Step into the enchanting world of weddings at the Barnsdale Hotel in Oakham, Rutland, where every detail tells a story of love, romance, and timeless elegance. Join us as we unveil the newly renovated wedding barn, a sanctuary of warmth and beauty nestled amidst the picturesque landscapes of Rutland. Through a captivating styled shoot adorned in terracotta hues, we invite you to witness the magic of collaboration and creativity, as a team of talented suppliers brings dream weddings to life.
All images are by Rutland wedding photographer Amanda Forman
Nestled in the picturesque landscape of Oakham, Rutland, the Barnsdale Hotel (part of the Signet Group of hotels) unveils its newly renovated wedding barn, promising couples an enchanting backdrop for their special day. Undergoing a complete transformation, the interior of the barn has been reimagined to offer an exquisite blend of rustic charm and modern elegance.
Gone are the days of conventional seating arrangements; the barn now boasts new seating areas designed as inviting chill-out spots for guests during the wedding reception. Couples now also have the option of round or long trestle tables for their wedding breakfast, ensuring flexibility in creating the perfect ambiance for their celebration.
To showcase the splendour of the renovated barn, Ellie and Beth, the visionaries behind the Barnsdale’s marketing and weddings team, orchestrated a captivating styled shoot. Collaborating with a handpicked selection of trusted suppliers, including Amanda Forman Photography, Lola Rose Venue Dressing, Inviting Writing, Lace and Pearl, Love Life Eat Cake, Phoebe Crosby Design, Moss and Bloom, Georgia Florist, Emma (makeup artist), Etta Lingerie and Harriet Flather (harpist), the shoot captured the essence of elegance and sophistication.
Behind the lens was Amanda Forman, an English Wedding member and preferred supplier at Barnsdale, renowned for her ability to blend candid, documentary-style moments with epic portraits. With meticulous attention to detail, Amanda effortlessly captured the essence of each supplier’s contribution, ensuring that every element of the shoot was immortalised in stunning imagery.
Michele from Love Life Eat Cake added an extra touch of sweetness to the day, ensuring that everyone remained fuelled and energised amidst the creative frenzy with a delicious selection of cakes for everyone to try. As the day unfolded, each supplier seamlessly blended their talents to create a picture-perfect scene awash with the warmth of terracotta hues.
Styled shoots are no small feat, requiring hours of meticulous planning and coordination. Yet, the collaborative effort and unwavering dedication of the team resulted in a showcase that not only highlighted the beauty of the barn but also celebrated the collective talent of all involved.
With the unveiling of the newly renovated wedding barn, Barnsdale Hotel reaffirms its position as a premier wedding destination in Rutland.
Harriet and Oli’s day is a blast of incredible floral styling, oozing love and classic styling touches. Wedding harpist Harriet shares her best supplier recommendations from their wedding in Oakham, Rutland – with images by lovely Gemma Randall Photography
Wedding photographer’s website
Gemma Randall Photography – https://www.gemmarandallphotography.co.uk/
Wedding photographer review
Gemma was brilliant to work with in the lead up to the wedding, from our initial consultation where we talked about so much more than just the wedding to the day itself where she was brilliant to have around. As a bride, I felt totally supported by Gemma and she respected our choices, such as to not have bridal prep, but instead capture the details at our Chapel. The end photos are wonderful and really capture the fun and elegance of the day, as well as some lovely intimate moments between the two of us.
Your best moment or memory
For me (Harriet), it’s walking down the aisle towards Oli. The music was amazing – I chose the Processional from The Sound of Music and it was played by my friend William Fox who is organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The flowers created such an amazing feel to the Chapel and it was so special walking on my father’s arm. Later on in the day, it sounds a bit cliche, but looking out at all our family and friends and feeling the love in the room was just awesome.
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
We actually stayed quite traditional! Oli asked my father’s permission to marry me, my father gave me away and our speeches were very traditional with the father of the bride, groom and best man. We did only try to stick to traditions that actually meant something to us though, so we didn’t have a top table or a traditional wedding cake.
Venue name + review
Our ceremony was held at Oakham School Chapel which was a very special place for Harriet. The reception was held at Halfmoon Farm, just outside Oakham. The views over Rutland Water are amazing and we made the most of them in our photos. It’s a blank canvas venue but everything from enquiry to booking was seamless!
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
Oli’s suit was a traditional Morning Suit, which the rest of the bridal party also wore, and was tailored by Paul Richman, Stamford. Harriet chose a romantic style dress, with a cathedral length train. The lace and pearl details were so beautiful and the form was close fitting with some bespoke detailing added.
Dress or suit shop name + review
Dress – Vow Bridal Wansford
Oh my goodness – where do I start?! I was so nervous about choosing and wearing a wedding dress that I even ordered some non-traditional dresses from high street stores before realising they didn’t feel special enough. So it was off to Lisa at Vow Bridal, who I have known for some time. Lisa made me feel so relaxed from the very beginning and I actually only tried on 3 dresses. As soon as I put on my dress, I knew it was the one – I just didn’t want to take it off! Lisa took me from feeling really not bothered about my wedding dress to it being the most amazing piece in my wardrobe!
