Pretty Mint Green & Soft Pink Barn Wedding: Tom & Jo

Fresh, pretty and elegant. Today’s mint green and blush inspired barn wedding is a sheer delight. Full of gorgeous girlie detailing and a to-die-for Pronovias wedding gown…

Words by Jo. Images by White Stag Wedding Photography.

I felt spectacular in my wedding dress from Pronovias – and it was so far from what I expected myself to choose! All of the dresses I tried were beautiful, but in the end, I wanted to go for something super elegant, dramatic and with a bit of embellishment (I surprised myself with this!).

More than anything, I knew that Tom would love it too, and that helped me to make up my mind. Another decisive move – it was my first and last dress-shopping visit!

I didn’t have a clue about flowers, but I had a rough idea of the colours that I wanted (soft pinks, ivory, green). I ended up showing our florists a picture of something I liked on Pinterest. A loose, informal bouquet with a ribbon, with peonies, spray roses and foliage.

The girls used that as a starting point, asking me questions about my dress and the overall look and feel I was going for. Those flowers inspired the bridesmaids’ bouquets and small arrangements on the tables.

Colour mainly inspired the look of our big day- we chose mint green (Tom liked the idea of wearing this colour tie with a grey suit) complimented by soft pinks, ivory and gold. We tried to keep things simple and elegant and just went from there.

We chose Cooling Castle Barn – Cooling in Rochester, Kent as our wedding venue. We were familiar with the venue (having attended an evening reception there) so it was the first place we visited after getting engaged.

As soon as we stepped in we knew it was for us – I walked around with a beaming smile on my face! The staff are so friendly and professional, they take care of everything. We loved the idea of getting married and celebrating in the same place so that everyone could have a relaxed and enjoyable day.

Plus the garden is beautiful – full of colourful flowers in hanging baskets in June. We booked it straight away, without looking at any other venues!

My Dad walked me down the aisle to ‘You Got The Love’ by Candi Staton, performed live by Estilo String Quartet.

Tom and I met at secondary school and went to university together. The day Tom graduated from medical school as a doctor, I took him on a fancy night out to celebrate. He gatecrashed my treat for him by proposing.

Even though we’d been together for over 10 years it was completely unexpected!

Our wedding photographers Catherine and Andy were recommended to us by a family member. When we met them they were so friendly, warm and funny. Like many couples, we found the idea of smooching in front of a camera was a bit embarrassing,

But during our engagement shoot, they really put us at ease and guided us through the experience. When it came to the wedding day, posing felt natural and easy. They took control when needed, but most of the time were subtle and unobtrusive. Whatsmore, we loved sharing our day with Catherine and Andy – it felt like we had our friends with us, not photographers!

We decided to go for something a bit different for the centerpieces and opted for twisted willow – both Tom and I fell in love with this look when we found a picture in their portfolio. It was so different, dramatic, and we thought it would compliment the style of our venue – Cooling Castle Barn – perfectly.

The ladies also did our venue styling – hanging strings of lights across the ceiling in the main barn to create a beautiful, star-studded look. We also had gold votives, gold scatter gems and hanging candles to add a bit of elegance to the tables.

The moment I walked into the main barn was one of the highlights of my day. They completely exceeded my expectations and I cried at how beautiful it looked – like a fairytale!

Laura (Tom’s younger sister and my bridesmaid!) is an amazing baker so Tom and I knew that we’d love her to make our wedding cake. In hindsight, this was probably quite a tall order for someone who has never baked a wedding cake before, let alone a 19-year-old during her first year at uni!

But Laura astounded us with her talent. We requested a 3-tier cake with different flavours (lemon, Victoria sponge, red velvet) and gave her a bit of guidance on colours. But the design was completely her own, and we were blown away by the unique icing designs on each layer. She is so clever and it tasted delicious!

For wedding favours, we wanted something that our guests could enjoy (i.e…eat) on the day. Our friend Laura Curry (who has recently qualified from Leiths School of Food and Wine – lucky us!) created dark chocolate mint squares.

She did all sorts of clever things like tempering the dark chocolate, then swirling mint flavoured white chocolate on top in a pretty design. We popped the squares into small bags and decorated with mint green ribbons and gorgeous stickers designed by Joyce Kasilag.

If we could impart any words of wisdom we would say… It’s understandable that you want everything to look beautiful and coordinated. But don’t forget what your day is about – you and your partner getting married. Focus on that and try to avoid getting obsessed!

Pick the 2-3 things that are most important to you and your partner and prioritise making those things perfect. With everything else – if you find something that works just go for it! You are going to be so overwhelmed with choice that you need to get good at being decisive.

One of the best pieces of advice I received was regarding the day itself. It goes by so quickly, so take a moment every now and again with your partner to stop and take it all in. Watch your guests enjoying themselves. Look at all the little details. Relax and enjoy it! Choose your suppliers carefully – you should like them and you should trust them!

Oh, and step away from the Pinterest.