Samantha and Simon’s Rustic Spring Celebration

With the sun shining on a beautiful March day, Curradine Barns was at its finest for Sam and Simon’s elegant country wedding.

The Perfect Venue

When choosing their wedding venue, Sam and Simon were on the lookout for somewhere that could be exclusively theirs, and that wasn’t a hotel function room. The on-site guest accommodation and bridal dressing room sealed the deal!

“We liked the idea of a barn and loved Curradine Barns as soon as we visited. It’s in a beautiful location with plenty of photo opportunities, and the barn, courtyard and farmhouse are all so lovely.” – Samantha and Simon

Wedding Style

With the barn and its surroundings, and a desire to create an informal ambience, Sam and Simon chose a rustic wedding style with a neutral colour scheme and a hint of delicate pink. Lace and hessian bunting adorned the Granary Barn for their civil ceremony, with ivory rose petals lining the aisle. The theme continued into the Barley Barn, with hessian and lace table runners alongside the fairy lights and tea lights provided by Curradine Barns.

Fabulous Florals

Roses were the order of the day – a perfect choice for a romantic countryside wedding. As for the bouquets, Sam carried a hand-tied posy with antique roses wrapped in twine, and the bridesmaids posies were smaller versions of the same style. Continuing the rose theme, buttonholes were made from ivory roses.

“Our table centres were rustic cream jugs filled with flowers for that hand-picked look.” – Samantha

And the Bride Wore…

Sam had been looking for a stylish dress that would complement her figure, and without any ‘bling’, in keeping with the simple elegance of the day. ‘Ornani’ by Pronovias was the chosen one, an elegant mermaid dress in lace with bateau neckline and keyhole back. The delicate rose design on the lace was in complete harmony with the style of the day.

Simon wore a three-piece charcoal grey suit from Peter Posh. “The waistcoat was a contrasting lighter grey tweet with a subtle check” says Sam, “and he accessorised with an ivory tie and pocket handkerchief.” As for the bridesmaids, they looked beautiful in long dresses by Sorella Vita in a beautiful shade of dusky rose.

“After trying on what felt like hundreds of dresses, I found my dream gown in a bridal boutique in the village where I live!” – Samantha

Congratulations!

Following their ceremony, Sam and Simon held their drinks reception in the courtyard.

“Despite it being March, we were lucky enough to have a lovely sunny day. We served Sangria Flora as the welcome drink which went down a storm with our guests!” – Samantha and Simon

With the sun shining, guests were treated to delicious canapés including sun blushed tomato, olive and parmesan tartlets and smoked salmon blinis with dill cream cheese and salmon caviar. To entertain, an acoustic guitarist played throughout the drinks reception, and a close-up magician delighted with his tricks! “Our guitarist, Dan, was an amazing talent” says Sam. “A wedding industry awards winner, he was like a human juke box!”

The Wedding Breakfast

Dining in the pretty Barley Barn, the catering team created a menu starting with ham hock, sage and onion croquette with braised puy lentils. For the main course, guests enjoyed corn fed roast chicken with all the trimmings, and to finish… sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce.

“We love a roast dinner and old-fashioned puddings, so we chose to have them for our first meal as a married couple. The chicken was delicious and came with enormous Yorkshire puddings which we weren’t expecting!” – Samantha and Simon

Let Them Eat Cake!

Sam and Simon’s wedding cake brought together the rustic elegant theme and the vintage roses. Adorned with sugar roses in dusky pink, the delicious fillings included victoria sponge, lemon and white chocolate, and salted caramel with chocolate orange. For favours, guests were given miniature jars to fill with sweets from the sweet cart.

Evening Celebrations

As day turned to evening, a covers band called Audio Heroes got the party started, and the newlyweds danced their first dance to ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri. With the lovely weather, a fire pit barbecue was just the thing and guests enjoyed burgers, sausages and chicken kebabs alongside halloumi skewers, falafel and vegetarian sausages.

Sam’s Top Tip

“Don’t get stressed and bogged down with the planning. Seek help when you need it and get your groom to help too! It’s such a special time. Simon and I planned everything together and seeing our plans come together on the day was wonderful.”