Real Weddings

The Wedding of Dawn & Rich

9th March 2021

A personal and intimate ceremony for this local couple from Hawarden, who wed indoors with a nod to the rustic setting of our North Wales countryside location

Dawn and Rich married in a gorgeous, early spring indoor ceremony

A laid-back, highly personal, intimate, indoor ceremony for this nature-loving, local couple from Hawarden who were keen to find a rustic countryside wedding venue that had all the warm feels of home without compromising on the luxury and ‘WOW factor’ that many a couple dreams of for their wedding day.

Ceremony Railway Bridge Pixsmiths Photography

066 Pixsmiths Photography Dawn & Rich Spring 2022

068 Pixsmiths Photography Dawn & Rich Spring 2022-optimised

037 Pixsmiths Photography Dawn & Rich Spring 2022-optimised

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Blueberry and Elderflower Fizz post ceremony drinks Pixsmiths Photography

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Bridal and Grooms Party Pixsmiths Photography

Bride Pixsmiths Photography

Bridesmaids and the Bride Pixsmiths Photography

Canapes drinks reception Pixsmiths Photography

Ceremony Kiss Pixsmiths Photography

Couple Railway bridge Pixsmiths Photography

Huzzah Pixsmiths Photography

Indoor Ceremony Pixsmiths Photography

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Outdoor Balcony Welsh Countryside Pixsmiths Photography

Outside Bar Pixsmiths Photography

Top Table decor Pixsmiths Photography

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Dawn & Richard’s search for an intimate, all-inclusive wedding venue with a homely feel ended when they visited us here at THB and fell hopelessly in love. Flash forward to their spring wedding on the 9th of March 2021, even the best man being struck down with COVID couldn’t dampen the joy on their big day!

The best advice I can give to future couples is ‘don’t sweat the small stuff.’ It’s hard, but have faith that the day will all come together and be perfect in the end – make sure you enjoy every minute!

Choosing the rustic venue & the theme:

As soon as we visited Tower Hill Barns we just knew it was ‘the one’, we were looking for a venue that was intimate, all in one place and had a homely feel about it; we love getting back to nature and spend our free time enjoying woodland walks, beautiful lakes and we love fishing so the rustic style of the venue suited us down to the ground!

We wanted to make our wedding really personal and so decided to have a very nature-based theme with lots of personal touches! As Rich is an engineer he was keen to get stuck in with creating the decorations using a combination of wood and metal in keeping with the rustic theme.

Rich created a beautiful seating plan, from a huge wood slice, each table was named after places that are deeply meaningful to us – Commonwood (a fishing lake we both love), Loggerheads (a favourite walking spot & nearly the sight of our proposal), Red Fox (the pub where it all started) and Blath Sini, (the name of our house) which is Gaelic for Cherry Blossom. We love this as Cherry Blossoms are synonymous with new beginnings, and that’s what their story is all about!

“The bottom line is, we visited Tower Hill Barns and fell hopelessly in love – It felt like home, it somehow manages to be so warm & welcoming without compromising on WOW factor and that luxurious feel you dream of for your wedding venue!”

The Engagement

Rich had planned on proposing during a romantic stroll through the beautiful North Wales countryside at Loggerheads country park. However, after picking up the ring, our impatient groom just couldn’t contain his excitement, popping the question in the couple’s kitchen instead!

The Big Day

Myself and the bridal party were lucky enough to stay in THB’s beautiful Farmhouse accommodation the night before the wedding – although I can’t say I got much sleep thanks to those pre-wedding jitters – it was a lovely start to the celebrations. In the morning I snuck off to the lush bridal prep room ahead of my bridal party and took just 10 minutes to myself on the terrace, to drink in the view and savour the moment, before unleashing the chaos of hair and makeup preparations. I was feeling a bit nervous but I was mainly overcome with excitement at the prospect of finally seeing Richard at the altar and sharing the big day with my nearest & dearest!

The Ceremony

We opted to hold our ceremony indoors surrounded by the unique character of the gorgeous ‘Old Barn’ – in their excitement the bridesmaids forgot me (they only had one job!). Luckily the wonderful Jordan from THB was on hand to fluff my dress and wrestle the enormous train safely from the cottage to the barn in time for the big moment. It was no mean feat for one lone emergency ‘bridesman’ and there was a lot riding on it – Richard was so nervous ahead of the ceremony he had declared he would be running off if I wasn’t on time!

Finally, the big moment came and I walked down the aisle to ‘First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ by Roberta Flak, a song I have ALWAYS loved, it holds a lot of meaning for both of us and it definitely gave us goosebumps and set the mood for the ceremony. My lovely sixteen-year-old son accompanied me down the aisle to give me away despite being very nervous, as this is my second marriage, it meant a great deal to us both and made the experience all the more memorable.

Once the music began to play I was keen to hurry down the aisle before Rich made good on his promise and ran away! He turned and saw me walking towards him and immediately became emotional, proceeding to shed tears throughout most of the ceremony (score!); I found the whole experience so sweet and romantic.

Speeches

Typically, disaster struck just in time for the big day and Richard’s best man was struck down with COVID and sadly unable to attend the ceremony so we thought we would have to forgo the speeches. However, at the eleventh hour, my (Dawn) cousin stepped in to save the day and delivered the most beautiful, heartfelt & thoughtful speech which we were incredibly grateful for.

Delicious wedding food…

We jumped at the chance to attend the menu taster day at Tower Hill Barns, it was a lovely touch – all of the food was phenomenal and having the opportunity to attend such a lovely event helped us to feel even more connected to the venue and the wonderful staff. It was a helpful way to make a decision about our wedding menu, as we were open about the style and options we were considering.

… and a Parma Violet wedding cake

Our wedding cake, made by Rebecca Hurd, was three-tier in shades of white & ink blue to match our colour scheme. Steering away from traditional fruit cake, we opted for a bottom tier of rhubarb and custard, a lightbox for the middle tier and parma violet for the top tier. After the wedding breakfast, we made a game of having our guests guess their cake flavour, and the winner was rewarded with a matching box of cupcakes.

Final Thoughts

The day itself seemed effortlessly seamless, the order of the day was perfect. Long, but we wouldn’t have had it any other way! We couldn’t be more thankful to THB for making our wedding experience truly amazing from start to finish. The wedding was a worry for my son, who is Autistic – Tower Hill Barns were extremely accommodating allowing him to visit to look around without anyone else there, which made a huge difference. The Farmhouse was also a godsend as he knew he could escape to its quiet tranquillity if it all became too much. I honestly couldn’t thank the staff enough for doing everything in their power to ensure the big day went without a hitch.

Our guests still comment on how special the day was and the beauty of the venue. I have to say, THB is more than just a venue or a business, it is clearly a family-run venture that is a passion!

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