A Modern Barn Wedding at Launcells Barton - Neutral Wedding Inspiration

Stationer and stylist Nikki, the lovely lady behind Knots & Kisses, is back on the blog again today with her take on a modern barn wedding featuring the stunning Launcells Barton.

Launcells is a Grade II* listed country house and barn wedding venue in Cornwall and it’s owned by real-life couple Matthew and Lara. Together they’ve lovingly restored the beautiful manor house and created a purpose-built Reception Barn, both surrounded by tranquil and picturesque countryside.

The venue offers a flexible, fully bespoke service and exclusive use for your celebration. Keep reading to take a step inside the blank-canvas barns, but if you want to see more then Launcells Barton have a Wedding Open Day on Sunday 26th January where you can take a look around and talk to some of their favourite suppliers, whilst quaffing a glass of bubbles!

Notes from the Stylist

Image by <a class="text-p3" href="http://www.clarekinchinphotography.co.uk" target="_blank">Clare Kinchin Photography</a>.
A Modern Barn Wedding at <a class="text-p3" href="http://cocoweddingvenues.co.uk/coco_listing/launcells-barton/" target="_blank">Launcells Barton</a>.

Nikki says…

As a stylist in Devon & Cornwall in the UK there are a huge amount of beautiful old barn venues for couples to get married in, but I felt it was time that the ‘barn wedding’ was given a modern update! We have so many brides and grooms who love to travel here from London to get married because of the beautiful scenery and atmosphere but who might want a more modern and glamorous wedding than your traditional rustic barn with hay bales.

My design concept started, surprisingly, with a teapot! I had found a really beautiful tea set in Bali whilst on Honeymoon in a shop which combined the beautiful traditional wood of Bali with a much more modern Scandinavian aesthetic. The tea set came home with me and I started thinking that this would be a wonderful starting point for my ideas for an update on the barn wedding, combining sleek modern shapes with beautiful natural wood.

The key to this shoot was its stripped back nature. So, I created a colour palette which was strictly neutrals of white, cream, taupe and brown with the beautiful wood finishes essentially being the ‘accents’. All the details came from the beautiful textures of chunky knits, sheepskins and really tactile ceramics and cotton.

Launcells Barton, just outside Bude in Cornwall, was the perfect setting as it has two beautiful barns. An old ceremony barn oozing with character and a more modern reception barn with a really gorgeous modern feel.

The first part of the day was the ceremony. Set up in the beautiful old ceremony barn, I created a ceremony backdrop using sheepskins which was beautifully dressed with an amazing modern but rustic arrangement of twigs, cotton and blossom by florist Brompton Buds. A similar modern bouquet also complimented the design and the cosy feel was accentuated with rustic benches and baskets of beautiful chunky knits from Lauren Aston and further sheepskins.

For the wedding meal Brompton Buds created another stunning hanging display of twigs and cotton for over the table. Gorgeous rustic tables from The Prop Factory were dressed with modern linen runners, simple white crockery and wooden bowls with matching cutlery. As a stationer as well as stylist, I also created some simple place cards to finish the look.

Food was a key part of our ideas for this wedding day. The amazingly talented team from Garnish & Thirst Choice created ‘sharing boards’ of food which matched perfectly with the neutral colour scheme. A menu of Confide pickled wild mushrooms with braised leeks and cauliflower cous cous, a duck egg, poached hens egg & boiled quail egg plate and a fish board of sprats, cod skin, salted cod, scallops, squid & pickled mackerel, along side others were joined by an amazing dessert board of soft meringue, caramelised white chocolate, honeycomb, popcorn, nougat, dried figs & coconut sorbet!

My idea for the cake table was to create a modern Scandi-meets-oriental take on the traditional afternoon tea. Utilising the beautiful tea set. The talented Edible Essence created a centrepiece cake along with beautiful mini bundts and Danish biscuits for a sharing table for the guests to tuck in to.

Evening shots were in the cosy ‘Bar Barn’ at Launcells Barton with its gorgeous rustic stone walls.

Photographer Clare Kinchin worked closely with me and totally got the vision for the shoot using the barns to maximum impact and creating a feeling of space. We didn’t want any of the shots to feel too cluttered.

Along with hairstylist The Updo Girl and Make Up Artist Emma Roberts, the team at Lovely Bridal in Honiton worked together to create modern Nordic looks with beautiful dresses from Charlie Brear and Jesus Peiro, and shoes from Freya Rose.

We created several looks for the bride and groom throughout the day with different looks for the ceremony, wedding breakfast and evening reception. The groom’s outfits from The Grooms Room in Plymouth were kept light and simple to compliment the look.

Nikki Stark Jewellery created some beautiful modern silver rings for the bride and groom to wear.