Kim and Lewis wanted all their friends and family to be with them to celebrate their special day. Their summer wedding married classically elegant and gorgeously rustic touches to create a wedding that was memorable and beautiful in equal measure.

The Venue

When it came to organising their big day, Kim and Lewis kept four words in mind right throughout the planning process – friendly, warm, loving and happy. The first step towards creating the wedding they wanted was to find the perfect venue and Clock Barn was the natural choice:

“We instantly fell in love with the warm and cosy barn feel. We loved the long drive down to the barn as you feel so far away from the hustle and bustle of normal life. Clock Barn was a little piece of heaven, just for us and our friends and family to enjoy.” – Kim

The Décor

With the venue confirmed, Kim and Lewis set about deciding on their decorations. They chose a sophisticated, shabby chic theme with a definite country wedding theme and the colour scheme reflected this too:

“We chose pastels to keep with the country, shabby chic theme and these tones also suited the barn very nicely. We didn’t stick rigidly to certain tones and my bridesmaids wore lilac because that’s my favourite colour.” – Kim

Like so many brides and grooms, Kim indulged with some wedding craft and worked with her mum to create some very personal touches:

“My mum and I made all the table decorations and the seating plan and tables numbers. We also used flowers to decorate and these came straight from Morrisons! I love gypsophilia as it’s so versatile and last for ages – five months after our wedding, we still had some! We mixed the gypsophilia with a range of other different flowers, including pretty germinis.” – Kim

The Outfits

Kim wore a fabulous Justin Alexander gown that she found in Elderberry Brides, Basingstoke:

“As soon as I put it on, it fitted perfectly. I was able to wear it with ease and felt so comfortable in it. Plus, with a maiden name of ‘Sparkes’ and a nickname of ‘Sparkles’, my dress couldn’t be anything but subtly sparkling all over!” – Kim

The finishing touches to Kim’s outfit were shoes featuring more sparkles and butterflies and her nanna’s pearls and earrings.

Lewis wore a fabulous three-piece suit from Moss Bros and shoes from Next while the bridesmaids wore multiway dresses from Debenhams. While Kim chose the colour, her maids were free to decide which way they wanted to wear their bridesmaid dresses.

The Wedding

The wedding day itself was absolutely everything Kim and Lewis hoped it would be. After an emotional ceremony at Clock Barn, the couple and their guests celebrated with a drinks reception before everyone took their seats for the wedding breakfast.

“We choose our food after the Tasting Event and opted for a pork spring roll starter followed by steak and then a trio of desserts – lemon tart, shortbread with raspberries and chocolate brownies.” – Kim

Kim and Lewis worked with DJ Chris Burford and loved his service. Chris also brought along a photobooth and photographer and that was a big hit with guests. As a teacher, Kim enlisted the help of one of her colleagues to make her first dance extra special:

“Our first dance was choreographed by the dance teacher at my school. We danced to Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’ and this was before everyone knew the song so it was extra special. Everyone loved it and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.” – Kim

During the evening, The Great Wedding Bake-Off took place – lots of guests brought their showstopper cakes with them to the wedding and then everyone could enjoy the bakes during the evening. Kim and Lewis also arranged a popcorn machine and sweetie table so guests were well looked after all evening long.

Final Thoughts

“It’s impossible to choose my favourite moment from the day, there are so many to pick from. There was the ceremony, the confetti, the drinks and dinner, the speeches, the photobooth and the first dance. I also loved cutting the cake and dancing all evening at Clock Barn!” – Kim

“Our wedding was perfect and very, very ‘us’. I’d say to anyone planning a wedding – be yourself and don’t worry about making it too fancy. It was really enjoyable making the decorations ourselves and not stressful at all.” – Kim

Images courtesy of Blue Lily Weddings