Bohemian Beautiful Rustic Barn Wedding with Serious Style

Hold on tight guys! You are about to be blown away by the stunning Chaucer Barn wedding of WWW readers Tito and Emily, who were hitched on the 20th July 2019 in Norfolk. First up I must shout out to two of our fab Supplier Love members who are featured today; One Curious Dream leant their beautiful props and Poptop provided the musician, amaze!

Next I have to rave about the serious style, I mean just look at Emily’s incredible Rue De Seine gown?! Not to mention Tito’s tweed suit and the bridesmaids’ pretty frocks. The whole wedding party looked really stylish.

Next up the flowers; the bouquets were so stunning, then there were the sweet treats! A semi naked cake and even a cookie bar, how scrummy?

I cannot thank Katherine Ashdown Photography enough for sharing with us these spectacular images of a really wonderful celebration.

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The Proposal

We were away in New York for the week in November 2016. It was our first day and Tito was keen to go to central park. We were at the top of belvedere castle in the park and Tito asked someone to take a picture of us. He was faffing around with his coat on the floor and none the wiser I told him to hurry up as the people were waiting. I turned around for a split second and when I turned back Tito was down on one knee asking me to marry him. I couldn’t believe it and neither could the people taking our photo. Of course I accepted. We were both so happy and a few tears were shed. We then celebrated with champagne at the boat house whilst we called to tell our families. It was a beautiful day so went out on the rowing boats before going for a celebratory meal. I really had no idea it was going to happen. It was such a special day.

The Vision

We wanted a weekend event, just so things weren’t rushed and to have an opportunity to celebrate the day after too. The most important thing to us was a relaxed and fun filled day with our family and friends celebrating with us. We really just wanted everyone to have a good time. We are both pretty laid back so having a chilled vibe was very important. We went for a rustic boho feel and I was very keen for the colours to be neutral we used lots of wood and beige tones. The second day we decided on a BBQ and games outside for those that wanted to come and continue the celebrations.

The Planning Process

We started planning around 18 months before the day. We decided on 2019 as it was our 10th year together. We really enjoyed it the planning process, Tito trusted me with most decisions but was always checking in and keeping in the loop with the ideas I had. My sister got married the year before and has a great eye for things so she was a great help and had lots of amazing ideas.

Budget

We mostly stuck to our original budget, doing a lot ourselves and being able to source our own suppliers really helped.

The Venue

Chaucer Barn, Gresham, Norfolk.

We both went to university in Norfolk, so it had a special place in our hearts. I also have family here. This was the only venue we viewed; it was perfect for our plans, so we didn’t feel any need to look at any others.

We loved that it was a black canvas and enabled us to provide everything. I didn’t want to be tied and wanted the flexibility of choosing the suppliers we wanted. We also liked the fact our close family could stay at the venue with us.

The Readings & Music

My Mum wrote a beautiful reading for us, she read this during the ceremony. My Grandad’s partner then followed this with a beautiful song.

Bridesmaid – Better together – Jack Johnson
Me – I’m yours – Jason Myraz
First dance – The One – Kodaline

We had a surprise singing waiter, he had a dramatic fall after dinner and then broke out into song, starting with Queen – Don’t stop me now. He was great fun, it was a great transition from dinner to the evening. He was also our DJ and sang again later. We also had a sax player alongside the DJ.

Beauty

My hair was done by the amazing Brooke from boho beauty box. She was originally fully booked for my date but a few months before the wedding posted it was available. I knew I had to book her! I had my hair up to show off the back of my dress, I loved the style Brooke created for me.

My makeup artist was Chloe Kennedy. She travelled up the night before with her assistant. They did so much more than just our makeup, they helped us out so much setting up and on the day. Oh, and her make up is amazing!

Bridesmaids

My sister, Fallon was my maid of honour and I had 6 other bridesmaids. My 2 cousins that I grew up with, and my 3 best friends.

I knew exactly what I wanted but really struggled to find the dresses for a reasonable price. I ordered so many dresses but none of them were what I was looking for. The main issue was the colour. I found a website online called www.bridalglee.com, It was bit of a risk as the dresses took 6-8 weeks to arrive and could not be returned as they were made to order. I took the risk and ordered them.

They were perfect and all the bridesmaids looked amazing in them. They were the exact colour and style I was looking for. The bridesmaids wore a foliage crown and neutral shoes.

