Lauren and Evan got married at Ash Barton in October in what can only be described as a riot of colour and fabulousness. We caught up with the couple recently to talk about amazing headwear, colourful suits, the all-night party in the ‘rave cave’, and those limoncello shots.

So tell us where you met. And how long were you together before you got married?

"We’ve been together for seven years but we’ve known each other as friends for 10! We met working at a festival and have spent lots of time at gigs and in fields over the years! We got together after 3 years of friendship when I moved to London where Evan lived and we now live in Bristol together."

Why did you choose Ash Barton as your wedding venue?  

"We were initially drawn to it as it had no curfew or corkage! That was the original Google search. But then when we saw it and how stunning it was, and we felt how friendly and laid back the owners were, we knew it was right for us. The house, camping area, the stunning grounds, location, big party barn and the general vibe of it all were why we love it. Best venue ever. Plus it's so close to the beach!"

Were there any facilities that really stood out? 

"The big party barn set up was just fantastic. Everyone commented on how amazing it looked and although we decorated it, it had most things already in place! We also turned the old chapel into a ‘rave cave’ which was the after-midnight club. Our guests absolutely LOVED it. Ash Barton has literally everything you could think of, including a giant toaster which I was obsessed with. And there’s an insane number of mirrors around the house which was a great bonus too!"

How many guests did you have? And did they stay over?

"We had around 120 guests. 40 in the house, around 50 camping and the rest off-site in local accommodation. Leilah at Unity Event Design did a wonderful job with our bell tents too, plus a whole heap of décor we hired from her!"

So tell us about the theme?

"It was ‘Colour Encouraged’! We decided on this dress code early on as we wanted it to be bright and vibrant and we loved how our guests interpreted it differently, from hints of colour within formal dress to full on rainbow catsuits and feathery headgear. They all looked fabulous!"

They really did! So who did the styling and co-ordination?

"We had a lot of help from friends and family, but we also hired Katie and her team from Best Day Ever for the first half of the day. They helped with the tables, ceremony set up as well as the drinks reception and were a huge help! My sister Olivia did the table names on slate which were a great touch.

"Our amazing friends The Provibers took over co-ordination for the second half of the day/night and were our MC for the day."

Lauren, tell us about your gorgeous dress and veil. Where did they come from?

"I got my dress very soon after getting engaged, I was just browsing online and came across Needle and Thread. I loved how sustainable their clothes, such as using recycled sequins, and the name of the dress really stood out to me too - ‘the chakra dress’ - plus it was half price in the sale! Ha ha! I knew I wanted something sparkly and something with colour and it ticked all the boxes. Plus I didn’t have to go for a fitting or anything so it was a very easy process!"

"My veil was my Mum’s from when she got married! And then my amazingly talented friend Susanna gave it a bit of love. She added the most stunning sunflowers, which she had pleated and sewn herself, and added embellishments from India, and, honestly, it’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen!! I didn’t even see it until the morning of the wedding, so it was a beautiful surprise.

"I hired a dress from Hurr for the evening and my friend Twinks Burnett made the amazing headdress for my outfit."

And Evan’s incredible suit?

"Evan had his suit made bespoke from Gresham Blake by tailor Nathalie May. He went back and forth to Spitalfields in London and put a lot of time and effort into searching for the perfect fabrics, (the yellow corduroy fabric was sourced from Empress Mills), shoes and accessories to make his vision come to life. And it was epic. I absolutely loved it. Both our outfits were a complete surprise to one another as well!"

How about the bridesmaids, best man and best women’s outfits?

"My bridesmaids were my two sisters Olivia and Kristy, my cousin Natalie and Melissa, my best friend who travelled all the way from Dubai. They all looked so stunning in their dresses which were chosen by them - I just gave them a colour! My sisters chose matching ones from Pretty Lavish, Melissa chose a dress from the same place but another style and then Natalie wore a lovely dress from Monsoon. They all preferred their hair half up half down and I asked the florist for fresh flower hair pins for them, which added a nice dash of colour to their outfits."

"Evan chose not to have a best man, but to have his two sisters, Tara and Jess and Jess’s partner Greg as ‘Groomspeople’. We gave them a colour scheme to work with for their suits and they ran with it and looked incredible! The girls found their suits in Zara in Spain and Greg had his made at Studio Suits."

Who did your hair and make-up?

"Hannah at Brighteye Beauty did mine and my bridesmaids’ hair along with her assistant. She was absolutely amazing and a calming energy amongst us all. I loved my hair so much. I was quite undecided about how I wanted it as I mostly wear my hair down. But I think the loose, boho up-do went well with the high neck of the dress."

"I did my own make-up as I really enjoy it and find it quite relaxing!  My sister Olivia did a lot of other people’s make-up as she is a whizz!"

Where are your unusual rings from? 

"Evan had my engagement ring made by Millie Savage last year and it has our birth stones in and a beautiful emerald. So I had his wedding ring made by her too, similarly with the same stones and metal but a different shape. I use my engagement ring as my wedding ring now because I love it!"

And who was your celebrant?  

"The amazing Juliette by the Sea got to know us over the course of around eight months. We had pub dates and Zoom catch-ups and she is just fantastic. She totally understood who we were and what we wanted from the beginning. The ceremony was so special and our family really felt the same."

Tell us about the day itself. What was the order of the day’s events? 

"It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a lovely morning getting ready. There was a lot of energy in the house! The ceremony was outside at 2pm in the walled garden, and my Grandad walked me down the aisle while our good friend Charles Hardy sang You Send Me by Sam Cooke."

