Relaxed & Natural Kent Farm Barn Wedding & Embroidered G

When it comes to barn weddings on a Kent farm, this is an absolute corker of a day! Welcoming Maxie and James and their gorgeously relaxed and family-friendly wedding in the country. Hosted at The Oak Barn, Frame Farm, their day was beautifully natural and even had a vegetarian feast. Yum!

First up, the outfits. Maxie wore a striking embroidered wedding dress, James donned a grey suit and floral tie, while the bridesmaids rocked sage green multiway dresses. Didn’t they all look stunning? Then there were the pick-your-own wedding flowers, the doughnut cake ladder tower and the magnificent wedding backdrop made from wooden towers and flowers.

Nicola Dawson Photography, thank you so much for sharing with us your totally beautiful photos of such a special day indeed.

Kent Farm Barn Wedding

The Proposal

We have been together since university, and love going on outdoor adventures together in the hills and mountains of the UK.

James and I were in the Lake District on a long day out running, and had stopped to sit down for a snack. It was a sunny spring day and we were alone in the hills admiring the view. James suddenly pulled out a ring box and proposed!

I was of course muddy and sweaty from running, but it was the perfect spot, and very ‘us’. We spent the rest of the run excitedly chatting about our wedding plans.

The Vision

We knew we wanted the wedding to be in the countryside given our love of nature and the outdoors, but we were realistic about the British weather so a barn seemed the perfect fit.

We both don’t really like the spotlight or a lot of formality, so we wanted the wedding to be relaxed, full of fun, and child-friendly.

The Venue

Our wedding was held at the Oak Barn at Frame Farm in Kent. We had not spent much time in this area of Kent before, but as soon as we visited we knew this was the right place.

It is a farm now converted into a beautiful wedding venue, but the owners Deana and Tim have really maintained the character of the wood-beamed barn and oast houses. It is nestled into its own little valley surrounded by woodland and sheep pastures.

We particularly loved that it has several different indoor and outdoor spaces for guests to use during the day and accommodation on site too.

The Ceremony & Music

We had a civil ceremony with the Kentish Ceremonies team, and personalised it by asking two family members to read short readings. We chose ones that fit well with our personalities, and love of nature and adventure.

The music was just played over the speaker system, all string quartet performances of pop music (Vitamin String Quartet) to set the tone for an upbeat and happy celebration.

Your Outfits

Maxie – I knew I didn’t want to go to a bridal shop because I would find it quite intimidating, and also didn’t want to spend so much money on a dress I would wear for just one day. I planned to buy a wedding dress second-hand, but after doing a lot of research online I actually found this one that I loved from a label called ‘True Decadence’ on the Wolf & Badger online store.

I like that it’s non-conventional and includes beautiful foliage and flower embroidery.

James chose his suit in colours to work with the dress (kept secret and communicated via colour swatches!). The green linen of this Hawes & Curtis suit worked well with the natural and relaxed vibe we had planned, and all the greenery of the venue too.

James and his groomsmen wore brightly coloured dried flower buttonholes, and I carried a matching dried-flower bouquet. My bridesmaids had the same flowers in their hair.

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

Our photographer Nicola Dawson was recommended by the venue, and we really loved working with her.

We both thought we would be awkward during all the photos (and historically we have been notoriously unphotogenic!) but Nicola worked her magic, being always friendly and unobtrusive on the day, but still setting up so many beautiful moments.

The Styling & Decor

Locate to Create styled our wedding and completed the set up on the day. Our ideas were for a colour scheme of pastel and bold wildflower colours, with lots of shades of green thrown in. We kept it simple so as to celebrate the natural surroundings of the venue and the beautiful wooden barns.

We also hired our furniture through them, including two gorgeous seating areas, and a giant tin bath for all our favourite craft beers. We set up outdoor games around the venue to keep our guests and their little ones occupied – including giant Jenga, ‘feed the clown’, giant pass the pig, and Twister (kindly customised by a friend to be laminated with our faces!).

We are both vegetarian and wanted an all-veggie wedding. Clare at Touchays wasn’t at all intimidated by this and worked with us to design an absolutely delicious menu based on sharing platters.

The Honeymoon

Still to come! In typical style for us, we are going on a running adventure in the Scottish Highlands… (And a bit more luxurious relaxation afterwards).

Memorable Moments

James and I picked our own flowers two days before the wedding from a gorgeous local flower meadow (Blooming Green). This was a rare moment of calm in the run-up to the wedding and allowed us to spend time just the two of us out in the fresh air amongst the flowers.

We had extra pride in the flowers on the day knowing we had hand-picked each one!

Advice For Other Couples

Give yourselves plenty of time in the run-up, because there is always more to do than you first think. But once the wedding day starts just let it all go and stay in the moment.