Gemma and Ben met on holiday in Cyprus six years ago where the pair hit it off. What started as a holiday romance, it took them both by surprise when a relationship blossomed on returning to England. “Ben proposed four years later on a return holiday to Cyprus, which was a complete surprise to me,” shares Gemma. “It was at the same place we had met, which was where he’d been with his family on holiday from a young age, so it was a place special to him. We were away with friends and family who’d been with us from the start, which made the engagement celebrations even more special!” The big date was set 27th August, 2023, with Winters Barns creating the big-day backdrop. Here, we find out more about their day… SETTING THE SCENE Tying the knot at the beautiful Winters Barns, from the moment Gemma and Ben saw the venue it was where they wanted to get married. “It’s such a stunning venue with many natural features, from the iconic bridge to the wooden archways, the big barn doors to its stunning grounds,” shares Gemma. “We had flowers on the bridge, down the aisle and on the tables, they were the only decorations we felt were necessary. The rest we left to the natural features of the barn as we felt they spoke for themselves and didn’t need anything extra.” Not only were Gemma and Ben bowled over by the setting, but the wedding coordinators were exceptional too. “They were phenomenal,” adds, Gemma. “They helped from the moment of booking make the day perfect; they checked we were organised with suppliers and ensured the whole day ran smoothly.” THE FINER DETAILS When it came to styling the day, for the finishing touches Gemma and Ben opted for a simple yet stylish aesthetic. For favours, the couple chose mint tins personalised with their names and wedding date. “They were something that could easily fit into handbags or pockets, and useful to our guests in the future,” adds Gemma. Having been on safari the previous year, and it was also a plan for the honeymoon, Gemma and Ben decided to create an animal-themed table plan using photos from the previous trip. The table names encompassed the safari theme, each table was a different animal, while the place names themselves had a floral design to match the wedding flowers. “Neither of us know very much about flowers, we only knew the colours we wanted and that all elements should be matching,” shares Gemma. “We found Jane at Graham Greener, a recommended supplier from Winters Barns, and we couldn’t have been more grateful for the help, advice and recommendations we got in the planning stage. The flowers on the day were stunning, matching the colour scheme perfectly.” “For the centrepieces, we followed the advice from Jane to create lovely floral displays in keeping with the barn,” shares Gemma. “They weren’t too large so as not to distract from the natural features of the room, and to enable our guests to chat to one another across the tables still.” Always a focal point at any wedding, the three-tiered cake had a different flavour for each layer as the choices were too delicious to pick just one! “Both of us love buttercream so we opted for buttercream icing,” shares Gemma. “Then added flowers that matched the bouquets and table decorations, and a personalised cake topper of the two of us and our two cats.” There was also a sweet stall which went down a treat with guests, there were barely any sweets left at the end of the day! It’s not all about the sweet stuff, the catering was provided by Scott Anderson Caterers, “It was phenomenal,” adds Gemma. “They went above and beyond to make our day perfect and took amazing care of both us and our guests. We opted for a sit-down wedding breakfast with a choice of two starters, mains and desserts for each of guests, as well as having a vegetarian option. This made everyone happy and catered for all our guests’ dietary requirements and tastes. We also added sorbet as a palate cleanser which was nice to cool everyone down in case of a warm August wedding.” In the evening guests had the choice of cheese toasties or burgers. “A little snack to fuel the dancing, and to soak up some of the alcohol,” laughs Gemma. 46
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