Steph & Dave
October 2022
Photos courtesy of The Wild Bride
See lots more lovely photos of Steph & Dave’s day in our gallery here.
Steph & Dave, from Dilton Marsh in Wiltshire, chose The Old Barn as the venue for their October 2022 wedding. Steph, 30, is a beauty therapist while David, 32, is a plasterer and they’ve been together for 13 years. Steph told us about their big day …
What made you choose The Old Barn?
I just loved how beautiful the barn was! How light and airy the conservatory was, and the grape vine in there. I knew I wanted to get married in autumn because I love all the colours, but also wanted to get married outside. And this bought the outside in so it was just perfect!
Was it important to you that you could do so much yourselves?
To be honest, the thought of a DIY venue terrified me! I’m not the most organised of people, but after looking at other venues that did it all I couldn’t find exactly what I was after. We wanted a super relaxed day and venues that offered catering alongside all seemed very formal. Plus Joss was just so welcoming and also had the same chill vibe as me so knew we’d get along great! And it wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would all be with the help of great suppliers.
Did you have a large budget?
When we first started out we set a budget of £10-12k. All in all I think it came to about £14-15k so not too much over! And like I said, not very organised so no spreadsheet over here! We had a few problems with caterers pulling out and then our band pulled out 4 weeks before. So we ended up spending more than we wanted to on the music, but everything happens for a reason and the suppliers we had were great!
What sort of vibe were you aiming for?
We wanted a real relaxed informal day. We just wanted everyone to have fun! We went for a real boho autumn feel with all the colours, dried flowers and soft lighting.
What did you wear?
I really struggled with the whole wedding dress shopping. I knew I wanted separates and places around me didn’t really have what I was looking for. So I ordered lots of different pieces online from Catherine Deane, tried them all on in different ways, lots of times and eventually whittled it down to a tulle skirt, a lace bodice with a lace overlay. I got the skirt and bodice new and got the over top from ‘still white’ where they sell second hand dresses! I wanted to get it all on there, but I was running out of time and my mum and bridesmaids were panicking so ended up with a new skirt and bodice.
Tell us about the actual ceremony.
The ceremony lasted around 30 minutes and was really lovely. Again we kept it nice and relaxed, with a little bit of silliness where we could. The registrar talked us through everything and Joss helped me with feeling super calm.
What about your food and drink?
Again, we kept it all super chill and informal. We had a few children there, including my own who I didn’t want to make sit down and eat a 3 course meal. We served Pimms for a welcome drink and then straight after the ceremony the bar opened so people could get what they liked. We had canapés go around as a starter and then grazing tapas sharing boards for a main. Andy at Buen Apetito was THE best caterer we could’ve asked for. He took care of absolutely everything. He made the Pimms up and served it for us. Washed all the glasses after. Moved all the chairs for us from the ceremony room to the dining room. Moved tables, I tried to offer but he said absolutely not! I was even emailing him the night before about something and he told me to stop and relax! Every single person commented on how amazing the food was and it was the best food they’d ever had at a wedding. Then for desert, one of my amazing bridesmaids made us the most epic brownie tower which people just helped themselves to in the evening!
What about entertainment/music?
Well… as I previously mentioned our band pulled out 4 weeks before the wedding. So full panic mode set in and I started emailing different companies to see who had last minute availability. I’d gone off the idea of a band as just felt like there was a bad aura around it. So we had Matt the DJ, The Wedding Spinner, and he was great! Then playing alongside the DJ we had a sax player for that Ibiza vibe which was AMAZING! Sam was so good, came out into the crowd and danced with people and when he wasn’t playing was still on the dance floor! They worked so well together and again guests said how much fun it was and they’d never been to a wedding before with a sax player.
What was the best part of the day for you, or the thing you loved most about it?
All of it! But the dodgems were by far the highlight.
Did you go on the dodgems? What did your guests think of them?
We did! I was skeptical how they’d be! But they were such a hit. The kids loved them, and the adults just as much! It brought out everyone’s inner child and really set everyone in a good mood for the evening
How did Covid impact your wedding and how do you feel our team dealt with it?
Luckily we booked 2 years in advance so Covid didn’t effect us. We had a caterer pull out due to Covid, and Joss was really helpful with giving us lots of other suppliers.
Are you glad you had the day you did?
Definitely! It was one of the best days of our lives! We smiled and laughed from start to finish. Neither of us felt nervous or stressed.
Did you feel well taken care of by The Old Barn team?
Everyone at The Old Barn was the best! Joss was so helpful with all the information she gave us. The bar staff were all amazing too!
Were there any other wedding suppliers that you’d recommend such as hair, makeup, cars or flowers?
Heather from Church Park Flowers. The flowers were insane, I’ve even bought them home and dried my bouquet out.
Vicky from Do Me A Favour. I cannot recommend Vicky enough! She dressed the whole day for me. This is a must have for me! She came and set everything up and the next day came and took it all down. It was honestly worth its weight in gold. Especially for us as we were travelling 3 hours down so didn’t have room in the car for decor too!
West Wooley Farm Cottages is where we stayed. It was about 15 mins away and perfect! They have lots of cottages on the farm so great for you and your bridesmaids or family. Such a lovely little farm too, they take the kids around in the morning to feed all the animals and have a big play barn full of toys for the kids.
The Wedding Spinner filled in for me super last minute and we’re also really helpful. They played all the music we wanted!
Andy and team from Buen Apetito. I think I’ve already mentioned Andy but I’m recommending him here too as he deserves it! He was so friendly, felt like I’d known him years. And the food was incredible! He offers such a wide range of different options too!