Laura & Dan

The Barns at redcoats
hitchin

It felt really lovely to be back at Redcoats for Laura and Dan's wedding. It was my first time back since going on maternity leave, and what a wedding to come back to! It was a proper family affair, with children everywhere, people catching up in the sunshine and such a lovely atmosphere all day!

When I arrived, I found Laura with her bridesmaids practising walking down the aisle. Well... "practising" might be a strong word, there was definitely more laughing than actual practising, but that's exactly how the whole morning felt, relaxed and zero stress. Her bridesmaids were such a good bunch and the vibe was just brilliant from the start.

Now, let's talk about the theme (yes a theme!!)...Country western. Not the kind where the couple mention it once and nobody really gets on board. Oh no, everyone understood the assignment. Stetsons, cowboy boots, denim, suede, fringe, plaid shirts, bolo ties... everywhere I looked there was another incredible outfit. The fact it was one of the hottest days of the year somehow made it work out even better. Dan absolutely nailed his grooms outfit. Black denim jeans, cowboy boots, a jacquard blazer and the perfect Stetson, he looked every bit the cowboy. Laura looked amazing too, her "something blue" was a pair of incredible blue cowgirl boots, which I became slightly obsessed with, and her dried flowers by Desert Dreams Dried Flowers tied everything together beautifully. The rich rust, burnt orange and deep red colours worked so perfectly with the whole look.

Laura was given away by her dad's life long best friend, which made for such an emotional walk down the aisle. After the ceremony, everyone headed outside into the sunshine where the margaritas-on-tap were flowing and guests made the most of the garden games from Herts Vintage Hire, the kids were running around playing, and everyone just settled into enjoying themselves.

A tradition they happily ignored was the wedding cake and instead they had a pie table. Now I don't know about you, but I think pie might actually be the superior wedding dessert and I may of taste tested a slice of lemon meringue for quality control purposes.

As the evening rolled around, Laura disappeared for a quick outfit change before reappearing in the coolest second look, a white denim mini dress and cowgirl hat. She looked incredible and it was the perfect outfit for dancing the night away. By the time I left, I had country music stuck in my head (actually it was for about a week afterwards)and I was seriously considering whether I could pull off a pair of cowgirl boots myself…

Personal Highlight:

Instead of wedding favors on the tables Laura and Dan created a ‘Pick Your Own Cowboy/girl Hat’ station! Over the last year they'd collected hats from Vinted, charity shops and anywhere else they spotted one, then personalised them with ribbons, jewellery and little bits to make every hat unique. Everyone was all over it picking out a favorite. Honestly an amazing idea!!!