The Wedding of Alison & Jack

An elegant, rustic theme capitalised on the natural beauty of the Barns at this family orientated summer wedding.

Travel-loving couple, Alison & Jack tied the knot in a heartfelt outdoor ceremony. After falling for the good vibes of our beautiful countryside wedding venue all the way from Shanghai.

A Magical Proposal

After being together for 10 years, Jack’s proposal came as the biggest of surprises to an unsuspecting Alison. We were at Disneyland in California, the last Disneyland theme park we needed to visit together. Having been to all of the others around the world over the course of our 10 year relationship. To my surprise, Jack got on one knee while we were having our photo taken in front of the iconic Disney castle. It was truly magical, and thanks to his timing, there was plenty of photo evidence too!

The Perfect Countryside Venue

After waiting for the proposal for ten years, Alison wasted no time in beginning the search for the perfect wedding venue to host their epic summer celebration.

As myself and Jack were both living (and teaching) in Shanghai at the time, finding the perfect UK venue was easier said than done. We stumbled across Tower Hill Barns on social media and had a good feeling right away. Our top priority was finding a venue with a good vibe, and positive, friendly staff. Other than that, we were hoping for a beautiful location and a venue that could hold its own with minimal decoration. Spoiler alert: we found it!

We set the date for 21st July 2022. And over the course of three years planned our big day, bit by bit. But honestly, the bulk of the wedding planning happened in the final 6 months. (Nothing like a bit of pressure to put some wind in your sails!).

A Simple, Rustic Theme

For our theme, we took inspiration from the gorgeous rustic countryside barn setting. We decided to keep our décor very minimal as Tower Hill Barns is already so beautiful in its own right. Jack’s very talented father, Steve, created our table plan, itinerary for the day display, and also the guests name place cards using wood he had collected from a local forest. They were perfect, and made our wedding décor wonderfully personal. As well as making brilliant memento’s that we will keep forever.

The Unique Cheese Wheel Cake

We decided to do away with tradition and go with something a little bit different for our wedding cake. Creating our own cheese wheel stack cake using cheese from local deli’s, with a large pork pie from our local butchers placed proudly in the middle. It was delicious, and went down a treat with our guests – who isn’t addicted to cheese?!

Not ones to do things by halves, we also cut our wedding ‘cake’ with a military sword that my brother had recently received after commissioning as a 2nd Lt for the Duke of Lancaster Regiment.

Waking For The Big Day

Myself (Alison), the bridal party and my mother and sister were lucky enough to be able to stay in the farmhouse the night before the wedding. It was lovely, and meant that when we woke up we were rearing to go! We began the day at 7am with hair and makeup preparations in the farmhouse. And then moved across to the amazing makeup and dressing room in the main venue. Here we had a lovely breakfast in the snug area and chilled ahead of the ceremony – it was a perfect, stress free start to the day.

We opted for a 1pm wedding ceremony, which gave us more than enough time to get ready. And I was feeling very relaxed. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that as the ceremony drew nearer and it was time to put on my wedding dress the nerves started to kick in.

A Personal, Outdoor Ceremony

Opting for an outdoor ceremony. Alison walked down the aisle wearing an elegant custom-made white satin, a-line gown imported from Shanghai. Accompanied by her father. The couple had chosen ‘A Whole New World’ from Aladdin for their wedding music in homage to their magical Disneyland engagement. And recited their own vows – a heartfelt personal touch which many of their guests cite as a highlight of the day.

La Pièce De Résistance (Food, Obvs!)

Unfortunately, as we were living abroad we were unable to attend the food taster session. Instead, we sent our parents to sample THB’s offering ahead of the big day. Suffice to say their feedback was overwhelmingly positive and filled us with confidence! We opted to serve canapés with reception drinks followed by a three-course wedding breakfast and it went down a storm. With guests declaring it ‘the best wedding food they’ve ever had’ – always nice to hear!

For our evening food, we chose THB’s handmade pizzas, which were also an absolute treat! We also served the cheese from our ‘cake’ and accompaniments which quickly disappeared despite guests still being full from the wedding breakfast – we’re taking that as a thumbs up!

An Off The Cuff First Dance

Our first dance took place in the atmospheric ‘Old Barn’ to an acoustic version of ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by James Bay. We absolutely had not choreographed a routine (or indeed practiced), and it probably showed! But for us, it was a very cute, authentic moment, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

What Made Your Wedding at THB memorable?

Family is so important to both myself and Jack, so they became an intrinsic part of our day. Whether it was including them in playing the wedding music, helping with décor or general help throughout the day. They gave our wedding an extra personal touch which made the day even more memorable and special for both of us.

Toasting marshmallows around the fire as the evening drew in also helped to make the day extra special, and magical. The fire pits at Tower Hill Barns are a wonderful addition to the venue and a feature we all enjoyed immensely as the day wound down. Our sparkler send off at the end of the evening was also a lot of fun and as an added bonus it made for some amazing pictures for our wedding album too.

Overall, the overwhelming feedback from our guests has been that they were taken aback by just how beautiful Tower Hill Barns is. And that their day was made extra special by how delightful and helpful the staff were. Nothing is ever too much trouble at THB, and it shows!

Myself and Jack would like to echo this, with a big shout out to Georgie and all of the fabulous staff at THB. They absolutely were the icing on the cake to an already perfect day!

A Word Of Advice For Future Couples

Take the help and support from people around you, you’ll need it. But equally, it’s your day, so don’t be afraid to make decisions based purely on what you want as a couple – who else’s opinion matters on your wedding day after all?

Heading for more real #THBWeddings