Lara and Jack turn rustic vintage wedding into a party weekend

The power of social media brought Lara-Lynn Schmallenberg and Jack Jones together from opposite corners of the globe.

“We met on Facebook – Hot or Not application in the beginning of 2008. Jack is convinced that I stalked him!” Lara, originally from Hamburg, recalls.

At the time, UK-born Jack, 40, was working in the Maldives and Lara, 29, was completing her studies in Belgium before a chance meeting neither had expected.

“We randomly met on the Facebook app one week before we both accidentally ended up skiing in Ischgl, Austria, at the same point in time,” Lara says.

“At first, both of us thought it was a windup from the other side but it turned out to be anything but fake.”

The couple bonded in the Austrian mountains and seven years later Jack popped the question on the slopes of Switzerland.

Living in Qatar, the pair knew early on that they wanted to get married in the UK – they chose North Devon as it had been Jack’s favourite surf spot back in the day.

The wed at All Saints Church in Clovelly, North Devon and held reception celebrations at Clovelly Estate on August 22, 2015.

“No cars, cobblestones, rough sea, cliffs, wild flowers, Land Rover shuttle and let’s not forget the donkeys,” Lara says of the choice of venue.

“Our wedding was a party weekend with 120 of best friends and family members. Everything came together on that day.”

Photos courtesy of Barney Walters Photography.

Jack teamed his electric blue suit with a crisp white shirt from Marc Wallace.

“From the beginning I was looking for a lace dress with an open back,” Lara says. She found the perfect Caroline Castigliano gown and matched it with a cathedral-length lace veil and heels from Benjamin Adams.

“From our morning drinks at the harbour our guests were taken up to the church by Land Rovers from the village. I then got into the last Land Rover together with my father, my sister and my maid of honour. To continue our rustic theme, we had two village donkeys waiting for us at the church after the ceremony. We led them to the reception at the Clovelly Court just around the corner. The donkeys then took children for rides,” Lara says.

“The best part besides our handmade and personalised items was the vibe and atmosphere of our guests. Everyone was truly having a good time and that is what we wanted the weekend to be remembered for,” the bride says.

“Our handmade table plan was based on our love for travelling. We named each table after a country we have visited or lived in. In addition to self-made flag poles for each table, we worked on country sheets which had pictures of us and some interesting/funny facts about the country,” Lara says.