If you’re planning a colourful Hawthbush Farm wedding, this one proves you don’t need sunshine for a brilliant day
This colourful Hawthbush Farm wedding had just about everything you could want from a wedding day - two grooms, loads of colour, a woodland ceremony, stormy skies, a boombox aisle exit and a barn full of rainbow decorations.
The weather forecast had other ideas and the sky looked properly dramatic for most of the day, but the couple decided to stick with their plan of having the ceremony outside in the woods anyway.
Hawthbush Farm is already a brilliant venue if you want a relaxed, outdoorsy wedding, and when you throw colour, personality and a bit of “sod it, let’s do it anyway” energy into the mix, the whole day becomes something really special.
Stormy skies and a woodland ceremony
The ceremony took place in the woodland clearing at Hawthbush Farm, surrounded by tall trees and big moody skies rolling in above the farm.
The weather looked dramatic all morning, but everyone embraced it. Guests grabbed umbrellas, bright outfits popped against the dark clouds, and the whole thing had this brilliant slightly chaotic energy that you only really get at outdoor weddings.
When the ceremony finished, the two grooms didn’t quietly walk back down the aisle like normal people.
Instead they danced their way back down the aisle holding a boombox, blasting music and getting the whole crowd cheering.
Which set the tone for the rest of the day pretty perfectly.
Colour everywhere
One of the best things about this wedding was just how much colour there was.
Guests had clearly understood the brief and turned up in bright outfits, patterned suits and colourful dresses that looked amazing against the countryside backdrop.
The barn was decorated with rainbow tassel bunting, which gave the whole reception space this joyful, slightly festival-y feel.
It’s always fun when couples fully commit to colour rather than just adding a few flowers and calling it a day. It makes the whole atmosphere feel more playful and relaxed, and it really shows in the photos.
Dancing into dinner
Instead of everyone calmly wandering into the barn for dinner, the grooms decided to dance their way into the room with their guests following behind.
So dinner basically started like a mini party.
Inside the barn the tables were set up with big shared food bowls, which meant people passed dishes around and chatted rather than sitting quietly waiting for plated courses.
It’s one of those small choices that changes the vibe of the whole evening - it feels more like a big meal with friends than a formal wedding dinner.
The best table place cards ever
Every guest had their own caricature illustration waiting at their seat.
Not just generic drawings either - each one was based on the actual guest.
People spent ages walking around the room finding their friends’ portraits, comparing them and laughing at how accurate (or occasionally brutal) some of them were.
It was one of those details that kept guests entertained all the way through dinner.
A live band and a proper party
Once the speeches and food were done, the live band kicked off and the dancefloor filled up almost immediately.
Hawthbush Farm is great for evening parties because everything’s quite close together - the barn dancefloor, the outdoor areas and the stretch tent - so people naturally move around and the energy keeps building.
Between the band, the colourful outfits and the general chaos of the day, it turned into exactly the kind of party you hope a wedding becomes.
Planning your own colourful Hawthbush Farm wedding?
If you’re planning a colourful Hawthbush Farm wedding, this day is a pretty good reminder that perfect weather isn’t what makes a wedding great.
Stormy skies, bright outfits, dancing down the aisle with a boombox, rainbow decorations and a barn full of friends celebrating two brilliant humans getting married.
Hard to beat that combination.
Looking for a photographer for your Hawthbush Farm wedding?
If you’re planning a wedding at Hawthbush Farm and want colourful, relaxed photos of the day exactly as it happens - the chaos, the dancing, the weather doing whatever it wants and all the brilliant little moments in between - get in touch.
I photograph weddings all over Sussex and Hawthbush is always one of my favourite places to shoot.
