Fiesta Fields Micro Weddings in Surrey & Sussex

GUEST BLOG

Back in the Autumn, Holly & Becky styled our Chalkfield Barn venue in W Sussex beautifully for a micro wedding styled shoot. H&B run Fiesta Fields in Sussex and also have their own events business Fete + Feast. Over to you ladies.

Well what a funny old year it’s been. Covid 19 has really affected us all, but ultimately do you know what?… Love wins!! 

WHAT IS A MICRO WEDDING?

Definition: “ A micro wedding is an intimate affair, typically with no more than 50 guests. They still feature time honoured traditions that make a wedding but on a much smaller scale”.

There is something so special about a micro wedding, they ooze romance and intimacy allowing you to just focus on you and your day. With a smaller guest list comes a smaller price tag, less people to please, and less stress, which allows your imagination to run wild and create something truly unique and memorable.

Despite the roadmap and freedom within our grasp, we feel this will still be a trend many couples will still opt for for 2021.

So we decided to style a micro wedding setup to show that small can be beautiful and you can achieve that vision you’ve been dreaming of on a smaller scale.  Small and intimate was the main objective, so we needed a venue where we could transform a blank canvas space into a magical and whimsical surrounding.

THE BARN

Chalkfield barn in Arundel, West Sussex was exactly that. Set in a secluded field, surrounded by countryside, a small rustic barn stands full of haybales and wooden cladding. This was the perfect starting place to create something special and after many many pinterest sessions, we finally decided on a 70’s boho festival wedding.

Keeping with the rustic feel, and considering we were shooting in late September we opted for an autumnal colour palette, full of rich coppers, burgandys, peaches and golds. Textures for us were important to try and create a cosy inside when outside aesthetic.

We wanted to achieve a relaxed and intimate wedding, without compromising on details and style. We worked with one of the best florists in Sussex Leila Watts who just gets your brief every time, and creates the most sensational, exquisite floral designs. We decided to create a number of focal points, so it felt like a festival with lots of little unusual areas to explore throughout the day.

OUTDOOR BLESSING

The ceremony is normally the most photographed aspect of any wedding so this needed to be special. We set this up in the field in front of a beautiful treeline. We used our gold moon arch as the backdrop which was decorated by Leila with pampas, chrysanthums, ecuyptus, spray roses and lots of other statement florals.

We hired the most gorgeous peacock chairs, earthy persian rugs and huge statement copper urns from Toast which we filled with striking floral displays and placed around the moon arch. The seating was casual, just as it should be, so hay bales and cushions were used.

BELL TENT DEN

We wanted a special post ceremony area for our couple and guests so that they could enjoy a celebratory drink together after saying their I dos. 

We set up a beautiful bell tent den, where guests could enjoy cocktail hour, with a pallet table, pampas flower arrangements, bean bag pouffes, persian rugs, candles and a vintage cocktail trolley.

ALFRESCO DINING

The wedding breakfast table was our favourite aspect of this shoot. We wanted the alfresco dining experience under the stars, so we strung festoon lighting outside the front of the barn and hung giant boho crochet dreamcatchers above, creating this dreamy starry experience.

A simple wooden table was used on top of a woven hessian rug and styled using soft cream crochet table runners, glass and gold charger plates and glasses and gold cutlery on luxury linen napkins. Amber and brown glass bottles were filled with blush david austin roses, rust crystanthums, burgundy spray roses and trailing eucalyptus alongside brass candelabras with cream pillar candles.

We wanted to make full use of the statement peacock chairs so restyled them here by wiring a floral trim to the chairs for our bride and groom. We feel that the best memories are always made around a table with your tribe and this setup was certainly fit for boho kings and queens.

THE CAKE

Of course a Fete+Feast event wouldn’t be complete without a cake! We are obsessed with cake and strongly believe that if you’re going to have a cake at an event it needs to be an eye catching centrepiece that tastes as incredible as it looks.

For this shoot we decided on a carrot cake, laced with pecans and cinnamon and smothered in cream cheese buttercream to create a semi naked effect and finished with a dulce leche caramel drip. To decorate we used autumnal fruits, blackberries and figs, and finished it off with foliage, chrysanthemums, spray roses and Julian plumart macaroons.

EVENING CHILL OUT IN THE BARN

The barn was used for a relaxation area for the evening, where we turned the hay bales into a huge hay bale sofa, draped in soft furnishings and  surrounded by vintage armchairs, furniture and an old leathered luggage trunk as a low table to bring the inside outside.

Little trinkets full of flowers, eucalyptus garlands and tea lights were dotted around, bringing some warmth and cosiness and pops of colour. We were lucky that Chalkfield Barn has some amazing decorative lightbulbs giving off a gorgeous golden glow when the sun starts to go down.

Fire pits were dotted outside of the barn alongside small crafted wooden benches under the festoons and dreamcatchers for evening hangs and late night marshmallow toasting.

Chalkfield Barn is a seriously special place. It really allows you to put your stamp on it, making your vision possible to create some amazing memories.

CONTRIBUTORS

Concept and styling | Fete + Feast Events
Photography | Zara Clark
Venue | Fiesta Fields
Flowers | Leila Watts
Cake | Fete + Feast Events
Prop Hire | Fete + Feast Events and Toast
Dress | Joanne Fleming Design
Table, chairs and moroccan pouffes | Canvas & Light

For more details on our micro wedding packages click here.