A Relaxed Barn Wedding at Huntsmill Farm, Buckinghamshire

Calm, light-hearted and relaxed encapsulates both the vibe of J&L’s rustic summer wedding and the couple themselves. With beautifully personal touches and understated details, the wedding was family affair in which a relaxed romance took centre-stage. The setting for their beautiful wedding weekend was Huntsmill Farm, a beautifully converted 18th-century country barn, conveniently located on the border of Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. Huntsmill is a venue where you feel tucked away from the world with your guests; the venue, grounds and accommodation are exclusively yours to enjoy and use as you wish.

J&L put full trust in me regarding the floral design for their wedding, which was music to my ears. My greatest joy is to listen, discover and understand the story of my couples, and the feeling they’d like for their day, and to use my design and floristry skills to interpret this in a beautiful and memorable way. J&L are fun-loving, relaxed and easy-going, and the aesthetic for their wedding was an informal barn-style. Therefore we settled on a soft palette of muted pinks, peaches and ivory, with lots of British summer greenery. The blooms themselves were similarly relaxed; a celebration of English summer with a mixture of dahlia and roses as the focal flowers with lots of varying shapes and sizes to enhance the natural feel.

On a site visit a year before the wedding, I was struck by the intrinsic and natural beauty of the barn with it’s stunning exposed brickwork and ceiling beams even before any floral decor or styling. As the space felt so vast we wanted to take advantage of the height of the barn with a floral installation which would frame the space where J&L were to become husband and wife. Rather than a full archway, I used asymmetric floral pillars which are more informal and have the added benefit of allowing for movement during the day.

Venues that are as naturally beautiful as this one can be difficult to personalise and make your own, however J&L added so many wonderfully individual touches, including homemade fudge favours handmade by the bride herself the day before the wedding! The banquet-style wedding breakfast lent itself to an informal and sociable gathering of all of J&L’s close friends and family. I kept the flowers similarly simple, yet impactful, by using mismatched glass bud vases along the entire length of the tables which look stunning and simultaneously have the practical benefit of allowing for discussion across the table without blocking the view.

One of my favourite parts is the handing over of the bridal bouquet; it’s often the first look at the flowers before the couple have seen the venue decor, so it’s always extra special. J’s was no exception, with a tear shed when the bouquet was presented. This bouquet encapsulated the signature style of The Sunday Floral Studio; romantic, seasonal and natural with a flowing shape and an emphasis on movement and texture. Beautiful, wild sweetpea vines were the final flourish and one of my favourite aspects of the entire wedding. With a trailing, hand-dyed silk ribbon, the bouquet was the perfect accessory for a beautiful, relaxed and timeless bride, and a wedding which radiated this and more.