Emma & Roy’s Bury Court Barn Wedding

There’s a real sense of adventure and a carefree sensibility surrounding these two so perhaps it isn’t surprising to hear that there was no grand, master plan when it came to designing and executing their big day.

Plan or no plan, this Hampshire barn venue provided the perfect wedding setting for their dreamy, laid-back day which was full of fun, laughter and a lot of dancing.

Emma says…

Bury Court Barn was one of the first venues we saw and as soon as we walked in we fell in love – we just felt relaxed and like it perfectly captured the laid back and rustic / natural vibe we were after for our wedding party. Amazing gardens and just perfect barn aesthetic whilst remaining light and airy – the antiques dotted around also add a uniqueness to the styling.

I have never been one to dream of my wedding dress since being a little girl, but as soon as I walked into Bridal Indulgence and saw ‘my’ dress – Galatea by Watters – I’m slightly embarrassed to say I did have the cliché moment of just knowing it was THE one. Light and flowy whilst not restricting my dance moves (the dirt on the bottom now is testament to this!), complete with beautiful appliqué flower details with sheer sequins – it felt perfect. Bridal Indulgence have the most beautiful range and the loveliest team where it just feels like you have more friends there – honest opinions and all.

Shoes… I wore none. I liked the way I felt like a fairy and it somehow added to the ‘playing dress up vibes’.

Having attended several events together since forever, my bestie who is brilliant at hair knew the no fuss loose waves I was going for so I left it to her (despite almost giving her a heart attack when I rocked up with a head full of dry shampoo because I thought it gave it volume/ whilst burning her arm and keeping totally chill about it until later when I saw how bad it was because she didn’t want to stress me out!) – oh and did I mention she flew in the day before from Sydney. Legendary bridesmaid-ing!

Makeup By Verity did her thing and made me look like me, but way better. It felt light and glam at the same time. I felt pretty, which I think is what you want to feel on your wedding day.

The theme sort of happened by accident. I wish I could say we had some grand plan but we wanted rustic and pretty, with beautiful flowers and that’s what we got! We just wanted everyone to have a bloody good time! Our non-negotiable: All our nearest and dearest, good food, drink, music and flowers.

Flowers By Jamie was our florist and I can now say she is a friend. She did our flowers for our legal wedding in 2021 and seeing how amazing she was at that one I basically gave her a short wish list and let her imagination run wild, and I am so glad I did! Couldn’t have wished for more beautiful blooms, the deconstructed arch and flower crown in particular were just dreamy.

Our wedding cake was made by our lovely friend Steph. She spent weeks baking and getting every little detail right and it is fair to say we were amazed at the masterpiece she created! (And it was delicious). Catering by Nyama was exceptional. The headline was the meat, and boy do they take their meat seriously (and we’re so glad they do!!) because each piece was perfect and when even my brother was raving about the salads, you know they have to be good!

Jessica Grace Photography is another ‘supplier’ friend to add to the list. Another favourite part of the wedding was in fact the bit I was dreading – the couple shoot. A moment alone with my husband to take it all in, and having Jess there to have a giggle with just made it even better! We’re not into posey photos, plus I’m super self-conscious but Jess just made the whole experience amazing. We felt completely at ease and she managed to perfectly capture the emotion and atmosphere of the day (and really goes the extra mile to get the perfect shot – crouching under an umbrella in pouring rain while we hung out under the pergola!). She’s the best!

Sarah Sweeney was our celebrant and she was just completely fantastic. Not being particularly into huge declarations of love / the ‘mushy’ stuff and having already legally married it wasn’t a part of the ceremony we had really thought about and so we were so grateful to have found someone as lovely as Sarah who really cared! She took the time to really get to know us, our relationship and our family first, then helped us with the style and words we wanted and she got it spot on! Most weddings we’ve attended people are desperate for the official business to be over and the party to begin, but we had so so many people comment on how fabulous she was (many thinking we had a friend officiate) which is testament to the love and care she put in to make our ceremony meaningful but undoubtedly ‘us’.

Best part of the day

Oh gosh so so many things… Dancing, throwing the bouquet was hilarious (at the request of my granny), oh and standing speeches outside – informal, funny and just what we wanted.

From one couple to another…

Find suppliers who you would be mates with – most of mine felt like friends by the end of it – it just adds to the day as you do spend a lot of key moments with them! Oh and I know everyone says it… don’t sweat the small stuff. Work out what’s important and then everything else is simply nice to have!