Inspiration

The theme of Charlotte & Tom’s wedding is one we guarantee you haven’t heard before. The couple described their day as, ‘rustic cinema’.  The inspiration for the theme came from the couple’s love for movies and the countryside. After finding Rackleys Barn, everything started coming together… Charlotte & Tom named their tables after their favourite films, had a bar menu made of VHS tapes, a cinema-themed photo booth with actual cinema seats, a popcorn machine and pick-n-mix favour bags. Incredible! Plus, Charlotte & Tom both looked like movie stars with Charlotte dazzling in a gold wedding dress and Tom looking suave in all-black. Recommended Supplier, Tell The Story Films and Suzy Elizabeth Photography captured the day in true movie style. The couple also chose Recommended Supplier, The Wedding Shop, for their gift list.


Rustic cinema wedding theme for Rackleys Barn wedding with movie-inspired table names

Charlotte - My favourite moments were after we immediately married. After we walked down the aisle together, we were guided up onto a private mezzanine, where the staff handed us fizz, and we just looked at each other and hugged and said, “Did we just get married?!” It was so lovely having a private moment immediately after the adrenaline rush of the ceremony, where we watched all our friends and family walk outside ready for the confetti shot. It was such a surreal and happy moment.

Tom - My favourite moment was Charlotte surprising me with one of my favourite pieces of beautiful video game music for her walk down the aisle. A truly unique and thoughtful gift on the best day. Also, being able to reunite parts of my family that have been distant for decades. 

Charlotte & Tom

Rustic Cinema Wedding Theme At Rackleys Barn

Charlotte & Tom describe their wedding theme as ‘rustic cinema’. As huge movie lovers, this just made sense. During the planning stages, Charlotte found a lot of cinema/movie-themed weddings on Pinterest, which were mostly black and white. The challenge was to ensure the movie theme could tie in with the rustic elements of the beautiful barn venue, Rackleys Barn in Chiltern Hills. The couple managed this by using natural materials to make the clapperboards, crates, centrepieces, place names, and movie props. They added a boho vibe by using dried flowers throughout the venue. Their colour scheme also added to this with vintage yellow and brown tones throughout the stationery and signage.

DIY Wedding Decor & Signage

Charlotte & Tom’s DIY projects were definitely show-stealers although Charlotte’s gold wedding dress is still at the top for us. Charlotte & Tom put their heart and soul into each prop, table centrepiece, graphic, poster design, and bar menu sculpture to make their day so personal and true to their vision. The props were handmade by Tom, who is a professional prop maker, which made everything so special. DIY decorations or projects for weddings really add a heartfelt touch to the day. Plus, the couple are now able to keep all props and decorative pieces to look back on and display in their home as lovely wedding keepsakes. If you’re looking for advice when it comes to decor, here are the five signs you need for your wedding day.

We LOVE a non-traditional wedding dress and Charlotte’s gold wedding dress is gorgeous

Charlotte - If you’re able to design, create and buy things yourself, then do it! Not only does it save you money, but it’s incredibly satisfying seeing your vision come to fruition on the day. We bought the flowers ourselves from Dunelm, the vases from Ikea and bought all of our cinema-themed desserts for our wedding dessert table from Costco. It was so special seeing all our hard work pay off.

Tom - My advice is to make it all about the two of you. It's the most magical day of your lives with all the people you love, make it special and what YOU want it to be. You don’t have to follow traditions if you don’t want to. We didn’t have groomsmen, bridesmaids, a cake, or a bouquet toss, and Charlotte wore a gold wedding dress!

Charlotte & Tom

Well, we’ve just discovered our favourite new wedding theme, ‘rustic cinema’! It’s fair to say that Charlotte & Tom fully embraced all our core values and did their wedding day true to themselves entirely by saying no to certain traditions. One being, no white wedding dress! Charlotte looked like a true movie star in her gold wedding dress. Take a look at our roundup of metallic wedding dresses to see more brides who went all out with the sequins and sparkles on their special day. As part of their theme, the couple named their wedding table after their fave movies! If you need some ideas yourself, here are 40 wedding table name ideas on us.

Leah Blundell

Written by Leah Blundell

Featured suppliers

Venue: Rackleys Chiltern Hills | Photography: Suzy Elizabeth Photography | Videography: Tell The Story Films | Food: Absolute Cuisine | DJ: Dave the Disco | Wedding Dress: Style My Shoot Boutique | Hair & Makeup: Beauty by Ruby Grace | Bouquet & Boutonnière : Hidden Botanics

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