Sarah & Tom married in July at the quirky Preston Court, a beautiful barn wedding venue in Kent with a unique sense of style! The couple fell in love with the barn décor, the roaming Peacocks and the fairground rides.
Dip in for fabulous fashion, relaxed vibes and the best portrait session ever all thanks to Green Antlers Photography.
Sarah says…
Preston Court was the first and last venue we looked at. It just fit perfectly with our vision and loose brief of a quirky, boho, barn wedding. The carousel, organs, peacocks and Gypsy Wagon were just the cherries, icing and sprinkles on top of the cake!
The beautiful little Church, St Mildred’s, is within a 200 yard walk from the venue and felt so quaint and traditional. The girls at Preston Court could not have been more helpful or more accommodating.
I initially planned on wearing a super bohemian and relaxed style dress, but after trying on the best part of 150 dresses of varying styles I still couldn’t find ‘the one’. I ended up trying on the Justin Alexander gown on a cold November evening and whilst I didn’t get the fireworks and tears everyone spoke of, I did say to the Sales Assistant that it “made me feel a little bit like Beyonce”, to which she replied “Surely you have to buy the dress that makes you feel like Beyonce!?”. And I did.
It really was quirky and unlike anything I’d ever seen before so I was really pleased I chose it. It turns out a fully embellished, beaded dress feels slightly different in 32 degrees in July than it did on that cold November evening, so I also bought a lightweight French Connection gown to change into in the evening so I could throw some shapes!
My veil and earrings were borrowed from my sisters and my something old and blue was my Great Grandmother’s vintage brooch pinned to my bouquet.
Tom, his Ushers and Best Men wore suits from ASOS. Their ties were from Marks & Spencer and Tom’s shoes were Ted Baker. ASOS Premier Delivery at £9.99 for a year is well worth investing in if you plan on ordering your bridal party outfits! Also keep your eyes peeled for discount codes!
The venue already looks like a Pinterest board, so we were lucky that we didn’t need to spend too much on décor. We hung some eBay paper lanterns in the barn and made a Pick ‘n’ Mix station on a bar cart. Our card box was an up cycled carpenters tool box from a car boot sale for just £3! We spent hours crafting 3D paper flowers to go around the seating plan and then ran out of time to out them up! We crafted our own order of service from an Etsy template and printed it on Kraft paper, my sister hand-stitched Lavender from her garden on to the front of each one.
When it comes to flowers I love arrangements that are abundant in greenery and also love succulents, so that was our theme! My bouquet was silver and grey toned leaves with vintage roses. Tom’s buttonhole featured a succulent and we had them dotted around the centre pieces on the tables. The top table was mismatched vintage bottles with single stem flowers and we had two milk churns with wild flowers. I loved the relaxed feel.
Our catering was supplied by Scott Anderson, we had fairground theme canapés at the drinks reception including mini Fish & Chips, Nutella filled doughnuts, mini hot dogs and mini candied apples on sticks. The main was a self-service BBQ with pastas and salads. For dessert we had a trio of yumminess – Eton Mess, chocolate brownie with salted caramel and fruit salad. I was too busy chatting to enjoy my food but guests feedback was that it was delicious!
Our talented friend, Attia, Baked cupcakes in lieu of a traditional wedding cake, she did red velvet, chocolate and salted caramel and Victoria sponge with fresh strawberries – something for everyone!
One of the things that was very important to us when planning the wedding was working with suppliers who we wanted to have around us on our special day and we hit the jackpot with our photographers. Sam & Diana are a husband and wife duo who are insanely talented, passionate and unobtrusive. We Booked an engagement shoot with them and could not have been happier with the pics. It was an easy choice to have them shoot our big day. The huge smiles on our faces in our photos are testament to their fantastic sense of humour and how comfortable they made us feel. Book them!
Best part of the day
Tom and I standing together after our ceremony for a few minutes beneath the trees before doing the Guard of Honour (Tom is a Firefighter) and confetti walk. My niece, nephews and I singing to Whitney Houston at the top of our lungs, riding on the carousel whilst the sun set. The speeches!
From one bride to another…
Be strict with your guest list, only invite the people who you really want there to share this one in a lifetime day. Trust your gut.
If you have a barn/outdoor wedding, do not invest in expensive shoes if you expect to be able to wear them again – mine were wrecked!
Etsy is fab for buying wedding stationery templates you can personalise and print yourself! I found this out after I had spend £600 on Save the Dates and Invites.
Venue Preston Court
Photography Green Antlers Photography
Flowers Emily & Me
Bridal Dress Justin Alexander
Bridesmaids John Lewis
Groom’s Attire ASOS, Marks & Spencer and Ted Baker
Hair Kim at She Said Yes Bridal Hair
Caterers Scott Anderson Catering
Band The Flocollective
Based on a weekday wedding in March. Includes drink.