Ayse and James had the coolest wedding day back in October. They had that effortlessly relaxed cool wedding day thing going on and I LOVE it.

They chose to marry at Cogges Manor Farm, Oxfordshire for the shear rustic feel and relaxed options. They could have the hog roast, fire pit, hay bales and band they dreamed of. They made use of the gorgeous barn, decorating with home grown flowers in tins and marmite jars and fairy lights.

Ayse looked gorgeous in lace, James in tweed and the maids in pink. There were the most bountiful sunflower filled bouquets too.

Thanks so much to the awesome Lucius Fox Photography for sharing his images today.

Hmm.. the budget. It was more than expected (which is normal). We planned to keep it at £7000 as that was what we thought we could save in three months. But it soon added up to £9000ish. We had a spreadsheet on google drive which had a list of everything we needed to pay/buy for the wedding. This was an awesome idea as we could open it on our phones if we where out buying stuff!

As well as all the beautiful indoor space, Cogges Farm offers stunning grounds including the Dairy and Manor House Lawns, The walled garden and an Orchard. There was also animals roaming around including some rather nosey chickens, a very outgoing pig and some shy goats.

Colin, the owner of the farm, was very helpful and basically said this was our blank canvas and we can do what ever we want. This was music to my ears as we wanted to find our own caterers, band, bar and hog roast. We also wanted hay bales everywhere and fire pits outside for the evening, which no other Barn would let us do. This venue is open to the public in the day so I definitely think its worth a visit. Thank you again Colin!

I came out to show my mother in law and sister in law, Patrice and Joy, and looked in the mirror.. I nearly cried. I thought it was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen! I couldn't stop smiling and looking in the mirror :) I knew this was the one! I didn't want to take it off!

I bought it that day :)

James hired his trousers, waistcoat and shirt, But used his Granddads tweed jacket. His Granddad past away a few years ago, and his wonderful Nan last year. This meant his family had to go through they're belongings. James came across this lovely tweed jacket in his Granddads wardrobe and tried it on. It looked great on him accept it was far too big! so we had it resized. Wearing it on our big day meant a lot to him :)

The music in the ceremony was played buy some of our very dear friends. And the fantastic music in the evening was our friend Faith and her band. They where great! There was dancing all night thanks to them!

While dancing.. I noticed James pick up a guitar. Then the music stopped.. The lights went on him.. I'm sure you know what's coming next. You would know if you know James. He's a musician, a singer/songwriter, he knows what he's doing. So it definitely wasn't an embarrassing Karaoke moment, He sang me a song he wrote for that day. It was beautiful, I was emotional.. What a lovely surprise :) He may even be recording it soon.

We both went in her garden and picked out what foliage we liked, she collected a lot of the table foliage it from the fields while she walked her dog, Doogle. She also collected the flowers from her and her friends allotment which they grew themselves. so the only thing I paid for was the sunflowers :) its amazing what you can pick from local fields or even your own garden! it keeps costs down and its perfect for a rustic wedding!

Two very special friends of mine made the terrific tasty tower. so a massive thanks to Karen and Jane who spent a lot of time practising and doing all that lace icing! It was a 2 tier fruit, 1 tier sponge, ivory iced cake with white lace around the edges and scattered pearls.. basically like my dress! It was dee-lish!

I hunted high and low to find a decent, creative photographer within our budget. The I came across a website called Lucius Fox Photography ( by Matt Jones). Intrigued by the name I had a look. This guys work was beautiful, creative, natural, everything we wanted. After he agreed to photography, Which we where over the moon about, He organised a Pre-Wed Shoot for us in Leamington. I'm quite nervous around cameras but he made us feel very relaxed and we really enjoyed it! On the wedding day, we couldn't of asked for anything more. He was brilliant! He managed to capture a lot of natural shots of friends and family. And the photos of Me and James are stunning :). Whenever we needed to ask a question he was quick to respond and you could tell he wanted the best for us. We are so pleased with Matt that we've been telling all our friends about him. He even done the photography for James' bands website 'Speak, Brother' which also turned out really well :)

My nan has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and they wasn't sure if she would be allowed to leave her care home. While we where having photos outside I heard my name called very quietly. I turned round, and there she was. she looked beautiful all dressed up with a bit of lippy on, just like the old days. There was so many people there that I didn't see her in the ceremony.

Second would be dancing with my dad for most of the night :)

and Thirdly, When James sang me my song :)

Photography | Lucius Fox Photography

Venue | Cogges Manor Farm

Utterly gorgeous!

Thanks so much to Ayse and James for sharing their wedding with us XOXO Lou