“Country England with a Kiwi twist.”

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Both fond of a good party English girl Lucy and Kiwi boy Dan decided to throw a raving barn wedding party with impromptu sing-alongs, traditional Maori chants, and even a party honeymoon for any guests that wanted to join in some extra fun. Lucy perfectly describes their day at Ipsden Farm Barn, where they were joined by photographer Frankee Victoria - “nothing too traditional and stuffy, just a casual, happy vibe.” Let's take a look...

Whimsical Ipsden Farm Barn wedding by Frankee Victoria // onefabday.com

Gorgeous bride Lucy first met her New Zealand beau while she was living in Wellington, New Zealand. She remembers... “We bonded over a love of our favourite movie The Big Lebowski (it’s rare to find someone who’s seen it let alone call it their favourite!) We decided to go at get a White Russian (popular drink in the movie) but the bar didn’t have milk. Dan ran across the road to the shop to buy some. I told him that night that he was my soul mate. We’ve since been together 6 years but it seems like only yesterday.”

The happy couple moved to England in 2012, and it was during a trip back to New Zealand a few years later that Dan proposed. Lucy tells us... “We went back to New Zealand to visit and went to our favourite spot in the botanical gardens which you get to by the infamous Wellington cable car. We went and sat on the bench where we used to meet up to enjoy our lunch breaks at work together and this is where Dan decided to get down on one knee.”

Things were made official the day before Lucy and Dan's barn wedding at a private Oxford Town Hall civil ceremony. The following day Lucy and Dan then shared their vows in front of friends and family at Ipsden Farm Barn in Ipsden, Oxfordshire.

The ceremony was jovial and casual with personalised vows and musical contributions from friends. Lucy details... “We wanted to incorporate as much that was as personal to us as possible especially the ceremony itself which included music from our favourite movies (I walked down the aisle to Hans Zimmers ‘You’re So Cool’ which is the theme tune to True Romance) and we wrote our own vows (I promised to stop hanging ornaments on door handles and Dan promised to close drawers!).Instead of a reading my cousin played the ukulele and sung a song he had written about love. My nephews passed the rings around the guests for people to bless them with happy thoughts before we exchanged them. My auntie is a professional opera singer so she sang a short song while we signed our wedding certificate.”

Adding some glitz and glam to proceedings Lucy and her girls all wore embellished white gowns. Lucy's a low back Maggie Sottero dress, while each of the bridesmaids dresses were bought online from ASOS.

The low-key barn reception was filled with surprises for Lucy and Dan, all of which made ended up as their favourite moments of the day. Lucy tells us... “Dan’s dad did a speech which he read in both Maori, the traditional New Zealand language and English. All of the New Zealanders that had travelled overseas for the wedding surprised us on the day by performing a ‘Waiata’ (Maori song) which was such a lovely celebration of my husband's homeland. Our friends also planned a surprise and performed Blackalicious’ Alphabet Aerobics (a rap song). They were dreadful but it was so entertaining! Our friend's reggae band ‘Zaia’ performed and my Dad’s band ‘The Stiff Joints’ performed the music for the evening.” What a talented bunch!

Incorporating New Zealand and British tradition pies were served as the main meal. Lucy explains... “We chose Pieminister to do the catering as pies are a real traditional kiwi food, but it’s really English to have them with mash, gravy and mushy peas! Pieminister do the best Posh Pies in Oxfordshire!”

To keep the party going Lucy and Dan invited their friends to join them on their honeymoon, resulting in an extended run of celebrations. Lucy recalls... “We went on a ‘Party Moon’ to Cala Gonone in Sardinia and invited all our guests to join us! About 20 friends came with us and Dan’s family which was lovely as we got to continue celebrating together.”

Huge congratulations to you both and thanks so much for sharing your wedding day with us all! A big thank you also goes to Frankee Victoria for sharing her work with us. To see more from Frankee Victoria visit www.frankee-victoria.co.uk

The Wedding Details