When Amy and Aaron first got in touch to discuss their Barn Drift wedding we were really excited. We’d not been to the venue but the North Norfolk coast is close by where we live and recreate, it feels like our happy place. The couple are from Holt originally and were to be married in Holt church where Amy’s dad is the Vicar. We literally couldn’t wait.
So here’s Amy and Aaron to tell you all about themselves and their day with our photos of all the fun to accompany.
I work as a Recruitment Manager specialising in eCommerce. Amy is a Product Manager for a car insurance company, both working in the world of digital.
Amy recently took part in her 2nd amateur strong woman competition which was super impressive. One of the events involved pulling a truck. She loves binge watching crime dramas and “whodunnits” whilst building advanced lego sets from the 18+ creator series. Basically she’s always doing something whether that’s DIY, making things or playing games.
I’m a keen footballer playing 3 times a week although I decided to completely tear my knee ligaments 2 weeks before the wedding which made the first dance tricky . Lots of spinning, not much movement from me!. I enjoy most genres of music from acoustic to heavy metal and try to attend gigs and festivals when I can. Also I enjoy stand up comedy gigs, films and cinema although convincing Amy to still still for that long is a challenge.
Not sure about unusual facts but I’ve met lots of Z list celebrities and musicians from my time promoting nightclubs and festivals. I once made Ed Sheeran late to go onstage as I was hogging the VIP artists loo. Amy lived in Peru for 2 years, travelling across South America after College and speaks fluent Spanish.
Amy’s bored of this story but I enjoy telling it.
Amy joined my primary school (Holt Primary) with 6 weeks left of year 6 (1999). She was the first girl I ever fancied but as a dumb 10 year old with a David Beckham blonde parting I did nothing about it. We then went to different high schools and Universities only occasionally bumping into each other. Xmas 2018 we were back in Holt to see our parents and we bumped into each other, deciding to grab a drink. Things went well and we dated long distance for a couple of years (myself in Bristol, Amy in Brighton). I then decided to move to Brighton 2 years ago, buying a house together. We’re now married and the rest is history.
I proposed in Holt Country Park on boxing day 2021. This was exactly 3 years since we first grabbed a drink. Holt is sentimental to us as it’s where we first met and where our family lives. Whilst I thought I was being stealthy, Amy knew it was coming. She sussed particularly on the day when I was determined for us to go for a walk in the rain. Luckily I found a dry clearing surrounded by trees so I didn’t have to get down on one knee in a muddy puddle.
We wanted a relaxed garden party environment. Amy described the theme as “rustic glam”. As Amy’s dad, Father Howard, is the local vicar of St Andrews Church, Holt we had to take advantage of the unique opportunity of Howard officiating the wedding in his church. The balance was the formal beginning of the day in Church and hiring a beautiful country house called Barn Drift where we did all the planning and design ourselves.
There were a few quirks such as serving waffles and scones upon arrival rather than canapes. This was courtesy of a local Holt company called ‘The Nest’ who had a beautiful converted horsebox. It was great to serve the wedding breakfast in an aircraft hangar which was on the grounds. Plenty of garden games to jeep the little ones happy. We’d also able to set up our own bar area with as much free booze as you could drink!
This is really a question for Amy as she took the lead thankfully in all the planning and put her project management skills to use.
My best guess is we started planning around 12 months in advance. Beginning with securing Barn Drift as our venue. We then kept an eye out for small pieces we could start collecting for the wedding such as glasses, vases and ornamental pieces.
Deciding on a venue and date came first alongside planning a budget. Barn Drift wedding venue being the biggest outlay. As we were having a bit of a “DIY wedding” we were able to stick within budget and have full control of every detail. This was great but also very time consuming and occasionally stressful.
Key things for us was deciding on the music, wedding photographers and catering which we booked first.
We had Amy’s friend play the saxophone in the church. An acoustic singer for drinks upon arrival who was on ‘The Voice’. Our friend DJ’d the evening.
We spoke with a few photographers but as soon as we started speaking with Lisa and Neil it was a no brainer! We’d seen the quality of their work online and from speaking with them they put us at ease immediately. They clearly had a wealth of experience which was invaluable.
In terms of catering we had waffles and scones on arrival. A local catering company for a hog roast for the wedding breakfast. Amy’s mum made the wedding cake which we served as dessert. We also had a meats/cheese table and sweets table for evening snacks.
Generally we were in agreement on most things so decision making was easy. The main consideration is that it’s such an important day you just want everything to be perfect, and not to go overboard destroying the budget.
As we set everything up ourselves we roped 20 of our closest friends into coming a day early to help. This made light work of things. We managed to save money from borrowing pieces from friends who had already got married such as centerpieces and fairy lights.
We’re very fortunate that everything went to plan. The whole week leading up to the wedding was glorious sunshine and then the day before as we were setting up was torrential rain. The day itself was very cold but at least it didn’t rain.
The main blunder is on me. I tore my knee ligaments just before the wedding and was forced to wear a knee brace, limiting how much I could help out. We made jokes out of the situation, Amy “carrying me over the threshold”, “having a limp/being limp on my wedding night” and putting “in sickness and in health” to the test right away…
We had a traditional church wedding in St Andrews, Holt. Amy’s Dad, Father Howard, has been the vicar here for 20 years. Howard officiated the wedding which was very unique.
Amy arrived in a vintage double decker bus, which we then used to carry all of our guests to the reception at Barn Drift wedding venue. She arrived 20 minutes late which kept me on my toes!
Amy’s brother Tom walked her down the aisle as Father Howard obviously couldn’t be in two places at once. I did my best not to cry as she looked absolutely stunning.
The church was jam packed with wedding guests alongside regular members of Howards congregation and everything went according to plan. Amy’s friend played the saxophone whilst we signed the wedding register. We got absolutely pelted by confetti as we departed.
It was very special and something we will never forget. Also we have lovely photographs as a reminder alongside the ceremony being filmed by our videographer. The ceremony was streamed on youtube for those that couldn’t make it.
Oh lots of moments it’s hard to choose! For me I really appreciated when we were able to step away and have a few minutes to ourselves. Just to take in the fact we had just got married! Also the first dance meant a lot. We were last to leave Barn Drift the following day so I ensured we had a ‘last dance two’. It’s quite overwhelming having all of your favourite people in one place which is likely to never happen again.
All of my groomsmen did a great job making me laugh all morning before the wedding. The key moment has to be the best man’s speech when my oldest friend Eddie put on a gimp mask. This was a reference to the stag do in Amsterdam. That had the whole room laughing. He also put it on later in the evening and grabbed Amy’s Dad, the vicar, for a photo which was hilarious. So many people that had never met before were mingling and joking, the atmosphere was amazing.
Cry? Amy walking down the aisle and the entire church ceremony to be honest. Also the last dance leaving the venue made me well up.
There’s so many we love it’s hard to choose. The confetti shots are amazing! Shots from our photoshoot on the beach and surrounding areas on the day. Great shots from the first dance too. Out of those three scenarios they’re all wallpapers and profile pictures on our phones, laptops and social media profiles. We’re glad we also chose to have black and white copies of everything. We will frame 3-4 of these and put them on our wall at home. We gained hundreds of high quality photos and got them back whilst we were still on our honeymoon, super quick!
I’d like to have started the day a little earlier just because it goes so quickly! I loved every minute of it it and honestly, nothing else I’d change at all.
Wedding Bus Food by back to your place. Waffles by The Nest
If you’re planning a Barn Drift wedding, do get in touch, we love to chat weddings! We have lots more helpful planning tips in our blog here .
