Maria & Matt tied the knot with us last Autumn and what a delightful day it was! They both absolutely fell in love with our charming Tudor Barn and knew from their very first visit that South Farm was their dream eco wedding venue! We have thoroughly enjoyed reading all about how they created their warm and cosy Autumnal wedding using many eco-friendly materials and initiative’s. A beautiful example of how weddings can be both stylish and eco-friendly. Read all about the story of their stunning Autumn wedding day in our latest blog…
Date of your wedding: 26th October 2023
Time of your ceremony: 2.00pm
Location of your ceremony: The Tudor Barn
We’d love to hear how and when you first met!
Back in May 2016, after hearing about my dire love life, a work friend invited me on a night out with her boyfriend and his friends who were visiting. I had no intention of going because I’d given up on ever finding a man, however when she threatened to throw away a perfectly good bottle of prosecco if I didn’t go to drink it, my fate was luckily sealed. I met Matt on that night and my life changed for the better. Our friendship grew over the summer and we count the start of our relationship from Halloween 2016. I lived in Scarborough and Matt was in Cambridge so the start of our journey was a long distance one. I then moved to Cambridge in December 2017.
Which parts of the venue did you use on your big day?
When we had our first visit to South Farm, Matt & I both said how the moment we walked into the Tudor Barn, we knew that would be the room where we would get married. On the morning of our wedding, my bridal party and I got ready in the Coach House Suite and the boys got ready in the Farm House.
We held our ceremony in the Tudor Barn, then had our welcome drinks and canapés in the gardens. The South Farm team did a fabulous job turning the Tudor Barn around from our ceremony into a beautiful dining room for our wedding breakfast, then seamlessly again afterwards for our evening reception. We welcomed our evening guests with coffee and brownies in the Old Dairy before moving back to the Tudor Barn. South Farm is such a beautiful venue I wanted to show off as many areas as possible to our guests.
Which was your favourite spot for wedding photos?
How can we possibly choose?! South Farm is the most picturesque wedding venue, from the driveway to the gardens and the Romany caravans – there are so many amazing picture opportunities. However, if I really had to choose, I’d have to say the pig pen. How many brides can say they were captured stroking and feeding piglets on their wedding day with their new husband?! (P.S sorry to The Wedding Room Scarborough who had the fun of dry cleaning my dress afterwards!)
Tell us about any special colour themes you had for your wedding day and how you styled your big day?
I’ve always been a huge Autumn fan and as our anniversary falls around Halloween I was set on using Autumn and pumpkins as inspiration. We opted for whites and greys as our base colours and brought them alive with a pop of burnt orange to add an autumnal feel.
Knowing that South Farm pride themselves on being a sustainable wedding venue, I wanted to find quirky ideas to tie the theme in. Instead of a large flower order, I came across Page & Bloom online who take pre-loved books and make them into bouquets – this meant I could take one of Matt’s Warhammer books (with his permission, honestly…) and have it made into three bouquets and seven button holes that were then gifted to our bridal party and groomsmen as thank you gifts. Nothing went to waste. Our table flowers were artificial and again were gifted to guests who requested a souvenir. We also lined the aisle with pumpkins picked from our local pumpkin patch.
Another item I was proud of was our place names which we grew in our garden. Every guest at our wedding breakfast had a leaf from the trees in our garden, which I personally collected after they had fallen and personalized with their names.
Finally, when it came to our wedding, we wanted to involve as many friends and small businesses as possible. My bridesmaid Sam has an embroidery business and she went above and beyond to create our décor. She made 60 meters worth of bunting, chair signs, our favour’s, family gifts and the most fabulous banner that sat proudly above our heads for our ceremony and our wedding breakfast.
How did you first hear about South Farm and what made you choose our venue for your wedding day?
