Samantha & Carl’s Stunning June Wedding!

Date of your wedding: 16.06.2023                

Time of your ceremony: 3pm

Location of your ceremony: South Farm – outside ceremony

We’d love to hear how you first met!
We met on a local shoot through a mutual friend who was the gamekeeper. Our first date never went ahead as planned as Sam crashed her car in Tesco’s on the evening the date had been planned for. Eventually went ahead the second time around.

Which parts of the venue you used for your big day?
We used pretty much every part of the venue on the day. Outside ceremony in the gazebo, it was such a hot day that guests were using the umbrellas for sun rather than rain. We had reception drinks on the patio, such a lovely space with David Foster playing music in the background. We then went into the Tudor Barn for the wedding breakfast and to make it a little more relaxed for the guys we did speeches in the Old Dairy. We then moved back into the Tudor Barn and Horse Barn for dancing the rest of the night.

Which was your favourite spot for wedding photos?
It’s really hard to choose a favourite spot to be honest, so much to choose from! The front of the house is beautiful with the roses in full bloom and around the pond was also beautiful. We had to have the Tuk Tuk out as we have a love for Thailand after a holiday there just before covid, so it was nice to have pics with that as well.

Tell us about any special colour schemes / themes you had for your wedding day or how you styled your big day?
Was quite simple in terms of styling, the bridesmaids wore a sage green dress and the guys with blue suits and matching sage green ties.

The flowers were blush pinks and ivories with lovely green foliage, also purple thistles in the flowers, as Sam was born in Scotland. We had a bag piper as well playing as guests arrived, walking the bride down the aisle and then guests and bride into the wedding breakfast. The flowers for the wedding breakfast where bright boho style flowers. Both big music lovers and so made sure there was music all day long going on.

How did you first hear about South Farm and what made you choose our venue for your wedding day?
Not sure if it was on bridebook or general search or google, when we told a couple of friends they had already been to look around South Farm as well and had loved it. We had only really been to properly look around 2 other venues. After visiting South Farm we both knew it was the right place. There was just something so special about South Farm, we loved that it was  very self sufficient, growing the vegetables, the herbs, fruit. Everyone was so friendly when we looked around, took the time to talk to us even whilst busy working, everyone seemed so proud of South Farm.

We loved to hear all about what South Farm was about, we even got to go behind the scenes with Philip to see the newest chicks that had just been born!

It’s such a stunning place with so much choice and options for you to make your perfect day.

Tell us some detail about your special day?
I remember getting ready in the bridal suite, and could see Carl (groom) and the other groomsmen walking around the patio area in their suits, spying on them, wondering what they were talking about, was he nervous at all lol.

We really had such an amazing day from start to finish, everything went so smoothly. Everyone who came all said the same, nothing spoiled the day.

How did you feel on the day?
I remember feeling just so happy that the day had come and we were actually getting married at South Farm! We were all getting busy around the farm, there was such a buzz in the air and we were made to feel so special. I felt relaxed for most of the day, with a little bit of nerves just before the ceremony.

What was your most memorable moment from your wedding?
There are a few memorable moments of the wedding, one in particular when the wedding guests were up singing and dancing to ‘sweet caroline’ during the wedding breakfast.

Also the moment walking down the aisle with my dad by my side, with the bag piper in front of me, it really was a special moment, standing at the front with my dad on one side and Carl on the other side of me.

My dad cannot walk very well due to arthritis, he also became unwell due to the heat. Hayley was an absolute angel looking after him, she came to tell me how he was, what she had done to help him and anything I asked her if she could do for him, she had already done it! It really did put my mind at ease, especially when we had to be doing particular things in the day.  She really did not have to do what she did, but she went above and beyond her call of duty and I am so grateful for her support and kindness.

How did you choose your ceremony / first dance music?
The bag piper played traditional Scottish music throughout and one of my favourite songs is ‘skye boat song’ it’s also the theme tune to a programme about Scotland that I love so I chose this to walk down the aisle to. As the piper was piping us into the wedding breakfast, we wanted something a bit upbeat that we could dance in to so it had to be Scotland the Brave.

It was hard to chose other songs, as we wanted to pick a singer/band that we both loved but then trying to link the words to how we felt also was hard. We picked a handful of songs and then just whittled it down to the right one for our first dance, ‘All of me’ by John Legend.

For singing of the register, again we wanted music that we loved, non traditional and also something that would make feel happy, something they wouldn’t expect and just a general good feeling song. We had chosen three songs to sign the register with but only needed one in the end which was ‘one day like this’ by Elbow.

The walking back up the aisle song needed to be upbeat and I came across a couple of songs by Queen that fit the bill. We are both Queen fans and Sam’s dad a HUGE fan so we went with ‘Crazy little thing called love’

It’s traditional in Scotland that the last song at any wedding is ‘Loch Lomond’ by Runrig and so we made sure the band played this at the end of the night. When this is played the bride and groom are in the middle and everyone circles around them dancing, jumping, holding hands to the song and it just brings everyone together to show special the couple are and kind of wish them well. (probably another memorable moment)

How many bridesmaids did you have and how did you ask them to be your bridesmaids?
I had 6 bridesmaids, 3 were my closest friends having known each other since high school. Carl has children, 2 girls from a previous marriage and so they were a part of the day in so many ways! I also asked my sister, felt that she was a part of me and who I was and that she would have been a great support to me the whole way through.

