Wick Bottom Barn Wedding You Will Want To Steal Ideas From
Some weddings feel like the couple from the second you arrive. Ash and Paul’s Wick Bottom Barn wedding was exactly that. Relaxed. Creative. Full of heart. Candles everywhere. Festoons across the rafters. Comfort food that set the tone for a night of proper dancing. And a blank canvas space that let them do the day their way.
They chose the Wick Bottom Barn venue near Marlborough because it gave them total freedom. No corkage. No curfew. A space that was rustic and relaxed and ready for their ideas. Both work in creative roles, so they wanted to put their stamp on every detail. That meant hiring in everything from luxury loos to cutlery and lighting, and yes, even loading a van full of props, stacks of booze and a pink Smeg fridge just after Ash had her nails done. Wild. Worth it.
They did the legal bit with close family a few days before, then held a personal humanist ceremony on the day. The brief was Friends in London style romance. Think Ross and Emily wedding vibes. Hundreds of fairy lights. Oceans of candles. A barn that glowed.
Where Is Wick Bottom Barn
The Wick Bottom Barn venue sits in peaceful Wiltshire countryside, close to Marlborough, Swindon and Hungerford. It is easy to reach for guests driving in from different directions, with open fields and big skies that make it feel like a proper escape once you arrive. Because it is a true blank canvas, the barn works for minimal styling or for going all in with lighting and florals. There is space outside for drinks and photos, and the setting means you can keep the party going without worrying about city noise rules.
Why Wick Bottom Barn Works So Well For Weddings
Freedom is the headline here. You can bring in your own suppliers, design the layout that suits you and build the flow you want. The main barn is big enough for ceremony, dinner and dancing without the room ever feeling cramped. It looks beautiful with very little. Wood. Brick. High beams. Natural texture everywhere. For a wick bottom barn wedding photographer the backdrops are already doing the work before you add a single stem or candle.
Morning Prep
Ash spent the morning with her bridesmaids with music on and fizz flowing. Her dress story is one of my favourite parts. She fell for a One Day Bridal design, then saw the full price and realised it was double her budget. A friend pointed her to Still White. She found the same dress in her size in Sydney, connected with the seller, and bought it second hand. A good friend in Sydney picked it up, and another friend flew it back after a holiday. She tried it on at home and loved it. The dress arrived with a back story, already part of another beautiful wedding, ready for round two. She has even considered reselling it so someone else can love it as much as she did.
She paired the dress with Gucci shoes. They were a bridal gift from friends and an instant favourite. She even made Paul meet her on Bond Street to check the heel height. She planned to change into gold Converse for dancing, then never needed to. The Gucci heels were that comfortable. For scent she wore Le Labo Santal 33. For hair she chose a simple headband from Zara that she bought the week before. Twenty pounds. Many compliments. For their earlier legal ceremony she wore a white cream suit from Topshop that she found at the last minute. Pure Ash. Modern. Confident. Hers.
In the next room Paul opened the watch Ash had gifted him. A quiet moment with his groomsmen that felt personal and grounding. The groomsmen had gift bags. The bridesmaids opened gift boxes with little treats. Everyone arrived at the barn relaxed and ready.
The Ceremony
They chose a humanist ceremony led by Liz Phelps. It was written around their story. How they met. Why they love each other. What they want for the life they are building. Their vows were tailored, with lines that felt like them. There were three readings and a lighting of candles. One favourite was Blessing Of The Hands by Reverend Daniel L Harris. Ash walked with her dad to Amber Run I Found. No fuss. No drama. Just warm, personal and very them.
The barn looked magical. They kept the styling focused on light. Hundreds of candles. Festoons overhead. A soft floral touch to lift the wood and brick. The space felt intimate even with a full guest list. When they were announced as married the whole room cheered.
Drinks And Canapés
Everyone spilled outside into the sunshine for fizz and beers. The big barn doors stayed open so the flow between inside and outside felt easy. We kept an ear on the music while trays of canapés made the rounds and old friends found each other. The countryside backdrop makes this part of a wick bottom barn wedding feel extra relaxed. Fields on every side. Space to breathe. Space to chat.
Group Shots And Couple Portraits
We kept group photos short and simple. A few sets with family. A few with the wedding party. Real smiles. Quick moves. Then straight back to the party. For portraits we wandered into the fields just as the light softened. The barn glowed behind them. The dress moved beautifully. Paul’s suit looked sharp in burgundy by Burberry. All they had to do was be themselves. The setting did the rest.
Dinner And Speeches
They chose The Sausage And Mash Company for dinner. It was perfect. Plates that made people happy. Food that fit a candlelit barn with laughter bouncing off the rafters. The room was full of conversation. Properly warm.
