Sandhole Oak Barn

Sophie & Rick's Summer Wedding Sophie and Rick's wedding colour scheme was Cadbury's purple.

Sophie and Rick had been together for 2 years when they moved into their first house together just before Christmas. "Unfortunately my dad passed away suddenly on Christmas Eve, 2 months later, Rick lost his Grandad and then my Nanna died 2 weeks later. In May that year, Rick visited my Mum and sister for their permission to marry me and that night he lit our bedroom with candles and was playing a song which we always said would be our first dance if we ever got married. He explained that after going through what we had been through and coming out stronger on the other side, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Just over 2 years later, we were dancing to that same song at our wedding."

At first, Sophie and Rick had their hearts set on a marquee, but after looking into costs and thinking about where to put it, they decided there may be a better option. "One of my friends used to work for Sue La Bonne, one of the approved caterers at Sandhole Oak Barn and she told us to have a look. Even after simply driving up the stunning country road and seeing the barn overlooking the lake, we knew this was where we had to get married. As soon as we stepped inside, it was official, it was the perfect size and so light and airy. I knew the photographs would look amazing with the lake in the background. The wonderful thing about Sandhole Oak Barn is that without any venue dressing or flowers it looks amazing, so anything you add to it is a bonus, you can be as minimalistic as you want and it still has that 'wow factor'.

After also deciding to have a Civil Ceremony they were over the moon to know they could hold thier ceremony at Sandhole Oak Barn too. It was booked 19 months in advance and even then their preferred date had already gone, but luckily that weekend was a bank holiday, so they booked the Sunday.

Sophie chose a Stuart Parvin dress, it was a simple sweetheart bust with lace detail around the waist and had an elaborate fishtail which fanned out from the knee. Her veil was her favourite part, a single layer, cathederal length St Pucci with lace detail around the edge which went well with the lace on the dress. To accessorise, Sophie wore simple Tiffany pearl earrings borrowed from her friend and pearls sewn into the bouffant of her hair which looked great next to the small pearl headdress which held her veil in place.

Sophie had 5 bridesmaids and a flowergirl. Sophie found a website call Style Shake, which tailor makes dresses. Her 3 older bridesmaids wore 50's swing style halter neck dresses in purple and her 2 younger bridesmaids wore similar dresses in silver to match the mens suits. Sophie's flowergirl wore a cream dress with a tiny sash made by Style Shake. The same website also made ties and cravats.

Rick, his best man and the ushers all wore grey tails with white shirts, and silver/white waistcoats with purple cravats made by Style Shake to match the bridesmaids dresses.

Sophie's Nanna's favourite flowers were orchids, so Sophie chose those in purple for the bridesmaids and buttonholes. Sophie had a trail of white orchids.

Sophie arrived at Sandhole Oak Barn in a cream Mini with purple ribbons, which had been decorated by her older bridesmaids.

Inside the barn, the chaircovers had purple hoods, there were long table cloths to the floor and napkins tied with purple ribbon. Rick wanted to surprise Sophie with the table names. On the day she was blown away as they were all named after Beatles songs, her Dad's favourite band. Alll the single guests were on 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' and the top table was called 'Let It Be', Sophie and her Dad's favourite. The table centrepieces were a mixture of tall knickerbocker glasses and small square glasses filled with purple orchids and foliage. They each sat on a mirror with candles and purple petals scattered across the table.

Sophie and Rick gave each guest a silver photo frame with a photo of either Sophie and that guest or Rick with that guest, they doubled up as place cards. Everyone loved going to look for their photo and commented on how personal it was, it was a great talking point at the tables. As well as the photo frame favours they also displayed photo collages of themselves and their parent's weddings. For the evening reception, these were replaced by two collages of the hen and stag nights.

Rick and Sophie are not big dessert eaters and wanted to do something quirky. They were lucky enough to find a beautiful cake of cheese with layers of cheddar, stilton, Lancashire and goats cheese. It was served with grapes, chutney and crackers. They also had a beautifully simple three tier white cake which was lemon flavoured, a family tradition. The florist supplied a trail of purple orchids which the cake company, I Do Cakes, trailed down the cake.

A classical Guitarist called Mat Lomas played all their favourite modern day songs along with some fantastic classical and religious pieces throughout the day. He also learnt their wedding song, so Sophie could walk down the aisle to it. Sophie's friend sang their first dance, rather than having the artist's version.

We asked Sophie what the best part of her day was; "I was dreading the ceremony, but it ended up being my favourite part! We wrote our own vows and even though I knew there 120 people watching us, I just remember it being just me and Rick. I was laughing, crying and apologising for making my guests cry in the end. The best man was in floods of tears all day. I also loved the speeches. I did a short one, Rick's and my brother-in-law's (who gave me away) were so emotional. The best men were hilarious and even dressed up as me and Rick! I think my favourite parts of the day were the bits where everyone was togeher; the ceremony, speeches and the first dance. They were just so emotional."

We also asked Sophie if she had any tips for future wedding couples; "Do a guest list before you look at venues, there's no point in looking at places that only hold 80 if you're going to have at least 150 guests! Just because a company is at the top of Google, doesn't make them the best. The best suppliers we found were local recommendations and smaller companies because they take their time, they care and you're treated as a person, not a number. It's good to know you're helping smaller businesses out and a great way to save money, as they tend to be slightly cheaper. We tried to make the day as personal as possible. These extra touches cost nothing, but it's these bits that people remember and comment on. Don't stick to tradition, if you like scones then have them as your wedding cake. Have your speeches before the meal as that way, everyone who is doing a speech can enjoy their food and have a drink. If you don't want guests wearing a certain colour on your day, have a statement in your invites saying something like 'Men in formal wear, white and purple reserved for bridal party only.' We paid for our photographer's time, rather than the amount of photos he took. He was there from 11am-10pm and we ended up with 845 fantastic shots that we can print out in our own time."