Sophie and David's Pretty Pastel Country Barn Wedding in Cheshire by Nicola Thompson

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was pretty quiet for a change, which was lovely. I enjoyed the Glastonbury coverage on the TV and radio, a children’s birthday party with Dexter and getting a few jobs done round the house and general chilling out with the family, What about you?
We are starting the week with this gorgeous Barn wedding in Cheshire from the very lovely Nicola Thompson. Nicola is a regular to the blog and I just adore her work, and this wedding is no exception. Sophie and David created a pretty pastel barn wedding, with lots of country decoration and super cute vintage touches. The food and the flowers all look amazing, as do Sophie and David.

The best day of our lives – more special as we got to spend it with family and friends. It made us realise how lucky we are to have found each other and have such a supportive network of close family and friends.

Pretty Pastel Country Barn Wedding in Cheshire by Nicola Thompson

Sophie and David were married on the 2nd July 2016 in a ceremony at St. Matthews Church, Stretton, followed by a reception at Owen House Wedding Barn, Mobberley in Cheshire. ‘We have always wanted to get married at a church and this was local to us. For the reception, the venue offered something different – it was very rural and the owners were really helpful and accommodating. I just loved the feel of the barn. We had 95 guests in the day, 160 at night, and the wedding took 2 years to plan.’

How they met
We met at work and have been together for 5 and a half years.

The Proposal
David proposed on my Master’s graduation day – I was getting ready for the ceremony at our home which we had bought and moved into 6 months earlier and when I finishing off getting ready he popped the question in our dining room – I was very surprised as my mind was on other things and didn’t expect it to happen. He said that he didn’t want my graduation photos to show we were not engaged! Our home has always been very special to us and it was just the perfect proposal!

How did you allocate your budget?
The main bulk of the budget went on the venue, drinks and food. Then the dress and suit as we both wanted to be able to have what we wanted.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
Saved on small things like the centerpieces, stationary, decorations – where we made / sorted them ourselves.

Why did you choose your photographer?
I had seen Nicola’s work as my friend had done a shoot with her that year – I loved how natural the photos were and how she captured great photos. She seemed to capture the happiness between couples!

The Dress
Edna dress by La Sposa by Pronovias. Accessories were from Knutsford Wedding Gallery and shoes were from Marks and Spencer.

The Suit and Bridesmaids
The suit was by Richard Smith Bespoke – a bespoke tailor based in Manchester – he was very good and David was really pleased with the results. We were that impressed my father had his suit made by him as well.
The bridesmaid dresses were by Dessy – an American company – all in pale blue with a tulle overlay and embroided with flowers.

Theme or Colour Scheme
I love pastel colours so it was based around these shades and also a natural, country theme.

Flowers
We had spring flowers in pastel colours – gypsy, lavender and just a meadow theme for the centre pieces and barn dressing and more traditional for the church. David’s aunty did the bouquets and church flowers which was a nice touch. Very personal to my taste and our families.

Decoration
Decorations were country style, vintage. We had jam jars, wooden blocks, vintage vases, tealights.

Food
Arrival canapes; fish and chips, roast beef Yorkshire pudding, chicken and chorizo crostini.
Wedding breakfast; Antipasto slate with pate, cured meats, camembert, breads. Shin of beef with roast veg and colcannon mash. Trio of desserts – lemon tart, crème Brule and chocolate brownie.
Evening buffet; pulled pork baps and wedges.

Wedding Cake
The wedding cake was composed of three individual cakes all made by my mother – a Victoria sponge, chocolate cake and fruit cake. These were decorated by a local cake decorator.

Entertainment
We had “The Beard Band” and a DJ – Gary Jones.

Stationery
The stationary was designed by myself with the assistance of a friend and all printed at a local print shop.

Personal Touches
We did a lot of the wedding ourselves – stationary, favours – which were individual bottles of alcohol for the adults and millions for the children, each had a luggage tag on with the date of the wedding and a heart showing our initials – again designed by myself.
I made personalised bunting saying “Mr and Mrs Williams” out of material for the backdrop behind the top table.
I designed and made the Order of Service booklets for the church and handpicked the centre pieces and other finishing’s. It was a very personal wedding!

Special Moments or Highlights
Special moment was just after the ceremony when we both got 5 minutes to be alone and take it all in and give ourselves a well done for getting through the service. Highlights were the food, the company and the speeches!

Advice for Other couples
Just relax and try and take it all in. It goes very fast – so try and grab a moment for the both of you to enjoy what the fact your married.

Biggest Surprise
The speech – for my hen do I had a blow up doll with David’s face stuck on it. This made a re-appearance during the groom’s speech which was very funny and un-expected.