Real Life Wedding
All images by White Stag Wedding Photography
You’ve seen Stratton Court Barn, you’ve had a good look at the website, and now you’re thinking ‘But what is it reallylike getting married at Stratton Court Barn?’ While I would love to tell you ALL about it – there is nothing I enjoy more! – I have invited one of my 2018 brides, Annabel, to tell us her real life wedding journey instead. Who better to give you the insight, than someone who has negotiated the exciting journey from engaged to wed here at Stratton Court Barn? Over to you Annabel:
We had always wanted a long engagement. Not too long, but long enough that we could enjoy every step of planning our wedding. From cake tasting to endless scrolling on Pinterest for ‘spring bouquet ideas’, every moment my now husband and I spent into researching and designing our day was special.
Whenever someone asked us what our plans were for the wedding day, what theme are you going for etc… we would always say ‘A bright, spring setting in a barn surrounded with love’ so from the beginning we knew we would be on the hunt for a barn where our dream wedding could flourish.
The search for a barn that would host our wedding reception started three months after our engagement in July 2016, and it was one of the things we wanted to get booked straight away. We knew barns were a desirable wedding destination and tend to get booked up years in advance, so we weren’t wasting any time. We visited several barns in Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, and Stratton Court Barn was the last on our list to visit after seeing an open day pop-up on Facebook.
As soon as you enter the grounds of Stratton Court, you can’t help but admire the long line of white trees that sit beside the driveway. I remember walking round the corner after parking the car and falling in love immediately with the barn. The warmth that you feel when you enter the reception area is incredibly welcoming, and after a second visit and meeting with Karin, we were sold! One of the reasons we fell in love with the barn was Karin - Karin is a fantastic planner and we really felt like she was on this journey with us.
Karin, thank you for being so wonderful and for putting up with my late night emails about gin, timings for the day and table measurements!
After booking the barn, it was full steam ahead with the help of some fantastic vendor recommendations from Karin. These included Chipping Norton Tea Set who provided an outstanding afternoon tea, THAT Event Company who filled the barn with gorgeous canopy lights, Willow & Thyme (Joules) who created masterpieces with the bouquets, buttonholes and most importantly the floral arch of dreams (!!), our delicious cake by Cakes by Kit and Warren Day who designed our ‘His and Hers’ cocktail boards and a Game of Thrones style table plan.
The Wedding Day - Saturday 14th April 2018
The days leading up to our wedding day, the weather was miserable, so you can imagine my delight when I woke up on the morning of our wedding to clear blue skies and sunshine! My husband and I got married in St James’ Church in Newbottle, about a 20 minute drive away from the barn. Newly married and jumping in the car to head to the reception, we were overcome with joy and really excited to see the barn!
As we turned into the driveaway of Stratton Court Barn, I thought back to when we had first entered these gates looking for our dream reception and the feeling of butterflies that we got. Now on our wedding day, those butterflies returned and it was at that point, we knew that this barn had found a special place in our hearts.
Welcomed by our two gorgeous violinists, Kate and Vicky, were completely blown away by how much effort Karin, her fantastic team and our chosen vendors had gone to, to make our wedding day dreams come true. As my husband and I had planned most of the day, we were totally shocked to see four huge letters spelling L-O-V-E lighting up the dancefloor - A surprise my wonderful mum had arranged for us with the help of Karin!
Throughout the wedding breakfast, speeches, first dance to “Thinking out Loud by Ed Sheeran” performed by our brilliant band Sam Lewis Music, cutting of the cake and a sparkler send-off to finish, Karin and her team were out of this world.
Our family and friends were hugely complimentary of the barn, staff and our vendors. The fact that it’s split into two rooms means it is accessible for everyone. If you didn’t fancy dancing, you could rest your feet and sit back in the reception room - It was really important for us to make sure our guests were comfortable. The Piggy Squire delivered a delicious hog roast in the evening, which our guests still talk about to this day.
And to capture the entire day for us was Catherine and Andy from White Stag Photography - Two of the most kind, caring and simply wonderful people we cannot thank them enough for being such a big part of our day.
We couldn’t of asked for a more perfect day and Stratton Court Barn will forever hold a special place in our hearts!
Annabel & Toby xx