Speeches happened before dessert. A mix of funny and heartfelt, with a few tear swipe moments tucked in there too. Their stationery was a bit of a star as well. Paul’s agency Shop Talk created everything including a personal logo that now lives inside their rings. Ash’s dad welded a six foot copper version of that logo to hang on the barn. Paul also had a necklace made by Bear Brooksbank with the same design and gave it to Ash on the morning of the wedding. The logo represented that she is from Manchester, he is from Devon, they live in London, and the venue sat pretty central to those places. Details with meaning.
Cake And Sweet Things
Ash’s step mum baked the cake. Simple. Rustic. Summer friendly. Exactly what the day needed. And those candle favours. Ash and a friend hand poured one hundred and ten of them. It sounded like an easy idea at first. It became a late night production line. It was worth it. In the days after the wedding guests sent photos of candles burning at home. Little pieces of the barn night following them back into real life.
Flowers And Styling
They chose to source flowers locally in Marlborough and made the bouquets and arrangements themselves. Soft. Seasonal. Effortless. The barn itself did a lot of the heavy lifting. They loved the stripped back concrete floor and exposed brick and wanted to compliment the textures rather than hide them. Lighting was the focus. They worked with Lightfantastic on a plan that felt intentional without being fussy. Randomly placed festoons over the dinner area. A fairy light backdrop on the stage. Pools of warm light where people would gather. The result was a room that felt lived in and welcoming from the first drink to the last song.
Evening Celebrations
Their first dance was to Lighthouse Family High. Classic. Joyful. It set the tone for the night. The band Agent Smith took over and the dance floor filled fast. Earlier in the day Ash’s cousin had played an acoustic guitar set during the champagne reception, then after the band a friend DJed into the small hours. It was exactly the musical journey they wanted. Nothing stiff. Everything fun.
One of the gifts of the Wick Bottom Barn venue is how good it feels after dark. The candles work even harder. The festoons turn the rafters into a canopy. People slip outside for air and stars, then right back in for another round. The party had that lovely ebb and flow that makes a night feel long in the best way.
Transport And Little Moments
Ash arrived with her bridesmaids in a VW van driven by a friend. It suited the barn and the mood perfectly. There were handmade touches everywhere you looked. The stationery. The logo. The candles. The cake. A thousand small decisions that added up to a day that felt personal without ever feeling overworked.
Why The Wick Bottom Barn Venue Is A Photographer’s Dream
Texture and light. That is the short answer. The barn gives you wood and brick and height. Outside you get fields and sky and a horizon that soaks up golden hour. The space changes beautifully across the day. Bright and open for the ceremony. Soft and calm for drinks. Glowing for dinner. Golden for dancing. If you want wick bottom barn wedding photos that feel honest and full of atmosphere, you are already halfway there before we start.
Words From Ash And Paul
Dinner was their favourite moment. Sitting down and seeing everyone they love chatting and laughing and relaxed. Pride in what they pulled together. Relief that the hundred moving parts had found their home. They both say the DIY route is hard work. Very high stress in the last few days when you are coordinating so many suppliers. At one point they wondered if they were mad. Then you look around the room and it is all worth it. Even the clear up.
They did not follow tradition for tradition’s sake. Ash did a speech. She did not wear white. Her bridesmaids wore white and each chose their own dress. They had a humanist ceremony. They made the rules. Guests noticed the personal touches. That mattered.
Their advice is simple. Do not overthink. Pick your big things and go all in. For them it was the venue, the food and drink, and the music. Trust your photographer because your album is how you will relive the day. And if you choose the Wick Bottom Barn venue, lean into the setting, plan your lighting, and let the atmosphere carry the rest.
Travel And Accommodation
Wick Bottom Barn is around twenty five minutes from Swindon station for guests coming by train and has straightforward road links for drivers. The venue does not offer on site rooms but there are plenty of bed and breakfasts and small hotels nearby. Many couples arrange a return coach so guests can fully relax. It suits the no curfew spirit of the place.
Tips For Planning A Barn Wedding
Plan your lighting early. Festoons, fairy lights and candles do the heavy lifting in a barn.
Think about flow. Decide how you will move from ceremony to drinks to dinner to dancing.
Keep guests comfortable. Shade in hot weather. Blankets when nights get cool.
Use the countryside. Leave space for outdoor portraits at sunset.
Choose food you actually love. Hearty plates keep people happy and ready to dance.
Give yourself a buffer day after. DIY clears go faster when you are not exhausted.
Bring your story into the details. A logo. A song. A scent. It will all matter later.
Final Thoughts On A Wick Bottom Barn Wedding
Ash and Paul created a day that felt like them in every way. The Wick Bottom Barn venue gave them the freedom to do that and the space to welcome everyone in. It looked beautiful without needing heavy styling. It sounded like a celebration from the first acoustic chord to the last track of the night. It tasted like sausage and mash eaten at long tables under fairy lights. It was full of candles and laughter and that easy countryside calm.
If you are searching for a setting that lets you write your own rules, this is a good one. Bring your people. Bring your ideas. Let the barn do the rest.
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