{"id":291980,"date":"2021-03-15T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T07:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=291980"},"modified":"2024-10-25T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T15:00:00","slug":"cider-barn-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/cider-barn-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Folky Witchy & Magical Autumn Barn Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cider<\/p>\n

Oh what a delight it is to be sharing WWW followers Laura and Aaron’s supremely gorgeous The Cider Barn<\/a> wedding held on the 26th<\/sup> October 2019 in Herefordshire<\/a>. I love<\/em> autumn weddings<\/a>. They are so cosy and magical, especially with all the love and DIY that Laura and Aaron poured into their day.<\/p>\n

They went for a folky, witchy vibe and it was awesome. Let me list just some of the things I adore about their day. There were hot drinks, pumpkins, archery, owls, live music, smoke bombs, felt buttonholes, autumnal flowers, a handfasting ceremony and much much more.<\/p>\n

Laura and Aaron looked totally gorgeous in their outfits and the rain really didn’t dampen any spirits. I urge you to read their advice today about not stressing about the weather, it really is so true.<\/p>\n

A massive thank you to Electric Blue Photos and Film<\/a> for sharing these incredible captures of a super happy and love filled celebration.<\/p>\n

\"Cider
\n\n\"Ceremony \"Typewriter \"Table<\/p>\n

Cider Barn Wedding<\/h2>\n

The Proposal<\/h3>\n

Aaron proposed to me in a rowing boat on the River Esk in Ruswarp, near Whitby. We had our first flat together in Whitby after graduating from uni and though we don\u2019t live there any more, it remains a very special place to us. He gave me a beautiful tree branch engagement ring with a emerald stone, after the name of the first song I ever wrote for him which was called \u201cEmerald Green\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Vision<\/h3>\n

From the outset, we both knew that we wanted a folky autumnal wedding with lots of musical elements and yummy food. We didn\u2019t fancy having a really big wedding (we had 50 guests in the end) and we wanted to celebrate all the things we love and that have shaped our relationship over the years. We just wanted the whole day to be super cosy and magical and completely our own.<\/p>\n

The Planning Process<\/h3>\n

We spent a loooooong time looking for a venue that wouldn\u2019t blow the budget and that took about a year but after booking the venue, we planned the whole thing in 10 months. As we did a lot of stuff DIY, I did struggle with the sheer amount of stuff we had to do so my advice to anyone doing a DIY wedding<\/a> is to start as early as possible and get as much help as you can.<\/p>\n

The best thing we did was to plan for rain. Our original plan was to have the ceremony outdoors in the orchard at our venue but we knew that in October this was a bit risky. However, we hadn\u2019t quite foreseen the biblical downpour that occurred on our wedding day… The night before and morning of our wedding, north Herefordshire had experienced the most torrential rain and everywhere around the venue had flooded.<\/p>\n

It was wayyy too wet and muddy for us to have our orchard ceremony, but luckily we\u2019d hired an open sided marquee to go on terrace on the side of the barn as our wet weather ceremony alternative. It was the wisest thing we could have done and it meant that we could all still enjoy the beautiful outdoor surroundings without getting completely drenched.<\/p>\n

Have you read our ultimate wedding checklist<\/a>? Wedding planning sorted!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Cider \"Dress<\/p>\n

Budget<\/h3>\n

I think we spent \u00a311,000 in the end. It was a mix of our own savings and help from family. We did as much as we could ourselves, did a lot of shopping around and opted for the cheaper options on most things to help keep the cost down.<\/p>\n

The Venue<\/h3>\n

Our venue was The Cider Barn in Pembridge, Herefordshire. We\u2019d looked at a few venues before deciding on the amazing Cider Barn. On our first visit there, were just so blown away by the beautiful barn and surroundings, Pauline\u2019s attention to detail and her \u201cwe can do pretty much anything<\/em>\u201d attitude. We\u2019d been really put off by venues that wanted to steer us into a set package and timetable. We didn\u2019t want the whole \u201cchampagne toast and chair covers\u201d sort of do. It just wasn\u2019t us.<\/p>\n

The Cider Barn were so open to all our crazy ideas and couldn\u2019t have been more helpful in bringing our vision to life. As the venue is primarily a restaurant, the food is absolutely fantastic. We knew we wanted cosy comfort food so we went with tagine and chocolate brownies. The Cider Barn looked so beautiful on the day but the thing that really made it was the staff. They are so lovely and everyone worked so hard to bring it all together.<\/p>\n

