of my nan and equally gorgeous bouquets for my bridesmaids and button holes for the guys. We couldn\u2019t have picked a better florist to create our dream wedding flowers.<\/p>\n

We had a huge metal hoop hanging from the ceiling in the barn which was decorated with foliage and flowers by the amazing Floral Studio in Rugeley. It looked incredible and was the main feature of the room.<\/p>\n

\"Bride \"Stanford \"Stanford<\/p>\n

Your Photographer<\/h3>\n

Our photographer was Andy Griffiths. Having an awesome photographer was top of our list, we wanted someone that was going to capture our day naturally and as it happened. After searching far and wide we finally saw Andy\u2019s work and knew he was the one. After speaking and meeting up with him we knew he was perfect. It was like having a mate photograph our wedding, we felt so comfortable with him. He was professional, funny and an all-round awesome guy who captured our day perfectly. It really is like reliving it looking at the pictures, Every emotion, every detail, just amazing! All our guests thought he was amazing! We can\u2019t recommend him enough.<\/p>\n

\"Bride \"Stanford \"Bride<\/p>\n

The Honeymoon<\/h3>\n

Peru and Miami- Peru was a dream trip for both of us, we wanted a trip full of adventure and it was certainly that. We trekked the Inca trail to Macchu Pichu and spent time in the Amazon rainforest. Miami was our little bit of luxury at the end, sun sea and cocktails!<\/p>\n

\"Photo \"Stanford \"Horse<\/p>\n

Memorable Moments<\/h3>\n

Just stopping every now an again and looking around at all the people we loved literally having the best time ever! It was amazing.<\/p>\n

Me and my mum jiving with my cousin mark and him getting up to sing with the band.<\/p>\n

Gareth\u2019s dad Dave on somebody\u2019s shoulders dancing to the killers (Absolute legend!!!)<\/p>\n

Having our first dance to our favourite song played live by our amazing band The Cave.<\/p>\n

Having our dog Chester run down the aisle to us after we just became husband and wife.<\/p>\n

The list is endless it really was the best day ever!!!!<\/p>\n

\"Stanford \"Outdoor<\/p>\n

Advice for Other Couples<\/h3>\n

Try not to worry so much \u2013 easy to say I know! But you literally will not care on the day. You will be too busy being high on love to care.<\/p>\n

Consider a wedding weekend- it really was great being able to see family and friends over the three days. It didn\u2019t feel rushed and why not drag out the best day of your life!<\/p>\n

\"Stanford<\/p>\n

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

Photographer
\nAndy Griffiths Photography<\/a><\/p>\n

Venue
\nStanford Farm<\/a><\/p>\n

Florists
\nThe Violet Palm & The Floral Studio Rugeley<\/p>\n

Bridal Gown & Bridesmaids’ Dresses
\nThis Modern Love Bridal<\/p>\n

Evening Band
\nThe Cave<\/a><\/p>\n

Daytime & Ceremony Musician<\/strong>
\nRobin from <\/strong>Bands For Hire<\/strong><\/a>
\nWedding Directory member Wedding Entertainment<\/p>\n

Furniture & Glass Hire
\nTipples Bar<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Pizza Van
\nAmbers Wood Fired Kitchen<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday Evening Food & Sunday Breakfast
\nKim & Ali’s Catering<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo Booth & Face Painting
\nFace Box Boutique<\/p>\n

Hairdressers
\nHair By Nadia & Team<\/p>\n

Arch & Hanging Log Decorations
\nGinger Moon Hire<\/p>\n

Bell Tent Hire
\nSunset Yurts<\/p>\n

Ice Cream Cart
\nScoopalicious<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What a lovely weekend Dayna and Gareth, and such gorgeous d\u00e9cor! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful wedding with us. Rachel x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have to say, Dayna and Gareth’s wedding is right up my street! As someone who is planning a wedding weekend, I couldn’t agree more with their advice to draw out the fun! I’m also loving their relaxed style and beautiful outdoor styling. Their celebrations took place on the 28th July 2018 at Stanford Farm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":249671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,48],"tags":[5305,5906,23,1461,6215,519],"class_list":["post-249619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-weddings","category-rustic-wedding","tag-bespoke-wedding-dress","tag-boho-wedding","tag-multicolour-wedding-ideas","tag-shropshire-wedding","tag-stanford-farm-wedding","tag-summer-wedding-ideas"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":249671,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/whimsical-cdn.wedissimo.com\/2019\/02\/Stanford-Farm-Wedding-Andy-Griffiths-Photography-52-300x200.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249619","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=249619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}