We have family dotted around the country, so I thought the easiest thing to do for the wedding would be to get everyone to come to us. I started my search on Google, looking for wedding venues nearby to Cambridge. 35 tabs later Matt reminded me it would be a good idea to make a short list. We whittled this down to five venues that stood out to us online and armed with a notebook and pen, we went to visit. Each venue had pro’s and con’s until we walked into South Farm and fell in love especially after we both had the same feeling the moment we entered the Tudor Barn. We couldn’t stop talking about it from the moment we left and we even provisionally booked our date that day. There was one more venue still to visit, which we went to for a nosy but we both knew in our hearts that it was South Farm that was our venue. I couldn’t wait to be surrounded by the animals and the Romany caravans on our day.
Tell us some detail about your special day?
They say rain on your wedding day is meant to be lucky and that’s what I had to remind myself all morning as the heavens opened. The sun came out as our guests arrived and I loved being able to secretly watch Matt and the groomsmen greet them all in the sunshine. We had a beautiful ceremony led by Andrew from the Cambridge Ceremonies team and after being pronounced as Mr & Mrs Wilson, our guests were able to cover us in South Farm confetti. It smelt beautiful – however, ladies if your dress is low cut you will find it for days. After our photo session, we had our speeches and then the most delicious wedding food. We had opted for the ‘Sirloin of Beef’ which was a bit too rare for a couple of our guests but nothing was too much for the South Farm team. They whisked away the rare beef and in the blink of an eye returned with a well-done piece – no one was left hungry! The weather stayed on side throughout the ceremony and photos and the rain only came back when we sat down to eat. Finally, once our evening guests had arrived, it was time for our first dance, the cutting of our cake and time to party!
How did you feel on the day?
Much to my bridal party’s concern and confusion I was extremely calm. I like to flap but, on the day, I was overcome with a period of calm. I was just so excited for the last two years of planning to come together and to finally become Mrs Wilson. Matt would say the same for the day once his first glass of Dutch courage had kicked in.
What was your most memorable moment from your wedding?
The food! South Farm have an amazing catering team. The food is absolutely delicious and you’re not restricted on options to choose from. If you’re a bride or groom who hasn’t had their menu tasting yet, you’re in for a treat. We’re massive foodies with even bigger appetites and even we were full that night! Imagine a Michelin tasting menu but it’s inspired by your wedding and that’s the South Farm Tasting Event! The morning after our wedding it was a pleasure to hear people raving about our food. People still mention it now nearly a year later. We had Duck Spring Rolls, The Sirloin of Beef & the Dessert Medley to finish.
How did you choose your ceremony and first dance music?
For our ceremony music, I picked Sigrid’s “Home To You” to walk down the aisle to because it reminded me of my hometown Scarborough, but also of coming home to Matt. The songs played for our guest entrances and whilst signing the register were songs that meant something to Matt and I – yes, we even had an acoustic version of the Pokémon theme tune for Matt.
Our First dance was to Ed Sheeran’s “How Would You Feel”. We picked this because we both love Ed but I also wanted something a little bit different to his more well-known songs. The lyrics also described the early days of our relationship. Finally, we welcomed our guests to take to the floor by following this with Paramore’s “Still In To You”.
How many bridesmaids did you have and how did you ask them to be your bridesmaids?
I had one ‘ Maid of Honour ‘ and one Bridesmaid. I had a list as long as my arm of people I could have asked but I decided to stick with the two girls who have been by my side throughout all of the frogs, the tears, the laughs and everything in between. I’ve known these girls for 15 years and I couldn’t have got married without them by my side (even if they did hold hands walking down the aisle…!) My bridesmaid proposal didn’t quite go to plan – it was December 2021, we had an evening booked at our favourite restaurant and then one of the girls heard they’d been in contact with someone who’d tested positive for Covid, so rather than our evening out, we had a takeaway from the same restaurant, in the front garden during a rain storm and we toasted with a 20cl bottle of prosecco each! It still turned out perfectly.
How did you pick your best men and ushers?
Matt was going to send a text to a group of the boys he’d known since school. I ensured he gave them a Christmas box with a boujee proposal in. We then treated them to a meal out after they had said yes, of course! We picked our best man Matt because he’d played a part in introducing us.
How many speeches did you have and do you have any advice for anyone giving a speech?
