Endless 2024 Inspiration from this festival style Woodland Wedding?

If you’re looking for 2024 Wedding inspiration then look no further! Catherine & George absolutely rocked it with their Glastonbury themed festival Wedding in September. At every corner there were beautiful personalised details which just took this wedding to the next level and oozes inspiration for anyone looking at getting married this year.

Catherine and George created a Wedding like no other, offering a charming and adventurous twist on the traditional wedding, creating an atmosphere that is equal parts romantic, unique, and with fun at the very heart of it all.

Exchanging vows, with the back drop of weeping willows, water and towering fir trees. The wilderness setting here at Happy Valley sets the tone for an intimate and enchanting celebration no matter how many guests you have.

We always ask that you use petals or bio degradable confetti

The unique atmosphere, the chance to connect with nature, and the opportunity to unplug from the outside world all contribute to an unforgettable celebration. Plus, guests get to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors while still having access to the creature comforts of luxury glamping and hot tubs. Providing the perfect venue for your Destination Wedding.

Enjoy glamping at your Wedding in rustic luxury, complete with private air source heated hot tub so you don’t have to lift a finger.

One of the benefits of a Happy Valley wedding is its versatility. Whether you're going for a festival wedding, bohemian vibe, a rustic-chic style, or a whimsical fairytale aesthetic, and the barns provide a canvas for your creative freedom to run wild.

It was an absolute honour to be a small part of this incredible day and be able to witness the love, creativity & support encompassing this gorgeous pair.

Some of the Dream Team involved -

Photographer - Emma Shaw Photography

Catering: Gingerlilly catering

Florist:King witham

Band:Colonel Spanky’s Love Ensemble

Props: Happy Valley Rugs & Array prop hire

Makeup:Leanna Stibbon

Hair: Ashley Kay @AshleyKaybeauty

Dress - Angelica Bridal

Feel like a local, no matter how far you’ve come #HappyValleyNorfolk

Wedding Trends for 2024! Our Favourite Top 6 Trends for 2024

Here at Happy Valley, we’re all about making your special day uniquely yours! 

We also love to see what’s happening within the industry, see what key trends are creating waves, proving popular and will provide that little something extra for your wedding. 

We are delighted to see that in 2024 the wedding landscape is looking less traditional, and is all about breaking away from the norm and creating weddings, which are exceptional and distinctive.  

We are seeing more couples making choices, which have a personal significance to create unique and memorable days – and we are definitely down for that! 

Photography by Aurora Grey

 So let us jump into the top 6 wedding trends of 2024 that have captured our hearts. 

1. Natural Venues 

For us, there is no better place to start than with what seems to be one of the most significant trends taking centre stage in 2024 – the rise of Outdoor Wedding Venues. 

The growing popularity of non-traditional weddings has been a noticeable trend in recent years, none more so than outdoor, natural wedding locations. Originally boosted by the pandemic, where couples were forced to look at alternative options and move their ceremony outside, thereby embracing nature and it’s spectacular backdrop. Outdoor weddings are now making a movement of their own.  

Art and Story Studio

Trish Peters Photography

Art and Story Studio

Eloise and Mitch Photography

 At Happy Valley, this resonates deeply with us and we completely agree there is something magical about the changing seasons. The natural world offers us a breathtaking canvas allowing couples to paint their unique wedding day. 

 With the increase in popularity of outdoor wedding venues, the styling is also following suit, with couples embracing nature and the inherent beauty of your surroundings. Picture raw wood tables, seasonal flowers and greenery, and organic fabrics and drapes, everything is inspired by the gifts that nature bestows upon us. 

2. Celebrant – Led Weddings 

This past year has seen a remarkable 49% surge in search volumes for “Celebrant Weddings” (as reported by Hitched.co.uk) and this increase doesn’t surprise us at all here at Happy Valley – we love a celebrant led wedding. 

 Celebrant led weddings have captured our hearts and many of our couples too, for a multitude of compelling reasons. 

 First and foremost, the appeal lies in the incredible flexibility and freedom they offer.  With a Celebrant, the script is entirely customised to you, reflecting your unique loves, passions and joys. This means that your wedding can be a true reflection of your individual journey as a couple. 

 A rising trend we’ve observed is couples choosing to formalise their legal marriage at their local registry office ahead of the big day, or even onsite at Happy Valley the day before. This enables the day of the wedding service, led by a Celebrant, to become an exclusive reflection of your relationship, creating an experience that is authentic and meaningful to you both. 

