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Natalie and Antony’s big day was the perfect country barn wedding they wanted. Rivervale Barn was full of gorgeous vintage-inspired details and decorations and the couple and their guests enjoyed the most amazing wedding day.
When Natalie and Antony started planning their wedding, they knew what they wanted – a barn with a cosy, warm atmosphere and a venue that would be perfect, whatever the weather. When they visited Rivervale Barn during an Open Evening, it was love at first sight:
“As soon as we walked in, we fell instantly in love with the venue. The way in which the venue flows from the Ceremony Barn to the reception area and then into the Dining Barn was beautiful and the courtyard and gardens were breath-taking.”
In fact, Natalie and Antony were so smitten when they visited that they reserved their date then and there!
Natalie and Antony worked so hard to bring their beautiful theme to life and Rivervale looked amazing thanks to all their efforts. The peach colour scheme was ideal for an autumnal wedding and it was also the colour that Natalie’s parents had had on their own wedding day. In fact, the couple’s families played a big part in styling the wedding:
“Our bunting was made by Antony’s mother and this was put up all around the barn and even outside in the courtyard. My grandad made some stunning woodwork decorations including signs, crates, a ladder and even a sweet cart. My auntie created the vintage suitcase for our cards and our florist, Tina from Flower Monkey, created the wonderful peach and ivory floral displays.”
After an emotional ceremony, the couple and their guests made their way to the Courtyard for their drinks reception and everyone made the most of the beautiful October weather. When it was time to move to the Dining Barn for the wedding breakfast, mouths were watering at the prospect of a delicious feast:
“We went to a Tasting Event at fell in love with our food choices then! We still have guests commenting that it was the best food they’ve ever had at a wedding and the expert on-site catering team were flawless.”
The Magic Tones from Tailored Entertainment provided the music for the evening and even Natalie got up on stage with them! This set the tone for the evening party and the dancefloor was packed all night long. However, guests definitely took a little time out from dancing to sample the evening food – a BBQ cooked over a fire pit in the Courtyard!
There were plenty of very meaningful and moving moments throughout the day and this are the things that really make a wedding special. Natalie and Antony definitely created a wedding day that truly reflect who they are:
“Our favours were mini hessian bags filled with chocolates and we made donations to charities that are close to our hearts. As Antony and I met climbing Kilimanjaro in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, our table names were based on the camps that we stopped at during our trip.”
As for their favourite moments from the day, let’s hear from the couple themselves:
“Obviously the doors to the ceremony opening and walking up the aisle to my future husband was the best moment of the day,” says Natalie. “But arriving at Rivervale and seeing the venue for the first time was amazing. I was blown away by how beautiful it looked and how welcomed I was by Lyndsay and the Events Team.”
“Seeing my beautiful bride walk down the aisle was, of course, my highlight,” says Antony. “Also, walking out into the Courtyard, to be surrounded by family and friends to share in our happy moment has to be a highlight too.”
“I’d urge couples to relax and not worry about anything that could go wrong. The day will be wonderful no matter what, simply because of the loved ones you’ve chosen to be there to share it with you and, most importantly, because you’re marrying the love of your life.”
“Our day was perfect. We made sure that no detail was missed in the planning so the day was just as we hoped it would be. We put a lot of extra effort in to put our own personal stamp on the day and although at times, it seemed like a lot of extra effort, seeing all these things on the day and having guests commenting on these touches was lovely and just what we wanted.”
There’s no better time to book your private visit to Rivervale Barn so why not contact us today? We’d love to welcome you and show you just what makes Rivervale such a special venue that’s perfect for your wedding.
If you can picture your perfect day at Rivervale Barn, discover the wedding options waiting for you at our beautiful barn and gardens. Download our wedding brochure, or see the venue in person by booking a show round. Ready to start planning? Explore our available dates and prices.
When a bride loves winter as much as Michelle, a Christmas wedding was an absolute must-have for this gorgeous couple. This stunning festive celebration was certainly the winter wonderland that they planned.
With a list of wedding must-haves that include a big Christmas tree and a venue with the wow-factor, Michelle and Chris started the search for the perfect winter wedding venue. They knew they’d found their dream location as soon as they arrived at Rivervale Barn.
“We knew as soon as we pulled into the drive that we’d book Rivervale Barn for our wedding. The barn is very impressive to look at and when we viewed it over the Christmas period in 2015, we saw the massive Christmas tree – this sealed the deal for us! We could instantly see our vision, how we wanted the barn to look on our wedding day, come alive and we booked our date there and then.”
