What to wear
Garden formal. Suits without the tie, dresses you can sit down in, something warm for after nine when the barn doors stay open. The ceremony is under a roof but the rest of the day is not.
Saturday 5 June 2027 · Smallward Mill
Freya & Jonah
Two families, one very long table, and a barn full of candles. We would love you there.
- Ceremony
- 2:30pm in the Mill Barn
- Carriages
- Midnight, coaches from the yard
- Dress
- Garden formal, grass underfoot
The invitation
We are getting married, and we are keeping it small
Eleven years ago we met queuing for the wrong train. Since then we have moved four times, adopted one enormous dog, and learned that the parts of life worth repeating tend to happen around a table with people we love.
So that is the plan. Sixty of you, an old mill with a barn that smells of hay and beeswax, a ceremony that will take eighteen minutes, and then a very long dinner. No seating charts we will regret, no schedule you need to memorise — just the details on this page and a day we hope feels like ours.
Everything you need is below. If something is missing, ask us directly; we would rather answer than have you guess.
Freya & Jonah
Order of the day
Saturday, from arrival to the last waltz
Timings are honest rather than optimistic. If you are running late, come straight to the barn — someone will point you to a seat.
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1:30pm
Arrival in the orchard
Elderflower cordial, something stronger, and shade under the apple trees. Ushers will be the ones in green ties.
-
2:30pm
Ceremony in the Mill Barn
Doors close at 2:25pm. Eighteen minutes, two readings, one hymn that Jonah's grandmother chose and will be checking on.
-
3:15pm
Drinks in the walled garden
Lawn games, a small amount of photography, and the only hour of the day with nothing scheduled in it.
-
5:30pm
Dinner is called
Three courses at two long tables. Find your name on the card wall by the barn door rather than a table plan.
-
7:30pm
Speeches, then cake
Three speakers, strictly timed by Freya's brother, who has been given a bell and far too much enthusiasm.
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8:45pm
First dance and the band
A five-piece from the coast who take requests until eleven. Bacon rolls appear quietly at half past ten.
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11:45pm
Last waltz, then coaches
The final coach leaves the yard at midnight sharp and will not wait for anyone still looking for their jacket.
Sunday morning: coffee and leftovers in the mill kitchen from nine until noon, for anyone staying nearby. No need to tell us in advance — just appear.
The setting
Smallward Mill
A working flour mill until the 1950s, now four stone buildings around a gravel yard: the barn where we marry and eat, a walled garden, an orchard, and the old grain store that becomes the bar after dinner.
Everything happens within a hundred paces of everything else, which is the main reason we chose it. You will not need to be shepherded anywhere.
- The yard is gravel and the garden is grass — heels sink, flats survive.
- Coaches collect from the town square and return there at 11pm and midnight.
- Step-free routes run from the yard into the barn, the garden and the bar.
- If it rains, drinks move into the grain store and nothing else changes.
- The mill stream is unfenced, so children stay with a grown-up.
Guest notes
Four practical things
The answers we have been asked for most often, written down so nobody has to ring anyone's mother.
Getting there
Two coaches run from the town square at 12:45pm and 1:15pm and bring everyone back at 11pm and midnight. There is room in the yard for a dozen cars, which we are holding for anyone who needs to park close.
Staying over
The mill has six rooms and we have given them to the grandparents. There are two inns and a handful of cottages within ten minutes of the coach stop; tell us on your reply if you would like the list we have put together.
Gifts
There is no list. We have a flat full of mismatched crockery and no shelf space left. If you would like to mark the day, put something towards the walking trip we are taking in the autumn, or bring a bottle of something you like drinking.
A few pictures
What the day will look like
Taken at the mill last summer, so you know what to expect underfoot and overhead.
Questions
Things people have asked us
If yours is not here, write it in the box on your reply and we will answer within a day or two.
How early should we arrive?
Any time from 1:30pm. Aim to be in the barn by 2:20pm — the doors close at 2:25pm and the registrar will start on time whether or not we are ready.
Can we bring the children?
Named children on the invitation are very welcome, and there is a quiet room with beds and a projector from seven o'clock. We have kept the numbers small so that the barn stays comfortable, so please check the names on your card before you reply.
Do we have a plus one?
If your invitation says "and guest", yes, and we would love their name on the reply so their place card is right. The barn seats sixty, so we cannot add names after the March deadline.
What about dietary requirements?
Tell us on the reply form. The kitchen cooks a full vegetarian menu as standard and handles gluten-free, dairy-free and most allergies without fuss, but they need to know by mid-April to order properly.
Are phones and cameras allowed?
Not during the ceremony — those eighteen minutes are unplugged, and we have asked the ushers to say so at the door. Afterwards, photograph everything. We will share a folder for your pictures once ours come back.
What happens if it rains?
Very little. The ceremony and dinner are indoors regardless; only the drinks hour moves, from the walled garden into the grain store. Bring a jacket rather than an umbrella — the yard funnels wind.
Is there parking, and can we leave a car overnight?
There is space for twelve cars in the yard, kept for guests who need to park close to the barn. Cars may stay overnight and be collected before eleven on Sunday morning. Everyone else is better off on a coach.
How do we get back at the end of the night?
Coaches leave the yard at 11pm and midnight for the town square. The lane is unlit and has no pavement, so please do not plan to walk it — if you miss the last coach, find an usher rather than setting off.
Reply by Friday 5 March 2027
Let us know if you can come
One reply per invitation is plenty. If anything changes afterwards, send another — we would far rather know late than not at all.