3. Bold and Bright Colour Schemes 

2024 is going to be about embracing colour and pattern… if you love bold and bright then this is the year for you. 

Bold and Bright Decor

Vibrant shades of pink, orange, purple, or red infusing life into your tables, cake and drapes. Seasonal bouquets and flower arrangements becoming canvases for splashes of brilliant colour and personality. 

And, its not just the décor that is getting an injection of colour in 2024! New York Bridal Fashion Week bore witness to colour playing a significant sight on the runway, with pastel pinks, soft blues and floral patterns creating a magical and whimsical addition to many collections. (ref: Vogue) 

Pic Credit Above - Photographer @salsabilmorrisonphotogaphy Right - Photographer - @Lisaandneil Florals @Floralsistas.

This truly is the year to celebrate and embrace your personal style. It is time to showcase your individuality and personality, turning your wedding into a vibrant canvas of colours and patterns that reflect your inner spirit. 

4. Wedding Weekends and Extended Celebrations 

Why limit your celebrations to a single day when you can extend your wedding festivities over several glorious days? At Happy Valley we wholeheartedly embrace this trend, as standard! 

Most of our weddings are thoughtfully planned either mid-week Tuesday-Thursday, or as Weekend Weddings. This choice offers couples that invaluable gift of more time to bask in the warmth of their loved ones and extend that ‘best day ever’ feeling, for just a little bit longer. 

The day before arrival isn’t just practical; it’s a chance to take a deep breath and unwind, especially after a long journey. All the worries about making it on time, finding a spot to change or freshen up simply disappear. 

The evening before the big day is a golden opportunity for guests to meet and get to know each other. At Happy Valley the night prior often involves relaxed drinks and food around the courtyard fire pit. It is a time for your loved ones to bond, share stories and establish connections that will make the wedding even more memorable. 

As the sun rises on the day after the day before, it’s the perfect moment to gather together over morning brews, reliving the beautiful stories from the day before.  

Your journey with us at Happy Valley isn’t confined to just one day, it’s an enchanting voyage which extends your celebrations over several days, creating unforgettable memories. 

5. Relaxed Wedding Photography 

The era of the entire wedding party standing in perfect formation for extensive periods, waiting for the photographer to capture countless iterations of the ‘group shot’, is now a thing of the past. 

Relaxed Photography

2024 is all about embracing the relaxed, candid, and social approach. 

A wonderful opportunity for your photographer to artfully capture all those spontaneous, heartfelt moments that naturally unfold throughout the day. These photographs will not only look beautiful but will also capture genuine emotions, making your wedding unique. 

Additionally, there is an increase in the popularity of Wedding Content Creators. These skilled individuals are dedicated to producing real-time content to be shared to your socials. They capture unscripted moments that unfold, allowing your friends and family to join the excitement, even if they cannot be there in person. 

 Your wedding photos should be a reflection of your love story, your personality and your style as a couple. In 2024 it is all about celebrating the real moments, the laughter, the tears and the connections that make your wedding day truly special. 

6. Bespoke Cocktail Toasts 

Keeping up with the theme for 2024 of creating personalised weddings, the same is being reflected across food and drink.   

This year has witnessed a notable surge in the creation of signature cocktails for weddings, and this trend is set to continue into 2024. Couples are taking inspiration from the drinks they hold dear and crafting cocktails that truly resonate with their tastes and preferences. This is particularly the case for the post-ceremony tipple of choice.  

Amongst the top cocktail choices gaining popularity for 2024, Espresso Martini and the Paloma are set to be favorites.

These signature drinks add a touch of individuality to your celebration, allowing you to share your love for specific flavours with your guests and create a memorable and personalised experience. 

Jeremy James Photography

Cheers to a wedding day that’s truly unique and reflects your one-of-a-kind love story! 

The overall takeaway trend for 2024 is definitely looking like it’s going to be the year for weddings to be unique, unconventional and personal. We can’t wait! 

Trend Setter Alert

If we had any advice for couples on how to create the day of their dreams it would be to go with your heart, choose what you love and do what makes you happy and everyone will feel it.

From the moment we met R & A we knew this was going to be a mega Wedding for all the right reasons, beautiful souls creating their own vision & as it unfolded the happiness oozed through the venue from start to end.

