You’ve found the venue, picked out a dress and chosen the rings - now it’s time to focus on your guests!

The stationery you choose can help bring the whole wedding together and is the first step to making your guests really feel as though they are part of your big day.

But how do you decide what to go for? What should you personalise? Which colours and fonts should you go for?

The Invite Shack - one of Cooling Castle Barn’s recommended suppliers - design and provide a wide range of wedding stationery, from save the dates, invites, table plans, signs and more.

And to make things easier for some couples, owner Liz Willis has now created a platform which allows couples to customise some of her most popular designs.

She said: “As the company grew, I realised it was important to find a way where couples could use some of my most popular designs, but make them their own.

“They can follow the linktr.ee links and change the font and colours and other parts to help keep costs down but still personalise them to their own tastes.”

Liz, a graphic designer for around 15 years, has been a recommended supplier at Cooling Castle Barn for four years.

For those opting for the venue, she has even designed a sketch to make invitations and other stationery stand out.

She added: “I love the venue, and I think the sketch of Cooling Castle really finishes off the stationery, perfectly.

“Wedding Stationery is such an important part of a couple’s big day. It’s often the first time they are revealing it to their friends and family and it’s the first glimpse their guests get of what it might look and feel like, so the invites can really set the tone.

”A lot of couples say that it feels real to them after they have the invites - I love being part of that initial excitement!”

Liz’s most popular designs include a concertina, tri-fold invitation. Couples can opt for bespoke designs or follow the links on her website and customise dozens of designs and view them on screen before ordering, cutting down on waiting time and costs. More designs are being added to the site every day.

The company, based in Maidstone, also provides all other matching stationery such as save the dates, table plans, place cards, table numbers, thank-you cards, and more, with customer visits available for those who want to discuss their requirements in person.

Take a look at the website www.theinviteshack.com for more information.

In a previous article, we spoke to our two most trusted photographers Nicky and Dan - who have been on our recommended supplier lists for almost 25 years between them. After learning about their craft and being treated to some of their best photographs they have managed to whittle it down to just one.

Here we find out about their favourite shot taken at Cooling Castle Barn and what sets it apart from others.

Dan Potter from Dan Potter Photography (photo above) has been a recommended supplier at Cooling Castle Barn for more than eight years.

He said: “I love this one. It’s a confetti shot, with the bride throwing her arm in the air. It might not be the best confetti shot there ever was, but because she is in the moment, loving the day, the emotion comes through and makes it a great photo in my eyes.

 Nicky Tulip at Nicky’s Photography has been a recommended supplier at Cooling Castle Barn for 15 years.

She picked this shot above as her favourite.

She said: “It was taken quite recently. The couple’s wedding was booked some time ago, but because of Covid it got moved. They had already moved it once and their last wedding date was a day before it was announced that they couldn’t have the wedding. I remember being on the phone with them and how upsetting it was. 

“It was an amazing thing to eventually complete that journey with them. They popped a bottle of Champagne, they shook it up and it fizzed up and I felt really close to them. From booking, it was three or four years of being on that journey. You get to know them and they even mentioned me in their speeches, which was lovely.

“As a photographer, you build up a relationship, you have to make sure you understand your couple, ensure they’re happy and make sure that you’ve understood what they want out of it.

“So with this photo it felt like mission accomplished.”

“A recipe has no soul - you, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe,” American chef Thomas Keller once said.

And at Cooling Castle Barn, our experienced chefs will bring the menu truly alive for your wedding day feast.

We’re always delighted to get positive feedback about our amazing food, and here we have brought in the experts at Fleur Challis Photography, to help us showcase some of our spectacular dishes.

Just don’t start looking through the gallery on an empty stomach!

Has the pandemic changed what we look for in a wedding? 

With families and friends unable to meet in large groups for months – or even, years – we are seeing more couples looking for a more relaxed wedding vibe. 

The special day is still about two people showing their commitment to one another, but an important factor has also become about getting everyone together: the chance to kick-back, catch-up and mingle all day with loved ones.

That’s why we have spent time designing an amazing outside space for couples and guests to enjoy throughout the day - and evening.

After the wedding and sumptuous wedding feast, we have paid special attention to our outdoor grill area for the evening time.  We offer lots of different options for your evening menu, the majority completely included in the price. Think Hog roast, a BBQ, Mexican, Indian, buffet, or piping hot pizza straight out of the outdoor oven – whatever you choose, you can be sure that your evening guests will be as well fed as the guests that have been with you all day. Even better, if the weather is good, you can enjoy the food, drink, company and ambience on the stunning patio and garden area, too!

And when everyone has caught up and eaten well, the memories will live long into the future.

Take a look at some of our latest photos showing our outdoor grill area being put to good use!

For more information on all our fantastic wedding options, follow the link here