Suffolk barn wedding | Aaron and Briony

We’d been looking forward to Aaron and Briony’s wedding, we’d met them both previously at Briony’s twin Sister’s wedding and we knew we’d see lots of family and guests again. The atmosphere was warm and friendly despite the most epic rain storms as we all enjoyed the shelter at this Suffolk Barn wedding.

Here’s Briony and Aaron to tell us about their big day.

Tell us a bit about you both

We have been together for nearly 14 years. Aaron works as an accountancy Teacher, and Briony works as a Clinical Psychologist in the NHS. We love talking about, making and eating food. Aaron likes to balance this with ultramarathons and Briony prefers sitting at home with the cats. We got married in September 2022 at Suffolk Barn in Hawstead.

How did you meet?

We met at sixth form and started chatting on Facebook of all things (when it was cool of course).

Tell us about the proposal

The original plan was to propose in Paris (where we are writing this now) however Covid got in the way. Instead, Aaron proposed on a trip in Canterbury (where he went to university and Briony visited regularly) in our beautiful hotel room, with some Champagne. Briony bought the trip as a present to Aaron so it caught her off guard.

What was the vison for your Suffolk Barn wedding?

We wanted our wedding day to be rustic and informal (ish). In our heads we always imagined getting married in a barn (potentially outside if British weather wasn’t so unreliable). We wanted a small wedding, so that we could make the most of the day with the people we cared about the most. We also wanted it to be fairly simple, with a bit of a Boho vibe.

How was your planning process?

Planning started about a year before and got most things sorted in the first couple of months. We were pretty keen to go for it once we were engaged…less time for us to change our minds ? We also love a bit of organisation.

We booked our venue first and went from there with everything else. Suffolk Barn was flexible in terms of other suppliers we could choose from which made things easier. Of course we made sure Lisa and Neil were available on our wedding date as we saw them at my sisters wedding and loved their style. We were in agreement with all the suppliers and main decisions (weirdly enough) though Aaron was less keen on an outdoor wedding (he won!).

Any planning blunders?

No major blunders fortunately as we both try to be organised. Aaron highly recommends a wedding spreadsheet whilst Briony is a paper and pencil person. It is fair to say that didn’t always work together e.g. separate table plans.

How was your ceremony?

We had our favourite song play as Briony walked down the aisle ( a thousand years-reminds us of our many date nights watching Twilight films). We had Briony’s sisters and our beautiful niece as bridesmaids and flower girl. Briony had both parents walk down with her which was something that was really special to her. It was the bit we were most worried about but was really lovely and romantic. To see all your family and friends watching you get married is the best feeling in the world.

What was your most memorable bit of the day?

Briony: seeing Aaron welling up as I walked down the aisle. He is never emotional so it was such a treat!
Aaron: the speeches – so nice to hear family talk (and laugh) about their experiences with us as a couple.

What made you laugh on the day?

Having confetti thrown in our eyes and mouth by family and friends. The speeches – particularly Briony’s dads printed photo. Greek dancing, with our guests being clueless about how to do it. And many more times luckily!

Did you cry?

yes, seeing each other for the first time. Also the relief of having Aaron’s brother there was very special as we were unsure if he was going to be able to attend.

What was your favourite photo from the day?

Ooh there were so many so we decided we can’t answer! A few in particular are our niece wrapped in a blanket looking like a cute burrito. Photo with a reflection of the puddle as it was so artistic. The one with the rain at the doors as it made typical British weather look beautiful.

I you did a re-do, what would you change?

We feel lucky that we have no regrets/changes we would make to ur Suffolk Barn wedding(marrying each other included in that!).

A big thank you to Briony and Aaron for giving us words to go with the photos. if you’re planning a wedding still, go to our blog here for tips and ideas. Do give us a shout too, we love to chat about weddings.

Credit to Suffolk Barn for their hospitality and cosiness!