Wedding Review -

Magical forest wedding venue in Norfolk

We had our wedding celebration at Happy Valley in July 2023 and it was the best weekend of our lives. The happy memories will last us a lifetime. We truly believe that this is a magical place, you can feel the love that has been channelled into the site. From our first visit in November 2021, we knew this was the place we wanted to get married. The venue has everything you need and more for the perfect wedding!

Our priorities were - a venue where our wedding party could stay on site, so we could spend as much time as possible with them, and a venue where we were surrounded by nature. Happy Valley gave us both of these in abundance. When you quietly walk around the site you can hear the trees gently creak as they sway in the wind, and it feels like they are offering blessings, it's pure wedding magic.

Led by Katy, the staff are super kind and helpful, and communication is always clear and friendly. They have worked with many local suppliers and we really felt the sense of community that has been built here as a business. Marie at The Cattle Yard bar put together the perfect drinks package for us, complete with local wines & bespoke cocktails. All the bar staff were so lovely to all our guests and instantly understood the vibe of our day. Our coordinator Alex was super calm and friendly and was always on hand with encouragement and support. We noticed every single kind word and gesture from the Happy Valley staff and we will always be grateful. If we haven't made it clear enough already - this is the dream team you want on your wedding day.

The venue has so many gorgeous spaces to chose from, both indoor and outdoor so you are covered whatever the weather. It looked like it might rain on our wedding day (it didn't in the end) but we can honestly say that wherever you have your ceremony on the Happy Valley site, there will be a beautiful backdrop.

The accommodation is beautifully put together and it really felt like the best possible (luxury!) festival with our nearest and dearest. The time you are allowed on site is really generous, so we never felt rushed and we felt like we had plenty of time to settle in and then to clear up. Checking all our friends into their accommodation was so much fun! Whether we were having breakfast together in Keeper's Cabin or a post-disco hot tub at Toad Hall, the accommodation was a huge part of the magic of our wedding weekend spent at Happy Valley.

If you are looking for a versatile wedding venue, full of magic and beauty, and run by the coolest, kindest people - look no further, this is it. Have your wedding at Happy Valley and the special memories will last a lifetime. A&R x

It is our honour to be able to host these incredible ceremonies of love, and we are so grateful to have worked with some of the best Wedding Suppliers
🌲 @happyvalleynorfolk
🍛@goldleafcatering
🍽️@banquetinghire
🪩@smokeandwildwood
🌺@floralsistas
🕯️@arrayweddingandeventhire
💡@quirkevents.uk
📸@lisaandneil
☎️@myaudiomoments
🎧 Earl Harlem
🍦@ronaldoices
🎨@stephaniepaintsthings
🍕@luca_pizzagram
☕@greenwavecoffeeco

Like something out of a fairytale

Autumn Weddings with a touch of Halloween

An Autumn palette for the most spectacular Autumn Wedding at Happy Valley.

J & G were absolute legends when they had to move their initial Wedding date & we watched in awe as J turned what was a frustrating start into one of the most spectacular Weddings we've seen here at Happy Valley.

J loves Halloween so got to live out the most stylish Autumn Day Wedding and you will see how this was followed by an equally swarve & spooky Halloween after party in our next blog.

Highlighting some of the fab Suppliers -

Photographer - Aurora Grey

Catering - Carway-Roe Events

Flowers - The Wild Folk Florist

Planning - Foil Events

Games - Dick Ropa Entertainment

MUA - Hayley Clarke Make up

Hair - GH Hair Designs

Archery - Grey Goose

Festival Wedding of the Year

Welcome to Ogstock 2022

Well, what can I say… Two incredible humans, Amy & Ollie had a vision. That vision came to life in magnificent style with the help of an abundance of love & dedication from their family, friends & some incredible suppliers to create an unforgettable Festival Wedding.

04:06:2022

Hair - @flamingoAmyHair

Photographer - @liamhind.92

cake - @the_Fat_Fairy_

Dress - @purebrides @essenseofAustralia

Flowers - @pickalilyflowershop

Bunting - @boomtingbunting

Food - @squilland.and.squidge

Pizza - @vinesfresh

Band - @Skabucksofficial

Venue - @happyvalleynorfolk

5 Ways To Welcome Spring Into Your Home

Finally, we are in March which means one thing - first day of Spring is this month! We are on the cusp of nature being reborn, with all its glorious blooms and greenery. The sunshine is that little bit warmer, the days get longer and we get to do all those things we have waited so long for. Spring makes us feel inspired and invigorated, so there is no wonder that we all feel so excited. Now is a great time to put those feelings into action and get our homes ready to welcome in the season.