\"Order \"Rainy<\/p>\n

Your Outfits & Accessories<\/h3>\n

Aaron chose a lovely folky brown herringbone tweed suit from Moss Bros. He had it tailor made and it was so worth the extra cost because it fitted so perfectly! He got some brown lace up boots from Next (though ended up wearing his beloved wellies for most of the day!). He had a dark green knitted tie and a buttonhole of felt leaves, acorns and feathers, handmade by my sister. I bought Aaron some cat cufflinks for his wedding present from Hello Sunshine \u2013 I couldn\u2019t believe it when I found a pair that had one black cat and one tabby to match our Dexter and Luna!<\/p>\n

I bought my dress on a bit of a whim on Etsy. It\u2019s by an amazing Russian dress designer, Milamira. It was a bit nerve-wracking buying a dress online, but it was my dream dress and was an absolute bargain so I just went for it! I had a dark green ribbon around the middle to match Aaron\u2019s tie. I got my purple tights from WhiteStuff (they were brill \u2013 didn\u2019t fall down all day) and my brown lace up boots from FatFace. I didn\u2019t buy my wellies especially \u2013 I just wore my black Hunters. I knew I was going to be cold so I bought a blanket in a brown herringbone to match Aaron\u2019s suit.<\/p>\n

Beauty<\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t wear make up normally, so I was a bit nervous about wearing it on the day and not looking like myself. My sister did an amazing job of my make up for me and kept it really minimal so I still looked like me.<\/p>\n

For our hair, I hired the amaaaaazing October Hair. She is literally the loveliest person you could ever meet and gave me the wedding hair of my dreams. She also helped to keep me calm when I was getting panicky about the flooding. She\u2019s so talented at what she does and is just a lovely person to have around on the morning of your wedding. My sister hand made the most incredible fabric leaves and acorns which October pinned around the back, and I had coloured ribbons hanging down from big braid at the back.<\/p>\n

\"Cider \"Cider\"Cider \"Cider\"Cider<\/p>\n

The Readings & Music<\/h3>\n

We knew from the outset that we wanted a handfasting<\/a> ceremony. I\u2019m fascinated by Celtic traditions and the idea of being joined in this ancient tradition felt so special and right for us and our relationship. We didn\u2019t want a church ceremony Aaron isn\u2019t religious and I knew I wanted to be married outside but still be able to include some Christian elements. In the end we decided to have our dear friend Izzy lead us in a non-legally binding ceremony so we weren\u2019t restricted by any rules or restrictions. This way, we could combine Christian elements and the handfasting in the way we wanted. It was so special having a friend lead the ceremony and it made it an even more moving and special experience.<\/p>\n

Aaron gave me free reign when it came to the readings, so I chose two poems that are really special to me and always make me think of Aaron, the special times we\u2019ve spent together, and our love of the beautiful countryside. The first was an extract from \u201cWestlin\u2019 Winds\u201d by Robert Burns, read by my wonderful friend Imogen, and the second was \u201cSpringtime\u201d by our favourite singer Eva Cassidy, read by Izzy who also led our ceremony.<\/p>\n

Music is a massive part of our relationship. We bonded over our love for music when we met in our first term of Uni and we perform together as a folk duo. It was so important to us to have all our favourite songs and artists as part of the wedding, so we had some special songs during the ceremony and a massive playlist throughout the whole afternoon reception.<\/p>\n

I walked down the aisle to one of my favourite songs of all time, \u201cDubhdara\u201d by Cara Dillon, and during the ceremony everybody sang the hymn \u201cBe Still\u201d. Aaron and I performed a song together after the speeches and for our first dance we had \u201cConstellations\u201d by Jack Johnson. In the evening we had the most incredible Irish folk band, Miracle Cure. We love Irish music and couldn\u2019t have hoped for a more amazing band \u2013 they were incredible and everybody was dancing!<\/p>\n

Check out our wedding readings<\/a> and first dance song<\/a> ideas too.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Cider \"Cider<\/p>\n

The Flowers<\/h3>\n

I found Jo of Issy and Bella on Instagram, and fell in love with her designs! She is the most magical lady and I love how she forages for things to include in her bouquets. I asked her to make me an autumnal woodland fairy bouquet and she did just that. It had all the autumn-y colours that I love along with berries and feathers. I wish I could have kept it forever. I had ribbons hanging from the bouquet along with a locket of my Gramps that Aaron gave me the day before the wedding.<\/p>\n

For inside the venue we just bought carnations, which are my favourite flowers, dried poppy seed heads from our garden and ivy that we foraged the day before.<\/p>\n

