A Bohemian barn wedding at Upton Barn and Walled Garden

Wedding ideas from Catherine and Ben’s bohemian barn wedding at Upton Barn and Walled Garden, to inspire your own wedding planning.

Somerset Wedding photography Bohemian Barn Wedding

Catherine and Ben married at one of the most gorgeous wedding venues in Devon, Upton Barn and Walled Garden. With 120-day guests and 80 more joining them for the evening reception, this was a bohemian barn wedding to remember. From the first dance, played by the band, to the photo booth and a beautiful sparkler moment to a homemade five-tier wedding cake, this day was full of fun and love.

From dancing to dating

Somerset wedding photographer
Bohemian Barn Wedding

Catherine and Ben danced into each other’s lives. The pair met while they were throwing shapes in a nightclub. A mutual friend introduced the couple to one another that evening and the rest, as they say, is history.

Ben popped the question while he and Catherine were on holiday in Berrynarbor, in North Devon. In February 2022, he presented her with a beautiful cushion-cut diamond ring with a diamond-encrusted band. Of course, Catherine responded with an excited “yes!” and the search for a wedding venue commenced.

The date was set for two years later, giving them time to enjoy their wedding planning. Catherine and Ben booked their wedding for the fifth of April 2024.

“We chose for our wedding date to be during the school holidays,” Catherine explains.

The couple celebrated their marriage with a beautiful bohemian barn wedding day, during the Easter holidays.

Aisle Style

Catherine made her bridal entrance in a beautiful a-line dress by Maggie Sottero. The embroidered lace bodice, full-length sleeves and voluminous, blush tulle skirt made Catherine feel the belle of the ball.

“I went wedding dress shopping with my Maid of Honour, Leigh. I knew the dress was the one as soon as I tried it on,” Catherine smiles. “It needed lots of alterations as it was a ‘One and Only gown’, meaning it was the only one available. An extra 12 yards of sparkling blush tulle was added to the skirt to make it the dress of my dreams.”

The bride finished her look with a full-length tulle veil to match the skirt, ivory closed-toe heels, a pearl hair comb, delicate pearl drop earrings and a matching necklace.

Ben stepped out in style in a navy and tan checked suit from Mark Darcy. He completed his aisle attire with a Champagne-coloured tie, matching pocket square and tan and navy brogue shoes. The final finishing touch was a buttonhole created with dried flowers in blush, tan and cream hues.

The groomsmen all stepped out in matching checked suits with tan buttons and matching tan leather brogues.

Somerset wedding photography at upton barn wedding venue,devon

Six adult bridesmaids walked down the aisle in matching nude-coloured gowns. Their dresses featured floaty tulle skirts and sparkling sequin bodices with flattering capped sleeves. The three flower girls wore matching sleeveless dresses. Forgoing traditional bouquets each of the bridesmaids wore dried floral wrist corsages to match the groomsmen’s buttonholes.

When I asked her how she felt getting ready on the morning of the wedding Catherine said, “It was such a lovely experience getting ready surrounded by my closest friends and family.”

Somerset wedding photography bride and bridesmaids having a moment at upton barn wedding venue during bridal prep

Silver Linings

After looking around a few different wedding venues, Catherine and Ben had a front-runner when trying to choose their favourite. Upton Barn and Walled Gardens is an exclusive-use wedding venue in Devon. It was the perfect backdrop for the couple’s bohemian barn wedding day.

Determined to say “I do”, surrounded by their loved ones, in the beautiful Walled Garden, this couple took a gamble. The weather was unsettled all morning but they stuck to their guns and luckily the clouds passed on and they were able to have their wedding ceremony outside.

“Walking down the aisle, I was extremely emotional, I couldn’t breathe,” remembers Catherine. “My dad was nervous about falling over, being partially sighted, so we were both clinging onto each other and hoping for the best. As soon as I saw Ben my eyes filled with tears and I didn’t know if I was even going to be able to speak. We made it through the vowels – just!”

Bohemian Barn Wedding

Although the couple didn’t start their planning with a set theme in mind, when their decorations and details all came together they had a rustic, bohemian vibe.

“In the beginning, we didn’t have a particular theme. We just kept adding things we liked to our original ideas and everything came together,” Catherine reflected. “Naturally, we chose lots of beige, tan, Champagne and muted blush tones. We had a rustic, bohemian style that really suited our gorgeous venue.

Died flowers decorated the venue, with large arrangements framing the end of the aisle. Bouquets of bunny tails, pampas, wheat sprigs and dried rosed were displayed in vases for the table centrepiece. The bride’s bouquet was filled with matching dried flowers, too.

“I loved my flowers,” beams Catherine. “They were exactly what I wanted and had pictured. I have kept a lot of them as decorations to display around the house.”

Tiers of Joy

This talented bride made the towering wedding cake herself and (incredibly!) set it up on the morning of the wedding before she started her bridal preparations.

“I made the wedding cake myself! I planned it all out to the very last minute – even setting it up myself on the day,” exclaims Catherine. “The bottom tier was Biscoff flavoured decorated in icing designed to look like a log slice. The next tier was a Baileys-flavoured sponge, my Dad’s favourite. This was followed by an acrylic tier, filled with fairy lights and flowers. Next came a classic Victoria sponge tier, decorated with embossed icing in a boho pattern. Finally, the top tier was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.”

The edible masterpiece was finished with dried flowers and ribbons in keeping with their bohemian barn wedding styling. The cake was cut with a miniature chainsaw as a nod to Ben’s job as a tree surgeon. Surrounding the five-tier cake were traybake, brownies and cupcakes all made with love by the bride’s daughter Paige. The combination resulted in one of the most impressive cake tables to date!

Perfect your Pose

“We’re not the type of people that like having our pictures taken,” Catherine reveals. “A friend of ours used Paul Aston for their wedding photography and recommended him. We added Paul on Facebook and followed some of his posts for a while. We loved his work. Shortly after booking him to capture our wedding, we met Paul for our pre-wedding shoot. He is such a friendly guy, with the right attitude to be a photographer. Ben felt really supported by Paul in the nervous moments before the ceremony and speeches.”

Catherine and Ben didn’t come to me with lots of poses or specific ideas for their couple’s portraits. They went with the flow on the day, working with the weather and all of the timings of their day with a relaxed approach.

“We felt like Paul was the professional and he knew what would work best in terms of poses and backdrops. Our pictures are just perfect, he absolutely pulled it out the bag for us,” the couple smile.