Nina & Jakob

The gorgeous Stone Barn in the Cotswolds in decked out in the Pantone Color of the Year: Ultra Violet, and looks absolutely incredible. Take the hanging flower installation for the instance, the delicious lilac and green hued blooms perfectly frame the ceremony and dance floor and make those already memorable moments and captures by Frankee Victoria Photography even more immense. Then there's bride Nina's exquisite Claire Pettibone gown which will make your jaw drop it's THAT stunning. Every angle you look at it you'll fall in love with a different detail. It's the perfect mix of elegance and boho beauty, just like this rustic barn wedding.

The Proposal

Nina the Bride: Jake proposed in Devon when he surprised me with hiring Volkswagen Campervan for the weekend. He insisted in me going to get ready and he would start breakfast. When I returned he was wearing a shirt and had tidied the campervan and had set it all up for us to have breakfast outside. I was starting to be a little suspicious but didn't want to think too much just in case! I was talking to him whilst he was finishing breakfast and then we had miss- located the eggs. Just as I was going through all our things to locate them. Jake was adamant that we just forget the eggs, and with that he got down on one knee and proposed.

The Dress

I didn't really know what I wanted with regards to a wedding dress. I couldn't really even imagine myself in a white dress. I was willing to try on almost any dress, much to my sister's enjoyment. I went to 9 different shops in total and was not scared of trying everything and anything on. I was really hoping I would have that moment that the dress would just shout out at me. Unfortunately this was not the case until I tried on the Claire Pettibone dress for the second time, when I realised I had definitely made the right choice. It felt amazing on and so comfortable, and both my sisters liked it which was a rarity!

The Grooms Attire

I really wanted all the boys in the same suit, but Jake really wanted to wear his blue suit that we had made in Thailand the year before. Jake entertained me with the idea of going to a few different suit companies, but nothing fitted as well so we decided that we would have everyone in blue suits and hoped that the ushers and best men owned a navy blue suit! I chose a tie online through Etsy. Jake, the three best men and Ushers all wore ties, the master of ceremonies, my brother in-law and page boys wore bowties

The Venue

Originally we were going to get married in Holland as I had always said it would be nice to get married in Holland as Jake moved to England. Unfortunately we couldn't find the type of venue I had set my heart on and I soon realised how hard it was to organise a wedding in another country. Luckily Jake just wanted me to be happy so we decided we would start our search in England. When we saw Stone Barn we knew that we had found the venue that really felt like us, a relaxed barn with a difference and the fact it was a Dutch Barn was so apt. Jake didn't want to get married in a church, but with choosing Stone Barn, I felt that it had a church feeling about it so I was more than happy to make a compromise. We met Clayton, the Events Manager, and he was so helpful as was all the staff at Stone Barn.

Colour Scheme/Décor

I was very set that I didn't want pink as my colour but then I found an image of the flowers I wanted. It ended up being a Lilac/Pink, which set the colour for the rest of the wedding. I then had to hunt down a tie that matched which seemed to be the hardest job of all! I loved the lilac colour next to the boys blue suits. My mum past away two years ago, so it was important for me to have her represented there in some way. My mum loved a party; she was always entertaining and throwing a party at any opportunity. I decided that I would have a photo of her on the table as people walked in and then I wanted her picture under my dad's chair so that she could 'watch' it from there. The photo ended up being thrown around by my nephew! My mum would of loved that whole relaxed environment.

Favours

With the help of my sisters I had always wanted to do homemade jam as my favour, I liked the idea of it coming from us. Unfortunately the vision I had of Jake and I slaving away making jam didn't really happen but my sisters were there to help make jam and a salt rub, whilst I wrote all the labels and Jake did the packaging of them. This was definitely a labour of love.