The Cake<\/h3>\n

Sarah of Applebox Cakes made our cake for us and it was everything we could have hoped for and more. It was woodland themed with oak leaves, acorns and ivy winding their way up three slices of wood with our names carved in the top tier and a pied wagtail (for Aaron) and a robin (for me) sat on the top. We had three different flavours \u2013 red velvet, white chocolate and raspberry and carrot. We couldn\u2019t recommend Sarah more \u2013 she was amazing throughout the whole process and her attention to detail was just phenomenal, not to mention the cake was out-of-this-world delicious!!!<\/p>\n

\"Place \"Centrepiece \"Decor \"Photo<\/p>\n

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

We did all the decorations DIY. We tried to save money by using lots of things that we already owned, like my old typewriter. It wasn\u2019t just about saving money though \u2013 it was important to us to include all the things that we hold dear. The main theme was folky autumnal woodland, so we had lots of autumn colours, autumn leaves, pumpkins, apples, wicker stars, toadstools, moss and lanterns.<\/p>\n

We celebrated Aaron\u2019s love for birds with the table names and we had photos of our cats all around the venue. I love Victorian vintage so we had elements of this as well, with old postcards from Whitby, lace table cloths, black candlesticks and vintage bird illustrations. My wonderful friend Ginny did all the gorgeous hand lettering on the signs around the venue, which we\u2019d made from recycled palettes that we picked up for free. Aaron and I made the handfasting cords ourselves in the colours of the wedding.<\/p>\n

My favourite element was the slice of silver birch that Aaron had spent a year hand-carving with our initials, leaves and Celtic knots. We have it sat on our mantelpiece now as a precious memento from the day.<\/p>\n

To save us the time of carving loads of pumpkins, we asked our guests to each bring a carved pumpkin with them to be judged by us in the evening. They all did such a fab job and they looked so pretty lit up at night time!<\/p>\n

After the ceremony we had hot cider and hot chocolate to warm everybody up! During the reception we surprised our guests by having some birds of prey and archery in the field. Both things were such a hit with our guests and it was so fun getting to shoot a bow and arrow on our wedding day! I love the photos that Electric Blue captured of the birds and Mike of Hilltop Birds of Prey was absolutely amazing and so engaging and I would recommend him to everyone.<\/p>\n

\"Centrepiece \"Centrepiece \"VW \"VW<\/p>\n

Your Photographer<\/h3>\n

I spent months searching for a photographer. It was incredibly hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I couldn\u2019t shoot my own wedding! But as soon as I found Electric Blue, I knew she was the one. Her photo skills are insane, and her editing style is so colourful but with a slightly darker vibe, which I knew would be perfect for our witchy autumnal wedding! Charlotte was incredible on the day \u2013 she battled through the floods to get to us and embraced the awful weather to deliver the most incredible and creative photos. Her second shooter Katy was a candid ninja and together they captured soooo many precious moments and beautiful details. The gallery is more beautiful than I could have imagined and we are so, so happy with our photos.<\/p>\n

\"Cider \"Birds \"Ceremony \"Archery \"Green \"Cider \"Cider<\/p>\n

Groomsmen<\/h3>\n

We hired the groomsmen\u2019s suits from Vintage Suit Hire. The service was great and they were super accommodating! We went for a lighter brown tweed than Aaron\u2019s so he would stand out, but they complimented each other so nicely! The groomsmen also had green knitted ties and handmade buttonholes.<\/p>\n

Bridesmaids<\/h3>\n

I had just one bridesmaid \u2013 my big sister, Sarah. I knew I was going to be anxious on the morning of the wedding so I didn\u2019t want lots of people around me. I know lots of brides love having a tribe around them but for me, I just wanted my sister. For Sarah I chose a dark green dress that I found on ASOS, which she paired with purple tights and ballerina pumps. She also had a matching herringbone blanket and some of the tiny oak leaves in her hair. She looked like a beautiful woodland fairy queen! We also had four \u201cApple Tree Elves\u201d, which were our niece and three nephews. They looked soooo adorable walking down the aisle with their pixie bonnets and star wands! Apart from the bonnets, which were from Etsy, we got all of their super cute autumn-y outfits from Sainsburys!<\/p>\n

\"Groom \"Cider \"Cider \"Cider \"Cider \"Cider \"Cider \"Groom \"Dress \"Bouquet \"Groom \"Smoke \"Smoke \"Cider \"Purple \"Cat \"Confetti \"Bride \"Dress \"Cider \"Sparklers \"Sparklers\"Pumpkins<\/p>\n

The Honeymoon<\/h3>\n

We headed down to Cornwall for a minimoon the day after the wedding. Aaron and I met when we were at University in Falmouth, so it seemed like the obvious place to spend some days together after the wedding. We stayed in the cosiest little cottage in Gunwalloe. In keeping with the rest of the wedding, it rained the entire time we were there, but it didn\u2019t really matter. Cornwall is magical whatever the weather.<\/p>\n

