Bride and Groom confetti shot at The Ashes Barns - Winter Wedding Ideas

Rustic, Vintage, Winter Wedding Ideas {Featured Wedding}

 

Louise and Leigh

Gorgeous Winter Wedding at The Ashes Barns

Vintage Winter Wedding Ideas 

Louise and Leigh tied the knot at The Ashes Barns in February 2019 with a stunning rustic and relaxed wedding. Here is what they have to say about their big day, full of lots of winter wedding ideas and inspiration...


Perfect Proposal


Leigh proposed on holiday in Cornwall. It was our first camping trip together and probably our last! It did nothing but rain for most of the time we were there and at one point, we even considered returning home. 

Leigh carried the ring around for a week hoping to find a good spot but we’d spent most of the holiday sat in the car or a pub escaping the weather. The clouds eventually parted and after a windswept and pretty stressful coastal walk to the beautiful and secluded Nanjizal Cove, he got down on one knee. It was perfect and we now look back and laugh at our disastrous attempt at being happy campers!


Dream Venue


We found the venue online and we honestly didn’t think it was possible. We live in Manchester and didn’t like the idea of making people travel, but I couldn’t get the place out of my head. We booked a viewing with our mums and we all fell in love. The staff were just incredible and have been amazing throughout. 

Family and friends happily made the journey over and we all made a lovely weekend of it. I still have to pinch myself that we ended up getting married somewhere so perfect. It's like something out of a Jane Austen novel and anyone who knows me, knows that's right up my street.




Rustic and Relaxed


The venue and surroundings were inspiration enough and we just wanted a relaxed and personal wedding. I’m not sure we really had a theme but we love anything vintage and rustic so we had logs, bunting, plenty of candles and Leigh’s dad’s restored Ford Anglia! 

We had Manchester Bee pin badges for our wedding favours, opted for the ‘host a roast’ which our guests really enjoyed and had a ‘Name That Tune’ seating plan.



Décor - Less Is More


The Ashes really doesn’t need a lot. I loved crafting and coming up with fun ideas but we ended up stripping so much away because we just didn’t need it in such a beautiful venue. Some nice flowers, a bit of bunting, a good suit and a pretty frock make for a gorgeous day in those stunning surroundings!

After meticulously planning the layout of each and every nook and cranny (literally!) we didn’t even notice most of it until we got our photos back and even then we felt we’d done more than was necessary.


Beautiful Blooms


For the flowers, we went with the amazing Topiary Tree. We’d seen their Instagram pages and just fell in love with their flowers.

My favourite colour is green and so we wanted lots of foliage in my bouquet, with different textures.


The Topiary Tree Florist


Dressed to Impress


I tried on A LOT of dresses before finally choosing an Enzoani one from Cheadle Bride in Manchester. I had a very specific idea of what I wanted and didn’t find it, so my amazing seamstress Ellie worked wonders and we were able to make the dress my own. I’ve always been a vintage girl and absolutely love lace. My 1920’s inspired hair was created by Sarah at Pin Up Curl who made me feel like a million dollars!

We felt that tweed was a must at The Ashes and we hired Leigh’s suit from Swarbricks in Manchester. He didn’t see my dress beforehand but of course I had a hand in choosing his outfit!


Cheadle Bride
Pin Up Curl
Swarbricks

Incredible Entertainment


We hired Ink Mark Caricatures for the daytime and our guests loved it. Mark managed to get round almost everybody which was great!

Then for the evening we hired the incredible Hipster who went down an absolute storm. We’d seen them many years ago at a friend’s wedding and vowed to have them play at ours. They are just a lovely, down to earth bunch of guys who really enjoy what they do. The dancefloor was full all evening!


InkMark Caricatures
Hipster


Captured on Camera


The lovely Cris Lowis was our photographer and he was fab. We loved his laidback, documentary style approach and our guests commented afterwards that they’d hardly noticed him.

We also had Up Close Wedding capture our day on video! He was lovely, down to earth and so easy to work with.


Cris Lowis Photography
Up Close Wedding Productions

Favourite Moment!


That moment, just before you’re about to go in…my bridesmaids were lined up in front of me, the song had started playing, me and my dad just had to wait for our turn…it was so surreal, but also incredibly exciting! I just couldn’t wait to see Leigh. Walking down the aisle was the most amazing feeling and the whole ceremony for us was the best part of our day. I just remember Leigh kept saying to me “I can’t believe how amazing you look!” 

The rest of the day was fab but we hadn’t anticipated just how special that part would feel. It sounds really ridiculous because that’s the whole point of the day but when you get caught up in table centre pieces and bunting and gifts etc…you really do forget about what’s truly important!




Wedding Top Tips


Enjoy the build up! The planning, the appointments and even the stress. It’s all worth it in the end and the day goes by in such a flash. It feels a little strange once it’s all over but we have such special memories, not only of the day but of all the other experiences that went into making our wedding.



Winter Wedding Ideas


There is something quite magical and romantic about the colder months of the year that make it perfect time to get married

To see more winter wedding ideas, check out this featured blog for dreamy winter wonderland inspiration!


Winter Wedding Ideas