The Wedding of Laura & Daniel

An intimate, relaxed indoor ceremony here at Tower Hill Barns one crisp November afternoon for this couple who went all in on all that the Welsh countryside promises

Laura and Daniel planned their incredible, woodland-themed wedding in just 8 months.

Laura and Dan were married in an intimate, relaxed indoor ceremony here at Tower Hill Barns one crisp November afternoon, embracing their desire for a countryside wedding with a complimentary woodland theme. A sprinkling of humour added to the day ℅ the happy, easygoing registrars who were the perfect fit for this happy, easygoing couple!

The Engagement:

At the time of our engagement, Dan and I had been together for seven years (and I was beginning to get more than a little impatient). It was a crisp winter’s evening, we’d both finished work early and decided to get cosy in our PJ’s; Dan began teasing me about getting married, implying he had a ring – thinking he was joking, I ignored him (ok – there may also have been a few choice swear words uttered here and there) and he disappeared. Moments later he reappeared, placing a gorgeous white leather box on the coffee table in front of me, and just like that I was finally a fiancée!

On The Countryside Venue…

Dan and I are well matched as we both love and adore nature and all things rustic. Naturally, we have chosen the countryside as our home and after attending a flurry of weddings in 2019, we were keen to find a wedding venue that was undeniably ‘us’ and that little bit different.

High on our priorities list was a natural, untraditional setting and it HAD to have breathtaking countryside views. We found Tower Hill Barns on social media and immediately had a good feeling, we thought it was gorgeous and loved the location. It offered everything we wanted and more (plus being Welsh, I (Laura) had secretly loved it for years!) – we were SOLD and booked just two weeks after getting engaged.

Sadly the date we had wanted to book, 5th November, in homage to Laura’s love of bonfire night and fireworks was already taken. But it wasn’t enough to deter us once we’d fallen in love with the venue, we married the following Sunday and incorporated fireworks and sparklers into our evening do – it was perfect!

The Theme

We have always dreamt of an Autumn themed wedding, the natural colour palette of burnt umber, vibrant oranges and deep reds is simply beautiful and we prefer the simplicity of bringing the outdoors in with decorations provided by Mother Nature herself. We felt this theme offered the best opportunity to make even the smallest details of our wedding more personal to us by incorporating our love of the countryside and rustic, natural decor.

With help from Laura’s family, the couple created their own centrepieces using logs, seasonal fall leaves and diddy little pumpkins & squashes, the table names and place cards were created from wood slices which the couple personalised with pyrography (these doubled as wonderful keepsakes for their guests) – the end result was very effective and tied Laura and Dan’s natural Autumn theme together beautifully and in a very sustainable way!

“Our whole vision came to life and it was even better than we could have hoped, the small minimalist personal touches added to the natural beauty of Tower Hill Barns and suited our style perfectly.”

The Ceremony

On the day of the ceremony, I felt quite calm. I was even complimented on being a ‘chilled bride’. The secret? I let go, deciding to go with the flow months before, as soon as the booking was in place – as Doris Day once said ‘Whatever will be, will be’. But I have to admit, we were very fortunate that the incredibly kind and helpful staff at Tower Hill Barns had everything in hand, and the day went tremendously well from beginning to end – we were very lucky!

Laura and Daniel were married in the Old Barn (our indoor ceremony room) in a beautiful, intimate ceremony. Walking down the aisle to Iron & Wine – flightless bird – a true indie classic, Laura looked stunning wearing an elegant white A-line gown & veil from Heavenly Brides Of Shrewsbury, complemented by a colourful bouquet of vibrant orange and deep burgundy red blooms in a nod to their autumn theme, accompanied by her very proud father!

A touching reading from one of the bridesmaids moved our ordinarily stoic bride to tears, while the registrars fitted seamlessly into the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere with their upbeat, easygoing personalities and brought a sprinkling of humour to the proceedings with a well-timed pun or two.

The Wedding Food

Thanks to Tower Hill’s food taster, we knew to expect beautifully presented, restaurant-quality food, which tasted incredible – the food on the day did not disappoint!

The Canapés were presented on slate trays to suit our natural, autumnal theme and tasted fabulous. For the guests’ main we chose roast chicken with mushroom truffle veg and potatoes, followed by a fail-safe cheesecake for dessert – it was mouth-watering and our guests were all very impressed on the day. Even the ‘his and hers’ drinks we’d handpicked were amazing!

I also HAVE to mention the brunch that Tower Hill Barns prepared for my bridal party to graze on while we were getting ready, it was a great way to prevent any hunger pangs ahead of the ceremony, as well as being a delicious start to the day. I would absolutely recommend it as a ‘must-have’ to any future brides!

A perfect autumnal wedding cake + the first dance

Laura and Dan opted for a traditional three-tier wedding cake. A couple after our own hearts, they embraced the chocolate vibes, choosing two tiers of red velvet cake (yum) and one tier of decadent chocolate fudge cake (also yum). Displayed on THB’s wooden rustic barrel, against a backdrop provided by A Little Big Difference, the cake was cut ahead of the couple’s first dance, and positively screamed Autumn, matching Laura & Dan’s theme perfectly – the layers were covered with snow white buttercream and adorned with miniature pumpkins and autumnal leaves in orange and burgundy hues. It was simple, elegant, perfection.

“Our first dance was to Phil Collins, A Groovy Kind Of Love – there had been lots of practising at home in the run-up to the wedding as Dan was not made to be a dancer! Thankfully all the hard work paid off as it went amazingly well – and not a single broken toe!”

Final thoughts + wisdom

Our overall wedding experience was absolutely outstanding, perfectly organised, and the whole experience of working with the team at Tower Hill Barns to create our wedding day was perfect; if we could, we would do it all over again and relive the fun! Our guests are still raving about how great and relaxed the ceremony was, as well as gushing over the stunning venue and amazing food! My advice to future couples would be to utilise any and all opportunities you have to visit the venue and take the time to really imagine the space when planning the theme, decoration and finishing touches and also to let go and enjoy the experience – chilled bride vibes are the way forward!

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