Magical Autumn Cumbria Barn Party Wedding with Dried Flowers

Welcome to the super cool Cumbria barn wedding of Dre and Izzy! They were hitched at Hidden River Barn with a modern party vibe day, think good tunes, great food and a relaxed atmosphere all around.

They brought in the autumn vibes with the most gorgeous autumn wedding flowers by using dried flowers and foliage. Plus they ditched the traditional sweet cake for a wedding cake alternative – cheese!

Then, of course, there were the stylish outfits, cute favours and smoke flare fun. Yay!

Maytree Photography, I can’t thank you enough for sharing these stunning images of Dre and Izzy’s barn wedding. Enjoy it all.

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Cumbria Barn Wedding

The Proposal

Dre proposed in August 2020, whilst I was gardening, and our daughter Texas was sat in the sun eating an ice lolly.

I thought he was going to ask if I wanted a drink or something and I turned round and he was on one knee. It was perfect. I later found out he had planned to propose ‘somewhere nice’ but I ruined it because I said he didn’t need to go to town to get something for my birthday (which transpired was the cover-up for collecting the ring).

The Vision

A big party, over a few days, with all our favourite people that we hadn’t been able to see or dance with because of Covid.

Good food, relaxed atmosphere and all-round fun with hints of everything we each love, both together and individually.

Budget

We didn’t really have a budget, but had a general idea of costs and tried to keep them down as much as possible.

We didn’t have event styling or dressing or planners and other than flowers we sourced decorations and styled ourselves, which hugely kept the cost down and meant we could be as fussy as we wanted. Plus I can’t bear to feel out of control.

The Venue

The venue was Hidden River Barn, we also had a number of the cabins and Hidden River House for the whole weekend. Around half of our guests stayed on site from Friday to Monday. After the period of social separation, we have all experienced, it was the most perfect way for us to celebrate

At the time of the proposal, I was furloughed and took the opportunity to make a head start on planning, knowing as soon as I returned to work I wouldn’t have time. I’m not sure how I stumbled across Hidden River, but I’m so glad I did. I visited solo and booked (whilst there) after sending a video of the venue and site to Dre. It was magical.

We loved being there so much that every planning meeting for the wedding, we used as an opportunity for a mini-break. Sheer bliss!

The Ceremony & Music

The ceremony was performed by a registrar, one of the shorter ceremony words you can choose. We both hate standing in front of people and talking, gushy outpours of affection in front of people make us feel quite nauseous.

I walked down the aisle to Hans Zimmer: The Beach from the motion picture True Romance.

A very good friend of ours Jaclynne-Marie Smith sang and played piano for us for the drinks reception. She curated a surprise set of all our favourite songs, it was magical.

In the evening we had a DJ playing some belters!

Your Outfits

We think that your wedding day is a day you can be the most ‘you’ version of yourself.

Dre has a penchant for a dazzling suit, the wilder the better in most cases! He wore a burgundy wool and black velvet suit in tiger print, by Twisted Tailor. He wore this with a crisp white shirt and of course his beloved Vans shoes. In Dre’s words “It was very me, I don’t wear suits, but if I do, it has to be really special and it combined my two favourite colours”.

I love simple gorgeous silhouettes that show off curves, a low back but definitely with a wow factor and something a bit different and also LOVE western styles. I struggled finding a dress that was everything I wanted, they were either OTT and completely uncomfortable or just too plain.

In the end, I tried a gown from The White Yard and with Claire’s help added details that I had loved from other gowns. It was a simple Modeca gown with pearl inserts to the bodice. I added foot-long tassels to the straps at the back of the gown and cut the neckline to a more plunging V, teamed with pointed white crocodile skin sling backs for the ceremony and D&G trainers for dinner and dancing!

I also wore sentimental jewellery from each of my parents, a pearl pendant which 5 generations of women from my family have worn to get married, a sapphire ring from my father’s time in Syria and to finish it off an animal print fur coat a further nod to my favourite film.

Your Photographer

Danni Maibaum of Maytree Photography. The absolute bee’s knees, we couldn’t have hoped for a better photographer.

I can’t put into words how it felt to look back at the photos and see all the gorgeous moments of fun captured, many of which we hadn’t even seen on the day!

The Styling & Decor

Mostly it was black a touch of white and rich autumnal colours to add a bit of vibrancy and decadence.

Tables were adorned in black muslin runners, with black metal candle holders, holding ivory candles. We provided our own napkins, black and embroidered with ‘You’re So Cool’ a quote from Izzy’s favourite film.

Dre designed and made beer bottle openers engraved with everyone’s names, as place settings and favours. Named bags holding activity packs for the kids including a bespoke Izzy and Dre colouring book!

Everything was sourced and styled by us with the exception of the garland for the top table, bouquets and buttonholes, all created by Gez at Folky Dokey, who created the most amazing arrangements. The venue doesn’t need much, definitely less is more, we picked out dramatic autumnal colours to bring the outside in.

On the ceremony mezzanine, we styled it with lots of vases and foraged and bought dried foliage in large plumes, a Persian rug and chair bows in black muslin and ribbons matching the flowers.

Instead of a traditional cake, we had a tiered cheese, served as part of the evening food with crackers, preserves and crudité. A specially curated selection put together by a friend of Izzy who is a cheese expert, as an actual job!

Signs and stationery were designed by us and printed using a local print company.

The Honeymoon

TBC! We planned to go to Hawaii, but haven’t yet due to Covid!

Memorable Moments

All of it, but a particular favourite is signing the book with our daughter sat with us and the Maid of Honour speech (a record 29 seconds with LOTS of tears and ended with the parting comment ‘Let’s Party’ and a mic drop.)

Advice For Other Couples

Do what you love and enjoy the process, it doesn’t need to be stressful.

Ohhh what a beautiful day!

Dre and Izzy, thank you both ever so much for sharing your epic Cumbria barn wedding story.

Further Reading

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