1.) Have a big spring clean

Make room for all that’s new and have a good old traditional spring clean, to get us motivated and organised. Cleaning doesn’t need to be boring at all, open those windows for some fresh air and put on your favourite playlist. You can make a checklist, get the family involved in a friendly competition and even set rewards for the evening when it’s all done.

2.) Freshen up your style

Whether home or wardrobe, the wait is over for re-introducing those gorgeous floral prints and brighter colours. We are seeing the very fashionable olive green this winter being replaced with lime greens already, from the catwalk to home decor. Spiritually, this colour signifies creativity and luck, making it a great colour for this spring.

3.) Bring on the botanics

Speaking of green hues, it’s possibly the best time of the year for gardening. Now is a good time to get your shrubs pruned and the garden cleaned, ready for planting for when Spring officially arrives. If you are looking to bring Mother Nature indoors, peace lilies and orchids are both beautiful, low maintenance additions, that will bring to your home.

4.) Switch up the scents

Those wondrous musky toned candles were perfect for the winter months, but now it’s time to invigorate the senses with fresh florals and zesty fragrances. Did you know that a fresh cut lemon placed next to your bed has been proven to help improve your stress levels, air quality and sleep? And all while making your room smell deliciously clean.

5.) Bring life back to meal times

After months of hearty meals and hot beverages, Springtide welcomes back its tasty seasonal ingredients like asparagus, courgettes and radishes. We love the sound of the mouthwatering recipe we’ve found ‘One Pan Salmon with Roast Asparagus” and can’t wait to try it out. What are your favourite meals in Spring? Let us know down below in the comments.

We are so excited to see our retreat in full bloom once again

The reopening of our Bell Tents will be here before we know it and we cannot wait

BBC GoodFood’s One Pan Salmon with Roast Asparagus has really kick started our tastebuds

5 Ways To Practice Gratitude

Practicing gratitude is so important for the soul, for an abundance of reasons. It improves our mental health, helps us heal and assists us in building a positive personality.

Living your life with gratitude helps you notice the little wins—waking up to find you have more time sleep before your alarm goes off, receiving an unexpected compliment or those trainers you’ve swooned over going on sale. Each of these small moments strings together to create a web of well-being that, over time, strengthens your ability to notice the good in life.

Here are our top five ways to practice gratitude;

Keep a gratitude journal beside your bed.

Before you go to bed each night, think of even the smallest wins of the day; write it down. In time, the more you write, the more you’ll start to notice things that you are grateful for. When the pages start filling, reading them back will fill you with gratitude. Spending just 15 minutes before bed noting down a few grateful sentiments, can also support you to have a much better nights shuteye.

Watch inspiring videos that will remind you of the good in the world.

We are what we surround ourselves with. By watching inspiring content online, the internet puts more inspirational content in front of you. Search hashtags on social media such as #gratitude to see what other people are grateful for to help with ideas if you’re stuck.

Surround yourself with people who make you feel good.

Surrounding ourselves with people who we love and who make us feel good, has a shared effect because positivity and happiness are contagious. So not only does it make you feel on top of the world, but you are also boosting the moods of those around you. “Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.” – Eileen Caddy

Say thank you for the little things people do for you, things you normally take for granted.

Sometimes we forget to be appreciative of the small things others do for us. Even things as small as someone making us a cup of tea, holding the door, letting us out in traffic - be thankful for the small gestures. Take a moment to not only thank them but think of how they just made your day that little bit easier.

Make a gratitude collage, cut out pictures of all the things that you are grateful for.

Creating collages is a great way to practice gratitude. Looking over photographs that make you smile as you stick them down, will flood you with great memories and will influence you to make more. Vision or dream boards are also fantastic for those who want to manifest a sounder lifestyle. These boards are assembled similarly to gratitude collages, you just need to use pictures and word clippings of things you would love in your life. The more you envision or see your dreams coming true, the more you’ll gravitate towards it naturally. Gratefulness is a footing for manifesting.

“Buddhist monks begin each day with a chant of gratitude for the blessings of their life.”

We are grateful every day for our wonderful guests that truly make Happy Valley Norfolk

For more spiritual wellbeing reading, check out our last blog on Forest Bathing

The mindset of gratitude is a regular habit to express thankfulness for all various parts of life, no matter how small. If you focus on what you have, you'll always have more.

Head over to our Instagram account’s @happyvalleynorfolk and @norfolkglamping for daily gratitude posts and stories, for the rest of this week.

