Their chosen venue, Upton Barn & Walled Garden, lent itself to rustic styling, and the couple opted for navy, pink and cornflower blue as a colour scheme - with one notable addition.
"Julian is a bit of a craft beer geek," says Clare. "Our central arrangement consisted of church candles and beer bottles of different sizes, wrapped in jute twine, which we used as vases for our hand-cut pink tulips."
Clare decided to keep her hair and make-up very relaxed. "I don't wear a lot of make-up, so was keen to have something natural, showing my freckles and still looking like me!" says Clare.
And with the rain pouring down all morning, the couple had to make a last-minute decision to move the ceremony to a beautiful indoor location, before welcome drinks and speeches were enjoyed. As a further nod to Julian's love of craft beers, the couple provided some unusual beers, which were served from ice buckets for welcome drinks and throughout the wedding breakfast.
A veritable feast saw guests treated to chargrilled butternut squash and sage arancini with organic leaf salad and pave rump of beef with a pink peppercorn crust followed by a trio of desserts including vanilla creme brulee, raspberry meringue, and lemon drizzle slice with honeycomb pieces.
And once the rain had stopped, Clare and Julian took the opportunity to get outside, which was one of the groom's favourite parts of the day. "Sneaking off with our photographers away from the crowd, to spend some quiet time together having our photos taken, was my favourite moment," he says.
As the evening guests arrived, it was time to cut the cake - a three-tiered marvel that included a Victoria sandwich covered in navy marbled icing, a coffee sponge with Baileys buttercream and cornflower blue icing, and a traditional fruit cake with ivory icing. "It was all decorated with pink sugar tulips and hop cones - to indulge Julian's love of beer!" says Clare.
As the music began, Clare's favourite moment was her first dance with her new husband. "In fact, it was our first dance together, ever!" she says. Pizzas were served from a van late in the evening to keep the party-goers fuelled, and the dancing continued long into the night.
Looking back, Clare and Julian's advice is to talk through ideas together when it comes to wedding planning. "Ask for help if you need it from family and friends," says Clare. "But remember, it's your day so don't let the strong opinions of others sway you."
Photography Nova Wedding Photography novaweddingphotography.co.uk
Venue Upton Barn & Walled Garden uptonbarn.com
Dress Morilee by Madeline Gardner morilee.co.uk
Shoes Rainbow Club rainbowclub.co.uk
Bridesmaids' dresses Hobbs hobbs.co.uk
Groom's outfit Astaires astaires.co.uk
Hair Amanda Brooke facebook.com/amandabrookehairbody
Make-up Amy Elizabeth amy-elizabeth.com
Catering Peter Mundy Catering Services petermundycatering.co.uk The Travelling Pizzeria travellingpizzeria.co.uk
Cake Claire Makes Cakes clairemakescakes.co.uk
Flowers Fleur Amour Specialist Wedding Florist fleuramourweddingflorist.co.uk
Tulips Nicky's Flower Studio facebook.com/nickysflowerstudiotaunton
Entertainment Quadraphonic quadraphonicdisco.com
Transport A1 Taxis
Copyright Wed magazine 2018