"I was so overwhelmed seeing our friends and family looking so beautiful, Evan’s Mum Jacky did a lovely reading of a native American proverb and then we all sang Lovely Day by Bill Withers!"

"We got so lucky with the weather too I couldn’t believe it. Our ceremony was amazing and then we had reception drinks and nibbles, which were put together in a graze board style by a group of wonderful friends in the courtyard area. Some friends had built a wooden bar outside which was a great touch. We had some fun and informal photos, including a few of everyone from above and made our way into the barn at 4ish."

"Then we had our main meal followed by speeches. My mum Helen, best friends Ruby and Melissa, Evan’s sisters Tara and Jess, Evan and myself all did speeches and there were a lot of laughs and tears!

"After a costume change, we cut the cake and then Evan’s stepdad Ted sang our first dance, I Get a Kick Out of You. Rat Pack style. Then Evans family surprised us with a personalised performance of Oh Happy Day on the stage, with harmonies and all. This was a very moving moment for us!"

"The evening was a LOT of fun. We danced (literally) ‘til the sun came up in the old chapel ‘rave cave’ which Evan’s cousin had lit up with lasers and incredible multicoloured lights. Around five friends DJd including Evan. We also had a big chill-out tent set up where lots of people ended up in a ‘cuddle puddle’ later on in the evening."

"Evan’s cousin Sam who is a lighting technician had lit up areas of Ash Barton so amazingly and it made walking around at night so beautiful."

So whose idea was it serve to limoncello shots after the ceremony?

"Both! We love limoncello and always have it in the house. We also love shots so it was kind of an obvious choice! We wanted something in the ceremony that everyone could do together and feel part of it. We all took the shot as our friends and family made a vow to us. Juliette our celebrant had written that in after many chats, which was very special."

How about the days before and after the wedding? What did you do?

"The day before there was a lot to set up. We had around 50 hands on deck helping which was amazing. Some friends did our pretty signage, hung up our multicoloured bunting from Jumbo Productions and my friend Susanna. We also had décor from Unity Design and Best Day Ever, as well as a load of our own!"

"At around 7pm we had the delicious il Cornicione Pizza van. We sat round the fire pit under blankets drinking Prosecco. Lots of friends chipped in with grazing platters too which were amazing!

"Guests surfaced at all different times the next day and everyone had a slightly different story of their time which we really enjoyed listening to! We also made great use of the games room, pool and everything in between on hangover day! Katie from Best Day Ever also came to save us with cooked breakfast baps!"

Talking of food. Who did the catering on the day?  

"On the day itself, Big Pot Kitchen served massaman curry, cider potatoes and veggie sausages, followed by mac and cheese and veggie chilli nachos.

"Then friends put together a beautiful spread of fruit, brownies and meringues for dessert, along with the wedding cake. The whole wedding was veggie as we are!"

And who managed your bar?

"We had FlyBar do the bar. They were great and we even had a cocktail named after each of us called  ‘The Loz’ and ‘The Ev’. Delicious."

What was the wedding cake like? Who made it?

"Our friend Ella kindly offered to make it. We work together and she did a trial bake and brought it into work and everyone LOVED it. It was viccy sponge on top and lemon curd on the bottom with some sunflowers around it to make it look pretty!"

You mentioned flowers. Who did the beautiful bouquets? 

"The wonderful Twigs did our flowers with a vague colour scheme from me and a few of my favourite flowers thrown into the description. I said ‘colourful and bright’ and they were exactly what I hoped for and more! I have dried one of my bouquets to keep."

Who did the entertainment? Who DJd for you? 

"Charles is an amazing guitarist and vocalist. So not only did he sing as I walked down the aisle, he performed during our group song and then for the outro song too as we walked out of the ceremony. It was so nice having that live element as part of the ceremony. 

"Our friend Tim Hurst, from awesome band Loud Noises Brass, is a talented trombonist and singer and he performed a live looping show which really kicked things off!"

"This was followed by a bunch of friends who are DJs and all very talented! There were around 5 DJs plus the groom himself, so the party didn’t stop!

"Evan and his sister Tara also performed a song they’d written together in the old chapel ‘rave cave’ later on."

Who took your amazing photographs?

"The fabulous Laura at Freeform Images captured everything so well and our guests didn’t stop saying how much they liked her. She was a big part of the day and made us feel so relaxed. Then we got the stunning photos back and there were over 2500 of them! It was so nice to put them on the TV with a beer with some family and look through them all and re-live it. We are obsessed with our photos and can’t stop looking at them!"

What was the most magical moment of the day? 

"There was one moment when we were reading our vows during the ceremony. We had written our own and were emotional trying to read them aloud and then a flock of doves flew overhead. It was honestly such a magical moment. We couldn’t believe it and nor could the guests! Like something out of a film!"

And how did you add a personal touch to your wedding?  

"The whole thing was completely ‘us’. We didn’t do anything we weren’t fully invested in or keen on. Also having friends and family provide the music, lighting, help with food, décor etc. really made it feel like we were all part of something great. We didn’t stick with many traditions but our families really embraced it and ended up having the best time."

What’s your advice to other couples planning a wedding at Ash Barton? Do you have any top tips? 

"Just be yourself! Don’t feel you have to do things because others do. We tried to stick to a budget and the best way to manage that was to get everyone involved. Don’t be afraid to ask - everyone wanted to lend a hand and be a part of it with us! Definitely have someone dedicated to showing people which room they’re in as they can easily get lost! Ha ha! We gave everyone a little map of the house which they found useful. Time goes fast, so breathe, enjoy and embrace it all! All of the suppliers we had were amazing and we would highly recommend them."

And finally. Would you recommend Ash Barton as a wedding venue? 

"A billion percent."