Tomorrow, I'm boarding a train all the way to Guildford (2 changes, almost 5 hours later!), where I'll be staying the evening in advance of a full day of judging alongside my fellow judging panel members for The Wedding Industry Awards (TWIA) national winners. I'm super excited about catching up with the TWIA organisers Damian and Anna Bailey, as well as Miranda Eason, editor of You & Your Wedding, Bridal wear designer Sassi Holford, cake maker extraordinaire Peggy Porschen, premier wedding planner Sarah Haywood, Sky news presenter Sarah Hewson, as well as my lovely industry friends Helen and Dom from Cutture and Severin Hubert of Hepburn Collection. I can't WAIT to see so many familiar, friendly faces and get down to business of finding the best of the best in the UK wedding industry. I also get to meet up with our adorable venue host and my lovely friend Laura Caudery of Parallel Venues (it's a hard life, knowing I'm going to be spending a whole day in this exquisite venue!).
One of the regional winners in his cateogry (photographer, obvs!) was James Melia. I wonder if this fine young picture and memory maker will go on to become the national winner? Who knows? What I do know is that I adore this wedding James submitted recently of Jane and Ade, who tied the knot on 10th August 2012 with a ceremony at Old Brampton Church in Chesterfield, followed by a reception at Townfield Barn in Shatton Hall Farm, Near Bamford…
"We wanted a venue where we could do what we wanted. We’d seen some amazing ‘barn style’ wedding on wedding blogs and fell in love with Townfield Barn as soon as we drove up! It had great spaces in the form of three different barn rooms and an simply amazing view out across the meadow.
We absolutely LOVED every minute of our day! But the best part was
being surrounded by our amazing family and friends and realising just
how lucky we are."
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, James Melia
"We hired Jenny from Hansley Beard
to put the finishing touches to the venue on the morning of the wedding
(blowing up balloons, lighting candles, decorating the cake etc) – we
had to give in a realise we couldn’t do absolutely everything ourselves
in the end after two manic days setting up! Jenny was brilliant, she got
everything on the (everchanging) list done!"
"We both wanted a wedding where our guests could relax and do what
they wanted to do and when we found the venue we knew this was
possible. This was particularly key as we had lots of important little
guests with lovely mum and dads who we wanted to be able to enjoy the
day. We knew that if the sun shone, the meadow would be the perfect
playground."
"Our Florist was Swallows and Damsons – I love the style of their creations. The girls listened to my endless ramblings and translated
them into the beautiful meadowy, wild flower creations. The other
flowers at the venue were thanks to my lovely Mum and fab sister who
spent a whole day before the wedding arranging flowers (from Sheffield
Flower Market) into over a hundred jam jars collected by friends and
family."
Jane wore a dress by Eternity Bridal, a purchase from Beau Belles, which she modified by having straps added…
"I loved the fit and the possibilities to make it MY dress by adding the straps. I loved the mixture of materials."
"We met through some of our best friends, in our last
year of uni in Sheffield. After 6 years (and 3 months after asking my
Dad!), Ade proposed and a year and a half later we got married!"
"We hired the BEST band ever – Slippery Hill! They met us with the most gorgeous sound of bluegrass
and provided endless hilarity in the form of a good old hoedown!
"Don’t know where to start – we collected things over the course of a
year from a million different websites and antiques shops! Lots of
white bunting, millions of fairy lights and beautiful flowers!"
"We found out photographer James Melia
through the interenet. We were looking for a photographer where the
photos reflected the style of the wedding and were relaxed and natural.
Every set of James’ photos are unique. Our pre wed shoot helped us to
feel relaxed in front of the camera and get to know each other, so that
on the day, it was like having another friend at the wedding. We love
the photos and feel like they tell the story of our day beautifully."
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
"Although it’s really hard to juggle
everyones opinions, listen patiently and try to incorporate people into
the planning where possible. You don’t want anyone to feel uncomfotable
in the run up.
Accept any offers of help from your closest
family and friends that come your way, but try to keep most of your day a
secret – our guests knew the general idea of our wedding but it was
amazing to see their faces as they explored the venue and enjoyed all
the little touches we’d spent so much time preparing!"
A beautiful way to start the week, yes?
I love a good barn wedding, you can see many more here, but do take a moment to leave some love for Jane and Ade for sharing their beautiful day with us all, and Mr Melia – thank you as always, huge good luck for the national finals! 🙂
Much Monday morning love all,
Annabel
Photographer – James Melia
Venue – Townfield Barn in Shatton Hall Farm, Near Bamford
Wedding Planner/Stylist – Hansley Beard
Bride's dress – Eternity Bridal, modified by (straps added) Beau Belles, Borrowash near Derby
Brides Shoes – Vintage
Brides Hair Accessories – Flowers from florist
Grooms Suit + Shoes – Reiss Personal Tailoring Service, Leeds
Bridesmaids + Flowergirl Dresses – Boden
Flowergirl Hair Garlands – Blooming Loopy
Florist – Bouquets and buttonholes – Swallows and Damsons, Sheffield
Page boy/young male assistants outfits – Shirts from Next + Shorts from Gap
Pinata Cake – Card Bored Box
Entertainment – Slippery Hill
Cars/Transport – Morris Minor – India Hudson
Hair and make-up Artist – Hair – Phunked, Chesterfield
Catering Company – PJ Taste + Fredericks – Ice Cream van at the Church
Stationery – the bride + groom + CFront
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
