Wedding at The Dairy Barns, Hickling | Claire + Stew

“Hannah was part of the tribe, she blended in, chatted, boogied and took the most amazing pictures that I didn’t even notice she was taking. She is not just a photographer by any means, whatever you need, she’s there.”

How did you meet?

On the app where you swipe left or right!

Tell me your proposal story…

It was Stew’s birthday and I’d booked to take him away for the night to a Spa. When we arrived at The Pigs in Edgefield and got to our room, there was a bottle of champagne and a birthday cake which had been arranged by Stew’s folks and I thought, how lovely. Being a Sunday and having no responsibilities we did what any normal couple would do in that situation and ran a bath (love a bath)! Columbo was on in the background and Stew came in and handed me a glass of bubbles. ‘Oh’ I said, ‘it’s pink and Adnams so local’, ‘yum’. I took a sip and only then did I notice the sparkling object in the bottom on the glass. So shocked as I was I tried to get my chubby fingers into the glass and couldn’t, I tried to drink the bubbles but in my extreme excitement/surprise I couldn’t. I handed the glass to my hero who downed the glass, fished the ring out and rinsed it in the bath water before placing it on my finger. It was an epic proposal, intimate and just perfect.

Why did you choose to have your wedding at The Dairy Barns, Hickling?

Stew sent it to me one day on Facebook, we’d been having difficulty finding a venue that suited us. When we walked in to the Diary Barns, I felt warm and fuzzy, the beams, the exposed brick work, it was perfect. There was space for our family and friends to get together, to chill and to party. The team were totally amazing and I felt so confident that they were in charge of our wedding day. A mega choice and we wouldn’t have changed a thing.

What was it you loved about your outfits and accessories that made you choose them?

My dress had pockets!! What more can I say!! The ladies at City Brides Norwich were incredible. Being a curvy lady I can’t say I was really looking forward to going dress shopping but when me and my Maid of Honour walked into City Brides, Lucy made us feel like old friends. She listened to what I thought I wanted and let me try it on and then look again when it wasn’t actually what I wanted. I chose a very classic gown which looked like DuPont silk. It was comfortable, elegant and amazing. All my accessories apart from my amazing hair pins came from City Brides, I trusted them entirely and they did not let me down one little bit. As for my hairpins, I contacted Vivi Embellish on Instagram as I’d admired Georgie’s work for months I made a simple enquiry and this genius beauty created hair pins that complemented my tiara and veil perfectly. My shoes were the first thing I chose Irregular Choice blue sparkles, mega!!

Tell me about the vision you had for your wedding including your theme/colour scheme/styling/flowers:

It was really tricky to decide on a theme, Stew was very indifferent. We decided on the table names (tv box sets) before we agreed on anything else. My husband being a proud Scot got me thinking about his family tartan, Gunn Modern and the colours of the tartan. This is where the theme was born. The navy, forest green and pin of red became our theme. Teamed with natural wood and white flowers and of course the blue thistle made our wedding look magical. I couldn’t picture it totally in my head but seeing it all together with the help of the venue, Sam Race and RLA Wedding Designs, it truly was a thing of beauty.

What was your first dance and why did you choose it?

Stew chose You and Me by Lifehouse for our first dance. We then considered hundreds more but kept coming back to this gentle song that we were able to shuffle about to for our first dance even though the intro was far longer than we thought and we were suddenly struck with the notion that the DJ had picked the instrumental version!!

What were the most wonderful parts of the day for you?

For me, the most magical part was walking into the ceremony and seeing Stew for the first time, it was such an epic feeling, like my whole life had been hurtling towards this point, to marry this man and be his wife. My sister and brother in law did a reading called The Lovely Dinosaur and many of our guests were surprised we picked a children’s story as a reading but it was lovely. We wanted Deborah and Chris to have a special part in our day and they surely did. There are so many other wonderful parts and too many to mention. Seeing my friends all laughing, singing and dancing together was incredible, seeing the family who had travelled far to be with us and just being MARRIED made the day just amazing and one I’ll never forget.

Why did you choose Hannah Hall Photography as your photographer, and what was your experience of your photography on the day?

We chose Hannah because I’d followed her online since she shot our friends wedding the previous year. Her style suited us perfectly and I fell in love with her photography. When we chatted for the first time, it felt like we’d known each other forever, she’s a funny, quirky, amazing human and we couldn’t think of anyone else who would capture our day better than Han. From our engagement shoot where it chucked it down, literally the heavens opened and we ended up eating chips on the beach we knew our wedding day would be better because of her. Experience on the day…..Hannah was part of the tribe, she blended in, chatted, boogied and took the most amazing pictures that I didn’t even notice she was taking. She is not just a photographer by any means, whatever you need, she’s there.

What would be your best bit of advice to other couples planning their wedding?

Remember the wedding is about you and your soul mate, not about anyone else. Stick to your guns and don’t feel bullied into anything you’re not 100% happy with. Also a time line be it on your phone or calendar was vital to me as the closer I got to the wedding, the more I forgot things so a reminder popping up on my phone was a lifesaver.

Claire + Stew’s gorgeous wedding at The Dairy Barns happened with the help of…

Dress: Symphony of Venus from City Brides, Norwich // Flowers: Hannah Deane // Bridesmaids: JJs House

Shoes: Irregular Choice // Veil & Tiara: City Brides // Hair pins: Vivi Embellish Bridal

Venue styling: RLA Wedding Designs – Aisle decoration and table decoration, Sam Race Venue Decoration – Lanterns and LOVE letters,
Wedding & Event craft by Carla – Running Order pallet, Bespoke Chick – photo props and ‘love lasts a lifetime’ board

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