Barleylands Wedding Fayre: Showcasing My Live Wedding Painting in Essex
One of the most successful places I find myself heading to are wedding fayres. I truly believe my creative business is better seen in person than online. We live in a world now where stories can be created and AI can produce so much of what we see online. For people like myself, who want to show their work as an authentic artist, it can sometimes feel harder to stand out. Yet when I am there in person, you see me, you see my work and you also see me actually painting. Rather than watching progress videos or looking at images online, you get to see the artwork developing with your own eyes.
This was my second year attending the Barleylands Wedding Fayre, and it has become one of the highlights of my year. Not only is it well organised for an event that has only been running for such a short space of time, but I also feel that it genuinely considers the small businesses exhibiting. The costs involved in the wedding industry can be astronomical, and I appreciate that the organisers understand this and make an effort to support the businesses they work with.
This year, the event came not long after my own wedding, so getting everything organised and prepared was quite difficult. Yet I still feel as though I managed to pull together a beautiful stand, full of stunning wedding paintings from my two live weddings, alongside my display pieces.
I arrived at 8am and was shown to the same space I had the year before, which was great. Having a corner meant I could spread out nicely and put up another easel this year. I usually timelapse my setup, but I thought I had left my stand at home. Turns out it was hiding at the bottom of the final bag of things, so I didn't get a timelapse of the stand coming together this time, which was annoying. After parking my car, I went to the burger van for a bacon sandwich, which I put down whilst setting up and completely forgot about. That was a sad find at the end of the day! After setting up, I popped down to have a little look around and say hello to my favourite venue, Downham Hall. I had missed their last showcase as it was held the day after our wedding, so it was lovely to see the ladies and chat about their new barn and my own wedding. They feel like old friends to me, so welcoming, kind and supportive.
Then it was time to open, and what a showcase it was! I feel as though Barleylands is so well placed within the wedding industry, and the show was busy all day. Couples streamed in from across Essex and the surrounding areas, with weddings planned for 2027 to 2029. I had so many wonderful conversations with potential clients about their wedding plans and what having me there as their live wedding painter could look like. Around 90% of my leaflets were taken, and all the business cards I had on display needed replacing. This has never happened before! In between chatting to couples, I continued painting my piece of Teigan and Callum from their wedding in August. This gave couples the chance to see what my stand could look like on their wedding day, the painting sizes I offer and how live wedding painting can fit into their celebrations.
A lot of couples told me they had never considered live wedding painting before. Yet, as a bride myself in 2026, I came to realise that so many of the things we organise for our wedding day are just that, for the day itself. Our photographs and videos are the things we walk away with, so having a live wedding painting means you also get a timeless, bespoke piece of art created from your actual wedding day. It is something you can keep in your home for years to come, with the added experience of watching the painting come to life as your guests enjoy the celebrations.
At the end of the day, I packed up all my things, said my goodbyes and left a bundle of business cards, as requested by the organisers. At other wedding fayres I have attended that aren't held at individual venues, I haven't experienced organisers actively offering to distribute additional marketing materials for their suppliers in this way. At this showcase, they were happy to hand out business cards and leaflets for other wedding businesses without charging extra to be included on a supplier list. It is a rare find, a real jewel in the crown, to have other businesses actively looking for ways to support as many people in the wedding industry as possible. I hope this approach to running wedding showcases sets an example for future events and encourages more businesses to support one another and help us all grow.
Events like the Barleylands Wedding Fayre remind me why I love meeting couples in person and sharing my live wedding painting with them. Being able to talk through ideas, answer questions and demonstrate the process gives people a much better understanding of what I offer than they might get from seeing a few photographs online.
I look forward to attending again next year, and to meeting more couples who are looking for something personal and lasting to remember their wedding day. If you are planning your wedding in Essex and would like to find out more about having a live wedding painter at your celebration, you can explore my live wedding painting packages and see examples of my work on my website.
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