Some love stories feel as though they belong in an open field, with crops growing on every side and wildflowers moving in the breeze. Willowjays is a family-run working farm in Sunderland, where small weddings and elopements unfold in the countryside of North Durham.
The 64-acre farm is mostly planted with traditionally farmed cash crops, alongside an acre devoted to market vegetables, farm-fresh eggs and native wildflowers. Because it is a working farm, Willowjays hosts only a limited number of weddings and celebrations each year.
The wedding offerings are designed to be intimate. Elopements are for the couple and two witnesses, the intimate elopement welcomes 12 guests, and the micro-wedding package welcomes the couple and 28 guests.
Packages bring the essentials together: an officiant, a photographer, bouquets and boutonnieres, a wedding planner, champagne and bubbly and an optional ceremony arch, with chairs for guests and charcuterie boards on the larger packages.
Couples can choose from several settings on the property, including a wildflower meadow, an open green space and an 8,500-square-foot outdoor concrete pad suited to ceremonies, tents and string lights.
Indoors, the farm's newly renovated Block Barn offers about 1,600 square feet of open space with heating, cooling, bright natural light and a fireplace, and a heated and air-conditioned building can be added to a custom package.
For those who want something tailored, a custom package can include extras such as yurts for getting ready, a bonfire, a farm wagon, a white tent, personalized signage, solar hanging lights and flowers picked from the farm.
For couples who would rather say their vows among fields and wildflowers with only their closest people nearby, Willowjays offers a simple, heartfelt farm wedding with real country charm.
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