Molly & Ole: Elegant Devon Barn Wedding with Gypsophila and Disco Vibes

Just on arrival at The Great Barn Devon, we knew it was the place for us. The gorgeous wooden door to the barn is show-stopping, and the surrounding gardens and tall trees made it feel as if we were abroad. Location was also great, with the majority of our family and guests living locally. We loved that people could stay the night, making it feel more like a weekend event than just a day. Emma and John made us feel so welcome from our first visit and allowed us to explore the venue as much as we wanted. It was only the second venue we had looked at, but we both felt it was special.

I wore a Maggie Sottero dress called the Paxton, an A-line design with a long, flowing train and buttons down the entire back. My favourite part about it was that it had pockets – I felt so chic! My veil was long with tiny crystals embellished all over, and amazingly was only £30 from a wedding dress shop that was closing. My husband wore an all-black fitted suit with a crisp white shirt and bow tie. My shoes were white satin with a glittery block heel, perfect for our disco-themed evening entertainment. Jewellery I kept very minimal with just a drop pearl earring I found on Etsy and a single silver bracelet with a light blue charm to represent my ‘something blue’.

We kept to a minimalistic theme as we felt the venue was beautiful enough on its own. We had storm lanterns lining the aisle with one in each alcove, bunches of gypsophila at the end of each chair row and bunches of locally grown flowers in vases out by the bar. We used black chrome and glass for most décor. Our tables had simple, clear glass tea lights with a small glass vase of gypsophila in the middle, along with the storm lanterns. My bridesmaids wore bronze and gold to mirror the rustic vibe of the barn; they looked beautiful in the photos next to the white of my dress and the browns of the barn.

I made our flower bouquets myself, along with a friend who was practising floristry. They were made up from a selection of white and cream gypsophila, gerbera, lisianthus, carnations, eucalyptus and ruscus.

Ole and I love prosecco, so this was a must for our day; guests were welcomed with one on arrival. We offered our guests prosecco and beer throughout the day, and a mix of pinot grigio or malbec for the wedding breakfast. We had a small shot of Tequila Rose for each guest at their seat in small glass bottles with a cork lid.

The food was one of the best parts of our day, and we received countless compliments, with many guests stating it was ‘the best wedding food they’d ever had’. We went for the seabass and green bean salad for a starter, along with the Mediterranean veggie tart. We knew The Great Barn was known for its sharing boards, so we decided on sticky shoulder of lamb with Cornish new-season potatoes and a selection of salads. Along with the butternut wellington for our veggie guests. There was so much food that nobody was complaining about being hungry! The service was brilliant, and every guest was catered for.

For dessert, we served our wedding cake – made by Boho Cakes – with tea and coffee in the rose gardens. Our cake was a three-tier cake made up of strawberry shortcake and zesty lemon and raspberry meringue. We found Boho Cakes on Instagram, and the designs and flavours blew us away. We chose a semi-naked cake with edible flowers surrounding the tiers. It was the perfect end to our meal.

Nicole Beveridge was the most amazing addition to our wedding. From our initial meeting, we could tell that we would love her. She was an absolute pleasure to be with and talk to throughout the day. We had so many nice comments from our guests about how she was throughout our wedding. And the pictures were incredible!

Gosh, this is such a hard question, as it was all so fun and exactly what we envisioned. I think the moment I really treasured was our first dance, as the song meant so much to us, and our friends and family were so happy for us. It was a perfect start to the evening, and it’s not often you have everybody you love dancing with you to your favourite song. I also loved getting ready with my lifelong friends and daughter in the morning. 

It was the most amazing, special day filled with love, pure happiness and fantastic food. I wish I could do it all over again!

ENJOY THE PROCESS. It can be a very hard and stressful time planning a wedding, as it can feel very overwhelming; however, we just tried to enjoy the planning of a once-in-a-lifetime party for your closest and most special friends. Try not to overthink anything and decide on moments that are going to be special to you as a couple. One of my biggest concerns was the weather, but I soon learnt that it’s an element you can’t control and that your day will be incredible regardless, so just enjoy it!