Colourful Barn Wedding at South Farm

Beautiful Outdoor Ceremony…

Toady we have a colourful, fun-filled wedding to share with you all; Shot by one of our suppliers, Mckinley Rodgers, and set at the beautiful South Farm, who are also part of the Mr & Mrs Unique team!

Sian & James had their ceremony in the venues stunning garden, surrounded by a lily pond, and continued their celebrations in the exquisite Tudor Barn – magical! Just check out her gorgeous Free People dress… LOVE IT!

Name of the couple: Sian & James

Venue: South Farm, Royston

Sian & James…

Tell us how you met and got engaged…

We were set up! I was living in a shared house and one of the girls came back after she met James- who was her boyfriend’s cousin and said ‘This guy is all stubbly with messy hair and wears big boots, I think you should meet him’ After our first date (we took our dog Bear for a very muddy walk, got lost and he had to call his mate to pick us up) I told my mum I was going to marry him.

He proposed on New Year in 2013 – which I know sounds cheesy but he knows it’s my favorite day of the year! We were watching the fireworks on TV for the countdown when he kneeled in front of me. I asked him to get out of the way of the fireworks and then realized he was holding up a ring! He knew I wanted to choose my engagement ring so he used a ring that had a massive multicoloured butterfly stuck on it which his late granddad bought for his nan at the local fete. Was pretty awesome.

What was your main hopes and plan for the day…

That everyone would feel welcome and relaxed, have enough food and drink, and that the sun would shine! Which it did! To be honest, we didn’t really plan much and just left it quite organic, which worked well and rubbed off on everyone else. We have the venue to thank a lot for shuffling people around as we had no idea of timings or what we were doing other than laughing and drinking!

Was your favourite part of the day…

After the cake cutting, when our song; Reef- Place Your Hands came on and everyone went crazy, was an awesome moment surrounded by everyone we love, dancing, singing and hugging, it really was one of those times you want to burst you’re so happy think how lucky you are that you have such amazing people in your life.

How was your day unique…

To be honest it was more about the atmosphere than anything else that made it unique- so many people have said to us they had never been to a wedding that was so full of love and happiness, which is awesome as that was not something we had planned, it just happened!

Some things we did a bit differently was I had both my parents walk me up the aisle rather than just my dad, we burnt incense throughout the day so there was a nice subtle smell of sandalwood, we had a Tuk Tuk pick us up after the ceremony and took James and I round the field so we could have a few minutes alone together which was great before going back to the party.

The thought of having a first dance was filling us with dread so we used the cake cutting as our first dance which worked out so well. I also didn’t know what my bridesmaids were going to wear as I wanted it to be a surprise so that was really nice, they chose very well and looked gorgeous!

What was your budget…

£15,000

What was your biggest expense…

The food and drink! But it was amazing, we had vegetable Thai green curry, lamb massaman and chicken pad thai on each table that they kept filling up which was just fabulous. Well worth the money, especially as the food and drink was our main concern; I am not a fan of going to weddings and being hungry or having lukewarm food served 20 minutes after the tables on the other side of the room! We didn’t want any hunger rage from our friends!

How did you save money…

My mum saw some fabulous oversized colourful bubble wands at the 99p store so they picked up 75 of them and we used them as favours, they were so popular and made the barn look fantastic! My friend made our wedding cake which was AMAZING and fitted in with the multicoloured theme. I also didn’t have a wedding ring as I loved my engagement ring so much I didn’t feel the need so that was a good saving too!

What was it like working with your photographer…

Oh my god, Pen and Cam were SO amazing, we hate having our photos taken and find it very awkward, we also wanted photos that were a bit different and creative that really caught the emotion of the day- no formality. They were just fantastic, I can’t stress enough how much you need Pen and Cam at your wedding; they are like your mates and make you feel so at ease. People still comment on how amazing our photos are, and how they both really added to the day. A lot of the boys (including James) have a massive man crush on Cam too!

Advice to any couples about to get married…

Ooooo, this is a tough one because it does depend how you are as a person. James and I really didn’t plan much for this, it was very relaxed and that really came across to the guests. We didn’t have any bits and pieces that weren’t needed; don’t over complicate things when it doesn’t need to be! But I think the main thing is to be yourself; we are both very excitable people and we didn’t hide our excitement at all, a lot of people get very nervous and think they have to behave in a certain way but we were just so happy and excited and we let it all out! After my mum and dad had walked me up the aisle, I jumped on James and he gave me a massive hug and span me round which is just how we would be when we’re alone. How you are will rub off on the guests and set the mood for the day.

Beautiful – Congratulations to you both!