Michelle had always wanted a winter wedding and, in honour of her favourite time of year, the couple planned to transform Rivervale into a winter wonderland to really impress their guests. Michelle and Chris also decided to make as much as possible so that their decorations felt as personal as possible.
“We spent hours with our florist, Gabi from The Fine Flowers Company, designing how the rooms were going to look, and we used Pinterest for lots of ideas too. We worked to a grey and white theme as this fitted with the winter look and coordinated so well with everything.”
Among the amazing decorations were stunning white flowers in the Ceremony Barn, white manzanita trees with glass baubles and candles in the Dining Barn, a wish tree with silver garlands, LOVE light up letter, pink and blue uplighters, sprinkle gems and masses of candles. Large flower trees also framed the entrance to the ceremony and the lanterns and tea lights looked spectacular.
The couple and their friends definitely indulged with lots of wedding DIY and there were so many personal details throughout the day. Michelle made a card box, her sister made cards to go with the selfie sticks on each table and Michele and her mum filled sweetie bags and finished them with a personalised ‘Mr & Mrs Wright’ tie. There were also table names featuring places where the couple have been on holiday with the newlyweds sitting at the top table which was named after the city where they got engaged, Prague.
“We really wanted to create the wow factor for our guests and we wanted to make the venue look even more stunning. We wanted the venue to look beautiful and for all the decorations and flowers to complement each other, it was very important to us that everything matched and fitted in with the colour scheme.”
Michelle looked absolutely amazing on her big day, wearing a gorgeous Pronovias gown from Windsor & Eton Brides that absolutely worked with the look of the wedding.
“My sister picked this dress for me – I didn’t even want to try it on! Once I put it on, I knew instantly that it was the dress for me. It was absolutely stunning and I felt like a million dollars on my wedding day.”
Michelle accessorised her look with a beautiful hair clip and bracelet from Ivory & Co and a fabulous Monica Vinader bracelet that Chris gave his bride as a wedding day gift. Michelle’s short veil made sure that every inch of her stunning dress was on show whilst looking brilliantly bridal.
“I wore plain white court shoes from Rainbow Club for the ceremony and I also had pale blue Hunter wellies for outside plus a pair of personalised white ‘Mrs Wright’ Converse for the evening so that I could dance the night away!”
Michelle’s bridesmaids wore light grey dresses from David’s Bridal and sparkling silver belts. They accessorised with white scarves, silver heeled sandals and also wore gypsophilia in their hair.
Chris wore a blue suit, hired from Ashworth and Bird. His handmade grey tweed waistcoat finished his look along with cedar and blue brogues and a personalised pocket watch, which was a very special gift from his parent. His groomsmen and the fathers of the bride and groom wore the same suit with blue waistcoats with handmade ties and pocket squares which were gifts from the happy couple.
After a beautiful and emotional ceremony, the celebrations started in style. The couple chose warm winter Pimms and warm mulled wine for their guests along with elderflower sparklers and a keg of local beer. There were also delicious canapes for everyone to enjoy including chicken and lentil tarts, spiced lamb koftas, crispy risotto balls and the incredibly popular combination of grilled sirloin of beef and duck fat chips.
“We also had a live singer, James Deane, who played the guitar during the reception. He had a super chilled-out vibe and kept everyone entertained while we had our photos taken.”
After the drinks reception, it was time to move into the Dining Barn for the wedding breakfast and guests enjoyed a sumptuous winter feast featuring warm Scotch egg starters followed by steak and chocolate brownies.
“All our guests loved the steak and couldn’t speak highly enough about the overall standard of the food at Rivervale and everyone commented on how talented the chefs must be to be able to prepare so many perfect steaks and serve them all, piping hot.”
For a sweet treat, the couple’s winter wonderland cake from Dolly Dew Drops was just outstanding! 100 cupcakes, 200 gingerbread snowflake cookies and one 6-inch cake really made a statement. Guests loved the flavours too – vanilla, salted caramel and chocolate orange plus Christmassy gingerbread.
Michelle and Chris kicked off the evening reception with their first dance to James Arthur’s ‘Say You Won’t Let Go” which they chose for meaningful the lyrics. From then on their band, The Shapers, made sure that the dancefloor was packed all night long.
