Tim and Laura's Beautiful Barn Wedding in The Cotswolds by Steve Fuller

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a lovely weekend. I have the day off today, I’ll be back at my desk later on this evening but till then I am enjoying the last few hours of my Spa experience at Ragdale Hall, and then it’s back to Sheffield to pick up Dexter from nursery. I have the most gorgeous wedding for you today, courtesy of the very talented Steve Fuller. Tim and Laura chose Cripps Barn in the beautiful Cotswolds for their day and they couldn’t have been happier with the results. The rustic, yet elegant location gave them the freedom to create the wedding they wanted. Mixing bright accents of pink with rustic detailing this wedding is an absolute beauty from beginning to end. I know you are going to love it.

The wedding was perfect for us, relaxed, rustic and great fun! A beautiful setting to enjoy good food and wine with our amazing family and friends

Tim and Laura's Beautiful Barn Wedding in The Cotswolds by Steve Fuller

Tim and Laura were married on the 3^rd July 2016 at Cripps Barn, Bibury, Cotswolds. ‘We loved the barn and outdoor space which allowed you to marry and eat outside (neither of which we did in the end!) but we did have a lovely summer evening with lanterns, bonfires, marshmallows and sparklers. The rotisserie and BBQ food options also sounded great, and we thought our friends and family would enjoy the beautiful Cotswolds. We had 115 guests and booked the venue 12 months in advance’.

How they met
We met in our early 20s and had a mutual group of friends. However it wasn’t until Laura moved down the road from Tim that he asked her out on a tour of the local area, signing off his email as ‘Qualified Kennington Tour Operator’. That was nearly 6 years ago and we haven’t looked back since.

The proposal
Tim planned a weekend away at the Pig near Bath, and organised for a bell tent to be pitched, with picnic basket and champers, in a wood by a lake. Unfortunately it had rained the entire weekend so his plans to do it had been postponed until the last morning when we were both hung over, so we celebrated with a lot of coffee! The lovely couple who walked for nearly an hour carrying the tent and all its contents through the mud posted this on facebook.

How did you allocate your budget?
We splurged on our wedding rings and photos as we will enjoy these forever. We also wanted to look good! We saved by not having fancy cars and also printing some of the stationary ourselves.

Why did you choose your photographer?
We came across Steve’s website and absolutely loved his very natural documentary style photography. He is a genius at catching people’s emotions and using the natural light, sky and surroundings to take phenomenal shots.

The Dress
My dress was by Charlie Brear, shoes from Dune. I wore my Nana’s pearls and engagement ring and a gorgeous bracelet from my Mum.

The Suit
The bridesmaid dresses were from Coast (after a lot of shopping trips and deliberation!) The suits were from Jack Bunnys.

Theme or Colour Scheme
I always knew I wanted the bridesmaids to wear French grey, but also wanted some bright colours which were reflected in the flowers and bright pink napkins.

Flowers
We wanted colourful wildflowers and Beth Cox at Go Wild did an amazing job! The fireplace in the barn looked incredible as well as the hanging basket and the milk churns. She arranged the flowers on the table in recycled glass bottles which were perfect and the antique roses were particularly gorgeous.

Decoration
We added some hanging hearts in the trees and had lanterns and flares outside. Inside we had photos and flowers.

Food
We had chicken tarragon terrine and chutney toast to start, followed by BBQ whole lamb with chimichurri dressing and fruit crumble for pudding. In the evening Baz and Fred cooked up delicious pizzas which were served on wooden boards to guests.

Wedding Cake
We had cupcakes instead of a wedding cake, as we didn’t feel it necessary to cut a cake and I think they look and taste awesome. Tim made the wooden cupcake stand in his shed.

Entertainment
We had a friend sing ‘Make me feel your love’ and ‘Hold me’ in the Barn as we signed the registry, he was brilliant. He then led a group of friends and family playing a version of the Proclaimers 500 miles as everyone joined in with the lyrics. We had lawn games outside. In the evening we had an awesome band, as well as bonfires, sparklers and marshmallow toasting outside.

Stationery
The invitations were designed and printed by Norma and Dorothy.

Personal Touches
We personalised the favours and sparklers. We printed our own order of service with photo strip. We made a large directions sign with some of the places and distances our guests had travelled.

Highlights
The ceremony was very special. The sing song in the Barn was brilliant.

Advice for other couples
Plan a day that encompasses everything you both love and enjoy and ignore traditions that don’t matter to you. Relax on the day and take some time out to take it all in.

Biggest Surprise
Tim says that I turned up! The biggest surprise was that the sun came out!! We were very lucky after about 2 weeks of heavy showers. We deliberated a lot in the morning about still getting married outside (with the ushers driving to and from B&Q 45 minutes away, 3 times, to buy a cover for the damp grass as we kept changing our minds!) but then I was surprised how beautiful the Barn looked and had no regrets about getting married in there. Tim’s dad also said some lovely words at the beginning of the speeches which was a complete surprise.