Joss & Jonny tied the knot last July at the Farm and what a fabulous day they had! It was South Farm’s charming backdrops, quiet intimate spots around the grounds for special moments as husband and wife and of course Jonny’s love of animals that drew them to booking their special day with us the Farm! Pop the kettle on, put your feet up and read all about the story of their joyous wedding day celebrations in our latest blog…you’ll specially love reading all about their ‘ surprise ‘ confetti guest!
Date of your wedding: 8 July 2023
Time of your ceremony: 14:00
Location of your ceremony: South Farm
We’d love to hear how and when you first met!
We met at our work’s Softball Team and were friends first. Jonny asked me out in Regents Park and the first date was crazy golf followed by a fish pie dinner.
Which parts of the venue did you use for your big day?
We had the ceremony in the Tudor Barn due to some last minute rain, and the drinks reception and evening dancing also took place at the Tudor Barn.
Which was your favourite spot for wedding photos?
We really liked having pictures by the wagons, in the garden and outside the house. There are so many different areas, it felt like you were at multiple venues at times. It was great being taken places by our photographer away from the business of the wedding for some private time.
Tell us about your special colour theme and how you styled your wedding day?
For colour schemes our bridesmaids wore sky blue dresses and Jonny wore a green suit, and the groomsmen all wore the same coloured pocket squares.
There wasn’t a general theme but we did show a couple of our favourite sports when it came to the meal. The table plan was a board with Astro turf and small cricket bats hanging with each table listed on them.
For the centre-pieces we used a circular piece of wood from South Farm, and then a baseball glove and a baseball with a table number on top. Joss had been a Wedding Co-ordinator in the past and the first wedding she did the couple had huge bird cages, which meant the guests couldn’t really see each other across the table, so being able to chat to each other was a key factor.
The cake topper was also softball themed.
How did you first hear about South Farm and what made you choose our venue for your wedding day?
I had known about South Farm for a while, through friends going to weddings, and Jonny loves animals!
We chose South Farm because of the variety of areas and the friendly service!
Tell us some detail about your special day?
My Grandad passed away a few years ago and he was my best friend, so we wanted to remember him but not in the conventional way. We watched lots of chick flicks together and my Grandad’s favourite films were The Proposal, The Holiday and he always watched Maid in Manhattan if it was on TV. So the scores from The Holiday and Maid in Manhattan were played during the signing of the registrar. However, the score from The Proposal couldn’t be found on Spotify, so the rap song It Takes Two was played from the film which was funny.
The wedding cake had a tier of Mr Kipling fruit pies as they were always at Joss’s Grandad’s house whenever she went over.
My Grandma lived to 101 and loved playing card games, so in the evening reception we had a table with playing cards and instructions on how to play her favourite card games. I also wore one of her bracelets during the wedding.
Lastly Jonny’s family friend Joanna who was like a Gran to him loved croquet and so we had the croquet set out during the drinks reception.
How did you feel on the day?
We both felt excited and nervous, Joss in particular was nervous about whether a big surprise she had planned would be a success.
What was your most memorable moment from your wedding?
The two most memorable parts were the dinosaur flower girl and rowing an imaginary boat to Viking death metal song. We did tell guests the day afterwards that they didn’t have a weird dream, those things did happen!
We had known for a long time that Joss’s dad wouldn’t be walking her down the aisle, so had a vacant spot. Joss is a big film fan and walking down to a film score was always going to happen, and settled on the Jurassic Park theme as on one of our holidays in the evenings we watched the Jurassic Park films. Upon telling this to Joss’s cousin, her cousin’s husband said ‘ well if you need a flower girl, I’ll be one in a dinosaur outfit’. And that’s just what happened! A 6ft dinosaur scattered petals before Joss walked down the aisle. It provided a lot of laughs, and a few people knew of the plans, but it was a complete surprise to Joss’s immediate family and the majority of the guests.
We also had another surprise in the evening for Jonny. We had a live band, but between their sets we had a Spotify playlist. Jonny is a big fan of a band called Amon Amarth and in one of their songs, all of the audience at their concerts get on the floor and row an imaginary boat. Leading up to the wedding Joss told guests about this idea and was expecting 5-7 people to take part. In the end there were 20-30 people on the dance floor and it was a really fun memory of the day.
How did you choose your ceremony and first dance music?
All the music for the day was from films as we love films. We walked back up the aisle to Married Life from Up and then shortly after we did our confetti walk, our dog Buddy (who looks like the dog from Up) made an appearance.
Our first dance was You Never Can Tell from the Pulp Fiction film. Jonny said on an early date that if he ever got married it would be a cool first date, and Joss remembered!
How many bridesmaids did you have and how did you ask them to be your bridesmaids?
