Pretty Pastel Barn Wedding Planned in Just 8 Weeks

Dorset wedding photographer Paul Underhill

February 11, 2015

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Maria and Graeme wanted their wedding to reflect what was most important to them – family and having fun. They also wanted their day to have minimal fuss and stress and planned the whole thing in just eight weeks!

“Although we got engaged on NYE 2011, and had a lot of ideas, they all fell by the wayside last year when my brother died suddenly”, Maria explained. “He would have played a very big role on our special day, and it was very hard coming to terms with him not being with us. However in August last year, we decided to just go for it. We saw the venue on August 17th, and were married there on October 18th!”

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The wedding took place at The Tithe Barn at Symondsbury Estate. “We managed to do tons of DIY in that time”, she continued. “We made the button bouquets, cake, buttonholes, spray painted bottles for the flowers, place cards, table plan, order of the day, and music playlists. We had a lot of help from our very brilliant and talented friends too. I loved making my own bouquet and it also saved us money. Not only did it feel like a massive achievement, but it was lovely to carry something so special and unique. We collected buttons from friends and family (including some from my late brother) as well as lots of pink ones from eBay!”

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“In retrospect I wish I hadn’t sweated the small stuff so much”, she concluded. “I also wish I’d had the nerve to do a speech… and we would have loved to be able to dance for another hour too! Our advice to other couples would be to work out what’s important to you both, and stick to it. Don’t be swayed too much by what people tell you ‘should’ happen at a wedding. We had a man in a tiger onesie, and even my aunts and uncles loved him!”

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