OUR KENTISH CEREMONY
MARRIED AT T HE PLOUGH
LEIGH ELLIE OLIVER & STEVE FAUREST WANTED THE COSY CHARM OF A COUNTRY BARN BUT WITH SOMETHING SPECIAL AND FOUND EVERYTHING THEY DREAMED OF AT THE PLOUGH
Photography by : Danny Jack Photography
THE VENUE We had spent a lot of time researching barns in Kent and had almost decided on another venue when we saw The Plough and Barn at Leigh at a wedding fair and fell in love . We desperately wanted to get married in a barn but the ones we had seen had not quite ticked all our boxes . For the others we would need to hire toilets , heating and catering from other suppliers . The Plough was the perfect mix of a cosy country pub and a stunning barn which just felt so ‘ us ’.
THE DRESS I wanted to be as sustainable as possible with my dress as I primarily shop second hand . A friend recommended Brides Dress Revisited and it was a magical experience where I found the dress of my dreams . The Luna Willow gown that I chose was simple and classic on first inspection but it had removable sleeves , pearl encrusted wings and pearl embellishments that could be added to the open back for an evening look . I loved that there were so many looks in just one dress and I was able to surprise my guests with how the dress transformed .
THE ACCESSORIES I had some particularly special accessories for my wedding day . My favourite Kentish jewellery designer is Bill Skinner and I wore gold and pearl bee earrings as a nod to my husband ’ s Mancunian roots . My nan was unable to attend the wedding as she was too frail so she bought me a stunning 1920s solid gold bangle to wear on the day so she would be with me .
THE FOOD Because of my dietary requirements , the food was our biggest worry in planning the wedding but the team at The Plough could not have done more to accommodate us . We had a 100 % gluten free wedding with baked Camembert or roasted red pepper soup to start , roast pork and all the trimmings or roasted miniature pumpkins to fit our theme for the main and we had to eat our stunning wedding cake for dessert . Our dear friend Liam made the cake - it featured three different gluten free tiers of spiced carrot cake , chocolate and salted caramel , and lemon drizzle . It was magnificent !
THE DÉCOR The décor was entirely based around my obsession with pumpkins . We decided on forest green and gold with accents of orange and we bought an obscene number of real pumpkins to decorate the barn . We had a number of personal touches on the day including dried lavender in the flowers and as confetti as we got engaged at Castle Farm lavender fields . We also had handmade favours that were created by my mum , mother in law and nan . These were felted , knitted and crocheted pumpkins for the guests to take home . Perhaps my favourite personal touch was our 3ft ‘ who ’ s the fairest ’ neon sign as a nod to our surname .
THE PHOTOGRAPHY Our photographer was Danny Jack Photography and we just loved his natural shots when we found him online . We had a Zoom meeting with him and our personalities clicked instantly so we knew we would be comfortable with him on our big day .
THE HIGHLIGHT The highlight of my day was seeing all our friends and family after the ceremony and seeing how happy they were for the two of us .
80 | AKENTISHCEREMONY . COM | WINTER 2023