Martin & Rachel's Farnham Castle Wedding, Surrey

A simple winter wedding in the stunning ruins of Farnham Castle…

A pretty lovely start to the morning thanks to Martin & Rachel’s big day captured by Real Simple Photography.

Notes from the Bride

Rachel:

We wanted our day to be fun, light, elegant and classically beautiful.

We searched for a venue that was simple, elegant and had accommodation. With family and friends travelling from across the country and world, we wanted somewhere special but easy to get to. As soon as we saw Farnham Castle online we were desperate to arrange a visit. It didn’t disappoint. The ruins, castle and the views are all stunning. The team were fantastic, explained all the options, answered endless questions and put us completely at ease.

The wedding dress was silk bought from Berwick Street and made by a family friend. I wanted a dress that was simple, classic and made of beautiful soft material. I wanted to twirl on the dance floor with the dress swishing around me. As we got married on 2nd January, I looked for something to keep me warm, I found a glamourous ivory cape with gemstones round the neckline in Ted Baker, I loved it! My shoes were from Dune and matched the bridesmaids, metallic coloured to add a bit of sparkle for the winter.

We struggled at first to find a florist for our wedding date as many of the flower markets are closed around that time of year! But we were recommended Briar Rose Floral Design, a local independent florist in Guildford. We wanted a wild meadow look but for winter!

Our colours were whites and blues with the bridesmaids in short porcelain dresses from French Connection with beaded tops and the groomsmen in Ted Baker/M&S blue suits. Our florist, Megan, picked out these colours perfectly in the flowers, even adding a touch of purple to compliment the flower girl’s sequin dress from Monsoon and the groomsmen’s ties and pocket squares. She made a stunning arrangement to go above the huge stone fireplace in the Great Hall with the same flowers as the bouquets – paperwhites, anemone, waxflower, astilbe, and freesia as well as beautiful greenery. She did a truly fantastic job!

Farnham Castle have Galloping Gourmet cater for all their functions – the food was incredible! So many guests said they had never had such great food at a wedding, it really was delicious – top restaurant quality. One of our highlights in planning the wedding was the tasting evening! The lemon naked cake was delicious and lovingly made by the mother of the bride, decorated with flowers from Briar Rose Floral Design.

We wanted a photographer that captured the feel of the day, keeping the formal and posed photos to a minimum. Farnham Castle recommended a number of photographers which is how we came across Real Simple Photography. Jacques was fantastic from the off, meeting us on a Sunday afternoon to show us some of his work and for us to explain what we were after. The photos as simply stunning. I hadn’t appreciated how great it is to have two photographers. Jacques spent the morning with the groom and his groomsmen whilst Natalie spent the morning with me and the bridesmaids. We have hundreds of photos sent to us on a USB stick but we also opted for an album which was a great decision as Jacques chose some fabulous photos, the album tells the story of what was the most amazing day.

We wanted our wedding to be fun from start to finish so hired Gospel Touch Choir to sing during the ceremony at All Saints Church, TIlford. They played I Giorni for my entrance but before hand sang Oh Happy Day to entertain the guests! They sang Amazing Grace with the guests which made it both memorable and moving. Our band, Soul Fiesta, were amazing, they had everyone up on the dance floor which made for a great party. They happily played our first dance song (All of Me by John Legend) and amended the sets according to what people were dancing to.

Best Part of the Day…

The best part of the day was being announced as Mr & Mrs in front of all our friends and family, cheesy but true, its what the day was all about.

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

Our only tip is to embrace it, whatever the weather, family politics and mini dramas, enjoy it all. We had an amazing day captured beautifully by the photographs – the food, dresses, suits, venue, choir, band and flowers were all perfect and our guests loved it, we couldn’t be happier.