Couple from Spain shun Ibiza for a farm wedding in Shropshire

Ken Johnston, 32, and his now wife Antonia Johnston, 30, both live in Ibiza and own YogaFit Retreats.

But instead of marrying with their feet in the sand, they decided to tie the knot in sunny Shropshire.

The couple became man and wife in a ceremony at Lilleshall Church last month before heading to a Shropshire Farm Weddings reception at Morrells Wood Farm in Leighton.

Shropshire Farm Weddings is a joint venture between the Harper family at the farm and the team at The Wroxeter Hotel, near Shrewsbury.

The wedding was the first of the season with the cows being taken out of the shed just a few weeks before - and many of the guests flew thousands of miles to be there.

Among those enjoying the Shropshire farm setting were family and friends from Qatar, Ibiza, Ireland, Worcester, Surrey, Devon and London.

And Ken’s family originate from Scotland - meaning there were a few kilts at the ceremony too.

The couple got engaged on December 30, 2015 at an evening meal with Antonia’s family and they then began planning their wedding.

“We decided to get married in Shropshire because Antonia has a large family who all live in the county,” said Ken.

“Family is very special to us and we wanted to make sure that they could definitely be there.

“Antonia’s Aunty Viv found Morrells Wood Farm and as soon as we saw it we knew it would be perfect. We love how cute and quaint it is and it’s set in the most beautiful countryside."

Antonia said the guests, who gathered together for a walk up The Wrekin the day after the wedding, fell in love with the open fields and countryside and were blown away by the views.

She added. “We even had some guests say that they wanted to move to Shropshire.”

And even though they would have been guaranteed sunshine for their wedding in Ibiza, they made it a rule not to worry about the weather.

“We know you never count on it in the UK,” added Antonia. “We were actually quite lucky, although it was obviously much cooler than Ibiza but it didn’t rain.

“There was cloud cover with bits of blue sky poking through, but it made it better for photos as there was no squinting or shadows on our faces.”

The couple said the day was everything they imagined.

“It’s quite overwhelming having all of your loved ones in one place for the whole day, but it was so special,” said Ken.

“Lots of our families and friends helped decorate the barn, so we had lots of fairy lights, bunting made by my mum and jam jars full of tea lights and flowers - it looked so beautiful.”

And the couple’s love of Disney movies shone through as the reception got underway.

Antonia said: “Our first dance was the waltz from the 2015 Cinderella film - a friend of ours taught us the basic waltz step and then we spent three months practicing in our house in Ibiza - on the kitchen tiles and on the roof terrace.

“My mum’ choir, The Darby Singers who sang during the ceremony, also surprised us both by singing Hakuna Matata from the Lion King and the vicar actually started the song which was pretty funny!

“My sister surprised us by singing Tale As Old As Time from Beauty and the Beast at the reception and we also had a Mickey and Minnie cake topper and the tables were all Disney place names.”

The couple have had a mini-moon to Formentera and later in the year plan to have a honeymoon in Thailand.

Hannah Hall, from Shropshire Farm Weddings, said: “We were thrilled to be able to welcome Antonia, Ken and their families to Morrells Wood Farm. It was our first wedding of the season there and a lovely way to begin the year. “It was a truly special day and the venue with its relaxed country feel suited their wedding perfectly.”