Claire & Darren
March 2023
Photos courtesy of Snapdragon Photography
See lots more lovely photos of Claire & Darren’s day in our gallery here.
Claire and Darren both work locally and live in Bideford. They were searching for a wedding venue that their family and friends would enjoy and booked The Old Barn on their first viewing: “It was perfect fit for our style and personalities.”
Was it important to you that it was a DIY venue?
Having a DIY venue was so important to us because we didn’t want a wedding space that didn’t mean anything to us. It felt so personal at The Old Barn – we don’t think it would have been the same in a standard venue. It was brilliant to have the freedom of choice on how to decorate and we had everything the way we wanted it. You can decorate The Old Barn as little or as much as you like, it’s already such a stunning venue as it is.
Did you have a large budget?
We had a total budget of £17,000 which we stayed within – we were pleased with all of our DIY choices and having the dodgems to take from the day to evening was the perfect entertainment for everyone.
What sort of atmosphere were you aiming for?
We’re not a ‘formal’ couple so we didn’t want a stuffy wedding atmosphere. We had a wildflower boho theme which The Old Barn fitted perfectly. We wanted a fun, chilled vibe and that’s exactly how our day was.
What did you wear?
Claire – Rosa Clara Alejandra gown and home customised shoes
Darren – Mark Darcy Tan tweed blazer, chinos and vans shoes
Tell us about the actual ceremony …
The ceremony was so beautiful. I thought I’d feel too nervous to enjoy it or cry through the whole thing, but we were both just beaming with happiness the whole time. The registrar was fantastic, her words were perfect and we stood sightly angled towards our ceremony guests so everyone could see properly and we could see everyone. We loved it!
What about your food and drink?
For the wedding breakfast we had a hog roast with all the trimmings plus side salads from North Devon Hog Roast Company. Their food and service were absolutely brilliant. We had their gold catering option and also paid extra to have our welcome and toasting drinks served and tableware cleaned (a brilliant decision!). We would highly recommend them.
For our evening buffet we used Sandford’s Bakery in Torrington – if you know Sandford’s you’ll know the buffet was brilliant! So many guests have since remarked on how good it was.
What music did you have?
We had Land of 1000 Dances Disco & DJ Service. Jez was brilliant!
What was the best part of the day for you?
We honestly both loved the whole day from start to finish. The ceremony was beautiful and it was fantastic to see all the guests enjoying the dodgems!
What did your guests think of the dodgems?
They absolutely loved them and are still talking about them! My uncle stayed on for the entire hour and half! We also had some really beautiful photos taken on them before the rest of our guests joined us, The dodgems are a plus point on an already fantastic quirky venue..
Are you glad you had the day you did?
We couldn’t have wished for a more perfect day! Every part was incredible! It rained on and off all day and it didn’t matter at all, we had lots of photos taken inside and then when the weather cleared we had some beautiful photos taken outside too.
Did you feel well taken care of by The Old Barn team?
The whole team at the Old Barn are fantastic!
Joss is amazing at her job and we can’t thank her enough for her guidance and cheery nature all the way through our wedding experience – and we have now gained a beautiful friend out if it too!
The rest of the team especially Chelsea were brilliant too, and also the guys for helping us create some brilliant dodgems photos! They are a fantastic bunch of people – seriously thank you all!
Were there any other wedding suppliers that you’d recommend?
Iconic Hair and Beauty – Connie is fantastic, she made us all feel so beautiful, I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a MUA
Petal and Posie Florist – Denise created such beautiful flower arrangements for our bouquets, buttonholes, corsages, bud vase flowers for the tables and also wedding aisle flowers. We had dried flowers and we are so pleased with the way our vision turned out thanks to her.
Holts Jewellery – My wedding band was custom made to fit around the engagement ring. The band is an orange blossom hand engraved ring, it’s truly beautiful.
Bronzed by Becks – a usually pasty-faced bride was made to feel glowy and sun-kissed with added confidence from a beautiful tan!
Snapdragon Photography – Kayleigh Lee, what can we say? Our photos speak for themselves. Kayleigh is an incredible photographer who captured our day perfectly and we couldn’t be happier with them. She fitted into our wedding so well and made us feel so at ease the whole day. If you haven’t booked a photographer, book Kayleigh!
Tristan Adams Photography and Videography – Tristan and his dad were fantastic the whole day! We cannot wait to see the video of our wedding – check out his website of work, he is so talented!
South Molton Taxis – Beautiful executive wedding car for bride and her father, brilliant company!