As our handfasting ceremony wasn\u2019t legally binding, we got officially married while we were in Cornwall at Helston Registry Office with just two witnesses. Afterwards, we visited the University campus where we met all those years ago and celebrated with some big-ass burritos in Falmouth.<\/p>\n

Memorable Moments<\/h3>\n

My journey to the wedding was a pretty memorable one\u2026 we\u2019d hired a VW campervan to transport me, my sister and my dad to the Cider Barn. Turns out that torrential rain and 1950s automobiles don\u2019t mix too well. We ended up breaking down in the middle of a flooded country lane and were stranded until the loveliest couple (shout out Lisa and Guy!) passed by in their 4×4. They towed us out and drove us the rest of the way. It wasn\u2019t how I was expecting to arrive at my wedding but looking back now, it has become one of my favourite memories from the day!<\/p>\n

Another one of my absolute favourite memories from the day was when my friend Faith finally arrived after battling through floods all day to get to the wedding. It meant everything to have her there and seeing her face come through the door was the best feeling ever.<\/p>\n

There was also the moment that our friend Jack drove into the orchard by mistake, got stuck in the mud and had to be towed out by a tractor\u2026<\/p>\n

Advice For Other Couples<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s too easy to say \u201cdon\u2019t worry about rain\u201d, but I\u2019ve shot so many rainy weddings myself and I still worried about rain. But like everyone says, on the day it didn\u2019t matter in the slightest. We had the absolute best time ever, but I know that so many people do worry about rain on their wedding day. My best advice would be to be prepared and plan for rain, especially if you\u2019re having an outdoor ceremony. Be sure to get yourselves some wellies and umbrellas too! And if the day comes and it\u2019s raining, just get out there, get your dress muddy and embrace it!<\/p>\n

Other than planning for rain, I\u2019d also like to encourage other couples to make your wedding all about you, not Pinterest. Celebrate the things that have made you the people you are and shaped the memories that you share together. Definitely have pumpkins. Wear ribbons in your hair. And most importantly, the day will fly by so make sure you breathe in every beautiful, fleeting moment and hold onto it with all your might.<\/p>\n

\"Chocolate\"Cider<\/p>\n

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

Photography
\nElectric Blue Photos and Film<\/a><\/p>\n

Second Shooter
\nKate Jackson Photography<\/a><\/p>\n

Venue
\nThe Cider Barn<\/a><\/p>\n

Cake
\nApplebox Cake Studio<\/a><\/p>\n

Flowers
\nIssy & Bella Floral Design<\/a><\/p>\n

Hair
\nOctober Hair<\/a><\/p>\n

Band
\nMiracle Cure<\/a><\/p>\n

Dress
\nAgnia by MilaMira<\/a><\/p>\n

Dress Alterations
\nFiner Detail<\/a><\/p>\n

Blanket Wrap
\nTartan Blanket Co.<\/a><\/p>\n

Bridesmaid Dress
\nASOS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Aaron\u2019s Suit
\nMoss Bros<\/a><\/p>\n

Aaron\u2019s Wellies
\nAigle<\/a><\/p>\n

Aaron\u2019s Cufflinks
\nHello Sunshine<\/p>\n

Groomsmen\u2019s Suits
\nThe Vintage Suit Hire Company<\/p>\n

Hair Accessories & Buttonholes
\nsarah_everbloom<\/a><\/p>\n

Birds of Prey
\nHilltop Birds of Prey<\/p>\n

Archery
\nReally Rural<\/p>\n

Fire Pits & Festival Flags
\nTents 4 Elements<\/a><\/p>\n

Confetti
\nDollz<\/a><\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s Ring
\nRUST<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Well wasn’t that just the loveliest wedding at Cider Barn? So cosy and romantic.<\/p>\n

Laura and Aaron thank you so much for sharing your epic celebrations with us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laura and Aaron’s supremely gorgeous Cider Barn real wedding in Herefordshire. Autumnal, folky and witchy vibes with lots of DIY d\u00e9cor and LOVE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":292011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[5910,1937,855,5774,958,3599],"class_list":["post-291980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diy-wedding","category-real-weddings","tag-autumn-wedding","tag-handfasting-wedding","tag-herefordshire-wedding","tag-our-readers","tag-rainy-wedding","tag-smoke-bomb-wedding"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":292011,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/whimsical-cdn.wedissimo.com\/2021\/02\/Cider-Barn-Wedding-Electric-Blue-Photos-31-300x200.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291980","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}