I simply cannot think of a better way to start the week than with this sweet, fun and vibrant summer wedding.
WWW readers Lauren and Nick chose to marry on Saturday 4th July 2015 at Southend Barns in West Sussex. They had a bright, fresh feel to their day with a colour popping yellow and pink colour scheme. They chose seasonal pretty blooms which included the loveliest Roses, Daisies and Peonies. Then there were the lemon bridesmaid dresses, matching ties for the boys and the most darling shade of nail varnish.
Smiles all day were thanks to the space hoppers, live band and delicious treats on hand. Lauren looked so very stunning in her short frock, perfect for twirling and showing off her glitter Charlotte Mills heels. Swoon.
So many thanks today go to Camilla Arnhold Photography for providing these divine images.
THE PROPOSAL | Nick surprised me by taking me to Berlin for my birthday in December 2013. He did it in a local restaurant after a few failed attempts that went completely over my head J. It was the best birthday I’ve ever had.
THE VISION | We wanted everyone to have fun at our wedding so every decision we made, we had that in mind. We love live music so a band was a must and that had to be one of the best decisions we made, it was brilliant. We decided early on to go for a yellow theme which was reflected in the dresses, ties, socks and flowers.
THE PLANNING PROCESS | It was fairly laid back, we had 18 months to plan the wedding which was a good amount of time because it meant we could take breaks when we needed to. We booked the venue in the first month. The photographer came soon after and then it was quite relaxed really until it got a bit crazy in the last 3 months with attention to detail being key.
THE VENUE | We knew we wanted to get married in a barn or somewhere similar. Southend Barns was the first venue we looked at and it was love at first sight. It summed Nick and me up perfectly, I like the old and Nick likes the new so a converted barn was perfect for us. Plus it had a fire pit for toasting marshmallows. What more could you want?! It was decorated beautifully and the lawn in the middle of the barns was perfect for space hopper races, boules and jenga. The staff were incredible, both in the build up and on the day. Nothing was too much trouble. And the bridal suite is amazing, we didn’t want to leave!
THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | My dress and hairband were from The Ozone in Brighton, my shoes were from Fur Coat No Knickers (brilliant boutique near London Bridge) and Nick bought me diamond earrings as a wedding present. They were from the same shop we bought our wedding rings so it was a really nice touch.
FINDING THE DRESS | I went to a few shops before going to The Ozone. I had a dress in mind which was the complete opposite to the one I chose! My best friend chose the dress for me to try on as I hadn’t tried any short dresses. I never thought I’d wear a short dress but I put it on and completely fell in love with it. It sounds like a cliché but I really did feel like a princess. It was such a fun dress and the length meant I could wear amazing shoes which would be seen, dance to my heart’s content, and bounce around on a space hopper. Any bride’s dream right!
GROOM’S ATTIRE | Nick and his groomsmen hired their blue suits from The Ozone and wore them with yellow ties from an Australian website called OTAA. As a wedding present to Nick, I bought him personalised cufflinks from Not On The High Street. One had a map of Berlin, and the other, a map of Chichester.
THE READINGS & MUSIC | I walked down the aisle to My Girl by The Temptations. We love the song and it’s so happy, it got the day off to a really nice start. Our friends Stef and James did a reading each. Stef read I will be here by Steven Chapman and James read A Wedding Message by Amanda Bradley. They were both lovely and I felt quite emotional watching them up there. We walked back down the aisle to Ho Hey by The Lumineers. Our first dance was to a version of Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher by James Bay. My cousin is in a band so they played at the reception. The Lowdown Band are absolutely brilliant and we didn’t leave the dance floor. We had possibly the most organised dance off I’ve ever seen and that memory will stay with us for a very long time!
BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | I had my best friend, Laurz and my 2 younger sisters, Sophie and Jess. They all looked absolutely beautiful in their yellow jacquard dresses from Closet and navy shoes from Office. Laurz did their hair which looked amazing and it was a combined effort from the two of us for the make-up. I went for a bridal make-up trial at Bobbi Brown and I can’t praise them enough for how helpful they were!
