Leah and Nick enjoyed a fabulous summer wedding at Winters Barns. Surrounded by their closest friends and family, these guys had a wedding day to remember. Check it all out below.
Names: Nicholas Hayes, Leah Garrett
Ages: 27 and 28
Wedding date: 30 July 2022
Venue: Winters Barns
How did you guys meet, tell me all?
At Secondary School.
I was recruited by my now best man to ask Leah to be his girlfriend at the Year 7 Valentines disco! (She politely declined)
We then went through the same classes at school for 5 years, with me trying my luck multiple times over the years to get her to be my girlfriend, but finally became a couple in the summer that we left. 12 years later, here we are!
How did you get engaged, is there a cool story?
Leah is a huge Disney fan and her favourite holiday is going to the Disney & Universal theme parks in Orlando, so I secretly booked a two week trip to Orlando and surprised Leah with Disney tickets by ordering a Dominoes (Leah loves a takeaway) and hiding them in the pizza box. All our friends were betting on me proposing out there (i.e. in front of the castle in Magic Kingdom) but, I waited until the day after we got back when I knew she would need a pick me up. I was trying to get Leah up and ready to go to her parents’ house to talk about the holiday but, Leah being Leah, could not be convinced to get up and out of bed quickly enough, so I ended up having to propose to her in the hallway of our flat whilst she had her dressing gown and pajamas on – anything to motivate her to get dressed quicker!
What made you choose your wedding venue, did you look at many?
Leah and her mum were at a wedding fair and saw a big sign saying ‘Canterbury’ and as I had spent 3 years at uni there, thought they would check it out. Leah fell in love with the venue straight away and we booked a viewing. We did look at a few others but as soon as we arrived at Winters Barns we knew it was the perfect venue and even more special as it was in Canterbury.
Tell me about your dress? Who was it designed by and was there a particular style you were drawn too?
The dress is an Essence of Australia design. I found it in the window of a wedding dress shop at the top of my parent’s road, the first I went to! I thought I would go a bit more boho/flowy because of the barn venue but as soon as I tried this dress on I fell in love. I really liked it’s classic satin design and it had pockets! I added the belt as wanted to have a little sparkle for the big day but wanted to keep the simplicity of the design as much as possible. I didn’t think I’d have a veil but when I tried it on it just added to the whole look and I couldn’t say no! That’s when the tears came!
What was the inspiration/theme/styling of your wedding?
We didn’t have a particular theme in mind, once we saw Winters Barns’ rustic style, Kentish hops and twinkly lights, that led the rest of our planning really.
Leah’s favourite colour is burgundy/wine red so we knew that would be integrated in some way and with it being summer we wanted to lighten this up with the blush pinks and cream/whites.
We wanted to bring a bit of Nick into the day too so this is why we had our ‘reveal cake’ – traditional wedding style at the front and Nick’s favourite superheroes peaking through at the back.
What is your first song and why?
Somebody Loves You by The Snuts
It’s quite a new song and not one many people know, so avoids the classic first dance tracks. We also love the lyrics, they mean a lot to both of us. Also nice to kick the evening off with an upbeat tune!
What would be your number one tip to other couples planning their wedding?
Nick would say, delegate all the planning (haha).
Leah would say; there are so many elements to the day and decisions to make it can be quite overwhelming so think about what’s really important to you and your partner and do what’s right for you. Enjoy it! Once it’s over you want to look back and have enjoyed the process of planning as well as the day! Also, Etsy was our absolute savior, use to your advantage!
Check out this Summer wedding at Winters Barns with Leah and Nick below.
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The photography: All images were captured with two Canon R6 cameras.
Lenses: Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM, and the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM.
Other awesome suppliers from Leah and Nick’s gorgeous Summer wedding at Winters Barns.
Hair stylist: Jessica Louise Website: https://www.jlhairstylist.com/ Instagram: @jlhairstylist Bridesmaids dresses: Lipsy Suits: Hawes and Curtis Website: https://www.hawesandcurtis.co.uk Florist: Emily and Me Website: https://www.emilyandme.co.uk/ Instagram: @emilyandmeweddingflorist Cake: Greta Website: https://www.littlecakebox.co.uk/ Instagram: @the_little_cake_box_canterbury Caterer: Scott Anderson Website: https://www.andersonscaterers.co.uk/ Band/DJ: Sunny Roots
