Flower Crown Bride & Floral Theme Outdoor Summer Wedding: Emily & Dan

Brides and grooms planning a pretty summer barn wedding will love today’s outdoor wedding by Love That Smile Photography.

Held at Maidens Barn on a hot summers day Emily & Dan had a subtle floral theme to their big day with pretty pastel colours and rustic detailing.

Emily looked gorgeous in a bohemian floral crown and a Sottero & Midgley floral appliqued wedding gown.

Words by Emily. Images by Love That Smile Photography.

Once we decided on an outdoor summer wedding I went straight out and bought some bunting! I chose a few colours from it and decided on a general floral theme.

My base colours were pastel green, white, beige, peachy and pink but I didn’t stick rigidly to it (we ended up with navy ties!)we wanted to create an inviting, fun atmosphere that allowed our guests to feel relaxed. As the ceremony took place outside and the rest was in the barn we liked the idea of bringing the outside in.

I also mentioned the floral theme to a few friends and family and many of them turned up in beautiful bright dresses which was just so fitting – especially as the sun was shining all day.

I loved the floral lace of my wedding dress, I thought it was unlike anything I had seen before. Although I didn’t fall in love with it on the hanger, when I put it on it seemed to fit in all the right places and hang beautifully.

I knew I wanted a belt to pull in the waist but I just couldn’t decide on one! I actually bought mine very last minute and my friend collected it the day before the wedding which was a bit risky!

I think choosing a dress was one of the hardest tasks – I had many sleepless nights thinking I’d made a huge mistake but on the day it just felt right. I loved it.

I found my beautiful flower crown at a wedding show and after trying on about 20 (and my friend refusing to leave until I picked one) I bought it that day. I felt very bohemian and was so glad I went for an updo as it was so hot out!

We wanted the best man’s outfit to tie into our theme but also for him to feel confident and comfortable so we suggested he get a suit from Ted Baker (similar to Dan’s) so at least they were the same style but unique in their own way. Dan, my dad and the best man then just wore matching ties and buttonholes to bring the look together.

The flowers were done by a friend of the family and they were better than I could have imagined. I only met her once with an phone full of Pinterest images so I really don’t know how she did it!

My only request was that she stuck to a few key colours and nothing too structured – no domes of roses, no diamantes. I wanted it to look like they had just been picked from a summer field.

I didn’t see my bouquets until she delivered them on the morning of the wedding and she also decorated the venue in the morning so I didn’t actually see everything together until I arrived.

It was so nice for me to get a surprise when I walked in (as I set the rest of the venue up the day before), they looked beautiful – exactly what I had pictured.

Deciding what to walk down the aisle to went hand in hand with the dress decision. It gave me headaches. How can there be so many songs yet none are perfect? I think you ask yourself what other people would expect you to have – classical music or instrumentals – and that really holds you up.

I ended up walking down to ‘Kiss me’ by sixpence none the richer. A song that I have loved since I was about 12 years old and a song that Dan says reminds him of me. It was actually the simplest decision when we stopped overthinking it.

My Dad walked me down the aisle. He isn’t a very emotional man so we didn’t really talk too much about the wedding in general but from the photos I can see how happy he was surrounded by all our friends and family. He was beaming with pride and it made my day to know he was enjoying himself.

Dan and I were together 8 years before he proposed – we already lived together and knew it was on the cards but when it happened I was still so shocked!

He proposed when we were on holiday in Canada after a beautiful cycle around Vancouver. We enjoyed being engaged for over a year before we started planning the day and to be honest we didn’t know what we were looking for until we saw our venue.

We met about 6 photographers all with very different styles and all amazingly talented but none were quite what we were after. I think Dan thought I was being fussy but when we saw Magda’s website and eventually met her he finally understood!

We wanted natural looking photos with a creative twist and Magda absolutely nailed it. The photos she took, captured every element of the day and not just of us, she also caught special moments of our guests which we otherwise would have missed.

I love getting creative so found decorating the venue so much fun. I borrowed little lanterns, collected coffee jars to put small flowers in, made some photo bunting for the top table, made a box for the cards, printed out props for the photobooth… I loved it!.

I also made my table plan and name placements using travel tags and hand wrote everything which I think gave a rustic and personal touch. As the venue was quite big and we had the huge space outdoors there were so many places to hang signs and incorporate little personal touches.

We are huge sugar addicts and sweets so naturally we did sweetie bags! Everyone loved them and they were really cheap to make – I had a few friends over and we spent the day drinking prosecco and making up the bags (I’m surprised there were any sweets left to fill them to be honest). We also ordered some personalised pink stickers to seal them shut which were so cheap but really effective.

What was your most memorable moment of the day / evening?

Walking down the aisle, the moment we were pronounced husband and wife, the band set and the dancing. The dancing was ridiculous.

If you could impart any words of wisdom to future brides planning their wedding day, what would they be?

Do what you can together. We saw venues, met photographers, looked for florists, went to food tastings. It was fun – you want it to make it last more than just one day so enjoy the build up. You also both want to be happy with the result and feel like you achieved it as a couple.

Thanks so much to Love That Smile Photography for sharing Emily & Dan’s pretty pastel, outdoor barn wedding with a subtle floral theme!

wedding credits / photographer: love that smile photography / wedding venue: maidens barn / brides dress: sottero & midgley via serena bridal / brides crown: sophie and luna / grooms suit: ted baker / brides shoes: kurt geiger / grooms shoes: jones / bridesmaid dresses: miss selfridge / bridesmaid shoes: / hair & makeup: daksha-hair & makeup / florist: family friend