Our Autumnal Alternative Wedding At Abbey Barn, Norfolk
WE GOT MARRIED!!
On 4th October 2024, after 11 years together, my fiancé Chris and I finally said I do! It was the most gorgeous, joy-filled, autumnal alternative wedding day with a mix of meaningful tradition and personal touches. We knew from the start that we wanted a fairly traditional wedding, but with a few quirks to reflect our personalities. It was important to us to do things our way: we stayed together the night before (a little unconventional!), our music choices leaned alternative and the whole day was filled with thoughtful, creative details. But Chris didn’t see me in my dress until I walked down the aisle, my dad gave me away and we still cut the cake and had our first dance.
I’m so excited to share all the little details; from the venue we fell in love with, to the dress (yes, I actually wore white!), and of course, all the wedding stationery I designed to bring our (okay, mostly my) vision to life!
All photos by our wonderful wedding photographer: Gina Fernandes
The Facts
Budget: £30,000
Number Of Guests: 60
Number Of Bridesmaids: 5
Number Of Groomsmen: 3
Entrance Song: You Me At Six - Take On The World
Exit Song: Redbone - Come & Get Your Love
Reception Entrance Song: AC/DC - Back In Black
Starter: Mozzarella Arancini - served with aioli, parmesan and basil oil
Main: English Label Chicken Breast Bourguignon - served with pommes boulangere, roasted carrot, charred tenderstem broccoli and sauce bourguignon
Dessert: The Ultimate Medley - Vanilla crème brûlée with candied orange biscotti, Tiramisu with coffee soaked savoiardi, mascarpone and a chocolate coin & Sandringham cox apple tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream, cinnamon and brown sugar caramel
Cake Flavours: Two tiers - Raspberry & White Chocolate and Cookies & Cream
First Dance Song: Paramore - Still Into You
The Wedding Venue
Choosing the wedding venue was tough! Being based in Peterborough, with most of our friends and family nearby, we wanted somewhere fairly local. We viewed a few venues around Norfolk and happened upon Abbey Barn by Unique Norfolk Venues, a brand new venue that had literally just been built! Not only was it a great deal thanks to an introductory offer, but it also ticked all the boxes we were looking for. It wasn’t too “farmy” and had more of an industrial vibe, it wasn’t too far from home and it came with a beautiful on-site farmhouse where we and the whole bridal party could stay the night before and the night of the wedding.
Catering was also included, with a brilliant selection of food and drink to choose from and we also had an on-the-day wedding coordinator (which was an absolute lifesaver!) We couldn’t have been happier with our venue choice, even if it did come with a few quirky surprises, like the slightly awkward side door I had to walk through to get down the aisle! 🤦🏼♀️
The Florals & The Decor
While attending an open day at Abbey Barn, we discovered Floral Sistas, a Norfolk-based florist with the most amazing boho aesthetic and a portfolio that instantly aligned with our wedding vision. We hired them to create our incredible ceremony backdrop, which featured layered boho rugs and a giant black metal hoop covered in greenery and autumnal blooms in our wedding colours of burgundy and blush pink. When I saw it for the first time the day before the wedding, I was completely blown away, it was even more perfect than I could have ever imagined!
They also created the most beautiful bouquet for me, along with smaller, greenery-based ones for my five (yes, five!) bridesmaids, as well as buttonholes for Chris and his groomsmen. They decorated the aisle with hanging greenery and floor candles, styled the reception tables with gorgeous centrepieces and dressed the cake and gift tables too. Every little ledge and alcove of the venue was dotted with thoughtfully placed florals and vessels, tying everything together beautifully.
I can’t praise their creativity and hard work enough, we were absolutely thrilled with the final result and hearing how much our guests loved the ceremony space made it all even more special. 💐
The Wedding Dress & Bridal Accessorises
The dress was one of the most difficult elements for me. As someone who wears black almost exclusively, the thought of wearing white genuinely gave me cold sweats! It felt completely out of my comfort zone. I seriously considered going for a black dress, but after some careful thought, I decided it would be easier to find a style I loved in a white tone. This was, after all, the only day I’d ever wear a big white dress and I decided I wanted to keep this part of the wedding a little more traditional.
After scouring the internet for dresses with a boho feel, I came across Madi Lane, specifically the Jaya dress, which featured a stunning leafy appliqué that felt so me. I found Blush Ely, a bridal boutique not far from home that stocked Madi Lane dresses and Sarah there was amazing. She pulled a selection of boho styles that weren’t overly sparkly, which I really appreciated, but after trying on the Jaya dress twice, I just knew it was the one. It had the botanical aesthetic I love, and thanks to its blush-toned under-layer, it wasn't stark white, which helped ease me into the look. I made a few tweaks, like removing a glittery layer from the train to lighten it up and adding flutter sleeves so I felt more comfortable with my arms. We finished the look with a beautiful headpiece, a pair of Esska bronze heels (plus some trusty white platform Converse for later) and an embroidered leather jacket featuring a quote from one of my favourite romantasy books (any fellow bookish fans know which one it’s from?) 🌙
In the end, I absolutely loved my bridal look and I'm so glad I took the plunge and wore white, even though so many people couldn’t believe I wasn’t in black for once! 🤍
The Wedding Stationery
Of course, the wedding stationery was where I could truly go all out and do everything I wanted. I thought designing for my own wedding might feel overwhelming, but honestly, I loved every second of it!