We had four speeches. Originally my Dad had said he wasn’t confident to do one so that job was given to Lucy, my ‘ Maid of Honor ‘ and also to our ‘ Best Man ‘, Matt. They both smashed it and I’ve never laughed so much hearing about mine and Matt’s lives. On the day, my dad decided to do a speech too and something tells me he either had it planned all along or he’s very good at adlibbing a speech! Finally, I made a thank you speech for everyone who had supported our wedding.
My advice is, if you’re having speeches, keep each one under 5 minutes and do them before the wedding breakfast. That way everyone can enjoy their meal without stage fright creeping in.
What did you wear?
I wore a floor length, champagne coloured A-line Ronald Joyce gown and my shoes were lace boots from House of Elliot Boots. If you’re a South Farm bride, remember that your dress will get dirty (and your guests faces will be priceless) – but throw caution to the wind and get yourself in that pig pen. Dry cleaners exist and will work wonders! You’ll only have this day once!
Is there anything you would have done differently?
Absolutely not! I look back on our wedding day and it truly was the best day of our lives. I had delegated some jobs to our family & friends and although some things went slightly off plan, we didn’t even notice until they mentioned it afterwards. We had Summer as our South Farm coordinator and she couldn’t do enough for us! She really made our wedding day go perfectly. Thank you, Summer.
What are your top tips for other couples?
- Remember that it’s your wedding day. You are most likely footing the bill so make sure everything is to your taste. People will always have opinions in the run up but then on the day they will agree that you planned it perfectly.
- Don’t be afraid to delegate. You will have family and friends offer to help throughout your wedding planning. Let them! Save yourself some money and make them feel special. I had family members decorating the venue who heard our guests complimenting on their décor. I had friends who did readings in our ceremony and my bridal party made the most beautiful cakes and finishing details. Everyone felt special and it really helped us financially too. I made a folder and caught up with them for a coffee during wedding week to make sure my vision translated to the venue on the day.
- Breathe it all in! The day will fly by but it will also be amazing too. We took some time out together after our photos and hid in the gardens to eat our canapes. Every so often I would grab Matt’s hand and tell him just to take in that moment – look at your guests and remember that they’re here for you.
Where did you go on honeymoon?
We went to Italy for our honeymoon. It was originally a minimoon but we got over excited and it quickly turned into quite the holiday. We started in Venice where we ticked Drinking Prosecco in the Prosecco Region off our Bucket List then moved on to Florence and finished off in Rome. We’re planning to visit Brussels for our first anniversary using our guests generous honeymoon donations.
Suppliers |
Photographer: Zoe Parnham Photography
Videographer: We didn’t have a videographer but our friend Laura makes amazing social media reels. She did the most beautiful job.
Dress: Ronald Joyce Bridal – bought from The Wedding Room Scarborough, alterations by The Bridal Pixie.
Grooms & Groomsmen Outfits: James of Ely
Bridesmaid Dresses: Ever Pretty
Cake: My Maid of Honour made our beautiful cake. It travelled 3.5 hours from Scarborough the day before the wedding. There is no one else I would have wanted to bake our cake.
Hair: Make Up By Sam
Makeup: Make Up By Sam
Flowers: Page & Bloom – Sustainable flowers. This team supports domestic abuse survivors and helps them to rebuild their lives as well as making amazing flowers from pre-loved materials.
Transport: I did the driving. I learnt to drive later in life so it felt like an accomplishment to drive to and from my own wedding.
Entertainment: Again, we kept our circle close and supported our friends DJ business The Cambridge Disco Company. Tom’s wife is a close family friend.
We loved catching up with Maria & Matt to hear the story of how they planned their perfect day. We are over the moon that South Farm was able to offer so many picturesque photo opportunities for you both which we’re sure you will both cherish for many years to come! Thank you both so much for your incredibly kind words – it really was an absolute honor to have been able to host your beautiful day! Thank you for letting us take part in your ‘Happily Ever After’.
If you are looking at wedding venues in Hertfordshire and like the look of South Farm, then 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 Hertfordshire garden wedding venue.