My sister lives in Scotland and so I had to ask her over the phone!

The others I brought them a gift of a bracelet with their initial on it and asked them if they would do me the honour of being a part of the bridal party.

How did you pick your best men and ushers?
Carl really wasn’t sure who to ask about his best man. I suggested he chose someone that has always been there for him, someone he goes to and that someone who he knows he would support and they would support him. He asked a friend he has know since a very young age. The rest of the groomsmen were all others that play a big part in his life, again knowing all of them most of his life. He also wanted to make sure his step dad felt a part of the day, so he was also included.

How many speeches did you have and do you have any advice for anyone giving a speech?
We had the 3 main traditional speeches. I wanted them to feel as relaxed as possible as doing a speech in front of so many people can be so daunting, especially when there are so many expectations when doing a speech, to make people laugh and cry and also appreciated!

When we were at the menu tasting evening, it was so great to speak to other couple’s about what they were doing and it made us think that we don’t have to do anything the ‘normal’ way, we can do it however we want to, knowing that South Farm would support it.

So we decided that after the wedding breakfast in the Tudor Barn, we would go back to the Old Dairy for the speeches, where there would be drinks, tea & coffee, some people would sit, some would stand. This made it so much more informal for the guys doing the speeches.

I think it’s important to tell a story, give the guests some insight into who you are the bride & groom are, sometimes it’s nice to speak about something that others may not know about them!

What did you wear?
I wore ‘Hattie Lynette’ by Rebecca Ingram from Maggie Sottero. I came across this dress when looking one day, way before I went shopping. I fell in love with it and so when it came to time to go dress shopping, I made sure to find a local shop that stocked this dress. It was the first one to try on, I did then try on several others in different styles and colours but I went right back to the Hattie Lynette.

It’s unusual for me to decide on something that quick, I would normally drag people round the shops and then go back to what I tried on in the beginning but I just couldn’t let this one go, I was so happy that I loved it on, it’s different, non traditional colour and style, which is just so me.

Carl is a countryman and so felt he needed a suit that showcased this. He originally wanted to have a tweed suit but when he tried a complete 3 piece traditional tweed wedding suit on, he quickly realised that it really wasn’t the right suit for a wedding in June!

So we went looking for a suit that had a similar pattern style but a thinner material that the men would be a bit more comfortable in. Although it was such a hot day, they would have been more comfortable in shorts! The suits were hired from Mr Mackys in Stevenage Old Town.

Is there anything you would have done differently?
Although the day wasn’t rushed, it ran so smoothly, and it is so true what everyone says about it going so quickly, we probably would have had the ceremony a little earlier in the day, although it wouldn’t have been so easy to plan the getting ready part of the day, getting ready at South Farm I think made it much less stressful than doing it elsewhere before hand!

Wish I had been able to eat more of the food, we only got to have one canape each, I missed the dessert and forgot about the evening food, but there was always so much more going on at the same time, which is why I think doing it a little earlier would have possibly made a difference.

What are your top tips for other couples?
Don’t sweat the small stuff, let the day run it’s course, everything will be fine and you will have a great day regardless! You will not regret getting married at South Farm one bit, I honestly believe we would have been a lot more stressed out that we were, and that was not a lot, they look after you so well, the attention to detail and the thought the event co-ordinator out into their work is just amazing, top class, second to none. Could not fault Hayley one bit, she was absolutely amazing and every single guest said exactly the same but we know that no matter who was looking after us on the day they would have all been just as amazing.

Do things your way, nothing has to be the norm!

Make sure you have time on your own, together and have fun!

Where did you go/where do you plan to go on honeymoon?
We did a few days in Crete a couple of days after the wedding, literally just to unwind and relax. So much was going on, on the run up to the wedding, with family arriving from all over the world, that we just slept so much for the first couple of days!

We are planning a proper honeymoon for a couple of weeks either going back to Thailand, or maybe Cambodia or Vietnam, where we will travel around to different places.

Suppliers 

Photographer: Marcus Charter Photography

Videographer: Our friend Joe helped us with this, he has some great images and footage we can share!

Dress: Clifford Burr, Bishops Stortford

Grooms & Groomsmen outfits: Mr Mackay’s, Stevenage Old Town

Bridesmaid dresses: JJ’S House

Cake: Cake Magic, Stevenage

Hair: Bespoke Bridal by Valentina

Makeup: Make up By Kelly Frances

Flowers: The Herts Flower Girl

Transport: Myalls

Entertainment: Mike Murray (Bagpiper), David Foster (reception drinks and wedding breakfast music) & The Blue Rinse band for evening reception.