When your plans for your wedding include ‘happiness and LOTS of dancing’, there’s only one wedding venue that fits the bill – Upwaltham Barns! Raye and Robin organised a brilliantly vibrant and colourful wedding that was absolutely full of amazing DIY touches.

Finding ‘the one’

With a clear idea of the style of wedding they wanted, Raye and Robin set out to find a venue that would give them the freedom to create their perfect day and Upwaltham Barns was the perfect location for their joyful celebration:

“As soon as we saw Upwaltham Barns we knew we had to get married there. It was absolutely beautiful; quiet, intimate and yet full of character. More than anything, the people were warm and friendly and you definitely didn’t get a corporate feel or any kind of pressure. We love the countryside and the surrounding area is incredible too! I loved visiting there in the run-up to the big day and it was stunning in all seasons!”

Styling Upwaltham Barns

For their early June wedding, Raye and Robin decided on a relaxed, multi-coloured summery theme with hints of florals linking all of the homemade details together. The couple also chose rose gold and pastel accents to pick out the colours of the metal and stones in Raye’s engagement ring.

“We chose local florist Rose Cottage Flowers and I just loved her style and website. My bouquet was absolutely incredible!! It was a real mix of peonies, roses and lots of other brights, set off with zingy foliage. On the day, Kerry also supplied two amazing heart shaped wreaths for the barns and the corsages and headdresses she provided for my bridesmaids were absolutely stunning! The boys had roses with beautiful natural greenery and twine for their buttonholes.”

Raye and Robin created their centerpieces by filling vases and tins with an array of fresh flowers to bring a natural and summery feel to their tables. With a little help from the bride’s parents, the couple lovingly went about crafting a wealth of other decorative items too.

“We made lots of signs and frames and an ‘order of the day’ board using pallets and stencils, lots of lettering that we sprayed ourselves in rose gold, and my Dad helped me make our lovely seating plan with MDF, blackboard paint, light bulbs, and lots of lovely Polaroids. We also had giant balloons and lots of lanterns around the venue. We made our own stationery too but asked a brilliant illustrator to create the character drawing of the two of us that went on invites and our CD wedding favours.”

Dressing for the occasion

Raye was just a little bit obsessed with her wedding dress! After falling for it on the Teokath Wimbledon website, she just knew that she had to try it on. However, when she finally visited the boutique, her adored design was nowhere to be seen. Or so she thought…

“I couldn’t see it and tried on a variety of other lovely dresses, but then on the off-chance decided to show them the pic on the website…. I had actually completely bypassed it on my way round, which shows you it’s always worth trying things on! I pretty much loved it immediately and felt the most confident I had out of any of the dresses I had tried in lots of shops. It was a little out of my budget, so I decided to keep on trying elsewhere to see if anything matched up, but it never did and I had to come back and accept that it was ‘the one’. The dress made me feel fab on the day and it was definitely worth splurging a little!”

Raye accessorised her gown with a pair of pastel blue shoes from Rachel Simpson, a veil borrowed from a friend and elegant, understated jewellery. Her earrings were particularly special, as they had been made for her by a friend as a 30^th birthday present.

Robin wore a classic dark blue wool suit from Next with a matching waistcoat and super cute green polka dot bow tie, ordered specially from the US. The bridesmaids wore different variations of pastel dresses with simple rose gold heels to coordinate with the colour scheme of the day.

The wedding day

Raye and Robin wanted a simple ceremony in a fantastic location and the East Barn at Upwaltham provided the perfect backdrop. Raye walked down the aisle to a song that Robin’s brother had written and composed and that absolutely set the tone for the rest of the day.

After the vows, the couple stepped out into the courtyard for their drinks reception:

“The atmosphere was beautiful and the flowers and little touches were just perfect! We were very lucky with the weather on our day and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky all day. We had a choice of prosecco, peach and strawberry Bellinis, and a selection of beers and fruit ciders (Rob’s exclusive choice of tipple!) on ice. The canapés were delicious – lamb koftas with homemade tzatziki, bourbon glazed pork belly with sour cream dip, salt and pepper squid and cheese scones with cheddar and pickled pears.”

Both Robin and Raye love sharing delicious food with friends and family so they definitely wanted their wedding menu to reflect that and work with the relaxed atmosphere of the day. The couple opted for a barbecue menu from Upwaltham Barns’ esteemed caterers, Nibbles 2 Nosh and this was served at the tables, creating a fabulous social dining atmosphere. Evening food came courtesy of Pizza Amore who served amazing wood-fired pizzas from a super cool vintage van!

The wedding cake was delicious and also very special:

“My amazing friend and cake extraordinaire Dawn Gibbs from Cushie Butterfield Cakes made our wedding cake and it was just perfect – exactly what I’d always wanted. It had four tiers, chocolate fudge, victoria sponge, red velvet and salted caramel. It was decorated with buttercream icing with a rose gold ombre finish and a selection of beautiful flowers from our florist at Rose Cottage Flowers was added to each tier. The finished result was beautiful!”

Wedding tips & advice

After such a memorable and fantastic wedding, Raye has these words of wisdom for other couples:

“I don’t think there’s anything we would do differently really, as the end result was so awesome! Definitely don’t be afraid to ask for some help, although it can be hard to relinquish control, and I can’t believe I’m saying this now but don’t sweat the tiny stuff too much. Totally enjoy the build up and all the amazing things you get to experience that you won’t ever again.”

“Ultimately remember that when all your favourite people are all together on one day, looking amazing, with your favourite music, loads of booze and yummy food, it WILL be the best day of your life, really it will!”

For more real wedding inspiration, take a look at Rachel and Patrick’s Personal Summer Wedding and see how you could celebrate your special day at this charming wedding venue in West Sussex.

Images courtesy of © Jordanna Marston