Something old…
Something Old – Harriet’s grandmother’s gold bracelet
Something New – a pearl necklace from Harriet’s parents
Something Borrowed – Harriet’s grandmother’s RAF sweetheart pin from WWII
Something Blue – Harriet’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring
Florist name + review
Pickleberry Flowers
There was only ever one choice for our wedding flowers! I have known Isobel from Pickleberry for almost 10 years and her style is exactly what I wanted. I told her I wanted to feel like I had scooped up my bouquet from a wildflower meadow and that’s exactly what I got. The symbolism ran throughout our flowers, and Isobel was so understanding of this. We had white roses for my family’s Yorkshire roots, thistles for my time spent at university in Scotland and I also had ivy in my bouquet that was grown from the ivy in my bouquet for my brother’s wedding – which is where I met Isobel!
Cake maker name + review
We didn’t have a traditional wedding cake but ordered a carrot cake from Fika in Oakham. It was absolutely amazing, in fact our caterer said it was the best wedding cake she had ever tasted!
Stationery maker’s name + review
Inviting Writing
All our invitations, on the day stationery and thank you cards were designed by Inviting Writing. Vicky’s work is so lovely and elegant, and she worked with us on the design from start to finish. The table plan was a bit of nightmare to design as we had such big tables but I absolutely loved the outcome – Vicky is just brilliant!
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
In lieu of a wedding cake, we asked family & friends to make a cake to feed around 20 guests. We had lemon drizzle cake, coffee cake, brownies, flapjacks and cookies all set out on the cheese table. Not a crumb was left! Oli and I only have one grandparent who is still with us so we had photos of all our other grandparents framed on ladders, along with herbs that represent love, fertility and remembrance. We also had a photo line which had photos of both of us, but also almost every guest at the wedding. Our hat line was a big success too, and we hung Harriet’s grandmother’s hat from her parents’ wedding in 1983 there.
Wedding readings?
Song of Solomon 2:10-13 Read by Cathy, Oli’s mother
The Lovely Little Dinosaur by Edward Monkton Read by Pixie, Harriet’s sister-in-law
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
We struggled with this choice as we don’t really have a “song” but in the end, we decided on Happiness by McFly. It really got our guests up and dancing!
Wedding planner name + review
Unofficially – Harriet’s mother!
Hair + makeup name + review
Hair – Laura Steele from Asembo
Laura has cut my (Harriet’s) hair for 15 years so was the obvious choice. She also knows a lot of my family so felt right at home in the morning. I only had to show her a couple of images of what I wanted and she got it straight away. I went for a romantic updo with an Etsy hairpiece for sparkle!
Make-Up – Make Up by Liv GS
Liv was a great choice for the day, I wanted a really natural look for my wedding and she totally understood this. Although I had a lot of make up on, it never felt heavy or clogged up. She was great to have around in the morning and although I was getting stressed about time, she never did!
Other recommended Oakham wedding suppliers
Band – The Aesthetic from DG Music
Caterer – Big Bird Catering
Marquee – Rutland Marquees
Cars – VP Princess Cars
WE have a treat for you all today – summer sunshine and a prettily styled, country garden wedding look from a collaboration of talented wedding creatives in Lincolnshire. We love that there are two looks to fall in love with: Sarah wears a stunning dress with a plunge neckline (and if you scroll, puppies…) and Jo models a classic strappy wedding dress, perfect for summer time!
Words by wedding harpist Harriet Flather and images by lovely wedding photographer Amanda Forman
Jo and Rob are a local couple to Oakham, Jo is a financial planner and is such a wonderful person. They really enjoyed being models for the day and watching them interact they were so sweet with each other. Sarah also hadn’t modelled before but we had a few dresses that we wanted to showcase. She was incredible, it’s like she was born to do it. The style of dress suited her to a T – she absolutely rocked it.
Irnham Hall provided the ideal backdrop to this English country wedding shoot in Lincolnshire. The sun was glorious all day, and gave our photographer Amanda Forman the perfect light to capture the details.
The Orangery was perfect for a light, bright ceremony setup, using floral explosions by Pickleberry Flowers and decorative touches by Sparkle Occasions Events that all tied together beautifully. Harpist Harriet Flather provided music as our real life couple met at the end of the aisle. The flower boa was an inspired addition to the shoot and led to some really creative shots.
Then it was into the venue itself for the wedding breakfast set up, with our florist, venue dresser and stationer Inviting Writing all working together to create an elegant and simple look to the round tables. The subtle bow theme was present throughout, even on the gorgeous white cake, made by The Elegant Rose Cake Studio.
Our brides were dressed in handmade dresses by Caroline Chamberlain, with accessories from Topset Jewellery. The look was simple and understated, with the flowers doing all the talking.
The walled garden and grounds of Irnham Hall were full of little nooks and crannies we could use for imaginative shots, and the beautiful weather allowed Amanda Forman to shoot close ups of the hair by The Boho Bridal and make up by Hannah Spendelow, which completed the looks.
We absolutely loved working on both the planning and execution of this shoot, which was entirely female-led and the creative team showcased the very best in collaboration that this amazing industry has to offer.
https://irnhamhall.co.uk
https://pickleberryflowers.com
https://amandaforman.co.uk
https://www.sparkleoccasionsevents.co.uk
http://harrietflather.co.uk
https://topsetjewellery.com
https://theelegantrosecakestudio.co.uk
https://carolinechamberlain.co.uk
https://invitingwriting.co.uk
https://facebook.com/the.boho.bridal
https://hannahspendelowmakeup.co.uk