Groomsmen

Tito’s brother was his best man. We were a little worried but he was brilliant. He had everyone in fits of laughter during his speech! His ushers were my brother in law and 2 friends. The groomsmen wore navy trousers, white shirts, brown shoes and we provided them with a tie and matching waistcoats. I really liked their outfits, they complimented Tito’s outfit perfectly.

Your Outfits & Accessories

I knew I didn’t want a traditional dress but wasn’t sure what I wanted. The first shop I went to was White Reflections Bridal in Norwich. Holly and Carol own the shop and are so lovely, I had the best time every time I went. They are both so laid back and welcoming. It was between 2 dresses, but when I went away all I could think about was the Sia dress by Rue du Seine. I knew it was the one. I went to a few more dress shops just to be sure, but nothing came close. I dreamt about the SIA dress most nights until I went back!

I went for plain shoes that matched my under-dress as I didn’t want to take the attention away from the dress. I knew I wouldn’t be wearing them for long either, they were off after the ceremony, I was barefoot for the rest of the night!

I kept it really simple with accessories as I do not to tend to wear many anyway. I wore a simple pair of diamond earring that Tito had given to me just before we got engaged, they matched my engagement ring beautifully.

To keep in with the theme we wanted a tweed style suit for Tito. Whilst being mindful it was summer we ordered a few to try but decided on 3-piece suit from Marc Darcy.

The Flowers

Katy – Bracken and Twine

The flowers were absolutely incredible. I had followed Katy on Instagram for a while and knew I had to have her design our flowers. We had lots of communication and I sent over lots of ideas. We then met with Katy and she designed a mood board that perfectly matched my ideas and brief. Like the rest of the day we wanted the flowers to be natural, lots of greenery. Everyone comments on how beautiful they were.

Katy tied my Mum’s Saint Christopher pendant to my bouquet as my something old and borrowed. My sister had this tied to her bouquet for her wedding the year before.

The Details & Décor

I designed and put together the invites. I planned all the details and décor and sourced. Some things we hired, mostly the bigger items such as tables, chairs and furniture. We borrowed a lot from my sister from her wedding last year and we bought a lot as it worked out cheaper than hiring.

We made what we could. My Dad and Grandad made the bar out of pallets, we will be using the bar in our garden this summer!

Our families helped us set up the day before, we were still finishing off the morning of the wedding, it all fell into place and looked amazing.

The Cake

To keep in with the theme we decided on a semi naked cake with real flowers. We went for a 3-tier cake with a different flavour on each level to keep everyone happy. They were lemon drizzle, raspberry and white chocolate and Victoria sponge. We also had a cookie table, this went down a treat!

Your Photographer

The photographer was very important to us. We wanted some beautiful photos to cherish forever. After a lot of research, we decided on Katherine Ashdown. We didn’t have a chance to meet before the wedding but Kathy was amazing on the day. I was a little worried about having our photos taken as we aren’t ones to pose behind a camera but we didn’t even realise she was taking pictures of us, we really enjoyed the time out of the day together! The shots are so natural, something that was so important to us.

Your Filmmaker

We decided on having a videographer as we thought it would be nice to have to help relive the day. We came across Browns Films and loved his films. Again, we were a little worried but we didn’t realise he was there either! Tom and Kathy worked really well together and together captured our day perfectly.

The Honeymoon

We are planning our honeymoon for later this year. We had a mini moon in the South of France. We stayed in a little wooden cabin next to a river. It was beautiful and so nice to have a few days to relax together, the photographer and videographer shared a few sneak peaks while we were away which was so lovely.

Memorable Moments

The weather was a big one, we had storms predicted for the whole day meaning our ceremony was going to have to be inside. The weather had been OK and we decided to set the ceremony on the lawn, it was close enough to come back inside if we needed. It got to about 11am and my Mum made the decision to move the ceremony to the woodland. I was worried, it was about a 10-minute walk and it would have meant a standing up ceremony inside if the rain suddenly came. I ran out in my dressing gown trying to stop them from moving everything. It was to late!… I am so glad my Mum made that decision the sun shone and we had the ceremony we both dreamed of in the woodland. The weather was perfect the whole day, we had the dramatic stormy sky and beautiful golden hour sun. A quick shower was all we had all day!

It is so hard to pick; the whole day was so memorable. We both have so many. I honestly enjoyed every single part of the day. It was perfect.

Advice For Other Couples

Enjoy every moment. From the beginning of planning to the end of the day will be over before you know it. Enjoy your wedding day, try not to worry about what is going on as it will all fall into place. Take a moment to observe and take everything in.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

How very beautiful!?

Tito and Emily, thank you so very much for sharing your utterly wonderful wedding xo Lou