Micro Weddings - The Celebration of Love

Unrestrained, uninhibited, free to choose the direction of your life and willing to go with the flow. You take life’s highs with the lows, you don’t sweat the small stuff, you love generously and you laugh raucously. If you embrace laughter lines, positivity and authenticity, it is likely you were born to meet another free-spirited soul and dance to the beat of your own drum. In essence, you were born to be part of the Happy Valley Tribe.

Here at Happy Valley, we don’t care what title you carry, what scars you hide or what expectations society has placed on you. We love you for who you love and for how you want to live and if you’re looking for an adventure, then we’re your kind of people and maybe a micro wedding is your kind of romance.

Reasons Happy Valley’s Micro Weddings are for the Wild At Heart

1. A Happy Valley soul is free to soar - we offer no stereotypes or conventional boxes but instead invite you to be your true, authentic self. There is nothing ‘girly’ or ‘manly’ about our venue, it is simply natural and stripped back so you can focus on what really matters. At Happy Valley, you can marry without the world watching and love without the world judging.

2. We don’t follow trends, we allow you to set them - we love a good Pinterest board like the next person but at Happy Valley, your big day is down to you and you alone. As a dry hire venue, we offer you a beautiful, blank canvas to put your stamp on and express yourself in every colour and style imaginable. This is your chance to go wild and we want your ideas, your creativity and your voice to be heard. Your wedding might be micro but your creativity can be mighty.

3. Choosing the road less travelled means throwing out the rulebook - use this opportunity to invite who you really want to be present at your wedding. We do not insist upon tradition or convention and encourage couples to be different. Transport yourself to another world by crossing over our wooden bridge to the Willow Island and cast every notion of normal behind. In our intimate ceremony location, surrounded by our lake, you are enveloped in love and get the chance to create your new kind of normal. Similarly, our cosy Hay Barn, equipped with log burner will give you all the warmth you need for a tight-knit circle of loved ones.

4. Happy Valley embraces all tribes - there is a confidence that comes with embracing and accepting who you are and all of our Happy Valley couples carry that confidence. Our couples are not afraid to let their true colours show. Guests are welcomed in wellies, heels, tattoos, wide-brimmed hats, pearls or piercings. At Happy Valley, anyone who wishes to encourage and not disparage will always be made to feel welcome, no matter their attire or their number.

Micro Wedding Package

Midweek and weekend availability, 2020 – 2021

Government permitting, Happy Valley can offer a micro wedding package of up to 30 guests, held in our cosy and rustic Hay Barn. Complete with fairy lights, log burner and indoor bar area, we can offer you free corkage, furniture, hot tubs, luxury glamping accommodation for the entire wedding party and exclusive use of our nine acres of ground, including enchanting woodlands and the magical experience of willow island.

A micro wedding will never minimise your love, but it will highlight what matters most. When it comes down to it, Covid will fade into the background and Happy Valley will create your unique lightning bolt moment that only gives space for your love to shine.

If you’d like to hear more about their micro wedding packages, please contact: weddings@happyvalleynorfolk.co.uk.

With love,

Katy, Kirsty and the team at Happy Valley xx

All photographs shared are from a real micro weddings held at Happy Valley this year.

Beautifully captured by @auroragreyphoto

Dress - @liribyrikidalal

Boutique - @thewhitegallery

Venue & Glamping - @happyvalleynorfolk

Props - @thelittlelendingco

Hair - @perfectsilhouettehairdressing

MUA - @bryonyhollandmua

Catering - @sallygsafternoonteas . .

Autumn Equinox

Today is the Autumn Equinox, aka Mabon, a powerful time of the year where day and night dance in perfect balance, where the sun and moon equally share the sky. We open the doors to Autumn and give thanks and honour the harvest just gone. Even when the harvest wasn’t quite what was expected there’s always something to be grateful for.

A time of balance between the seasons. Holding this transitional space without fear is on our Happy Valley affirmations list and not always easy in the current climate. But we all know that fears makes the wolf look bigger & we turn to Mother Nature for a word of wisdom.

The Equinox is a time honoured by many cultures including us here at Happy Valley. The nights become chillier and before we even see the change in the landscape our senses notice the changing seasons. We can marvel at how Mother Earth shows us that nothing is constant and how this is reflected in our world.
This too shall pass.

We celebrate the land and its history for it has seen this all before and we celebrate all of you who’ve shared this crazy journey which is 2020. We’ve made it to Autumn & that is worth celebrating.