David & Natasha’s Autumnal The Old Kent Barn Wedding

Where did you get married?

We didn’t have a theme for our wedding as such but we had always wanted our wedding to be a timeless, relaxed, feel good time. With our immediate family and our best friends, with a few traditions thrown in for good measure.

When searching for venues the main thing on our list was that wherever we chose we wanted to be equally happy to get married outside or inside dependent on the lovely UK weather.

After viewing quite a few venues we chose Old Kent Barn in Swingfield. From the moment we walked in we knew it was “the one”- it was simply beautiful. We loved the idea of getting married under the dreamy gazebo but also loved the classy rustic feel to the new barn and would have been equally over the moon if we were to get married inside. It was just perfect for us. We took both our mums back to view it again the following week, they were both in agreement how perfect it was and we secured our wedding date!

With our wedding date in autumn we went for muted nudes, pinks & beige which worked so well with the background of the Old Kent Barn.

We can not recommend them enough, the freshly sourced food was delish and had so many compliments from our stuffed friends and family. The wonderful staff could not be faulted they thought of and took care of absolutely EVERYTHING!

Which flowers did you choose?

Our flowers were beautifully created by ‘Emily & Me’. We had a mix of quicksand and cream roses, astrantia, astilbe, spray roses with buds, eucalyptus and lissianthus. I wanted them to be semi- wild to flow with the venue, there didn’t need to be much flower decoration as the venue was already so beautiful!

Which style was the brides dress?

l wanted my dream wedding dress to compliment ME. To make me feel beautiful and not be over shadowed by any glitz or glamour of the dress.

Being a petite bride at 5ft I was unsure which styles would suit my body shape. So I went into my dress shopping with a complete open mind. ‘Confetti & Lace’ in Lakeside quickly put me at ease. They explained which styles would suit me and we finally narrowed it down to my dream dress. It was a classic sweetheart, fishtail dress by ‘Mori Lee’.

I made a few adjustments on the back of the dress from a corset to a buttoned back for a more traditional look. This was actually my favourite part of the dress, something so simple but effective. I needed a bit more so I added a hoop to the bottom to give it that extra va va voom! I partnered this with a simple veil in my hair and sparkly shoes.

How did you have your hair/make up?

I wanted my bridal look to be natural & timeless. My hair was done by the fabulous ‘She Said Yes Bridal Hair’…. a french twist with a relaxed feel. Kim was great on the day and even got my 3 year old niece to stay still for her hair!

My makeup was done by the lovely ‘Helen Lee Makeup’. Helen was actually recommended to me by my Maid of Honour who is a MUA herself. Helen is so talented in what she does, she understood what I wanted from the first time we met. I had a natural smokey eye and nude lip. Both my hair and makeup stayed perfectly all day and night!

Which colour did the groomsmen/ bridesmaids wear?

I had two bridesmaids, my sister and best friend and my niece as a flower girl. The bridesmaids dresses were by ‘Vera Wang’ in biscotti colour. They all looked so beautiful!
The two groomsman and Dads were suited and booted by ‘Lapels’ in Maidstone in navy three piece suits and ties/ pocket chiefs to match the bridesmaids. David has been going to them for years and didn’t let him down, they were excellent! He had a maid to measure waistcoat and bespoke shirt designed by them. Who says it’s all about the bride?

How did you feel that the day went as a whole?

The day from start to finish was just perfect. The venue made sure everything ran smoothly and correctly, including a last minute dress alteration before going down the aisle to straightening the grooms tie before photos.
The weather on our day was stunning and so we were lucky to have our live acoustic singer ‘Lawrence Hill’ outside playing for our friends and family before and after the ceremony whilst we were chatting and having drinks in the sun. Unexpectedly he played my Dad and mines song, which we had a impromptu dance to surrounded by our loved ones. This is a memory I will cherish forever.

We met whilst being out in a club 8 years ago so it was important for us to have great music and a big party to celebrate. In the evening we had ‘Fox & Braces’ DJ. They were recommended by the Old Kent Barn and as soon as we met Dave & Dan we hit it off straight away and knew they would be right up our street. They pride themselves on not being a typical ‘wedding DJ’ where cheese is a no go! We were busting shapes from Garage to Motown to Indie and had us and our guests on the dancefloor all night with their hands in the air, shoes off and ties on their heads!

We also had the super creative ‘The Artful Doodler’ to entertain our friends and family with caricatures. The reactions to his drawings were priceless!

What can we say about James? Simply if you haven’t booked him- DO! He captured our best friends wedding prior to us booking and I am so glad we took their recommendation. From the start he made us feel so comfortable and understood what we were wanting from our photos. On the day it felt like he was a guest at our wedding and not just our photographer, he was our calm throughout the fabulous whirlwind of the day. Even our friends and family commented how professional he was! Thank you so much!

The Old Kent Barn