One of my favourite parts of this job (curating these pages for all you venue hunters), is pulling together real wedding features… and this one, Valentina & Nick’s ‘Scolombian barn dance’ at Tythe, is an absolute treat! I won’t apologise for the sheer volume of images because I think you’ll find it’s just the inspiration and joy we all need after 16 months of weddings like this being on pause.
I think group shots are my new favourite.
Enjoy folks…
Valentina says…
We wanted our wedding to be set in a nice, romantic, formal, yet relaxed venue, hence why we fell in love with the idea of a barn wedding. But not every barn we saw had it all; The Tythe Barn was the only one that had the right ingredients. When we went to see the venue for the first time, we were struck by its mystical stone walls, the thatched roof with the lovely festoon lights, and stunning grounds: we knew immediately that this was the one. The Tythe Barn is a venue that we felt really reflected our personalities.
My dress was an A-line appliquéd with pearl-centred blush flowers, by Melissa Sweet’s romantic and bohemian collection of bridal dresses. The tulle skirt is softly voluminous, and the double-strapped, low back lends a delicate feel, which matched really well with the style of the barn.
Emma Page did exactly what I wanted for my hair; a messy braid with lots of gypsophila, was beautiful and easy to wear all day.
I wanted for the bridesmaids’ dresses to contrast with my dress, but also to match with the green in the groom and groomsmen’s kilts, hence why I went with a forest green. The groom and groomsmen carried a lovely thistle, which I also had in my bouquet, as a buttonhole in their suit jackets.
Our theme was along the bohemian, romantic and rustic line. We kept the décor quite simple because the barn in itself is so beautiful that we felt it didn’t need much decoration. We just knew we wanted to pair it with their festoon lights, a few signs, as well as foliage and flower arrangements.
We wanted foliage with pastel coral for flowers, so we went with white, ivory, blush pink roses, along with thistles for their silvery tones and to represent Scotland, and a mix of ivy, pitto, soft ruscus and eucalyptus. These were displayed in the table runners, in the milk churns, the welcome sign, the bouquet and some hanging flowers in the manger.
Blossom & Ivy in Oxford made sure to bring all this to life and they were amazing!
The cake was a success made by the wonderful Lauren from All Cakes And Sizes. It was a semi-naked 4 tiered cake with details of gold leaf flecks, and each layer was decorated with fresh wild berries. The flavours of the cake were coconut & lime, and banana & salted caramel.
Finding a photographer is a daunting process, with a plethora of options available. With Sam, the style and quality of his shots spoke for themselves, although initially he wasn’t available due to being on holiday. We were gutted, but thankfully he managed to move things around in order to fit us in. The photographer is more than just the photos though, and Sam’s infectious personality and great sense of humour made him a really integral part of the day.
Best part of the day
There were so many special moments during the day (such as the arrival of some beautiful alpacas!), but one that really stood out actually came at the very end of the party. We first met when Nick was DJ-ing at an event in London, so he took the reins and played for the last hour of the party. We had all our friends and family dancing together to our most favourite music, and you could feel the happiness in the air!
From one couple to another…
Enjoy every second of it all, and if you can, take a quick 10 mins separate together to appreciate the moment. We wouldn’t do anything different except for starting our ceremony earlier than we did, which was at 3pm, but the day goes by so fast that we kind of wished we had done the ceremony at noon!
However, we organised other events throughout the weekend, like welcome drinks the day before and a brunch the day after which helped in extending the celebration!
Venue The Tythe Barn
Photography New Forest Studio
Hair Emma Page
Florist Blossom & Ivy
Cake All Cakes and Sizes
Based on a weekday wedding in January.