Tina’s Story

The Proposal

Phil proposed to me by pretending to take me to our local Farmers market in Steyning when in actual fact he was taking me to a local jeweller to buy an engagement ring. The jeweller wasn’t available so we ended up jumping on a bus to The Lanes in Brighton, where we found a beautiful ring. Once we’d bought the ring he thought he’d better ask me to marry him! Not the most romantic of proposals but very “Phil” and very unexpected.

The Outfits

The Bride – My dress consisted of a a beaded ivory bodice with a full cappucino coloured skirt with flower decorations. A shoulder length ivory veil with Swarovski crytals. A silver tiara with pearls and autumn coloured crystals, coppers etc.

The Bridesmaid – Our bridesmaid was Phil’s daughter, Lucy, aged 7. She wore a cream and pale gold dress with a matching bolero jacket.

The Groom and Groomsmen – We had 2 Ushers. Richard (the bride’s brother) wore a chocolate coloured suit
with matching cappucino and chocolate accessories, hired from Moss Bros – Bournville range.
Bryan (friend of Bride and Groom) is Scottish and proud and therefore wore his kilt with the full works and as tradition dictates not a lot underneath!

The Wedding and Reception Venue

I found Upwaltham Barns on the Country House Wedding Venues website while browsing for wedding venues one evening. I had an idea in the back of my mind to find a venue that was relaxed and not too formal. Upwaltham Barns is fairly local to us and one day Phil suggested we have a look as we were heading out that way. We made an appointment that morning and visited the venue. It was absolutely stunning and we fell in love with it straight away. We went to a local pub for lunch and decided there and then that this was where we wanted to be married. We phoned Country House Wedding Venues from the pub and having been told we were unlikely to find anything this year we managed to book the 2nd November straight away. Prior to visiting the venue we had made no plans what so ever to book a date but were carried along by the buzz of visiting. We had already decided that we wanted either a Spring or Autumn wedding, but Autumn was nearer! Also unfortunately Phil’s dad had passed away a few months earlier and it makes you realise how precious time is.

The Decorative Touches

Room decorations – Very simple as the Barn is naturally beautiful and rustic. We had tealights, candles and fairy lights.

Table centrepieces – Our table decorations were handmade by us and consisted of a large wine glass style vase filled with autumn pinecones, nuts, berries and sliced oranges. The twisted stems were decorated at the base with decorative leaves in green and copper.

The Cake

A three tier cake. The two lower tiers were carrot and walnut cake and the top tier was chocolate (especially for the groom). The cake was ivory and decorated with cascading autumn leaves, nuts and fruits. We served our cake for dessert with autumn berries and cream.

The Transport

We drove to the venue separately with friends, as I got ready in the bridal cottage at ""Upwaltham Barns":http://www.greenandwhiteweddings.co.uk/wedding_venue/Upwaltham_Barns/showcase/181 and Phil arrived later with his Best Man. As we were staying at the venue all day and overnight we didn’t feel the need to hire a car.

Advice to other couples

Very simply to plan the day as you want it to be and not to be influenced by others.

The Suppliers

Wedding Reception Venue – Upwaltham Barns

Venue found through Country House Wedding Venues

Bride’s dress – Patricia Diamond, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex

Bride’s accessories – Veil – Patricia Diamond, Tiara – Lovemedobrides, Shoes – Next.

Groom’s suit – Moss Bros Hire.

Bridesmaid dress – Dress – Woolworths, Shoes – Monsoon.

Other outfits – Moss Bros and Ushers own (kilt).

Wedding rings – GoldArts, The Lanes, Brighton

Wedding cake – The Celebration Shop, Hyde Square, Upper Beeding, West Sussex

Flowers – Denise Rayner, Friend and Florist, Ashington, West Sussex

Invitations – Williams Dean

Wedding list – We chose not to have a list but said personal gifts would be lovely or if people would like to make a monetary gift we would use it for our Honeymoon.

Disco/DJ – Bill Phelan’s Jazz Band for the afternoon and the Love Nuggets Band in the evening.

Photographer – Kevin Watkins