Shropshire summer outdoor wedding ceremony at the Mill Barns -

Ceremony at the terrace, a million paper flowers and lots of laughs – a lovely DYI gay wedding photographed by our beloved duo The Dignums.

TELL US THE STORY OF HOW YOU MET

Surely the story of about half of modern weddings – we met on line, although the website we met on doesn’t exist anymore – hopefully our relationship will last a little longer. Our first date was to Warwick Castle, one just out of hospital, the other very very hungover, both trying and failing to hide from the other how hard the stairs were. Our first kiss was there and a good few years later the proposal happened at the same spot.

NOW ABOUT THE BIG DAY! WAS THERE A THEME AND INSPIRATION?

The theme was “I love you, let’s get married” – overly themed weddings start to look like an American high school prom. We both wanted to have the ceremony outside, which is why we chose the Mill barns. Their big balcony over the lake surrounded by trees really sold the venue, so they styling was all foliage, natural wood and no real flowers (besides a sunflower to mark mum, who passed away a while ago). We made all the map flowers by hand – time consuming but beautiful, cheap and personalised . Now means whenever we go to friends houses there is usually a little reminder of our fantastic day tucked in on a shelf somewhere.

Richards Floral Designs took all our flowers and set them into their foliage to bring the outside in – they were fantastic!

TELL US ABOUT THE VENUE. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE VENUE AND WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT IT?

We chose the Mill Barns off plan – they hadn’t even finish ed building it when we went for a wander around with hard hats and high viz (and Paul on crutches). We loved the huge windows and the views over the little lake into the forested gardens, the oak frame, the plain walls to throw our own themes onto and most of all the huge roofed balcony that meant we could tie the knot outdoors surrounded by trees and birdsong.

YOUR OUTFITS

Shoes we already had and the suits came from Slaters Menswear. They were a great service and having shops all over the country meant the groomsmen could go to the nearest one. We bought all the suits as it was cheaper than renting and meant we got the whole selection to choose from.

FLOWERS, DECORATIONS, DID YOU DO ANY DIY?

We made all the flowers – thousands of origami flowers made from old maps (thank you eBay). We had a core of about 6 people who came round every Tuesday for months – they made flowers and other decorations, we made dinner. Was a great catchup and something we have kept doing, just with fewer paper cuts.

Richards Floral Design took these and added them to surprisingly realistic plastic trees for the center pieces and to foliage and twigs as decoration around the bar and atrium. Blending these with the real forest outside it made for a fantastic forest feel.

CAKE

Made as a surprise by our lovely friend, who knows how much we enjoy a night around the campfire and created a log pile with lego mini-figs.

ENTERTAINMENT

The Ceilidh band were fantastic – exactly what we were looking for. Not too fussy, very high energy, accepting of the fact that most of the guests had three left feet and kept everyone on the dance floor for both sets. Very very happy with them.

The DJ was a nice change of pace, focused on indie and rock tracks it was a great change of pace and he kept the energy up till the plug was pulled.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHERS

The Dignums were a great pair. Having two very different photographers meant so much more could be covered. They were very relaxed and made the guests feel totally comfortable, which meant the photos are natural and we recognise so much of our friends and families personalities in the images – they are not stiff and formal.

You did not really know where they would appear from! My fave image of the day is for the pair of us taking a moment on the balcony just enjoying the day when my new hubby leaned over and whispered “9 o’clock”. I look over and one of the boys was creeping along the wall to get the perfect candid shot through the oak beams – a beautiful moment!

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING WE DIDN’T LIST ABOVE THAT’S YOUR MOMENT

We made our own wedding rings in an evening at Enki – a jewelers in Kings Heath. We met her at a wedding fair and decided to go fir it. In the evening you make a pair of practice rings and then the real thing. It means so much more that my wedding ring was made by the man who gave me it. It was a memorable and surprisingly romantic night in the middle of the chaos of wedding planning and I couldn’t recommend it more.

WHAT WAS THE MOST FUN PART FOR YOU?

The most fun part of the prep was getting together, one a week, with friends and crating something for the day, the origami flowers, the table centers, the wedding favours. To take time out with the people you love and then see the effort laid out on the big day (it’s also a lot cheaper!).

The most fun part of the day was fluffing my lines during the vows – made people giggle and set the tone we wanted.

WOULD YOU HAVE ANY PIECE OF ADVICE FOR COUPLES PLANNING THEIR WEDDING?

Main advice (and similar to what we were told and basically forgot about). The day will go so so quickly – especially the evening. Take some time to enjoy everything. The day is for the pair of you, you are not the host who needs to make sure everyone else is having a great time.