Amy and Lee’s Rustic Style Boho Barn Wedding. By Alex Abbot

Todays wedding is an absolute beauty, with a bride that looks like Sienna Miller and the most amazing photography from Alex Abbot. I just love it and am so excited to share it with you today. Amy and Lee chose the beautiful Cripps Barn in the Cotswolds for their big day.  The beautiful barn venue served as a fantastic plan B when their plans of having an outdoor ceremony were dashed by the weather.  Amy looked amazing in a Boho style gown, no shoes and flowers in her hand, while Lee looked incredibly dashing in his black suit. What a gorgeous pair these two are I’m sure you will agree and what a beautiful wedding.

‘Bohemian woodland meets mid-summer nights dream! Simple and rustic.’

Amy and Lee were married on 10th August 2014, both the ceremony and the reception were held at Cripps Barn, the Cotswolds. ‘Our primary preference was to get married outdoors. We selected venues that had beautiful outdoor ceremony spots which had lovely back up plans incase it rained. It did happen to rain on our wedding morning, so we had the ceremony in the barn which was just as beautiful. We had 50 guests, we saw the venue a year prior, and slowly planned everything in between. ‘

How they met
We’ve been together for 4 and a half years. Lee was my boss when we first met and for the first few months we couldn’t stand each other. I wanted to quit and he wanted to sack me. We eventually realised the reason we clashed was because of how similar we are! From that moment it’s been great!

The proposal
Lee proposed on New Year’s Eve on our balcony which overlooks Sydney harbour bridge. We were watching the midnight fireworks when he proposed, and all the residents in the neighbouring balconies applauded and cheered!

How did you allocate the budget?
We had some very generous contributions from our families which helped out an awful lot. Because of this we could pretty much have everything we wanted, and more!

Why did you choose your photographer?
We attended Lee’s brother’s wedding last year and Alex Abbot photographed the day. It was one of the best days ever, and his photos really did it justice. We really warmed to his incredibly chilled out style and demeanour, and he was in no way obtrusive or demanding like some photographers can be. His creativity and eye for subtle shots was something we loved, so booked him soon after for our own wedding.

The Dress
My mother bought me a Nicole Miller gown which I had slightly altered. I ended up ordering some flat sandals from ASOS which arrived the day before the wedding, but I ended up barefoot all day. My mother-in-law bought me a beautiful silver Tiffany necklace with a tiny blue stone, and my mum bought me matching earrings. I also wore a grecian cuff on my upper arm which I bought from a jewellery maker called 88Links on Etsy

The suit and bridesmaids
Lee bought a slim-fit tuxedo from ASOS, nothing really formal. He had a classic black and white style with silver sleeve garters which gave it a vintage, timeless look. Lee and his brother also had the wedding date sewn into the inside of their jackets which was a nice, unique touch.
Bridesmaid dresses were from White Runway in Sydney. I was keen on a really relaxed, grecian style and they had some perfect dresses which really fitted in with the vibe.

Theme or colour scheme 
We kept everything very natural and rustic, with flowers being mostly white and green. There wasn’t any flashiness or bling to the wedding, just a lot of twine and wood which kept it very rustic and understated. We weren’t looking for anything traditional or too conventional.

Flowers
The main flowers were white gypsophila and some small white rose buds. The hanging baskets were a beautiful mixture of wild flowers and lots of ivy.

Decoration 
An ivy garland was draped over the mantelpiece, with 2 large hanging baskets hanging from the barn ceiling. The venue provided silver birch trees at the doors which had fairy light in them. The tables were decorated with white trees and mismatched jam jars filled with a mixture of gypsophila and white roses. We also wrapped dried lavender and corn in twine and placed them on each napkin. My mother makes great jam so we placed small homemade jam in each place setting as wedding favours, finished with cotton and twine. We also had hundreds of candles dotted around, and a bonfire outside. To keep with the rustic theme, we had a beautiful large wire birdcage and stumps of wood lining the aisle with jam jars of lavender on top.

Food
Roasted port belly with goose fat roast potatoes and season rustic veg. The food was just placed in the center of the tables and we all helped ourselves which was great. Silver service isn’t our thing!

Wedding cake
The cake was the best we’ve ever tasted! It was by Vanilla Pod in Cheltenham and they were absolutely amazing. I’m coeliac and they made the top tier gluten free for me which was so brilliant. We chose a cake called the Mary Berry cake which was naked and covered in fresh fruit and gypsophila. The flavours we selected were Madagascan Vanilla, and Lemon Drizzle. They also delivered a cake stand and collected it the next day.

Entertainment
We had a string trio by Nero Strings who played me up the aisle and at the reception. They were exceptional, and really surpassed expectation. They played a mixture of classical pieces and covers of The Beatles, Oasis etc. For the evening do, we hired David Lee as a DJ who was brilliant. We submitted all of our favourite songs via a website so we didn’t have any chart rubbish like One Direction. He also took photos from his DJ booth which turned out awesome!

Buy or DIY your Stationery?
We really embraced the DIY route on this, which we sometimes regretted! We ordered our invites from Inviting Invitations but everything from there was handmade. We added rustic brown name tags and twine to each invitation and sealed it with a custom made was seal. I hand wrote the place cards with a liquid chalk pen

Personal or Handmade Touches? 
-One of my best friends did my hair for me after a disastrous hair trial. She ended up doing an incredible job and it was much more personal which I loved.
-We made the seating plan by wrapping hessian around a cork board and draping twine and luggage tags around it. We finished it off with dried lavender and corn, matching the table settings.
-As well as the jam favours, my mum also handmade the 7-foot long ivy garland which draped over the mantelpiece. The jam jars we the we used on the tables were my mums personal stash
-We topped the cake with 2 cotton birds dressed as a bride and groom which we found on eBay.
-All music was selected by us, including the string trio, DJ and dinner playlist.
-We also encouraged the girls to go barefoot if they wanted, so by the end of the night no one had shoes on!

Special moments 
Getting ready with my best friends and bridesmaids was a wonderful time. We just played great music and drank champagne and took our time. However the best moment had to be the aisle walk, when we first saw each other. The feeling of planning something for a year just for that moment is really overwhelming and special. Exchanging our vows felt amazing, and we were just thrilled to be legally marrying.

Advice for other couples?
Try to remember it’s your day, and however much people make stupid requests, you can always just tell them to shut up.

Biggest surprise?
After waking up to grey, raining weather, we were prepared for a day indoors. However, as soon as I left to go to the venue, the sun came out in full and we were able to have our reception and all photos taken outside. Parts of England not too far away endured floods and a hurricane, so we were unbelievably lucky. To top it off, there was a super moon and a meteor shower on the night of the wedding, which were taking as a sign!

Supplier Shout Outs

• Alex Abbott Wedding Photography – www.aaweddingphotography.co.uk
• David Lee Wedding DJ – www.weddingdjservices.co.uk
• Cripps Barn – www.crippsbarnbibury.com
• Cake – www.vanillapodbakery.com

For more information on Alex’s work go to

www.aaweddingphotography.co.uk
www.aaweddingphotography.co.uk/wedding-photography-blog/
www.facebook.com/aaweddingphotography
www.twitter.com/IntuitivePhoto1
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