Laura & Matt first met at university. After celebrating the end of their first year of exams they officially became a couple and have been inseparable ever since. A gloriously sunny spring day in April set the backdrop for Laura & Matt tying the knot at Farbridge.

Laura tells us about their venue search and why Farbridge was the one for them. ‘We always knew we wanted a barn wedding so, soon after getting engaged we booked to go and see lots of different ones. We wanted to get married in Surrey/ West Sussex and there are some lovely barns to choose from. I can’t remember how we stumbled across Farbridge but we are sooo glad we did! We visited Farbridge with my parents on a beautiful day in November. It had a completely different feel to the other places we had visited. We could really imagine ourselves getting married at Farbridge whilst we were looking around. As well as being completely beautiful the barn itself is surrounded by gorgeous countryside. We loved the fact that we could stay overnight in the bridal suite and our close family could also stay, with breakfast in the morning.’

Laura has a keen eye and is a creative herself so when thinking about the décor for their wedding they only had to follow their instincts. ‘We wanted a rustic/ Spring feel for our wedding but we also didn’t want to get stuck in a theme and only have certain colours and styles. Lots of the décor we chose was just because we loved it. I spent hours on Pinterest finding ideas and I also loved blogs like Rock My Wedding for inspiration.’

The venue was covered in beautifully thought out details and we LOVE the twisted willow floral archway that took centre stage for Laura & Matt’s ceremony.

Laura started her wedding morning at her parents home nearby, so organised some seriously stylish transportation for her and the her bridesmaids.

Laura wore a Suzanne Neville gown called Iris with lace sleeves also by Suzanne Neville. Laura’s bridesmaids wore blush pink gowns by Maids to Measure. The boys hired their suits from Moss Bros.

‘Matt was desperate for tails so all the groomsman wore grey tails and we chose some liberty print ties to go with these.’

There are so many memories Laura & Matt will treasure from their beautiful wedding day. But they both felt the wedding ceremony was the most memorable moment for them. ‘After so much build up, planning and anticipation the best bit was definitely getting married. It was such an emotional ceremony, Matt and I passed a tissue backwards and forwards throughout our vows and I wouldn’t change it for anything.’

‘We wanted it to be relaxed and easy going. It was lovely to have the whole day at Farbridge, from getting married there to the evening reception. It meant that everything could flow easily without anyone worrying about moving to another place. We never wanted to feel stressed on the day and the Farbridge team made sure of that. We wanted it to be the best day of our lives and but also an enjoyable and memorable day for our guests.’

Bubble Bros were the perfect additional to Laura & Matt’s drinks reception to create that relaxed and easy-going atmosphere. Guests even get to top up from their vintage Citroen prosecco van! ‘I mean it’s prosecco on tap, what more is there to say!? We loved this so much and so did our guests.’

Laura & Matt are self-confessed foodies and loved designing a menu tailored just for them with our Head Chef, Simon. ‘We also chose Farbridge because of the catering. All of the other places we looked at had set menus with choices A, B and C. We loved the fact we could work with Simon and create our own menu with all of the things we loved the most. If you can’t eat what you love on your wedding day when can you?’

Starter: Home smoked coarse salmon pate, pickled apples and radishes, local asparagus, seeded wafer

Main: Beef wellington - Aged beef fillet wrapped in mustard, mushroom duxelle, herb crepe and puff pastry, creamed potato puree, garlic French beans, béarnaise sauce

Dessert: Butterscotch tart, lemon pastry, poached rhubarb, vanilla ice cream

Laura & Matt had the help of some fantastic suppliers to bring their ideas to life. Laura tells us about her experience with their chosen suppliers.

Florist – Wild Willow
I love searching for vintage/ rustic finds and I met our florist Laura at a country brocante fair. Laura runs Wild Willow and I completely fell in love with her rustic and wild floristry.

The other thing we loved about Laura was the fact she also provided props, so all the lovely things you find at country brocantes she could bring to our wedding. She combined the two beautifully for our day – we had wooden wheelbarrows filled with pots of spring flowers and milk churns, crates and jars with all the best seasonal flowers.

Photographer – Chris Giles Photography
We found our photographer Chris Giles through Farbridge’s supplier list. After searching for ages something clicked with Chris’ images. We wanted natural photographs that captured the emotion of the day with as little posed shots as possible. Chris captured this for us and we love looking back through our photos. He is also so much fun and he had us laughing the whole time.

Cake maker
My twin sister Emily made our wedding cake. She’s a terrific baker. We had a naked cake, beautifully decorated with spring flowers, marzipan bumblebees and topped with a lego bride and groom.

Music – Niche London
We had a string trio, Niche London, for our wedding ceremony. This was one of our favourite decisions. They played as I walked down the aisle (magical) and also as we left. They then played during our drinks reception in the courtyard and later our first dance song. As playing classical they also mixed it up with modern music like Happy by Pharrell Williams.

Band – Festival Sons
For the evening reception we chose a live band called Festival Sons, who had a Mumford and Sons feel to them. They were lots of fun and had people dancing into the night. The great thing about both of these choices was that we got to choose the music we wanted from start to finish so we could completely tailor it to us.

Props – Stressfree
As well as using lots of Wild Willow’s lovely props we also used Stressfree to decorate the barn. They installed festoon lights and lanterns in the beams. We also had fairy lights and garden games outside.

Cars – Love Bug & Calico Moon
Even though the whole day was at Farbridge I still wanted a wedding car so after getting ready at my parent’s house I travelled with my dad in a vintage VW beetle hired by Sussex Love Bug and the bridemaids came in a matching VW campervan by Calico Moon. Matt and I got engaged in a VW camper in Cornwall so we wanted one in our day!

Drinks – Bubble Bros
We hired a prosecco van from Bubble Bros for our drinks reception in the courtyard; we had the best weather, so this was perfect.

As the evening drew in and the festoon lighting glowed in the main barn, Laura & Matt kicked off the night of dancing to God Only Knows by the Beach Boys. This song has been very special to them for as long as they can remember.

Laura & Matt would like to share their advice with all of those couples currently planning their weddings. ‘Don’t stress! So many people say that planning a wedding is one of the most stressful things but we never felt that way. We were very organised but we also made sure we enjoyed all the planning. We would sit down together and make decisions and when it was all over we missed doing this. It was so much fun to plan! Getting married at Farbridge also helps a lot because their team help you with lots of the planning and running of the day so this takes away loads of potential stress.’

The team at Farbridge absolutely loved being part of Laura & Matt’s wedding! We take lots of inspiration from their stunning day and wish them a lifetime of love and happiness!