Wedding at The Oak Barn, Devon

First meeting at the bar Michelle worked at, she and Dan instantly clicked, but it wasn't until years later that he took her to New York to celebrate her 30th birthday... and proposed at the top of the Empire State Building! "There was no knee dropping but there's a myth that if you kiss on a particular corner you're forever bound to each other," Michelle says.

Selecting The Oak Barn for their "rustic and romantic" celebrations, the venue was bedecked with an eye-catching carnival of pink, ivory and gold in a variety of details - especially the floristry. "Roses were a huge inspiration for me," explains Michelle. "I chose and designed exactly what I wanted for the bouquets and table decorations, and my very talented uncle made them."





Whetting their guests' appetites with one of the latest wedding catering trends, "manapes" including scotch eggs were served during the drinks reception before a wedding breakfast of roast pork and beef with vegetables and an "amazing cauliflower cheese!"

Speeches were followed by drinks and music on the terrace courtesy of an acoustic set by Leon Oxenham as the day morphed into an evening party that was kick-started with the newly-weds' first dance. Guests were treated to further culinary delights in the form of ruby red beef kebabs and continued to pack the dance floor to aptly named band, Leave Before Dawn.




"Flash mob!" announces Michelle of one of her personal highlights of the day. "I'm a dance teacher so recruited my fellow teachers and some students to join me in a performance midway through the band's first set!"

Breaking from convention and planning a day to suit yourselves is an approach Michelle encourages all couples to adopt in order to ensure a personalised and cherished affair. "Do what you want to do and follow your gut," she implores. "Try and prioritise the things that will help create the look and atmosphere of your day. A live band was something we both wanted from day one so we made that the first job!"

Photography Julie Louise Photography julielouise.co.uk
Venue The Oak Barn theoakbarn.co.uk
Dress LouLou Bridal from Pirouette pirouettethecollection.com
Bridesmaids' dresses Monsoon monsoon.co.uk
Hair Sinead Lane at No. 9 facebook.com/no.9hair
Make-up Aimee Adamou at The Hut Exeter thehut.mysalononline.com
Groom's outfit suits Ben Sherman at Debenhams debenhams.com waistcoats Penguin from ASOS asos.com
Flowers Peamore Flora peamoreflora.co.uk
Catering The Pig & Pallet pigandpallet.co.uk
Entertainment Leon Oxenham leonoxenham.com
Leave Before Dawn leavebeforedawn.com

Copyright Wed magazine 2017