Outdoor Weddings
at The Mill Barns
Outdoor Weddings on The Terrace
The Mill Barns Wedding Venue is licensed for outdoor weddings on The Terrace.
The Terrace extends over The Mill Pond and the mature treeline acts as the perfect backdrop to your vows. Guests are seated for the ceremony and there's plenty of room outside to accommodate any musicians you might hire to play throughout your wedding ceremony.
With such an incredible setting, a few modest personal touches is all you need in terms of decor.
Abby & Toby's Outdoor Wedding
Abby & Toby enjoyed a fabulous outdoor wedding at The Mill Barns in July this year. We couldn't resist asking them a few questions about what inspired their day and why they opted for an outdoor wedding; as it turns out...Abby wanted an outdoor ceremony, surrounded by flora and fauna and Toby wanted a barn wedding; The Mill Barns ticked both boxes! We also loved its location as it was central to both of our immediate families, we loved that it had accommodation onsite and the no corkage option was amazing!
Our Adventure Story
We met online, 6 years ago, through match.com. Our first date was a drink at a pub, on a Sunday afternoon. The theme of our relationship has always been adventures. We began with trips to the zoo, Blackpool (where we became official, Abby ‘running away’ shy, after our first kiss) and the MaizeMaze; before holidaying in Milan after only 6 weeks and visiting actual German Christmas markets in Cologne at 6 months (where Toby asked Abby to move in with him and we left a ‘love lock’ on the famous bridge, but hadn’t actually said those three little words).
Over the years we have visited many beautiful places in the UK (Cornwall being our favourite, returning for our mini-Moon), Paris, camped in The Netherlands, and spent Abby’s 30th Birthday in Stockholm not to mention our Honeymoon in Malaysian Borneo. Toby proposed at the dining-room table at 4pm on New Year’s Eve 2016, ‘our Christmas’ (once we’ve visited both families over the festive period.)
Personal Touches
Abby loves flowers and was keen to have as many as possible. To fit in with the relaxed feel, we wanted the flowers at our wedding to be wildflowers, the type of thing that we grow in our own cottage garden: in particular sweet peas, plus cornflower, Sea Holly, Scabious, Clematis, hydrangea, delphinium, Nigella, Gypsophilia and Silver/blue foliage, Eucalyptus and Poppy seed heads.
The chalkboard signs and table plan, were all hand-drawn by Toby. We both designed and printed the menus and favour cards (as with the save the dates and invitations). Abby collected and decorated jam jars to use as vases and candle holders for the table centres. We hired vintage china cake stands, cups and saucers and bunting from Pinnies and Pearls.
Dressing Up!
For the ceremony and wedding breakfast, the Bride wore a full length, strapless dress, with a fitted bodice and flounced skirt, from the Morilee Signature Collection by Madeline Gardner, purchased from Liney’s Brides, Hinckley. With a passion for textiles, Abby fell in love with the many layers of organza fabric, varying in length, in the skirt of the dress.
For the first dance, she wore a 50’s inspired, halter-neck dress, in white lace, that she made herself, having dreamt of making her own wedding dress for years prior to their engagement. The Groom and Groomsmen wore blue, three-piece, Santinelli suits, from Slaters, Birmingham, with open collars and no ties, to reflect the relaxed feel to the day. Guests were also provided the dress code of ‘no ties and top buttons, hats and heels optional’. Abby made pocket squares, to match the Bridemaids dresses bought from M&S.
Entertainment
We hired an acoustic duo (part of the band Captain Atlantic) to play a set, during the drinks reception. We also hired lawn games from Sid and Olive Vintage Weddings & Events Hire, to entertain our guests after our wedding breakfast and before the band Captain Atlantic played 3 sets during the evening reception. The band went down particularly well with our nine year old nephew!
Kari Bellamy Photography did a spectacular job of capturing our special day. Having travelled to Cornwall months earlier, to get to know us during our engagement shoot in front of St. Michael’s Mount, it felt like welcoming a friend to see her again at our wedding. She is a very talented, non-intrusive, photographer whom we would highly recommend.
Highlights of Our Best Day Ever!
For Abby it is walking down the aisle, reaching her groom, and the sheer elation at marrying her best friend in front of our loved ones.
For Toby it is seeing Abby walking down the aisle and trying to hold it together and keep himself composed. His favourite moment was our first dance, which was rock’n’roll (we’ve been taking classes for 3 years) to The Pointer Sisters, I’m so exited. It quite literally was ‘so exciting’.