Rona and Alex's Clean and Modern Essex Barn Wedding by Emis Weddings

Hello you lovely people and how are you this fine, sunny Thursday? Isn’t this sunshine just glorious! It has come just at the right time hasn’t it, making this whole self isolation/lock down situation so much more bearable! Today I am taking you to Colchester in Essex for the modern, stripped back wedding of Rona and Alex. This stylish couple wanted a clean, simple look with little fuss. They did this by using natural wood, greenery and white lighting to give a clean, minimalist look. Houchins Wedding Venue is just gorgeous giving them both a barn wedding and a marquee one all in one package. Big thanks to Emis Weddings for the lovely photos.

A little cliché, but it really was the happiest day of our lives! I loved having all our closest friends and family there to celebrate the day with us!

Rona and Alex were married on 2^nd Aug 2019 at Houchins Wedding Venue in Essex. ‘We loved Houchins as soon as we saw it. It has a relaxed but modern feel. It was important to us that the day had good natural flow and Houchins has a fantastic setup. The outdoor space, including the surrounding fields, are beautiful. We had 60-70 guests. It didn’t take us too long to plan. There are so many great suppliers out there, and I had a few friends who recommended florists, makeup, hair and table décor. All that was left was to pick a dress and style the day! I think it took us about 4 months.’

How did you choose your photographer?
Our photographer, Emis stayed from start to finish. He was friend referral. He was unobtrusive, relaxed but directive when he needed to be, and integrated well with the wedding congregation. He managed to capture some amazing moments and the photos are so beautiful.

The dress and suit
My wedding dress was Willowby by Watters via the bridal boutique Halo & Wren. I loved the idea of separates and was drawn to the top immediately. My shoes were Sophia Webster, but generally my accessories were minimal. Emma Dallimore did the hair and make up for the whole bridal party. We all had fairly natural and relaxed styles. My bridesmaid dresses were a dusky grey colour with a beaded overlay and were one of the first purchases I made after I spotted them on ASOS. The groom wore a tailored linen suit from Mark and Spencers and the Groomsmen all wore silk printed Hermès ties.

Theme or colour scheme
We kept the palette for the décor quite restricted. We wanted to keep it looking clean and modern so used natural wood, greenery, white lighting and monochromatic stationary. The interior of the venue, a converted barn, is already stunning so we didn’t feel it was necessary to add too much.

Flowers
Our florist was Yellie from Love Flowers, a beautiful shop in Hertford. We opted for a variety of greeneries with a wild and textural feel. We were keen to include Eucalyptus as a nod to the Groom’s Australian heritage.

Food
Our caterers were Bouquet Garni, one of Houchins’ recommended suppliers. We had a 3 course wedding breakfast, which included the best cheesecake of all time. In the evening we had a BBQ. We selected all our wines ourselves, road tripping over to France to collect

Entertainment
We both have a great love for live music and our band’s rendition of Chop Suey by System of a Down as our last dance was definitely a stand out moment!

Personal touches
I spent a few long nights making handmade labels for table arrangements, signs, and ribbons

Special moments
We loved the Band!!

Advice for other couples
I think my advice to couples would be to focus more energy on the aspects of the wedding that will create real fun on the day, rather than obsessing too much about all of the tiny aesthetic details – if you’ve chosen good suppliers everything will come together in the end. I would also say choose a venue with staff you trust (and like) as they really make a difference on the day.

Biggest surprise
When Alex cried as I walked down the aisle. I really wasn’t expecting that, and it was so sweet