“We spent a long time researching bands and we absolutely chose the right one. They played a variety of songs from different eras, which kept the older guests happy! They were amazing and performed three 40-minute sets.”
When they weren’t dancing the night away, guests had another treat to look forward too – freshly made pizza!
“The pizza oven was absolutely epic! It was the best pizza we’d ever tasted and again, all our guests loved it – we thought we’d ordered too much but it was all eaten! It was great that the pizza was served outside too so guests could escape the music if they wanted to.”
“I’d say to all couples – enjoy the planning process as it goes far too quickly and remember there’s no need for stress if you give yourself enough time to get everything done.”
“We did let time run away with us a bit in the morning though and in the end, it was a rush to get ready so we missed out on some key photos before the ceremony. In hindsight, I should have got ready first so that I could have had pictures taken with my parents. while the bridesmaids got dressed.”
“I can’t recommend Rivervale Barn highly enough. Our wedding coordinator, Michaela, was an amazing help and support and our families were very impressed with the organisation on the day. The staff were all wonderful and professional but it was lovely to see them showing emotion too with tears and laughter. We didn’t just feel like another wedding and there’s nothing we could have improved on. Our wedding was perfect in every way.”
If you can picture your perfect day at Rivervale Barn, discover the wedding options waiting for you at our beautiful barn and gardens. Download our wedding brochure, or see the venue in person by booking a show round. Ready to start planning? Explore our available dates and prices.
Nikki and Dave knew exactly what they wanted when it came to their wedding day. A relaxed yet fun-filled atmosphere was top priority along with a contemporary and beautiful wedding venue.
One thing Nikki and Dave loved about Rivervale Barn was that it had all the character of a traditional barn venue but of a contemporary style, as opposed to rustic. The Ceremony Barn and pretty gardens impressed the couple too, as did the Events Team that would take care of them from start to finish.
“The venue was light and airy with beautiful windows that filled the rooms with natural light. The whole team were friendly and willing to go above and beyond to make sure the day was special to us.”
To reflect Nikki’s African heritage, the pair styled the barn with cultural accents and African design in mind. The tables were also named after African animals and the wedding flowers were a collection of vibrant African sunset colours – which also tied in with the couple’s autumnal wedding date in late September.
Keen to add as many personal touches as possible, Nikki decided on a custom-made wedding dress, designed just for her special day. The final gown was strapless, with a ruched bodice, lace skirt and buttons down the back. She accessorised with a cathedral-length veil with subtle sparkle.
Dave tied his attire to the vibrant colour palette of the day and teamed his grey tails with an ivory waistcoat and burgundy cravat. Nikki’s three bridesmaids also wore burgundy – complementing the overall theme of the day and the season.
On the day of the wedding, Nikki took advantage of the special perks at Rivervale and got ready with her bridesmaids at the venue.
“All I had to do was get dressed in the cottage and then pop over to the barn to get married!”
It wasn’t long after the ceremony before the real party started. As soon as the formal wedding photographs had been taken, Dave and his best men unbuttoned their shirts to reveal superhero t-shirt under their suits.
“This, along with our best man’s speech, was hilarious – definitely one of the many comedy moments of the day!”
A delicious wedding breakfast followed the couple’s wedding reception and the pair opted for a sumptuous three-course menu. The first course was a pork spring roll starter, followed by a herb-crusted lamb main and a trio of desserts to finish.
When the pair weren’t tucking into their meals they were up on the dance floor with all their family and friends. After starting off the night with a first dance to Running, by James Bay, it wasn’t long before the rest of their wedding party joined them on the dance floor.
“We loved everything about the day. Guests had fun and were well fed and Dave and I managed to have a few moments together throughout the day – it was perfect.”
Want to find out about holding your wedding at Rivervale Barn? Give the friendly events team a call on 01252 413232.
If you can picture your perfect day at Rivervale Barn, discover the wedding options waiting for you at our beautiful barn and gardens. Download our wedding brochure, or see the venue in person by booking a show round. Ready to start planning? Explore our available dates and prices.
Rivervale Barn was stunning and we loved the fact that everything was under one roof and the church-like feel to the Ceremony Barn was great. The big selling point for us was the courtyard which we thought would have been stunning on a summer’s day. We loved the barn’s very high ceilings and the light that filled every space, something that is often lacking from barn conversions.
“The team made us feel so welcome and spent ages talking to us about our plans for the day, a personal touch we hadn’t felt elsewhere. There really had been a lot of thought put into the planning of Rivervale Barn.”