THE FLOWERS | Flowers were really important to us. We found Caroline Oleron through a friend of a friend. She is truly one of the nicest people we’ve ever met. She has a beautiful cutting garden where she specialises in seasonal flowers. From our first meeting where we spoke about what we were looking for, Caroline was on our wavelength. We opted for yellows, pinks and generally happy colours. The only specification we had was to include sweet peas as my grandparents couldn’t make it to the wedding and they’re famous for growing them. When I first saw the bouquets, they were the first tears of the day. They were absolutely perfect and more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. The button holes were brilliantly rustic, the pew ends so colourful and Caroline even made our flower girl a wand out of bamboo. I decorated various sized jars with twine for the tables which were filled with bright bunches of flowers.
THE CAKE | My maid of honour’s mum, Mary Street, kindly agreed to make our cake. We chose a rustic looking cake made up of three Victoria sponges with berries around each layer. It tasted as delicious as it looked.
YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | There aren’t enough words to describe Camilla Arnhold, our incredible photographer. Not only is she an amazing photographer who captured our day so perfectly, but she’s the loveliest person. We clicked with her straight away, from when we did an engagement shoot on West Wittering Beach. On the wedding day, she made us feel so relaxed and at ease. We absolutely love the photos taken and I’d rave about Camilla to anyone who will listen.
THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | We wanted everyone to have a fun day. One of the first things we bought was the space hoppers. Those, along with jenga and boules made for an active lawn! We became chalkboard obsessed and my sister Sophie and I designed lots which were dotted around the venue. Our personal favourite was the Dancefloor Rules that every wedding should have. On the tables, we had photo props, an I spy game and disposable cameras. Our table names were named after places we’d been to and I used stand up chalkboards to identify each table. I found a cool company at a vintage wedding fair called Art Cuts. We bought wooden bunting and heart confetti for the tables from them. The favours were a joint effort from the Mum’s. The boys got a spicy tomato chutney and the girls got a raspberry jam. We spent an afternoon adding labels and material lids to almost 100 jars. Huge team effort! Outside we had a bench which The Wood Store in Brighton made for us. This was for people to write messages on and will be going in our garden as a reminder of the day. Cut out paper bunting was hung in the ceremony barn and there was various bunting hung around the venue, wherever we could find a space. Our friend Roz made our table plan using an old wooden crate, keeping with the rustic theme. My Mum was in charge of the sweet table which was filled with old fashioned sweets and went down a treat!
THE HONEYMOON | We went to Mykonos for a week which was our ‘half-moon’ as Nick ended up calling it. It was amazing but our proper honeymoon is 3 weeks in South America in February which we can’t wait for.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS | It has to be the fireworks that Nick organised as a surprise. They were amazing and topped off the most perfect day. It was a complete shock, after the sparkler walk through that we did. For me, another memorable moment was 5 minutes before I was due to walk down the aisle. Our flower girl Lydia was getting a bit tearful so to distract her, my bridesmaids and I danced to Taylor Swift Shake it Off whilst the guests were in the ceremony room next door. It was brilliant. We were in our dresses and I couldn’t imagine a better start to the day.
ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | The day flies by so enjoy every minute. It’s easier said than done but try not to get too stressed in the planning stages. It’s all part of the fun. Get friends and family to help where they can. It eases the load and everyone likes to be involved. Choosing the right photographer is so important. Camilla made our day and the photos she took will stay with us forever.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |
Venue | Southend Barns
Catering | Field & Fork
Photographer | Camilla Parry
Wedding dress & accessories | The Ozone
Wedding shoes | Fur Coat No Knickers
Flowers | Caroline Oleron
Fireworks | Selstar Fireworks
Band | The Lowdown Band
Groom and groomsmen suits | The Ozone
Ties | OTAA
Chalkboards | Chalkboards UK
Photo props | ebay
Flower jars | Compak
Wooden bunting and table confetti | Artcuts
Table decorations | The Wedding Of My Dreams
Bunting | Ginger Ray
Guest bench | The Wood Store
Utterly perfect.
Thanks so very much to Lauren and Nick for sharing their amazing nuptials with us xo Lou