I had four bridesmaids, all of whom had never met each other before! As they were all from different parts of my life. One was my cousin, another was a school friend, the third was an old work colleague who became a good friend and the last was a friend I met at an all night movie marathon.
They all got asked in person in individual catch ups with a card which had pictures of me and each bridesmaid so it was personalised. The cards were from Etsy.
There were a couple of zoom sessions in the run up to the wedding and then they didn’t meet each other until my second hen do at her house. Unbeknown to me, although there was a bride tribe WhatsApp group, they’d started their own secret WhatsApp group as well.
How did you pick your best men and ushers?
My best man was my oldest friend. We’d known each other since we were about 12. I had been best man at his wedding and I was happy to return the favour!
My three ushers were my three closest male friends whom I had met at uni and we’ve been close ever since.
How many speeches did you have and do you have any advice for anyone giving a speech?
We had Joss’s dad, Joss’s Maid of Honour, Jonny and Jonny’s best man give speeches.
Get the right balance of humor and sincerity. If it’s too jokey people may not think you’re taking it seriously, but if it’s too po-faced it’ll be a bit forgettable.
What did you wear?
Joss had two dresses, the day dress was from Vinted. Originally seen at a bridal shop with an initial price of over £1,000, but was on the sale rack for £595. She then looked on Vinted and the exact dress in her size was on there for £90, and when it arrived it still had all the tags on it.
For her evening dress she got a v-neck dress with short caped sleeves for £54 from the Garden House Hospice in Hitchin which has a bridal and evening dress section.
Jonny bought his suit from a tailor in Cambridge. He opted for a sage green color. He wanted something a little different that would nevertheless be suitable for an English summer wedding.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
If your dog is part of your wedding, don’t have them in the group photo shot, as Buddy was pretty distracting to the guests (which is understandable as he’s very cute.)
Don’t have a heavy one the night before! It was the first time in a while since I’d seen my best man as he lives in California now, and I had a bit of a headache the next day. Thankfully it cleared by the afternoon!
What are your top tips for other couples?
Make it fun, have inside jokes featured and anything that’s important to you, it’s your day!
If you have a lot of guests from different parts of your life, create a guest guide. This included a small picture of each guest with a line about how they knew us. This was given out to guests when they arrived and they all found it really useful. They also could look back after the wedding if they’re wondering who they had great conversations with, but can’t quite remember their names.
For wedding gifts as we were already living together we did a registry of a Year of Fun Dates through a site called Patch Work It. You can come up with your own dates and price them accordingly and then people ‘buy a date’ for you.
Flowers cost a small fortune, so if they are really important to you, see if any of your guests like floristry and ask if they’d like to make an arrangement.
We didn’t do favors, but the name plates were made out of seed paper, which the guests could take home to grow.
Where did you go on honeymoon?
We went to a few places in Europe by train: Paris, Strausbourg, Bern and Lake Como.
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Photographer: Sharon Cooper
Videographer: We didn’t have one, although Sharon made a slideshow video, as well as Joss’s sister Lisa as a surprise.
Dress: Vinted and Garden House Hospice
Grooms & Groomsmen Outfits: Trotter and Dean for the groom’s suit, TM Lewin for the matching pocket squares for the groomsmen. Groomsmen wore their own suits.
Bridesmaid Dresses: Cicinia, all the same colour but each style was chosen by the bridesmaids.
Cake: Emma Azzopardi at Box of Cakes
Hair: Charlotte Butler-Charlotte Butler Hair
Makeup: Jess Marshall- Brushed with Bronzer
Flowers: Dried flower arrangements from Etsy, registrar table flowers by Jonny’s relative Caroline flowers in the hair for the bridesmaids made by Charlotte Butler.
Transport: Didn’t have any but did arrange a have a minibus bring some of the guests that were all travelling from Letchworth. We were jealous of the ‘party bus.’
Entertainment: Band: The Cheesecake Band
We loved catching up with Joss & Jonny hearing the wonderful story of how they planned their perfect day with lots of special touches throughout the garden wedding venue. We are over the moon that South Farm was able to provide all the fabulous and fun backdrops for their incredible day – we think Buddy certainly took the lime-light during their confetti shot though! We were so absolutely honored to be part of your wedding and we truly wish you both all the best in your new and very exciting venture as husband and wife.
If you are looking to book your dream garden wedding venue in Hertfordshire for your wedding day please get in touch. We’d love to hear all about your wedding plans and to show you around our Hertfordshire wedding venue, rustic wedding barns and stunning gardens. Our fantastic choice of ceremony and reception spaces is perfect for intimate weddings or larger guest numbers. There are so many gorgeous spaces to choose from and we offer exclusive use for your wedding day. What’s more, our friendly, experienced team will make sure your perfect wedding day runs perfectly to plan in our garden wedding venue.