Eve & Matt’s Lakeside Love Story at Barns & Yard

Eve and Matt knew what was important when planning their wedding day: a relaxed but luxurious environment for their loved ones, personal touches throughout, and a stellar team of suppliers to help plan and deliver their dream day…folks, they nailed it!

Barns & Yard in Worcestershire was at the heart of this summer celebration, which is brimming with gorgeous details, delightful food and a wedding cake made by Eve’s grandmother, which gave Mary Berry a run for her money! Don’t believe me? Take a look…

Eve says…

After being dead set on marrying in Italy, we thought we would indulge in visiting several UK venues. Barns & Yard was the first venue we visited, and we immediately fell in love with its rustic charm and beautiful lakeside setting.

I opted for a beautiful Essence of Australia dress, which Kirsty had expertly chosen for me at Wedding Belles in Birmingham. The bridesmaids wore Maya Deluxe sequin dresses, and bridesmaid Jon was in a bespoke waistcoat, upcycled from a second-hand Maya Deluxe dress found on Vinted.

Having declared that he would not get married in a blue suit and brown shoes, Matt opted for… a blue suit and brown shoes, but he did look very dashing. James Bond eat your heart out. Hussein dressed him at Suit Supply in Saville Row.

Hair and makeup for the day was made up of the super trio Tabitha MacCurrach-Paine and Genevieve Turley, assisted by Emily Bolt.

We loved the venue as it is. Therefore, we felt less is more. We opted for pastel tapered candles with loose flowers in bud vases to create a romantic but relaxed fairytale aesthetic for our guests.

Our florist was Steff at Love Flowers. After seeing her stunning creations at the National Wedding Show, my Mum and Grandma met her and were adamant we had to use her services. Steff created an incredible flower arch, which was the main focal point for the day and featured in all the guests’ photos. We didn’t know much about flowers, so we gave Steff a budget and a colour palette and just trusted the process; the result was a stunning display that looked beautiful and smelled amazing, too!

Being massive foodies, as soon as we found out Sticky Fig did the catering for The Great British Menu, we not only wanted them but also needed them! Once we started doing tastings, we knew we were on to a winner, and working with Tom and Julie to create our menu was an absolute delight!

For our wedding cake, my Grandma kindly lent her amateur cake-making skills to our cause. The outcome was better than we expected; not only did every slice get eaten on the night, but she produced a cake which would give Mary Berry a run for her money. The proof is in the pudding!

Jarek Lepak is such a lovely human. He was a joy to work with during the build-up and on the big day, helping herd our guests and get some incredible action shots. He consistently captures the best images and tells our special day’s story perfectly! Our friends have already stolen him for their wedding next year!

Best part of the day

It is hard to pick out just one, but after all the blood, sweat and tears put into organising our big day, we did enjoy sitting down for the wedding breakfast, looking out at all of our loved ones, feeling smug that we had pulled off a pretty epic celebration.

From one couple to another…

For us, picking suppliers who guided us through the process helped to take some of the stress away. We also recommend including your loved ones in proceedings, giving them that personal touch and adding something special to your day.