Your Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wedding - December 2020/January 2021 (Issue 86)

K imberley and Rob met in The Red Lion Whiteleaf pub in Buckinghamshire where she was working behind the bar and Rob visited with a friend who was a family friend of hers. "We didn't speak much at first," Kimberley tells us, "but after my shift, I had a Facebook friend request pending!" Rob proposed to Kimberley in Venice on the 8 th December 2018. "We had always wanted to visit there and thought that by doing so in December, it would be beautiful and festive," Kimberley says. "Rob took charge of booking the flights and hotel, surprising me with business class flights (which we nearly missed due to waking up late because we had both been at our Christmas work parties the night before!) and a room upgrade on arrival at Hotel Danieli. He got down on one knee in our hotel suite and asked me if I would be his wife, Mrs Barlow. I was so surprised that I didn't answer immediately because I couldn't believe it!" SETTING THE SCENE Kimberley and Rob both grew up in Buckinghamshire and had always wanted to get married there. “We had looked at other wedding venues in different areas, but as soon as we visited Notley Abbey, we knew it was the one for our special day,” Kimberley says. “We decided to have our ceremony in the church that I was christened in before hosting our reception there.” As the couple lives in London, they wanted to involve the capital city in some way so chose two vintage London buses to transport guests from the church to Notley Abbey. "One of our favourite things to do as a couple is visiting the pub so we added a surprise pub stop for our guests after the ceremony en route to Notley Abbey, where everyone enjoyed mulled wine, mince pies, and sausage rolls," Kimberley explains. Because the couple chose to marry in December, it meant that they were able to enjoy Christmas touches. “Our colour theme was a light grey and silver palette reflected in many of our decorative details,” Kimberley says. “We knew that December would be a cold month and that the fires at Notley Abbey would be lit, so we wanted to create a cosy feel. We filled a basket with blankets for our guests and attached a cute sign saying ‘to have and to hold incase you get cold.’ We filled the venue and aisle in the church with tea lights, candles and light-up trees. Our centrepieces consisted of pine cones and glass baubles that were filled with flowers and tea lights and suspended from bare twigs, and our favours were homemade mulled wine spice kits because after all, who doesn’t love a glass of mulled wine at Christmas!” Kimberley and Rob Barlow married on 20th December 2019 at St Peter & St Pauls church in Ellesborough followed by a reception at Notley Abbey in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. “Seeing my dad for the first time in my dress was the moment when I started to feel emotional. I loved having him walk me down the aisle.” - Kimberley REAL WEDDINGS 29 