Most people imagine a rustic, rural, countryside vibe when they think of a farm wedding, but from the outset, Lauren was absolutely determined that would not be the case for her Autumn wedding at Greenhill Farm, in Maidstone, Kent.
Lauren, who works in Public Relations, and Sam, a Software Engineer, tied the knot on 23rd September 2023. They wanted their day to have a chic and elegant appeal, combining gorgeous modern bridal fashion with a neutral and natural color palette.
The bride chose a contemporary gown by Australian designer Toni Maticevski, discovered at the fantastic boutique in Ripley, Surrey. We’ve been working with and raving about Miss Bush for over a decade now. Leaders in bridal fashion, they provide a supremely excellent service to all brides – we cannot recommend them enough.
These gorgeous, fun images were captured by Marianne Chua, creator of quirky, fun, and relaxed wedding photography. Enjoy!
Venue & Location
We got married at Greenhill Farm. It’s the childhood home of one of my best friends and bridesmaids, Hannah. It’s a working turkey farm, but they now also host weddings in the warmer months. We spent many summers as teenagers and young adults having parties in the valley, so it was a real full circle moment to host the biggest party of our lives there.
Aside from the personal connection, one of things we loved about the venue was that you could host the legal ceremony there as well as the reception. We got officially married in a beautiful, woodland den, before leading our guests for a walk across the valley to the reception area, which was next to a small lake. It was very green, very tranquil and very beautiful (and thankfully not raining!).
Photography
Our photographer was called Marianne Chua. We were looking for a photographer who took natural, non-cheesy photographs that captured the fun of the day as well as just the people – she had actually photographed our friends’ wedding earlier in the year so we knew we loved her style.
She instantly made us both feel at ease – even curing the couple portraits which we were both feeling a bit awkward about, and I can honestly say I love all of the photos, they really capture how much fun everyone had.
How They Met
We’ve actually known each other since we were teenagers, we grew up in the same town and moved in peripheral friendship circles when we were young but didn’t know each other well. When we graduated university we ended up back in the same town at the same time, went for a drink and that was thirteen years ago…
We got engaged at the very end of 2023, and got married pretty much nine months later. I wasn’t interested in a long engagement, so this was perfect for us.
My husband Sam wore a suit from Hugo Boss.
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
Hannah Monk did my hair and make-up – she is an MUA and Hair Stylist that I actually know through work, and had recommended in the past to other friends getting married. I wanted a bronzed, glowy look that was an amped up version of my everyday make-up – plus a red lip for the evening – and I was super happy with the final look.
My hair is very fine and very straight, as well as short so unfortunately I was never going to have a big blow out or an extravagant up-do. I toyed with waving it, but I was worried it wouldn’t hold if it rained and in the end I went for a slicked back bob. It felt like ‘me’, and it put the focus on my headband and collar of my dress, rather than distracting.
I had a full length, minimal veil that I also bought from Miss Bush. Initially I had wanted a Juliet style cap veil, but when I tried it on with my hair accessories it looked a bit Shakespearian (not a vibe!!) and so I switched to something more modern that wouldn’t detract from the sculptural element of my dress and headband.
Comfort was key, so I went for a pair of low block pointed white heels from Zara – and at the end of the night, changed into a pair of gold ballet flats from ASOS.
I always wear headbands, and so I knew that a headband was going to be part of my wedding look – plus I have short, straight hair, so was never going to have a super intricate hair style. The headband I chose was from a New York brand called Epona Valley – it was a wide brass band with crystals studded along the top – a kind of modern, minimalistic crown.
As I had a big collar on my dress, veil and a headband I wanted to keep most of my jewellery quite minimal – I purchased a very fine gold necklace from Missoma, and wore my favourite gold huggie hoops from Monica Vinader. I also wore a gold bangle which I designed and had made a few years ago, and I borrowed an antique sapphire ring from my Mum as my ‘something borrowed and something blue’ – I didn’t want to return it after the wedding!
I wore the same scent I wear everyday – Alien by Thierry Mugler – I wanted to smell like myself.
I hired a clutch bag from Dolce & Gabbana from Cocoon, just to hold my lipstick and my phone – but to be honest, it was under the table the whole night. Another recommendation to hire the extras rather than purchase – so much cheaper and more sustainable.
I gave my bridesmaids pretty much free rein – we’re all in our 30s, one was pregnant, one had just given birth and they all look completely different – I wanted them to wear something they all looked good in. The only directive I gave them was for it to be an autumnal colour palette (green, gold, dark red, champagne, orange etc.) but in the end they all chose shades of green.
Two of the girls ended up choosing dresses from Maids to Measure, one from ASOS and the final one from a brand called Azazie.
Evening & Dancing
We knew we wanted a DJ, and initially wanted someone that we knew as we were worried about it being a classic ‘wedding DJ’, but unfortunately couldn’t find someone with availability or able to travel to Kent.
In the end, we found a company called Festival Wedding DJs through Love My Dress and they turned out to be great – we provided a sample playlist and a list of ‘must plays’ and ‘must not play’s – and he had everyone dancing all night.
Oh my god we were both dreading the first dance – the aim of the game was something short and sweet haha. We chose ‘To Be Alone with You’, by Sufjan Stevens, who is one of my favourite artists.
In the evening I always knew I was going to want to change into something I could dance in, but I didn’t want to invest in a whole new dress – so I hired the Drusilla dress by Emilia Wickstead, which I hired from Hurr – which was a much more cost effective way to do an outfit change.
I wanted this second dress to be fun – I loved the huge bow on the back, that was almost like a pair of wings.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Be your most organised self, but don’t sweat the small stuff – you honestly won’t care on the day. Putting the work into the planning (spreadsheets are your friend) makes the day run so much more smoothly.
And don’t forget to enjoy the day with your partner – that’s why you’re getting married, after all…
I honestly couldn’t stop laughing from the minute I got out the car to the minute I went to bed, the whole day was magical. Just being able to spend the day celebrating with all of our loved ones was great – the speeches and the party (of course!) were a highlight for me.
