Daisy & Will

Lets just take a moment to sit back and appreciate the incredibly gorgeous Normanton Church on Rutland Water Lake. Simply stunning architecture and incredible location to say your I do's, it's no wonder Daisy & Will flew back from Australia to get married near where they grew up. Next up was their reception at The Barn Manor Farm, filled with big, bold and bright blooms, rustic DIY decor and the fabulous Disco Shed for entertainment. And matching the rustic vibes of this gorgeous day perfectly where Daisy's best girls in handmade Liberty Print floral dresses. I LOVE the moment captured by Casey Avenue of the ladies on the bridge, it perfectly encapsulates the laid back vibes of this delightful wedding.

The Dress

Daisy the Bride: I really wanted to find something to suit my style and I didn’t want a really traditional dress. Hannah at Nobel & Wright in Leicester has some stunning and more unusual dresses. The backless David Fielden champagne silk dress with lace butterflies caught my eye straight away and was the second dress I tried on! Living in Australia Hannah arranged fittings for when I was back in the UK and the dress fitted perfectly!

Shoes

I found my shoes at Nine West in Perth, Australia, The farm courtyard and barn at our reception had cobbled flooring so I didn’t want shoes that would be too high!!

The Grooms Attire

Will brought his suit from Reiss, the ties from T.M Lewin and wore handmade bespoke brogues from Loake in Nottingham.

The Venue

We had our ceremony at Normanton Church at Rutland water. We love the Rutland countryside and used to visit Rutland water as kids. Normanton church overlooks the water and is such a beautiful setting! The venue only has one entrance so Dad, bridesmaids and myself hid in the back room with a glass of bubbles before guests arrived! We provided bacon rolls for our guests at our local village pub and transported everyone to the ceremony and reception on an old double decker bus. The best part was all hopping on the bus to the reception together and a chance to chat to everyone on the journey! Although we currently live in Australia we adore the British countryside where we grew up and the 18th century barn at Manor Farm is so rustic! We fell in love with the cobbled courtyard, bare brick walls and wooden beams. To celebrate our big day we wanted a big party with all the people we love in one room - it was the perfect setting!

Colour Scheme/Decor

We didn’t have a set colour scheme. I really wanted a mixture of fun pastels and brights to give our wedding a party atmosphere! To keep costs down I made a tassel garland with some ribbon I brought at the wholesalers, borrowed a friends homemade bunting and accessorised the barn with our red leather chesterfield and cow hide. Our family and friends were amazing at helping us set up the barn and pack away the next day! We rented wine barrels, chalkboards, festoon lighting, old crates, and deck chairs from Nerissa Eve to add some character to the barn.

Flowers/Florist

As an amateur florist flowers are really important to me! I am passionate about Australian native flowers and English meadow style arrangements. When I found Helen at The Flower Mill I fell in love with her style and stunning arrangements! Being called Daisy I couldn’t resist our bridesmaid having bunches of Michaelmas daises! Helen created a beautiful feature milk churn full of blooms, a flower doorway, our flower girls crown and table centre pieces in old bottles, tins and jars.

The Wedding Party Fashion

I have always loved Liberty of London and ditsy floral prints! I really wanted the bridesmaid to wear something fun and informal for our big day. I am so lucky that my Mum is a talented dressmaker; we found the Liberty prints at a great price on Nottingham market. With bridesmaid living all over the country/world Mum was making alterations the day before the wedding! We found the bridesmaids chunky platforms for a bargain price in New Look.

Ceremony

We chose to write our own vows for something personalised and special to us. Wills Dad did a fantastic speech during our ceremony - even giving Leicester City a mention!

Entertainment

We hired the Disco Shed for our reception! Paddy was great he played tune after tune all day and night ! At night we had the full shed in the barn and everyone was dancing hard!

Food

Our day would not have been what it was without the award winning Blackpepper Mint catering team! They were not only caterers but also event managers – helping to clear away at the end of the night, putting out furniture for us and decorating our wedding cheese cake - nothing was to much trouble! They provided a yummy tasting before the wedding and helped us put together our menu. We enjoyed a selection of canapés, sharing plate mains and a trio of desserts in the day and pizzas in the evening. To stick to our budget and so that we could choose our favourite Australian wines we brought our alcohol from the wholesalers and Blackpepper Mint set up a full bar for our boozy bunch in the barn.

Photographer

Hannah was just amazing! She went above and beyond in capturing those special moments throughout the day. She even paddled in the stream to get a shot of us on a bridge! We didn’t want formal or staged photography and absolutely loved Hannah’s unique style. We loved the video she put together for us and will treasure all our beautiful pictures forever!

Advice

One thing I would say… Enjoy every second of your special day! There was a moment in the day when I stopped and looked at everyone in the room and felt so lucky to share our special day with all our amazing friends and family! We will never all be in the same room again so treasure that special moment.