Relaxed Barn Wedding
Married at the relaxed Upwaltham Barns in West Sussex, Mandy and Tom’s story began nine years ago, when they started their first jobs at the same marketing agency. They fell for each other’s sense of humour and individual passions for sport and food.
The 3 Things Every Great Wedding Needs
When it came to planning their day, Mandy and Tom ranked excellent food and drink, a great band and relaxed wedding photography as their top priorities. Looking for alternative wedding photography to match their style, they told me, “We wanted an elegant, countryside wedding, relaxed and fun, and were looking for a photographer who could capture that. We loved Dale’s cinematic style and ability to capture moments which were completely natural and not forced. We are very happy with our decision!”
Quintessentially English Wedding Ideas
With family coming from abroad, Mandy and Tom wanted to embrace some quintessential Britishness to share with their loved ones. They explained, “We had a lot of international guests who hadn’t been to the south of England before, so we wanted to have elements that were quintessentially English such as a village church wedding, vintage coaches and a lovely converted barns venue for the reception.”
Ways to Include Your Pets on Your Wedding Day
Mandy is half Swiss, half Korean, and the couple were keen to include nods to her nationalities. As part of the groom’s speech, everyone had a shot of a Swiss herb liquor. For the wedding favours, they gave everyone two sets of chopsticks that were hand-painted from South Korea. For the boutonnières, they went for white roses, a sweet nod to their dog Rosie, a white French bulldog who had recently passed away.
An Informal First Dance Idea
Having to postpone their wedding three times, when they finally tied the knot, they wanted to have a proper party, celebrating in style, with plenty of dancing. They explained, “We really wanted everyone to feel comfortable and not too formal. For our first dance, we had an Arctic Monkeys cover whilst the rest of the night had a great mix of more contemporary and classic happy sing-your-heart-out music.”
