Lower Barns Wedding
Lower Barns is such a special place – one of my favourite escapes for a friendly welcome and laid back vibe in super stylish surroundings.
It’s a hugely popular venue for smaller weddings and elopements and it’s easy to see why – the wonderful Janie & Mike have worked so hard to create something so unique and special.
Have a peek at Tom and Debbie’s beautiful wedding….
The proposal
Tom proposed at our home on Boxing Day with a temporary ring in a Christmas cracker. We went to the Jewellery quarter in Birmingham the next day, where I chose my actual engagement ring., from Mitchel & Co. Tom had already asked my dad for his blessing, and his daughter had kept the secret that he was going to propose for weeks (which was quite impressive for a 6 year old), but it was a huge shock to me and I kept asking if he was serious!
Where it all happened
We knew we didn’t want a traditional wedding. We both love Cornwall and visit every year, so when we decided to elope, it seemed to be the obvious choice of location. I found Lower Barns in St Ewe, on a Google search and instantly fell in love with it. We booked it on the strength of their website and fantastic reviews on tripadvisor. It’s completely unique and allows dogs, so it was perfect. Our parents stayed there for 2 nights and we stayed for 3 nights.
What they wore
I wore the Lenora lace gown by Watters Wtoo, which I bought on impulse at a wedding exhibition, from Belda Bridal of Sutton Coldfield. My veil was from the same shop and my shoes were by Rainbow Club at John Lewis.
Tom found his grey suit in Reiss, and his shoes were from Barkers.
Our bridesmaid (Tom’s daughter, Lottie) wore an ivory dress and rose-gold shoes from Monsoon.
Jeni (Cornwall Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist) did our hair and make-up.
The theme
We didn’t have a theme as such; Lower Barns is so colourful, so I tried to keep everything else fairly neutral with a few splashes of pink, peach and gold.
The flowers
Our florist was the lovely Mari from This Rugged Coast. Lottie and I had bouquets, and she had a floral crown. Our greyhound, Bella, had a floral piece for her collar, and we had a floral garland over the entrance of the Wed Shed. The flowers were informal, with a wild relaxed country hedgerow style, blousy and romantic, with a variety of foraged foliage, including olive, eucalyptus, and grey foliage’s, café au lait dahlia, garden roses, larkspur, sweet pea, cornflower, ammi, stock, snapdragon, astilbe chocolate cosmos, nigella, hydrangea.
The cake
I don’t really like the taste of marzipan or icing, so we had a single tier semi-naked victoria sponge cake with drip icing, decorated with fresh flowers from our florist. It was by Claire’s Sweet Temptations, and she also made us some incredible macarons. I bought the bespoke cake topper from eBay.
What they ate and drank
We had canapés after the ceremony and then a 2 course sit-down meal later in the evening, provided by Lower Barns, washed down with plenty of champagne and gin.
Photography
The very talented Alexa Poppe was our photographer, booked on recommendation from Janie and Mike at Lower Barns. She was so relaxed but worked really hard to get the shots we wanted.
The party
Once the ceremony and canapes were over, Tom, Lottie, and I went to Caerhays beach for some photos. As it was a hot day, the beach was packed, so Alexa took us up the coastal path to get some photos, it was a very funny trip dodging sheep poo and thistles, but my dress didn’t thank me for it!
Unfortunately we then had to say bye to Alexa, and when we returned we had dinner and then a little disco in the party shed.
The honeymoon
We stayed in Cornwall for a few more days, then after a couple of days at home to get sorted, we went to the Maldives for 10 days, at the incredible Atmosphere Kanifushi resort, where we swam with stingrays and met rescued turtles.
Favourite part
I loved walking down the path with my Dad, I’ll never forget that. The ceremony was great, the registrars were so lovely and it was very emotional. Another highlight was our mini disco with our favourite music under the disco ball. Our ‘first dance’ actually turned out to be our last dance, but it was so special and intimate.
Advice to others
Don’t worry about what other people expect from you, just do it your way! I would 100% recommend eloping, if you’re considering it.
Even if you’re on a budget, don’t scrimp on the photographer.
On the day, try to relax (though that’s easier said than done) and make sure you take 10 mins away from everything with your new wife/husband, as it really does go so quickly.
