Paige and Liam had a beautiful garden wedding ceremony and drinks reception. It was a perfect June day full of sunshine, smiles and some very special surprises for their wedding guests. We caught up with them to hear all about their wonderful Summer wedding day!
Date of your wedding: 9th June 2018 Time of your ceremony: 2pm
How and when did you meet?
We met in March 2009 at a friend’s birthday.
The areas of South Farm that you used for your big day:
We used the Summerhouse set in the gardens for our Ceremony. Our drinks reception was in the gardens too and we used the garden bar. Our meal was in the Tudor Barn. We also used the Old Dairy and Granary for tea and coffee. For our evening party we used the Tudor Barn and the Horse Barn for dancing!
Were there any colours or themes to your day?
We had a champagne colour theme. The bridesmaids wore multi-way floor length dresses in a mink colour. The flowers were roses & gypsophila in whites, pale pinks and dusky pinks and our cake was a four-tier cake, two lemon and two white chocolate and raspberry flavour tiers. The bottom tier was decorated in mink coloured ruffles, the second was all white with a large white bow, the third was white with mink coloured polka dots on and the top layer was all white with bunting around.
How did you choose the venue?
We first saw South Farm online and after visiting nothing or nowhere else compared! I love animals which is one of the reasons we picked South Farm. We also booked Jack Brock Confetti Pony as a surprise for our guests. We found him on South Farm’s Instagram and we just thought he was so different. After our ceremony all our guests were lined up outside the farmhouse waiting for us to appear so they could shower us with confetti – we sent Jack Brock out before us and it was such a great surprise – our guests’ reaction and faces in the video of the day were brilliant!!
How did you feel on the day?
So excited and surprisingly relaxed! I actually felt relaxed all morning and loved the fact you could sneakily watch the guests arriving and taking their seats from the Bridal Suite, but, it hit me as we left the Bridal Suite and walked to the doors that led out to the Summerhouse. Once we got there, our musician, Tristan Mackay started singing ‘Songbird’ which I was walking down the aisle to and my stomach started doing somersaults. But as soon as I started walking out and saw all our guests and my husband to be, I suddenly didn’t feel nervous anymore and was really excited! My favourite part of the ceremony was just after we got married…we were waiting for the registrar to come back with our certificates and we were standing in the Summerhouse looking out at all our guests.
Tell us about your special day:
We had about 130 guests in the day and then another 60 in the evening. Our wedding day was everything we’d hoped for and more! The sun shone, everything went perfectly to plan and all the suppliers and the South Farm team went above and beyond to make it perfect!
Was there one particular moment that stood out for you?
We hired a video company to film a Marryoke video for us. We didn’t originally plan to have a videographer as I thought it would feel like we were being followed all day. But we decided to have someone come and film a Marryoke which is basically where all your guests mime to certain lines of your selected song and then it’s put together a bit like a music video. We went for the same day edit so they edited it all on the day and then we watched it back in the evening with all our guests. It was fantastic! The company also filmed the day in case we wanted to buy that too and once I saw the Marryoke I knew I had to have the wedding video and I’m so glad I did.
How did you choose your Bridesmaids?
All our Bridesmaids were family members or our close friends. My sister was Maid of Honour, I had three Bridesmaids who are all friends of mine and three flower girls – two were nieces on Liam’s side and one was our Goddaughter.
How did you pick your Best Men and Ushers?
Again they were all our close friends of Liam – we had one best man and seven ushers!
What did you wear?
I wore a traditional white mermaid dress from Kittychen Couture. I loved it! I loved how it was tight fitting but then I still had the drama in the skirt. The skirt made me feel like a Bride! I also had a really long veil which was amazing. I didn’t want to take it off after the ceremony but it was getting in the way so I had to! It was the very first dress I tried on. The original design had long sleeves but, as it was a summer wedding, I didn’t want to be too hot so had them taken off when I had it altered.
What are your top tips for other couples?
Don’t stress! All will be perfect on the day. Let your photographer have a list of all the photos you want with particular family members etc so you don’t miss any important shots. We had most of our photos outside the front of the Farm House but also a few in the courtyard and out in the gardens. Our photographer was Photography by Bea – We found Bea through South Farm and she just seemed really chilled and her pictures had a really relaxed feel to them. We wanted our guests to enjoy the day and not feel like they were constantly having to have their photo taken. She completely put us at ease on the day and really listened and took lots of natural shots instead of staged ones.
Where did you go/where do you plan to go on Honeymoon?
Our Honeymoon was in Thailand. It was the first time to Thailand for both of us. We travelled around to a few different places. We started off in Hua Hin for a few nights and had a relaxing few days after the wedding. Then we flew to Krabi and stayed in another hotel there for five nights. Next we went to Elephant Hills in Khao Sok where we did one night at a base camp in a tent and then another night in a floating tent on a lake. We visited the elephants and had the most active part of our Honeymoon here. It was the best experience ever! Lastly we went to The Banyan Tree in Phuket and stayed in the most amazing double pool villa. It was the most amazing place I’ve ever stayed, literally like a palace all to ourselves with our own butler 24/7!
Suppliers – who did you use?
Venue and catering: South Farm We chose a menu of pea, broadbean and mint ravioli for the starter and a choice of three main courses – feather blade of beef, pan-fried cod and filo parcel.Our dessert was a white chocolate mousse with brownie base. We also had a large cheese board for each table. We had so many compliments on the food!
Photographer: Bea Pierkarska – Photography by Bea
Videographer: Electra Films
Dress: Kittychen Couture
Grooms & Groomsmen outfits: Tux n Tails
Bridesmaid dresses: Wed2B
Cake: Sarah’s Simple Cakes
Hair: Simone Mason
Makeup: Michelle Make Up Artistry London
Flowers: Jane Maple – Violets & Velvet Bespoke Floristry
Entertainment: Marryoke
Jack Brock Confetti Pony
Jester Styles Magician
Mark the Moment – VW Campervan Photobooth
Tristan Mackay – Daytime Musician
Fun House – Evening Band
We loved catching up with Paige and Liam again and hearing all about their special barn wedding day. You can check out the amazing Marryoke video from their wedding day by Electra Wedding Films below.
If you are looking to book your dream wedding just get in touch. We’d love to hear all about your wedding plans and to show you around our countryside wedding venue set in stunning gardens on the borders of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. We have a fantastic choice of ceremony and reception spaces whether you are looking for a big or small wedding day. We offer exclusive use for your wedding day so you can enjoy our intimate wedding venue in the company of your loved ones looked after by our experienced and dedicated team.