I’d already created two collections based on my own style, Freya and Luna, so I decided to combine the two. I gave the Freya florals a slightly more alternative twist, adding in darker tones and swapping out some of the flowers to match my bouquet. This updated design was used across our envelope liners, RSVP cards and order of service booklets, as well as on the envelope and cake box stickers.
The rest of the stationery was more inspired by the Luna collection. Since my stationery budget only had to cover printing (perks of being a designer!), I decided to go all out and had our wedding invitations hot foiled. These were paired with RSVP cards in sage green envelopes, extra detail cards with local accommodation info and a custom illustrated map of the venue location and everything was wrapped in a vellum belly-band sealed with gold monogrammed wax seals. The invitations were tucked inside black envelopes printed with white ink and sealed with matching floral stickers. I won’t lie, I was very proud when our guests told me they were the fanciest, most beautiful invitations they’d ever received! 💁🏼♀️
For the on-the-day stationery, I created vow books, reserved seat tags finished with black silk ribbon, and more order of service booklets. We also had a large hanging welcome board featuring an illustrated order of the day, table names and a seating plan themed around mystical creatures, and place settings that combined each guest’s name with their menu—finished with the same wax seals used on the invitations.
Other finishing touches included stickers for the favour bottles, tiny thank you tags, personalised door hangers for our guests’ rooms and of course, save the dates and thank you cards to tie everything together beautifully.
Designing every piece of our wedding stationery was such a joyful, creative process and I honestly loved every minute of bringing it all to life.
The Little Details
The little details truly made the day! I poured so much thought and love into all the finishing touches and they didn’t go unnoticed, it was so lovely to hear how much our guests appreciated them all.
In the welcome space, I set up a snack bar with bags of Kettle Chips and bowls of pick ‘n’ mix sweets for guests to help themselves to, along with a temporary tattoo station. The custom transfer tattoos which I found on Etsy, included our names, the wedding date, some cute old-school emo references and even lyrics from our first dance song. They went down an absolute storm!
Next to the welcome sign stood a 3-foot cut-out of our fur baby, Gus, who ended up making it to the dance floor most of the night, along with fifty flashing glow sticks I got from Amazon, which really made the party! Gus also made a surprise appearance on the cocktail stirrers we used in the Pimm’s cocktails during the post-ceremony drinks reception. Guests absolutely loved them and many were taken home as keepsakes, they were my best last minute purchase!
For the wedding breakfast tables, I created little potion bottle favours for each guest, filled with toffee vodka, Fireball, and Jägermeister. I also designed a custom crossword puzzle with trivia questions about us and included a “draw the bride and groom” box on the back. The results? Some very questionable (but hilarious) portraits! These added such a fun, interactive element to the tables, keeping guests entertained and sparking conversations while they waited for their food.
Some of my other favourite details included a gold-leaf moon cake topper I found on Etsy, forest green robes for my bridesmaids (which made for some fab morning photos with their IKEA champagne glasses) and a mini DIY photo booth using an Instax Polaroid Camera and some silly props. It was simple, fun and worked perfectly, especially since our budget didn’t stretch to a full Photobooth.
Every item I sourced for the wedding was a conscious choice, with sustainability in mind. I focused on things we could reuse, gift or repurpose after the day to avoid unnecessary waste. Looking back, I’m still so pleased with how it all came together. It really was the little things that made the biggest impact and that created some truly memorable moments.
Other Small Item Links: Custom Ring Box, Personalised Pencils, Dress Hangers, Hanger Customisation Stickers, Cake Slice Boxes, Photobooth Props, Table Name Holders, Seating Plan Easel.
Overall, our wedding day was perfect and truly better than I ever imagined. Everything went smoothly, the sun shone all day, and we were surrounded by our dearest friends and family. And even though it flew by (just like everyone says it will), it was the most magical celebration. I wouldn’t change a single thing… except maybe to do it all over again.
Just remember: all the planning and stress really is worth it. At the end of the day, you’re marrying your favourite person and everything else is just a beautiful bonus. 🖤
Our Autumnal Alternative Wedding Suppliers
Photographer: Gina Fernandes Photography
Venue: Abbey Barn - Unique Norfolk Venues
Florist & Venue Stylist: Floral Sistas
Wedding Stationery: Wild Moon Wedding Stationery
Hair Stylist: Boho Beauty Box
Makeup: Mostly Charlotte Tilbury, done by myself
Wedding Dress: Madi Lane Jaya from Blush Ely
Bride’s Shoes: Esska
Bride’s Crown: Arianna Bespoke Accessories
Embroidered Leather Jacket: Niamh Designs
Groom’s Suit: Trotter & Deane Cambridge
Groom’s Boots: Lanx
Bridesmaid Dresses: Rewritten London
Lighting: Epic Events Norfolk
Caters: UNV Kitchen
Wedding Cake: Cakes By Laurel
Confetti: Confetti Bee
DJ: Andy Hilders
