Get ready to fall in love with this heart warming Autumn wedding at South Farm! From office romance beginnings to a picture-perfect day filled with laughter, sunshine and handmade personal touches. From a beautiful ceremony in the Old Dairy to dancing the night away in the Horse Barn, every detail of their day was bursting with personality (and a few cheeky surprises along the way!).
Discover all the details of their eco-inspired Autumn wedding in our latest blog below…
Date of your wedding: Thursday 17th October 2024
Time of your ceremony: 3:00pm
Location of your ceremony: South Farm
We’d love to hear how and when you first met?
We actually met at work! We started as colleagues, became friends and over time things just naturally developed into an office romance… before we knew it, we were moving in together and then planning a wedding! Our days of sneaking out for lunchtime dates were not so discreet as everyone knew!
Which parts of the venue did you use for your big day?
We held our ceremony in the Old Dairy and then were lucky enough to have a beautiful sunny Autumn day that meant we could have our drinks reception in the amazing gardens and make use of the lawn games. We had our wedding breakfast in the Tudor Barn and danced the night away in the Horse Barn!
Which was your favourite spot for wedding photos?
The gardens were the perfect place for taking photos, some of our favourite pictures were taken outside with the sun in the background. Our guests loved the blue door of the house, we have seen many a selfie taken there!
Tell us about any special themes you had and how you styled your big day?
We decided to go for a navy blue and copper theme, with the flowers having little pops of colour and mini pumpkins on the tables for that autumnal feel. We wanted to do as much as we could ourselves, so I made seed paper for the name cards and we spent months saving jars of various sizes to have candles on the tables and around the venue. Paul even found an old ladder online and upcycled it for our seating chart!
We wanted to be as local as possible with our vendors and focus on independent businesses. Many of the suppliers were found through South Farm actually, the preferred supplier list is amazing!
How did you first hear about South Farm and what made you choose our venue for your wedding day?
We heard about it on a local Facebook page… I had put up an anonymous post asking for venue recommendations and South Farm came up several times. We had a look at the website and loved the look of the venue and outside space. We booked a viewing and just fell in love with South Farm. The location and venue were perfect, but it was the staff we spoke to and met that really made us want to get married at South Farm. We didn’t end up viewing any other locations, we knew straight away that this was the perfect place for us to have our special day.
Tell us some detail about your special day?
The jewellery I wore on the day all has sentimental value. My grandparents are no longer with us but played a very special part in the day. My Nana loved jewellery, so I was able to wear a matching earring and necklace set that had been hers, gifted to me by my mum and my aunt. My wedding ring had been bought by my Granddad as a 50th wedding anniversary gift to my Nana and my engagement ring was my mother-in-laws.
Our daughter made us matching bracelets in the colour theme to wear on the day and my husband to be surprised me with a beautiful new bracelet when he came to do the ‘first look’ before the ceremony.
How did you feel on the day?
Pure excitement! The moment I saw Paul in his suit I just couldn’t wait to become his wife.
(Paul) Excited and ready to become a married man! When I saw Char, I totally broke down and wept – still get emotional when I think about our first look. So happy to be marrying my best friend!
What was your most memorable moment from your wedding?
There was a moment during the ceremony that Paul leaned in and kissed me, but it was too early! The registrar made a joke of it and the whole room laughed, it was such a magical moment to look out at all of our loved ones and see them all so happy for us. When I think of that moment, it always makes me smile.
How did you choose your ceremony and first dance music?
We wanted songs that meant something to us, but that were not well known, so we went with more of an acoustic sound. Walking down the aisle and our first dance songs ended up being from the soundtrack to the TV show Nashville.
How many Bridesmaids did you have and how did you ask them to be your Bridesmaids?
I had my childhood best friend as my Maid of Honour, she was my rock throughout! Our daughter was our flower girl, along with my MOH’s daughter. We had a child free wedding, with the exception of our lovely flower girls!
How did you pick your Best Man and Ushers?
I have known my Best Man since we were 11 and has been there for me throughout my life. It was a no brainer for me – he was the guy that I knew I wanted by my side as my Best Man.
How many speeches did you have and do you have any advice for anyone giving a speech?
We wanted to keep the speeches to a minimum, with just the Best Man, Father of the Bride and Groom having short speeches. I did decide at the last minute to say a few words, more just reminders to everyone to see the artist, take a selfie and keep the dance floor full at all times!
What did you wear?
I had bought a pre-loved wedding dress a year before the wedding, however less than two weeks before the big day I realised that the dress was not the right one for me. I ordered a bunch of dresses online and luckily, one was absolutely perfect! My husband to be, being emotional during our ‘first look’ confirming this was the right choice. I couldn’t imagine getting married in any other dress now!
Is there anything you would have done differently?
Not a thing! The day was exactly what we had hoped for, there were little things that went wrong of course, but we were incredibly lucky to have the most amazing day. We even had glorious sunshine in October!
What are your top tips for other couples?
Take moments for yourselves throughout the day and night. Our photographer is someone we have known for years and that was her biggest piece of advice, she was great at creating moments for us to get away from it all and just be together… and then capturing them!
Where did you go on honeymoon?
We went to Slovenia in mid-May for a road trip adventure! We waited till after the wedding to plan our honeymoon so that we had something to look forward to after the big day itself.
Suppliers |
Photographer: Rebecca May Photography
Dress: Coast
Grooms & Groomsmen outfits: Marc Dary suits brought from Impeccable Wear
Bridesmaid dresses: Bridesmaid already had the perfect dress so this was upcycled
Cake: Made by my sister as our wedding gift. Our Nana made wedding cakes and, as she is no longer with us, my sister wanted to do this for us
Hair and Makeup: Makeup by Sam
Flowers: Wilde Hill Florist
Entertainment: The Hot Shots
Artist: SP Wedding Art – this was a last minute addition and one of the most talked about parts of our wedding! Our guests loved that they got to take their picture home and it acted as our wedding favour.
Signage: A Little Brush
We absolutely loved catching up with Charlotte & Paul to hear all about how they first met, planning their fabulous eco-inspired wedding day to hearing about those special unforgettable moments shared between you both! A huge thank you to you both for your incredibly kind words about the South Farm team — it truly means the world to us. We’re over the moon to hear that your day was everything you dreamed of (and more!) and that South Farm was the perfect fit from start to finish. Wishing you both a lifetime of love, laughter, and happiness as husband and wife.
If you are looking to book your dream outdoor 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 Cambridgeshire 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 wedding venue near Bedfordshire.
