A year on from Kate & Scott’s wedding at The Great Barn wedding venue near Aynho what is my lasting memory of the day? It has to be the wedding breakfast meal! Best bangers and Yorkshire pudding dinner I’ve ever had. Not kidding at all! Kate and Scott’s wedding was the first of a three weddings in a row that weekend. This isn’t something I normally like to do but pesky covid reschedules meant it was a necessity. Kate and Scott were kind enough to complete my blog questionnaire so I’m going to hand the rest of this blog over to them.
Scott and I have known of each other for years before becoming a couple. We actually went to the same school even though I was too cool to have anything to do with Scott then! We started going out together in 2013. It all started in a very classy (not classy at all at the time) pub called 13 High Street with me dressed as a chipmunk (as you do). From that point we attended many young farmers parties and balls. Scott proposed to me in Tenerife in September 2017. The proposal took place in the hotel room after his big plans to do it at the top of Mount Teide had to be scraped when the trip was cancelled.
We had a rather long unplanned engagement due to covid but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. During the time we couldn’t get married we moved house and purchased sheep! That’s what all normal couples do right?
Our original plan was to have a marquee in a field and a church. My Dad suggested we visit The Great Barn at Aynho and we both instantly loved it. We loved it so much we didn’t view any other venues. As an added bonus it was also close to home.
Scott’s suit and the rest of the groomsmen’s suits came from Henry’s of Banbury. Originally the plan was to go for any colour other than blue, but in the end the blue suits worked perfectly. The purchase of my wedding dress was a little bit more traumatic. The pandemic and subsequent postponements to weddings sadly caused the wedding shop to close down. Thankfully I was able to get my dress before it closed just a mere 18 months prior to the wedding. I would have 100% recommended the shop had it still been open. The lady who helped my pick the dress was so helpful. It was very much a case of ‘when you know, you know’.
For our bouquets and flowers we booked Hibiscus Floral Design. Claire who runs Hibiscus was amazing. We met her at The Great Barn Wedding fair and fell in love with what she had on display. Claire was extremely accommodating with me changing my mind on small things and nothing was too much bother. One of the main things in our flowers was a rose called the Lovelace rose. Scott’s parents had the Lovelace rose on their wedding day. Also my mother’s maiden name is Lovelace. I would recommend Hibiscus Floral Design a million times over, Claire is amazing.
For table decorations, alongside the flowers, we spray painted plastic animal as name place holders. Painting all of those animals took up a great deal of my time that I’m never getting back! But who doesn’t love a sticky gold animal (paint didn’t set even after a month)?
Our first dance song was Rather Be by Clean Bandit. It’ss a song that came out around the time Scott and I got together and we both love it. For the dance with my dad we chose JCB Song by Nizlopi. I’m a farmer daughter what can I say the words mean a lot to me as that was my life growing up. For music at the beginning of the ceremony and during the drinks reception we had the violinist Sally Potterton. In the evening we used one of the best DJs out there, Smooth Moves.
As for the wedding photos. I didn’t want anyone else to capture our day. Half the time you didn’t even know he was there as he blends in. All the guests he spoke to said he was amazing and have commented on him. And his photos speak for themselves. Scott and I really treasure the moment we had our portrait photos taken as they are some of the best parts of the day for us. Aaron made it so easy, no pressure and very relaxed.
I photographed my first Great Barn Wedding back in 2014. Kate and Scott’s wedding was my third there and it was so lovely to be back. Located near Banbury in Oxfordshire its close to the Northamptonshire border. The main part of the venue is a beautifully restored and converted barn originally dating back to the 18th century. It has an impressive driveway leading up to the venue and the grounds are beautifully kept. If you’re lucky enough to have a wedding there when the wisteria is in full bloom it’ll make for some magnificent photos. If you’re planning your own wedding at The Great Barn and like my approach to photographing weddings then get in touch via my contact form.
