A friend recommended The Curradine Barns was to them and when they visited they instantly fell in love with it. "All other viewings were cancelled following this as we knew that no other venue would compete. The barns seemed to have a warm atmosphere."
Alison had three bridesmaids. They wore black satin dresses, with a black shawl and black shoes.
Mark, his Best man and the ushers wore black trousers and tails with ivory shirts and ivory waistcoats. Mark had a red cravat and a red rose buttonhole, while all the other groomsmen had ivory cravats and an ivory rose buttonholes.
Alison wore an ivory satin sleeveless long dress with beading and detail on the bust and a section down the front and side and a lace up back. For the accessories, Alison tried to follow the traditional rhyme of something old, something new, etc. She wore a sparkly crystal and diamanté tiara, diamond earrrings and necklace. Her sister-in-law gave her a sixpence to tape in her shoe (something old and borrowed). Her nephews gave her a silver good luck horseshoe charm on the morning of her wedding (something new) and Alison attached it to the top layer of the skirt of her dress. Most importantly, something blue was a pair of "Wonder Woman" pants bought for her by her friend.
Alison's bouquet was made of Grand Prix red roses with diamanté crystals. The bridesmaids' bouquets were ivory roses also with diamanté crystals. The buttonholes consisted of a single ivory rose with green leaf. The reception flowers were deep red gerberas to match the colour of the roses in Alison's bouquet.
Alison and Mark felt the barns didn't need much in the way of decorating, as it is such a lovely venue. There were fairy lights, candles and willow branches woven through the balcony intertwined with the lights. The registrar's table had a spray of Gran Prix roses with green foliage and diamantés. This was complimented each side by a pair of bay trees with lights. The courtyard was also decorated with fairy lights and loveseats.
The table centrepieces consisted of a square black box which was divided by bamboo shoots to give nine square sections. In the centre square was decorated with red rose petals and in each corner a red gerbera flower. The remaining sections contained ivory candles.
As they got married on Easter weekend, they had a small bag of Cadbury's Mini Eggs for each guest in alternate coloured bags of red and black. These were set out at each place setting.
They had a three-tier round ivory wedding cake. The bottom two tiers were edged with pearls and sat on top of each other. On the top of the middle tier was a clear square glass vase which contained red rose petals. On top of this sat the top tier which had a red rose display on the top.
Mark says it's hard to pick a single best part of the day. "The ceremony was perfect, not too long and kept light hearted by a very nice registrar." The food was amazing; of the highest standard and the reception in the evening was a party to be remembered by all. I enjoyed the first dance as it was a moment for me and Alison to share in front of all our friends and family, a moment we won't ever forget." When asked if he had any tips for future couples, Mark said; "The music for the evening is very important. Having a first dance helps to get people dancing and to ensure that they stay there, you need a good band or DJ. We opted for a band which was the best move we could have made."
Images courtesy of Eden Photography
