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Real Wedding - Farmers Connie And Chris' Fairytale Devon Wedding

Connie & Chris dreamed of an elegant wedding day where they could step out of their wellies and into their gowns! Rockbeare Manor was the perfect location, not only because it was close enough to their farm for the groom to milk the cows before saying his vows, but because the stylish Manor House afforded a picturesque backdrop in the countryside, capturing Connie & Chris’ roots in style. We asked Connie to tell us all about her beautiful Wedding Day…

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How did you choose the venue?

With both of us being farmers and spending most of our days in wellies and overalls, I knew from the start that I wanted our wedding to be the complete opposite; clean, white, elegant and stylish. The wedding venue had to be within a certain distance of our farm, as on the wedding morning Chris would have to milk all the cows and feed the calves before we got married. Luckily I stumbled across Rockbeare Manor online and at only 25mins away from us it seemed great. It was the first and only venue we looked at, I didn’t need to see any others it was exactly what I was looking for. A grand white building set within acres of its own land, it was just perfect. The staff were amazingly helpful and friendly.

a group of people are standing in front of a large white building.

How did you feel on the day?

The morning of the wedding I felt less nervous than I thought I would, just excited to see Chris. The men had rather a stressful morning on the farm with the parlour breaking down and a cow falling ill, but after a hectic vet visit all was well and they could leave, only to get stuck in traffic, eventually getting to the venue via cross country they made it with time to spare to fit in a quick game of snooker.

a bride and groom are getting married in front of a crowd of people.

Tell us all about your special day…

The weather was drizzling in the morning but thankfully cleared and the sun shone allowing us to have the ceremony outside. Walking down the aisle I looked around at all our friends and family that had given up their time to spend the day with us, that’s when the tears came, I realised how lucky I was. After the ceremony, we all gathered on the lawn for a glass of bubbles and to listen to the Swing Kings. My mum made all our bouquets and the table centerpieces were large and grand to save money on these I found a company who could do them with artificial flowers.

a group of bridesmaids are walking down the aisle at a wedding.

The wedding breakfast was beautifully presented and tasted amazing the highlight being the raspberry crème brûlée for dessert. The speeches were both emotional and hilarious, with stories on how we met from Ben reducing everyone to fits of giggles. We kicked the evening off with our first dance which was ‘Something Just Like This’ by Coldplay

a large room with tables and chairs set up for a wedding reception.

What did you wear?

My dress was called Madison by Morilee, I found it after trying on many, many dresses, being used to only wearing old work clothes I found it hard to find something that suited me and that I felt comfortable in. After traveling to Newport Wales I eventually tried on my dress and although it was completely opposite to what I had in mind, I fell in love with it. We didn’t have a particular colour scheme in mind, everything just had to be pale and elegant. The bridesmaids wore a floor-length dusky pink, backless gown and looked stunning, my daughter was my flower girl and my two nephews page boys. Chris and his groomsmen all wore navy blue three-piece suits.

a bride and her flower girl are kissing in front of a mirror.

How did you pick your bridesmaids?

I had 5 bridesmaids, my three sisters my niece and my best friend, my daughter was my flower girl, it was a pretty easy decision to make they are the most important girls in my life, I get their advice about everything and can rely on them being totally honest with me. I don’t live near my sisters so we set up a group chat to share photos of dresses, flowers, decorations etc They helped me choose what to go for and my friend Emily came with me to try dresses on and was on hand at all times!

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a bride and groom are kissing in a field at their wedding.

a group of bridesmaids and a flower girl are standing in front of a mirror.

What are your top tips for other couples?

Go to as many wedding fairs as you can, they are great for getting new ideas

Choose everything you want, if you can’t afford it find away around it, for example, artificial flowers or making things yourself

Relax and trust in the suppliers, they do it all the time and know what they are doing.

And the honeymoon?

We’ve yet to go on honeymoon, it’s difficult to get away from the farm, we were very lucky we managed to find someone to milk the cows on our wedding evening, he just so happened to be the local fireman.

If I were to do it again, I wouldn’t change a thing.