A Sunny, Somerset Barn Wedding with Cake Canapés + a Sarah Seven Dress

Grace and Adam's wedding day was a "casually luxurious" occasion with a beautiful theme of deep reds, pinks, and lots of foliage

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Hannah Watkin

5 February, 2020

Just married

Grace and Adam’s wedding day was full of laughter and happiness. Grace’s infectious grin and silliness will have you smiling!

The couple got married at Almonry Barn, Somerset, in front of 100 friends and family members.

After meeting at a work function, the couple were together for five years before getting engaged. Adam whisked Grace off to Paris for a romantic weekend – think Champagne on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur and a beautiful hotel room in Montmartre.

Adam designed the engagement ring himself. It’s a beautiful, cushion-cut diamond on a platinum band. On their wedding day, Grace wore a Sarah Seven dress and hired Louise Alway to do her hair and Kelly at The Barn for her makeup. She chose a more dramatic version of her usual look – quite simple with a strong red lip!

The couple’s big day included many nods to the US, where Grace grew up. Spot their cute, DIY table plan and the boxes of Chicago chocolates as favours.

Photographer: Through The Woods We Ran

The Wedding Dress

Grace wore a gorgeous Sarah Seven dress with a boned lace bodice, sweetheart neckline and a layered tulle skirt. It was comfortable enough for her to frolic around in the local fields, dance, “flop on the grass and pick up kids.”

“I bought it in Chicago which was incredibly special for me as it’s where I grew up.
It was a perfect combination of classic and traditional yet modern and whimsical. It was comfortable, light and beautiful.

“I went to three boutiques in Chicago and tried on about 30 dresses. I loved the experience but I knew I’d get my dress from Sarah Seven as soon as I walked into the boutique. It was much less overwhelming than other places and just really reflected my style.

“I wore it with a heavily beaded veil that I bought in Abu Dhabi, a belt and headpiece from Untamed Petals and bright red shoes from Badgley Mischka. In the evening, I changed my shoes to sparkly Kate Spade trainers!

“We rented a house so it was incredibly special to get ready lazily with my family and bridesmaids.”

The Wedding Party

The groom and his groomsmen wore three-piece suits with Liberty print ties and pocket squares. Adam also chose to wear map-print cufflinks. Erin’s bridesmaids looked gorgeous in dove grey satin and chiffon dresses from Weddington Way.

“I had four bridesmaids. My sister, Erin, my university housemate, Annie, my childhood friend, Liz, and my law school friend, Sazen.

“I chose the colour of the dresses but then sent the bridesmaids a link to the website so they could choose the style they liked most! I wanted all of them to feel as special and beautiful as possible.”

The Ceremony

To get to the church, the couple hired a beautiful, white vintage wedding car, even though it’s only a very short walk from their venue, Almonry Barn!

“We chose to have a religious ceremony. It took place at St Peter and St Paul’s church in Muchelney which is opposite Almonry Barn.

“I walked down the aisle with my dad to Pachelbel’s Canon. Our wedding rings were from 77 Diamonds, the studio where my engagement ring came from.

“During the ceremony, my cousin read the poem A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton, a poem about dinosaurs.”

The Wedding Venue

The couple looked around every wedding venue in their local area before they came across Almonry Barn which they fell in love with immediately.

“Almonry Barn was just perfect – casually luxurious, intimate and beautiful. It was gorgeous and special without being cheesy or overly formal. We loved the feeling of having the whole place to ourselves and it just suited our style perfectly.

“For our tables, we had a mixture of large arrangements and twigs/foliage with hanging tealights. We named our tables after places that are important to us.

“We served baked camembert and charcuterie to start, then beef brisket followed by gooseberry rocky road – it was amazing.

“We chose a four-tier wedding cake with chocolate and salted caramel, strawberries and Champagne, white chocolate peanut butter and a gluten-free lemon top made by Leanne at Baking Chick.

“We had it with drinks instead of canapes! We stole this idea from Danish friends and loved it – everyone really got to enjoy the cake.

“Louise at the Almonry Barn was an amazing help, as was Rosie from the caterers, Pickle Shack.”

The Special Touches

The couple’s colour scheme was deep reds and greens with a splash of pink. Grace’s bouquet was large and undone, matched the colour scheme and incorporated lots of foliage! It was arranged by Amber Persia.

“For our décor, we had a mixture of large arrangements and twigs/foliage with hanging tealights.

“Our wedding stationery was cream with green leaves and a hand-lettered style. We used Natalie Rose Thomas, who has a shop on Etsy. It matched our wedding theme without being too ‘matchy’.

“We gave our guests small boxes of ‘pixies’ as favours. They’re caramel and pecan chocolates from Chicago. We also provided guests with a ‘pimp your prosecco’ bar!”

The Entertainment

If one of your bridesmaids is a professional singer, then your first dance choice is sorted! Grace asked her bridesmaid, Liz, to sing My Baby Just Cares For Me by Nina Simone, accompanied by one of the groomsmen on piano! The couple also hired a DJ for the evening.

“We didn’t want to distract too much by having a band – the grounds and weather were so gorgeous, we wanted people to be able to wander in and out.”

“Our favourite aspects of the day were the individual moments we got with each person. It was a small enough wedding that we got to spend time with everyone and that meant the world.”

The Couple’s Advice

The couple were so exhausted from their wedding day that they slept soundly on their flight to Asia. They chose to visit Thailand, Malaysia and Bali, largely because of the food!

“Adam had been to Thailand, but tells me it was much better with me! We had an amazing time.

“We pretty much stuck to our wedding budget by making trade-offs while we went. We wouldn’t change anything about our wedding day – it was absolutely perfect.

“Our advice is to decide on the things that really matter and delegate or relax about the others!”