The Wedding of Alexandra & Mark

An enchanting woodland theme, with a gorgeous winter colour scheme and rustic DIY décor for Alex and Mark’s celebrant-led, intimate indoor ceremony.

The Before…

It was December 2019 and myself and Mark had decided to stay in Derbyshire to make the most of our last weekend off together before the madness of Christmas set in. (I Alex work in A&E so I don’t get much time off over the Christmas period).

We stayed in a beautiful cottage and made plans to meet some friends at Chatsworth House Christmas Markets to soak up the festive atmosphere. The night before, after a gorgeous meal Mark suggested we go for a drive. He took me to the top of a ‘designated stargazing dark zone’ and told me that above our heads was the Leonids meteor shower. Unfortunately, the weather was abysmal so we couldn’t see anything but clouds.

Even so, it was a beautiful thoughtful gesture as I have always wanted to see a shooting star and frequently moan that I never have! Despite the disappointing weather Mark dutifully got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, making me cry in the process with his beautiful words.

Of course, I said yes! And accepted the temporary plastic Princess Jasmine ring Mark had thoughtfully procured for the occasion (he knew I’d want to pick my own!!). I wore it every day until we got the real thing, and I still love it!

A Hidden Gem Of A Wedding Venue

“As Jo showed us around we fell in love! It was exactly what we had imagined, the whole place is so beautiful and it has every amenity on my very long wish list! The small personal touches everywhere are so incredible and all the staff are so amazing at what they do. We booked straight away and brought our families to the next open day a couple of weeks later – they loved it just as much as we did!”

Living in Chester, we’re not too far from Tower Hill Barns. However, it’s truly a hidden gem and we stumbled across the countryside venue for the first time via a Google search.

Naturally, after a quick fumble through the website, we knew we had to see it for ourselves. So, despite having provisionally booked another venue we arranged a viewing and the rest is history! Guided by Jo, we fell in love with the Barns. THB’s location in the North Wales countryside is absolutely stunning. The venue somehow manages to seamlessly blend rustic/natural vibes while remaining cosy and classy at the same time. I had visions of Hogwarts at Christmas meets Cheshire Life for my wedding venue and THB didn’t disappoint!

However, what truly made THB stand out for us was the extensive offerings included in the venue hire as standard. From the well-equipped makeup and dressing room to the gorgeous farmhouse accommodation, and the delightful breakfast the next morning with our wedding party, every detail surpassed our expectations, and the exceptional service provided by the THB team made the entire process enjoyable and fun from start to finish!

“All in all, I think we only spent around 3 months planning the wedding – you really don’t need as much time as you think!”

An Enchanting Woodland Theme

We chose each of our suppliers with careful consideration, driven by our vision for a magical and elegant yet cosy and warm celebration. Originally scheduled for 28th November 2020, we made the decision to postpone our wedding due to the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Fortuitously, Tower Hill Barns had one Saturday left in 2021 when we made this choice – 28th November 2021. It turned out to be serendipitous as all our chosen suppliers were available for our new date, reinforcing the feeling that everything was falling into place as if it were meant to be.

We opted for an enchanting autumnal woodland theme, featuring a colour scheme of deep burgundy reds, dark forest greens, and dramatic purples. The talented florists at Wild Floral Design in Chester perfectly captured our vision. Crafting arrangements from flowers and foliage that were not only beautiful but also instrumental in bringing our theme to life.

Our decorations also held special significance as they were handmade. My father-in-law skillfully crafted the wooden lanterns that adorned the venue, including a larger one on the floor filled with fairy lights and smaller ones filled with candles and foliage for our table centrepieces.

Going above and beyond, he and my mother-in-law also dabbled in a bit of pyrography creating our table plan with burned leaf shapes on wood. And weaving individual place names from wicker, crafting small wreaths that served as both keepsakes for our guests and charming Christmas decorations.

THE Wedding Dress

My journey to finding the perfect wedding was surprisingly swift. The first dress I tried on happened to be ‘the one’. And my mum played a pivotal role in its selection. She spotted it in the window of Brides Of Chester a few weeks before our visit, took a photo on her phone, and asked that I try it on for her. I probably wouldn’t have chosen it myself, but I thought ‘why not?’ and as soon as I slipped it on, I felt an immediate connection. I tried a few others for comparison but none could rival the magic of that first dress.

I felt like a princess and I never wanted to take it off

An Unexpected Start To The Day

Our wedding coincided with the weekend of Storm Arwen adding an unexpected layer of excitement and challenges to the preparations. Sleep eluded me, a mixture of nerves and concern that the roof of our house was going to blow off! And when we arrived at 8am for bridal prep all of the outdoor lightbulbs had been smashed by the storm (which the THB team promptly fixed in time for the wedding). There was also no phone signal due to one of the towers having blown down – luckily THB have a generator so I didn’t have to worry about the power going out!