The theme was tropical, and I wanted an explosion of colour so the dresses were the perfect canvas for bright tropical colours of fuchsia pink and burnt orange with a hint of lime green. I was inspired by mum’s garden which is filled with brightly coloured tropical flowers.
It was really important that my mum helped me in my search for a wedding dress. She was only visiting us for a short while so we set to looking almost straight away. I eventually found ‘the on’ in the Bonny range at Belles Bridal in Woking. It was a gorgeous A-line design with a lace covered bodice over taffeta gown with a cinched in pleated waist. The top part was embellished with lots of sparkly bits and it had a semi cathedral train.
“All my jewellery came from Guyana. I wanted a piece of Guyana (where I was born) to be with me on my big day and my mum chose a gorgeous 14 carat white gold necklace and earring set.”
My best friend has her own business called Sweet Events so naturally she volunteered to do our cake. We had a traditional three-tiered, stacked cake and a traditional Guyanese Black cake which is full of plenty of rum-soaked fruit!
Apart from seeing Damien standing at the altar, turning around and catching my mum with an amazing look of love and serenity on her face was one of the most memorable moments of the day.
“I also have an aunt who is on chemo and not very well. Right up until the morning she was unsure if she would be able to make it to the wedding. When I saw her after the ceremony, I ran into her arms sobbing because it meant so much that she was there.”
Heel Stoppers! Those really expensive bridal shoes need protecting if you’re going to be walking round in grass or gravel. These little gems slip onto your shoe heel and stop you sinking into the ground.
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If you can picture your perfect day at Rivervale Barn, discover the wedding options waiting for you at our beautiful barn and gardens. Download our wedding brochure, or see the venue in person by booking a show round. Ready to start planning? Explore our available dates and prices.
We had our ceremony and reception at the amazing Rivervale Barn! We felt very excited when we saw it as we knew we had found ‘our venue’. We did go and see another venue (because we felt we should) but it only confirmed that Rivervale was the venue for us. We really liked the fact that we could have the whole day at one venue to avoid our guests having to travel from one venue to another.
“It is an absolutely stunning venue and has been so well thought out. All of our guests commented on how beautiful it is and how well it works as a wedding venue. We decided to get married in December and the barn was ideal for a winter wedding – there was even Christmas tree!”
My Dad walked me down the aisle and his cousin married me as she is a registrar for Buckinghamshire. It made the whole service so personal. An old family friend also sang as I walked down the aisle which was amazing!
“It made it feel very personal and everyone commented on how nice it was to have someone sing live. Just after our first dance, Mum got everyone to dance in a circle around us to bless our marriage, which made it a memorable moment!”
Our wedding theme was burgundy stars and our table names were of Maldivian islands, which was fitting as this was to be our honeymoon destination! We decorated with hurricane vases and church candles from Cherubs for the table centres and made origami hearts out of ivory and burgundy tissue paper that were placed around. Some of the guests also took home a star or two as a memento of our day.
I made all of my own stationery, saving a small fortune, but also adding a personal touch to it. I felt very proud of the fact that I had made it all and a lot of the guests commented on it too. My Mum made burgundy sheer chiffon table runners for us which we put along each table. We sprinkled diamante confetti onto them to add a little extra shine.
My wedding dress was a Sophia Tolli A-line, ivory satin dress that cost just over £1,100. As soon as I put the dress on I knew it was ‘the one’ – I felt beautiful! I wore a diamante flower side headband with a two tier, short veil which also had flowers appliquéd onto it – both matched the appliquéd flowers on the lace train and front detail of my dress.
Craig wore a black morning suit with an ivory waistcoat, cravat and buttonhole to match me. He looked gorgeous!
“He was emotional while I was walking down the aisle as was I and said how beautiful I looked when I got to the front.”
The whole day was amazing, but if I had to pick one favourite part it would probably be the moment we were pronounced husband and wife and everyone applauded.
I would love to do it all over again. I think the only thing that we would do differently is try and take some time for ourselves on the day. Amazingly, I don’t think there is anything else that we would change.
If you can picture your perfect day at Rivervale Barn, discover the wedding options waiting for you at our beautiful barn and gardens. Download our wedding brochure, or see the venue in person by booking a show round. Ready to start planning? Explore our available dates and prices.
Join us at Rivervale Barn for our first open event of 2026, and discover the perfect place to begin your happily ever after.