Flowers/Florist

We used the recommended florist from the venue, Go Wild Flowers. We met Beth in the February my sister joined us as she has a better understanding of flowers. I gave Beth an image of what I had envisaged, which Beth told me would be hard to replicate due to the season we were getting married. So we discussed alternatives and I liked her vision and the examples that she talked me through. I trusted her completely and everything she delivered on the day was better than I could have hoped for. Jake and I were keen to keep costs down as much as possible, so we did the table plans ourselves. We bought second hand terracotta pots and two weeks before the wedding potted them. I loved the idea of people taking them home with them so as not to be wasteful.

Food

Food was really important; my dad was a butcher and always makes his views well known when he is not happy with his meal. Not only is Stone Barn an amazing location and setting, the food is outstanding. Stone Barn has the biggest indoor barbecue ever so the cooking is very impressive. We chose 6 canapés as a starter for people to eat after the ceremony whilst chatting, and then the main course was the BBQ butterflied leg of lamb with a mustard sauce served with seasonal greens and Dauphinoise potatoes. Dessert was Crème Brûlée with shortbread and raspberries. Stone Barn also provided a cheese buffet with French bread, biscuits, grapes and chutney for after the meal. For the evening we had Sausage and Bacon Rolls for later in the evening. All our friends and family commented on how great the food was.

Photographer

Frankee Victoria was recommended through Stone Barns website which was a really helpful tool that they provided. This allowed you to see a selection of the photographers work. Straight away I knew I loved the way that Frankee captured the venue and each couple. Frankee doesn't do a lot of group shots which suited us as I much prefer the photos of people in the moment. I couldn't be happier with how the photos have come out; my favourite photos are the ones of both our families, waiting and messing around in between the group photos.

DIY Projects

Jake and I love making things and really wanted the wedding to really replicate us, along with the flowers and favours, we did all the signs, the table numbers and the table plan. Jake making all the wooden signs and me doing all the writing. We also made a lightbox sign for the dancefloor, which I hope to re-use at home in some way or another.

Jewellery

Jake proposed with a necklace from Epanoui a jewellery shop in Bedford that is owned by a friend of ours. I had mentioned to Jake a few times that I wanted a necklace from Epanoui. Jake knew that I wanted my mum's engagment ring, but it was so special to have something from Jake himself, he helped design it too which I love. I wear it all the time, and once I had chosen my dress, I decided that it was the perfect necklace to wear with my dress.

Cake Maker

My oldest sister made us our cake as our wedding gift. I left her too her own device with regards to designing it, but provided her with a few images of what I wanted. She did a fantastic job of it reflecting both of us, she scattered it with bike parts, as Jake is a keen mountain biker, but keeping it pretty by spraying them all gold, and then surrounding it with little lilac flowers.

Entertainment

Jake and I chose the Razors through watching their videos online, not only were they exactly what we were looking for in a band. We also loved the style/look of the band and thought they would look great in the Barn. The Razors were amazing not only on the day but Tim, from the Razors went above and beyond in helping me source additional lighting so that I could get the look I had wanted. He spoke to several different lighting companies to explain exactly what I wanted.

Transport

Transport was another thing we were willing to save money on as we were having both the ceremony and reception at the wedding we only needed the vehicle to get myself and dad to the venue. We really loved the look of something old and classical and asked around, it was a little bit of luck really as Jake was originally going to borrow a work colleagues Land Drover but unfortunately they were unable to get it through the MOT in time. Two nights prior to the wedding we were reminded that a family friend had a Land Drover so we cheekily asked if we could borrow it. It was perfect and again I think suited the venue perfectly. Jake and I loved driving to and from Burford in it, as it brought so many memories back of us driving the Volkswagen Campervan in Devon. Also it fitted my dad, my brother (driver), sisters (bridesmaids) and pageboys (sisters children) all in, which was exactly what I wanted.

Photo Booth

We really loved the idea of having a photo booth but didn't really want the additional cost of one so decided we would borrow a tripod and just use our camera. Luckily both my sisters have various fancy dress props, it worked really well and by the end of the night the whole dance floor had various props on. It achieved exactly what we wanted, and we have some great photos from it, which capture the evening party really well.