CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS

from Your East Anglian Wedding - April / May 2021 (Issue 48)

EDITOR’S LETTER

CHILDHOODsweethearts REAL WEDDINGS

The Red Barn and a rustic theme set the scene for Sally and Nathan’s nuptials

Images courtesy of Ben Chapman Photos

Sally and Nathan’s journey began many years before when they went to the same primary school together. Unbelievably, they also both had the same open heart surgery at Guys Hospital by the same surgeon, “My mum said this was how she first learnt of Nath at primary school, finding out another child had been at Guys Hospital for a similar reason,” recalls Sally.

Friendship blossomed before they both left secondary school, and another hospital trip for Nathan was the start of something more. “Nath broke his ankle while larking about on a rope swing when we were out one day. I stayed with him while waiting for the ambulance – for what seemed like hours – and from then, as they say, the rest is history!”

Nathan proposed on the 3rd March 2017 on the couple’s nineyear anniversary at Congham Hall. “Nothing ever goes quite as smoothly for Nath when he tries to surprise me,” shares Sally. “He had ordered my ring which had got delayed and arrived 10 minutes before we had to leave the house. He was in such a flap he put the ring in the wrong coat pocket...mine! When arriving at Congham Hall for afternoon tea, the staff take your coat, so handing his coat over to the lady (with the ring back in his pocket) meant he had another hurdle to cross. “Nath wanted to propose in the herb gardens as he knew I didn’t want a scene however, in his words: ‘the most water that has ever fallen out of the sky was happening that day’, so he had to think again!

“Eventually, we ended up in the library where there was a roaring fire and he got down on one knee – perfect!”

The big day was set 7th March 2020, with the couple opting for the The Red Barn, South Runcton, Norfolk for their nuptials. Here, Sally tells us more about their special day...

We were lucky enough to go to The Red Barn when it was covered in a very light dusting of snow, it was just perfect - in the evening fairylights and electric candles are everywhere which make it so beautiful. The team at the venue was so organised and made everything run smoothly.

We had a tower of cheese as our cake to go with the ploughman’s lunch for our wedding breakfast. Our table plan was painted on an old board with chalk paint. The favours were wildflower seeds to help the bees as we’re both passionate about the cause and Nath’s first pet name for me was ‘bee’.

Our day wouldn’t have been complete without our friends and family, whether they helped with the food and decorating the barn, or just turned up, we really hope everyone had a day they loved as much as us! - Sally

My friend’s mum created the beautiful sunflower bouquets for the bridal party.

In addition to the tasty ploughman’s spread, we had what felt like a million traybakes!

The bridesmaids wore emerald green lace-style dresses from Debenhams.

The dress I ended up choosing wasn’t at all what I had in mind, but as soon as I put it on, I knew it was the one! Our photographer Ben captured some truly memorable moments. He had organised with Richard (The Red Barn owner) to get a picture of our whole wedding party from above in a cherry picker! We had no idea this was happening and it is one of my favourite photos from our wedding.

We had lots of board and garden games for our guests to play, which we’d been collecting over the last few years. We then had an amazing DJ in the evening Greg Claridge who played the best music!

We were both nervous as neither of us like a huge amount of attention, but the wedding had been a long time coming and we were so ready for it. Ben also organised with Richard to have a sparkler tunnel we could run through at the end of the evening which looked just beautiful in the photographs! They are some of Nath’s favourite shots.

We hired Premier Bars and they were great, even allowing Nath to pick a couple of his favourite real ales which they sourced especially. Dale from El Heffes Taco Bus did the evening food and really hit the nail on the head. I mean who doesn’t want a big old portion of nachos at 9pm after drinking and dancing for most of the day?!

THE LITTLE WHITE BOOK

Venue, The Red Barn, www.theredbarnnorfolk.co.uk | Photographer, Ben Chapman Photos, www.benchapmanphotos.com | Bride’s dress, Heart Brides, www.heartbrides.co.uk | Bridesmaids’ dresses, Debenhams, www.debenhams.com | Groom’s and groomsmens’ suits, Goddards of Kings Lynn, www.coes.co.uk/pages/goddards Entertainment, DJ Greg Claridge, www.djgregc.webs.com | Evening catering, El Heffes Taco Bus, www.facebook.com/ElHeffestacobus Cheese tower, M&S, www.marksandspencer.com | Bar hire, Premier Bars, www.premierbars.co.uk

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