Simon & Lara’s Wedding at The Post Barn

S & L were so confident in this venue and their vision, they booked it based on the architect drawings, and only saw it completed on their wedding day! They styled the space beautifully with a boho-glam theme of pampas grass, colourful dried and fresh florals, long wooden trestle tables and a touch of sparkle.

Lara says…

Everything about The Post was spot on perfect. We actually booked it based on the CGI photos and had never seen it fully completed until our wedding day, but we wouldn’t change it for the world! The beautiful structure with glass windows and rustic charm was what sold it to us. We felt so lucky to be the venue’s first wedding.

My wedding dress was designed by Madi Lane but it had been altered slightly. The back was lowered and crystals were added to the straps and back for extra sparkle. It was totally different to the dress I imagined myself to wear. I always thought I would be in a fishtail style but my sister in law suggested that I start looking at designers that I loved and find a bridal shop based on that. I think I tried on about 20 dresses in total – I had soo much fun trying them all on, and it is definitely an experience I felt very grateful to have had.

My bridesmaids wore all different dresses as I’d been inspired by a look through Pinterest – mix of natural, gold and pinks – they looked amazing! We also really wanted the dresses to suit each bridesmaid’s body shape and personality so we made sure they were involved in the process. My Mum went for a floor length rose gold sparkly dress from Debenhams – she looked awesome!

If Simon had it his way the groomsmen probably would have been in multi coloured suits. But we went for navy waistcoats with a funky white tiki vibe on the back, navy trousers both from Moss Bros, Hugo Boss white grandad collar shirt, white Jack & Jones trainers, and a pampas buttonhole.

The team at The Post Barn did an incredible job with the decor. Boho glam meets rustic! Pampas grass was everywhere, set off by beautiful candles and a room full of our favourite people. We loved having a Boho glam feel (we were totally inspired by this through Pinterest) – the colour scheme combined naturals, golds and pinks.

Hazle Baker (sister in law) was in charge of all bridal/groom party bouquets. Sam Baker (Simon’s friend and owner of The Garden Society) created all the beautiful decorations including all the flowers. Marlene (my mum) created all the confetti. We had pampas, roses, orchids and dried flower mix but in all honesty Sam & Hazle took total control of that.

We didn’t go for one cake, we opted for lots of little cakes made by the Pantry in Hazlemere. The wedding breakfast was catered for in-house by The Post, it was just stunning.

We chose Chris Giles as our photographer because he’s been Simon’s headshot photographer since 2010. Chris was already an established wedding photographer but Simon was one of his first headshot models. They built a great professional friendship over the years and Simon has used Chris ever since. We set up our Best Man and Bridesmaid, Mo and Christina, with Chris for their wedding in 2018. After meeting with many photographers, Chris won them over with his cheeky charm and great portfolio. We never really discussed photographers for our wedding, it was always just kind of a given that it would be Chris, and we’re so glad it was.

As with his headshots, Chris’ wedding shots capture more than just the beauty of the dress or the venue, he captures the individual beauty and personality of his subjects, as well as the emotion of the day. Always on hand to attach a buttonhole, chat up your nan or eat cake, Chris is as memorable a part of the day as the photos he captures. It’s not until you see Chris at work that you appreciate all the positions he’s willing to adopt to get that perfect shot. Our first dance had him scurrying all over the place and switching between cameras to capture as much as he could and he smashed it. Probably worked off some cake in the process too!

Best part of the day

Our first dance! Given our backgrounds (I’m a dance and fitness teacher, and Simon is a presenter/actor) we think people may have suspected something choreographed but we seemed to shock everyone with our near nine minute dance production featuring bridesmaids and best men. We’d only had one studio rehearsal after some tricky Zoom sessions but we pulled it off and it’ll go down as one of our best memories of the day.

From one couple to another…

Enjoy every process in the planning. It flies by and just make sure you take in all the fun of planning your perfect day.