I arrived along with my bridesmaids and my mum at Tower Hill Barns at 8 am to get ready in their purpose-built makeup and dressing room. In the capable hands of Annie Elizabeth Hair and Made Up By Catherine I felt completely calm about getting married – me and my Mark had already been together for over 8 years after all!

However, the nerves did hit me as I stood outside the ceremony room waiting to walk down the aisle – my dad assured me it wasn’t too late to run (he thinks he’s hilarious!)

A Celebrant-Led Indoor Ceremony

I strolled down the aisle of the intimate indoor ceremony room at Tower Hill Barns accompanied by my father, to the timeless melody of Canon in D.

Our wedding celebrant, Charlotte Simpson was absolutely incredible. She took the time to get to know, us. And, during the ceremony regaled our guests with the humorous (and embarrassing!) tale of how we got together as teenagers and how our love has grown over the 8 years we’ve been a couple. Charlotte’s delivery was a perfect blend of humour and warmth. Evoking laughter and tears from our guests (as well as myself and Mark!).

The ceremony featured two heartfelt readings, “Love is Friendship Set on fire” by Laura Hendricks, beautifully presented by my bridesmaid Dena. And “A Walled Garden” by an unknown author, eloquently delivered by Mark’s groomsman Seb. Following the readings, Mark and I exchanged personalised vows, creating a truly intimate and personal moment before signing the register. And for the finale, we joyfully walked out to the soulful tune of “Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke.

The celebrant ceremony was so special. Mark was really sceptical about it at first the ceremony was deeply personal and we couldn’t have asked for anything more – we are both so happy that we chose Charlotte.

A Costly Father Of The Bride Speech

We had our speeches after the starters, Mark thought he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the meal properly if he was still nervous about doing his speech – and after having a taste of THB’s food offering at the food tasters there was no way he was missing out on the main course!

My dad’s speech was amazing. He dusted off a couple of stories from my childhood that I’m sure he’s been saving for the past 20 years! And as a piéce de resistance he presented Mark with a very full ring binder – the bill for the cost of having raised me apparently!

A Short And Sweet First Dance

For the first dance, we asked our band to perform ‘Baby I’m Yours by the Arctic Monkeys’ – a song chosen in part, because it’s very short! (Crafty!).

Neither of us are born dancers so naturally, we felt a little apprehensive about having all eyes on us! We took a couple of dance lessons from Kristina at Wedding Dance Chester to give us a confidence boost and luckily all went to plan – nobody fell over at least!

Wedding Food

Our food taster ended up being post-covid so it was the first time we’d eaten out in months. And what a reintroduction it was! The atmosphere was nothing short of incredible, with an air of shared excitement among everyone present. It felt like a collective celebration for those whose weddings had been postponed, finally coming to fruition.

As expected the food was simply amazing, and the bar was excellent too! It’s a toss-up as to whether the food taster made it easier to pick our wedding food though – it’s difficult to make a decision when everything tastes amazing!

In the end, we opted for winter warmers for our wedding food. A fancy mushroom on toast dish to start, beef bourguignon and sticky toffee pudding – it was incredible! And the portion sizes were great (unlike a lot of weddings we’ve been to!).

Wedding Photography

We chose Clara Cooper photography because we loved her distinctive style. Lucy has a unique talent for capturing natural and candid moments – precisely what we wanted for our wedding album. During our initial meeting, Lucy’s warmth and understanding of our ‘wedding vibe’ was immediately apparent. And, she already knew Tower Hill Barns well having shot several weddings there before so we were confident that she would be well placed to capture the best shots in the most optimal lighting conditions – we have no regrets!

“A standout moment from our wedding photos has to be having our pictures taken in the midst of Storm Arwen with my veil and dress blowing wildly in the wind! I couldn’t feel my toes by the end, but the photos are phenomenal – definitely worth the frostbite!”

Feedback and Standout Moments

We honestly can’t thank Tower Hill Barns enough! We had the most perfect day and we couldn’t imagine it being anywhere else. Every little detail was thought of, you guys know exactly what you’re doing and it made the whole process so easy and enjoyable for us.

So many people commented on how amazing you all were, how good the food was, how beautiful the venue is, how smoothly the day went. People were also commenting on how good the wait staff were and how well stocked the bar was (important for a wedding full of Northerners!). One of my friends has even booked you guys for her wedding! Things I never would have even thought of you guys had already taken care of and we are so grateful for everything.

Advice for future couples

I wish I’d known just how quickly the day would go. Amidst the whirlwind of excitement, take intentional moments to pause, breathe and take everything in. And seek a few quiet moments with your new husband or wife to savour the significance of the occasion too!

“Soak it all up, enjoy every second, because you’ll wish you could do it all again!”

Heading for more real #THBWeddings