Every wedding at The Great Barn Devon is unique – a reflection of the couple’s personalities and story. We were lucky enough to host Zoe and Jason’s beautifully intimate celebration, and it was one we won’t forget. Their day was warm, thoughtful and full of heartfelt touches, from handmade stationery and personalised favours to Taylor Swift nods and a starring role for their beloved dachshund, Joni.
We caught up with Zoe and Jason to hear more about how they brought their day to life, and why The Great Barn was the perfect setting for their wedding.
Tell us a bit about your wedding day…
We wanted a small wedding with only our closest friends and family. In total, we had 36 guests. We wanted it to be intimate and highly personal. We only had a limited budget and invested a lot of this on our venue and food, so we did the rest of our wedding ourselves: from stationery to florals – we did it all!
Why did you choose The Great Barn?
The first question we asked any potential venue, was if our beloved dog could be with us on our day! She was a hugely important factor in our decision making, as we knew we wanted her there with us. We loved The Great Barn’s beautiful buildings and grounds. We loved having the choice of being married either in The Great Barn or in the gardens. We ultimately decided to have our ceremony indoors so we could use the beautiful and impactful room and then use the gardens for our drinks reception – getting the best of both. The beautiful venue absolutely fitted our aesthetic and plans for our day. We loved that we could get married on a weekday also, as this fit in perfectly with my limited flexibility as a teacher.
How did you style your wedding day? Did you have a theme?
We didn’t have a particular theme – we wanted the wedding to reflect us as individuals and as a couple! We therefore had aspects of all our favourite things: dachshunds, Taylor Swift and Literature. We used dusty blue, gold and neutrals throughout our décor.
We designed and created all aspects of the wedding décor ourselves. I drew our invitations so they could have illustrations of the venue and of our dog, Joni. We created a book wall, covered in old book pages and beautiful books displayed to show my love of Literature. We had a vintage school desk filled with sweets to represent my job as an English teacher. We used simple florals throughout the day that I created with my bridesmaids. On our table were taper candles that my bridesmaid and family painted on my hen do. Instead of name setting cards, we made personalised bracelets with our guests’ names on – a nod to our love of Taylor Swift!
For our favours, our friend’s mum kindly made each person a felt dachshund. These were all individual and some were personalised to each guest (e.g. Jason and I had a bride and groom, my sister had a baby dachshund for my 2-day-old nephew!) We displayed photographs of loved ones that are no longer with us, as well as photographs showing the history of our relationship.
Tell us about your beautiful wedding outfits…
My dress was from Pretty Smithy Bridal, and had floral lace detailing all over. It had some subtle sequinning that would catch the light. My shoes were lace-style Victorian boots that I bought when I was 16 and acted as my something old! Jason had a custom-made suit from Moss Bros that he chose every detail of, down to the buttons and stitching. It had our wedding date embroidered inside the jacket. I gifted Jason cufflinks with an illustration of our dog on. My bridesmaids all wore dusty blue maxi dresses and Jason’s grooms men wore Moss Bros navy suits with dusty blue accessories.
My hair was half-up half-down curls with intricate twists. I wanted a style that would still look good throughout the long day, even if my curls relaxed a little. My bridesmaids had their hair in a low bun with some twists and curls. Jade is amazing at her craft. My makeup needed to be bridal, but simple, as I don’t typically wear makeup day to day. Emma did a fantastic job of this for myself and my bridal party.
What did you enjoy as your feast?
We had a three-course meal – guests loved the food! Jason and I were also amazed at the quality of the food and presentation. We couldn’t fault our meals! We had two wedding cakes as I prefer chocolate and Jason prefers vanilla, so we had both!
How did you entertain your guests?
We had music on in the background – piano instrumentals of popular songs throughout the day. We had lawn games and a personalised giant crossword with questions all about the bride and groom, as well as board games in the West Barn for guests to take a quieter break if needed. All of our guests were asked for a song request as part of their RSVP so that the DJ could play their favourite songs throughout the night.
What was your favourite part of the day?
The ceremony! Although emotions were high, it was the most unforgettable part of our day. It was so special walking in and seeing all the people we love most in one room together and seeing the beautiful barn that we had set up the day before. We opted for personal vows and it made it so special saying those words to each other. We loved our entire day – it all went according to plan and we wouldn’t have changed a thing!
Do you have any words of advice to couples planning their own wedding?
If wedding planning feels overwhelming, do it little and often. We booked our venue approx. 1.5 years before our wedding date, so I had plenty of time to book the big things and plan the little things. The most important part of the day is marrying your loved one – so don’t lose sight of that!
Being organised was absolutely key in having an stress-free wedding day. I was able to feel relaxed in the lead up to my wedding (even with a busy work schedule!) and had no worries on the morning of my wedding as I knew it had been organised. It was great getting to discuss plans with TGB staff the day before my wedding so that I knew they understood my vision and executed it perfectly.
Thank you to Zoe and Jason for choosing our beautiful venue for their special celebration, and also for sharing this lovely feedback with us. It was a joy to host such a thoughtful day here at The Great Barn Devon. If you’re dreaming of a wedding that truly reflects you, with the freedom to personalise every detail – and space for your four-legged friend too – we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch to arrange a viewing.
Venue The Great Barn Devon @thegreatbarndevon
Photographer Toby Lidstone @tobylidstonephotography
Hair by Jade – JR bridal @jr_bridalhair
Make up by Emma Roberts @emmaroberts.mua
Dress from Pretty Smithy @prettysmithybridal
DJ Steve Wall @djwallofsound
