A chic, botanical wedding at Lapstone Barn

Gracie & Shaun 

Photography by Katrina Bartlam

The venue

We knew as soon as we visited Lapstone Barn it was the place where we wanted to get married. We were hoping to find a venue we loved locally to where we live. My Dad also proposed to my Mum in Chipping Campden and I’d grown up visiting the Cotswolds on family holidays, as well as living here now, so it just felt right. We both loved the idea of getting married in a (stylish) barn and we wanted a venue where we could get married in a beautiful ceremony space as well as having our reception and evening party, so we were in the same place for the whole day.

The planning journey

We visited Lapstone Barn’s wedding fair in March 2019 to meet some of their recommended suppliers and see examples of their work before making our choices. A lot of the suppliers we went with had worked at Lapstone Barn before so they knew the venue really well, which was important to us.

The first person we booked was the incredibly talented Katrina Bartlam who captured our day so beautifully and has given us so many precious memories with her gorgeous photographs. We found our insanely talented videographer through Katrina as she had worked with him before and, again, they had both shot at Lapstone.

We also immediately booked the wonderful stylists Ruth, Amber and Kim at Styletopia who helped us to pull together our vision for the day. They really understood what we wanted and made our dreams of a simple, elegant wedding with a silver and ivory colour palette (along with lots of beautiful greenery and foliage by the Broadway Florist) come together.

Shaun’s favourite part of the planning process was the cake tasting with Pia from the Vanilla Pod Bakery in Cheltenham who created our dreamy two-tiered, semi-naked wedding cake which was decorated with roses and foliage, again by the wonderful Shelley at The Broadway Florist.

Your decor

We went for a very simple colour palette of ivory and silver with lots of greenery and foliage. We wanted our flowers to be simple but at the same time to have a real wow factor to them. Shelley, at the Broadway Florist, helped us to achieve this by creating two dramatic floral arrangements at the front of our ceremony space. She also created bunches of gypsophila tied to the chairs, with an ivory ribbon, at the end of the pews.

Each table setting had a wedding favour – we chose packets of wildflower seeds in a nod to Shauny’s profession as a landscape gardener. Styletopia provided runs of fairy lights, which were hung the length of the barn and so the mirrors reflected back the twinkling fairy lights and candlelight so beautifully – the whole space was so romantic and soft and inviting.

The food

There were so many menus and options to choose from and the team were happy to create a bespoke menu to ensure we were happy with what we would be eating and drinking and serving our guests.

For the starter, we went with a Warm Dumbleton Scotch Egg Salad with a Spiced Tomato Relish (we live in Dumbleton so this was extra special for us!), our main course was Seared Banham Chicken with a Pea and Parmesan Risotto followed by the most incredible White Chocolate Cheesecake with Cassis and Chocolate Shavings.

The outfits

My favourite part of the wedding planning was undoubtedly the wedding dress shopping! We found my dress on that first visit – I knew straight away it was what I wanted to wear to marry Shauny. The dress was beautifully fitted and made from a soft stretch georgette material, with very little detail on the front, apart from two straps made out of the most delicate lace and a sweetheart neckline. All the detail was on the back of the dress which had intricate, low illusion Guipure lace with fabric covered buttons. The wow factor came in the form of a scalloped tulle and lace train which achieved all my train goals!

Anna White was my (and my Mum and bridesmaids) hair and make up artist on the day and she made us look, and feel, incredible – I wore my hair up in a loose chignon with some tendrils escaping and finished with a hair piece, also by Champagne and Charlotte. Finally, I wore a pair of simple heels by Harriet Wilde, my antique engagement ring and a pair of statement, chandelier earrings discovered at the same antique shop where Shauny found my ring.

We also found my two grown up bridesmaid’s dresses at Champagne and Charlotte. These were designed by Maids to Measure and were in their Ice Cream Soda shade. We decided they would wear a different dress but in the same colour and they both looked so incredible. Our two little nieces, Clementine and Beatrice, wore dresses in the same colour, with a lace overlay, by Monsoon.

Shauny knew from the get go he didn’t want his groomsmen to be wearing matching suits, as he wanted them to wear what suited them and to let them show their personalities. Shauny and his groomsmen all wore bow ties and braces but each of them had a different suit and different coloured bow tie and braces. The final look was just very cool. For the evening party, they all changed into new pairs of converse to party the night away.

Favourite moment of the day?

There were so many to choose from! Getting ready with the girls in the morning, in Lapstone’s beautiful Hayloft space. My Dad coming to collect me to walk me down the aisle – he was so incredibly proud and happy. Walking down the aisle and seeing Shauny and saying our vows to each other in the beautiful Stone Barn. The speeches made by Shauny, my Dad, my bridesmaids, the best men and myself. Stealing a moment away by ourselves together to drink some champagne and say oh my goodness we did it, we’re married! Partying the night away with all our best friends and family.

Suppliers

Venue – Lapstone Barn

Photographer – Katrina Bartlam, Captured by Katrina

Videographer – Rolling Film

Florist – Broadway Florist

Cake – The Vanilla Pod Bakery

Wedding/Interior Stylists – Styletopia

Hair and Make Up – Anna White

Cut and colour – Lauren at Muse Hairdressing in Broadway

Manicure/pedicure – Vanilla Beauty in Blackminster.

Bride’s dress – Enzoani

Stockist – Champagne and Charlotte

Bride’s shoes – Harriet Wilde

Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Maid to Measure

Flower Girl’s Dresses – Monsoon

Groom and Groomsmen’s suits – individually sourced

Save the Date Cards – Papier

Invitations – Vintage Prints

Music (day) – The Sorelli Ensemble

Band – Kings of the Hill