Rustic romance

Posted by Danielle Harvey on 7 December 2022

Kathryn and Mike met online in 2015. "Mike was genuine and kind, and he liked that I was intelligent and funny," says Kathryn.

"He proposed on Christmas morning in 2019. We were at home and had come downstairs to open presents with our daughter. They both disappeared upstairs and came downstairs with a small wrapped gift. I opened it and saw a sparkling diamond ring! Mike said: 'well, will you?' and I told him: 'only if you get down on one knee.' He did, and I said yes. Our daughter was ecstatic!

Long walk "We were originally supposed to get married in April 2021," shares the bride. "We decided to postpone in September 2020 for another year as the COVID-19 rates had gotten worse.

As we weren't getting any younger, we decided to not wait to have a baby. We welcomed our daughter in September 2021, which meant there was an extra special guest in attendance!"

Venue exterior The couple's original venue fell through. "We found Blithfield Lakeside Barns four months before we were due to get married," explains Kathryn.

"Whilst the fact it was available helped, the setting attracted us as it was so stunning and overlooked the reservoir. It's only 10mins from our home and has a light and rustic feel.."

"We tried to do as much DIY as possible and asked our friends and family to help where possible," recalls the bride. "Our favours were wooden place names with personalised wooden games. For our table plan, we wrote our guests' names on cards and attached them to a white mirror."

Kathryn and Mike had flowers, candles and lights in bottles as their centrepieces.

"The flowers were from Fine Flowers," reveals Kathryn.

Flowers "We opted for a hand-tied bridal bouquet, two for the bridesmaids, buttonholes for the groomsmen, corsages for our mums, top table arrangements, two pedestals and hexagon backdrops. All of the arrangements included roses and foliage and were described as country-garden themed."

"We had a handmade wooden sweet cart with spindle wheels," remembers the bride. "We also had a solid wood hexagon backdrop for behind top table, photographs of us on string lights along a wall mirror hanging over our cake table. We also had photos of our dads who are both in heaven."

Kathryn arrived in an Imperial Landaulette vintage car from Anthony James Wedding Cars. "Mike chose a Mustang Shelby Gt500 as seen in Fast & Furious and Gone in 60 Seconds," says Kathryn. "It was a favour to my brother and looked the part!"

Afternoon tea "We opted for an afternoon tea from Cakelicious with vintage-styled crockery provided by Derby Vintage China Hire," shares the bride.

"It included sandwiches, homemade scotch eggs, sausage rolls, pork pies and scones served with homemade jam and clotted cream and a selection of cakes."

Bride's Dress

" I wore a Maggie Sottero gown called Ariella which I purchased at The Bridal Barn," explains Kathryn.

"I always thought I wanted a mermaid-style gown but didn't expect to have something with straps and all the pearls and crystals, but when I tried it on, I felt lovely in it and knew it was the one.

I accessorised with a cathedral-length Art Seco style veil, a vintage-inspired hair piece and a pair of earrings that originally belonged to my mother and were worn ballroom dancing in the early 70s.

I received a beautiful Gucci necklace from Mike on the morning of the wedding, but due to the neckline of my dress, I wore it as a bracelet instead."

Mike and his groomsmen opted for grey suits with dusky pink ties from Dapper Dan Formal Suit Hire For Men And Boys.

"I had three bridesmaids that were 13, eight and seven months old, so they wore different dresses," recalls the bride. "I started by getting a floor-length tulle design for our niece. I had dresses made in ivory tulle, with a V neck and satin bodice in dusky pink for the other two. They looked wonderful together!"

Speeches "We kept our guests entertained with a few garden games," reveals Kathryn. "The mini table games and sweet cart kept those of all ages entertained, as did our speeches.

We had a DJ from TCK Entertainments play music in the afternoon and get the party started in the evening.

We also had a magic mirror with props, and everyone got involved and loved it.

A copy of each photo was included in a guest book, and we loved looking through this."

"Mike was nervous on the morning of the wedding," remembers the bride. "I was so excited to finally be marrying the man of my dreams.

We loved saying our vows in front of our family and friends, and having our first dance was so lovely.

We have to say a special thanks to our photographer, GingerJam Photography, and videographer, Thomas Mason Films.

It felt like we had two extra friends with us rather than suppliers working.

They helped throughout the day, and our guests commented on how friendly they were."

Kathryn and Mike went to Cyprus for their honeymoon.

"We went for 10 days as a family," says Kathryn.

"We planned it together as we wanted somewhere family-friendly. It was amazing to relax after a stressful few months, but it also meant we didn't get the wedding blues."