Luck Shone on this couple!
Luck shone on this couple! They had longed to have tipis for their wedding but they were hugely more expensive than a marquee BUT the day before set up Oakleaf Marquees rang to ask if they would swap their Clear Span marquee for tipis – no hesitation – YES!
It was cloudy when Oakleaf arrived to set up in the field, the first cloudy day for a while as you can see by the state of the lawn!
It is fascinating to watch tipis go up – such a simple structure but very heavy and not without a few hazards.
Oakleaf Marquees - https://www.oakleafmarquees.co.uk / 01258 520345 / info@oakleafmarquees.co.uk – they also provided the benches for the lawn.
Friday and the decorating began. First the chairs went down to the bottom lawn where they were laid out ready for Saturday’s ceremony but minus their seats which were piled into the Gazebo, just in case it rained which was luckily very unlikely.
Whitestem brought their beautiful scented jasmine arch for the front of the gazebo and placed two olive trees at the start of the aisle and two at the end – very simple but very effective and the smell from the jasmine was incredible - Whitestem Real Trees - https://www.whitestem.co.uk / 07985 613572 / debbie@whitestem.co.uk
Tables were laid with a hessian runner over stiff white damask cloths from 365 Linen Hire - 01722 333444 / 365linen@gmail.com / www.365catererslinen.co.uk –
The mismatched vintage china and cutlery was produced by the caterers Sunflower Kitchen - sunflowerkitchen.uk / phoebesearle@gmail.com / lavshastie@gmail.com/ 07984156307 / 07810837286 - who also laid the tables.
A wooden slice in the centre of each table held a candle – for decoration only – and bunches of flowers, some in bottles and some in a jam jars – a jar of sweets on each place completed the arrangement - the whole effect was very smart but equally very relaxed.
Sunflower Kitchen set up in the catering marquee at the back of the tipis and laid out a table out on the lawn for canapes the next day.
A long table was set outside the tipi with photographs of the the bride and groom and a book for guests to write their messages to the couple.
The flowers were moved into the cool of the porch overnight, in the care of the ancestors - who were already wearing their wedding hats. Flowers provided by Blackshed Flowers - 07859 911817 / info@blackshed.flowers / https://www.blackshed.flowers who also provided the buttonholes and the bride’s bouquet.
The Fizzy Pheasant brought their bar into the tipi and arranged two huge barrels and a heavy wooden counter on the lawn ready for drinks after the ceremony.
The following day the groom and his friends put all the cushions onto the chairs and placed a packet of confetti and an order for the day on each one. A welcome notice ready for their guests went to the top of the steps and they moved the flowers from the porch into the tipi. We finished off the gazebo with chair covers and a cloth over the table and added pots of white dahlias to the front.
Soon it was time for the groom to finish dressing and see the registrars
……..and then patiently wait for his bride to arrive.
Sunflower kitchen dressed their canape bar with pots of herbs and laid out their wares and very tempting they looked!
The guitarist, who was to play as the couple came down the aisle, started to tune up.
Guests began to arrive and were shown to their seats and before long a classic open topped purple Triumph Stag made its way to the front door. Owned and driven by the bride’s father it was an amazing sight. Incredibly the bride emerged without her hair style blown away.
She looked stunning in a very simple white dress with spaghetti straps and an embroidered bodice sown with beads. Before going down to the gazebo she had some photographs taken on the stairs of the house where her train was shown to perfection.
Her bridesmaids wore matching teal dresses with draped bodices drawn in by a diamante arc at the waist. They looked lovely with the dresses suiting all three.
The bridal party lined up and on the nod from the registrars, the guitarist started playing and they wended their way down under the Catalpa tree, bridesmaids first and then the bride with her mother on one side and her father on the other.
Service finished and register signed the couple, full of smiles, made their way back up the aisle in a shower of confetti.
They circulated amongst their guests for a while as they enjoyed canapes and welcome drinks before it was time for formal photographs including a group one taken from an upstairs window.
Then leaving everyone to chat and relax, they went off with Daniella Marinos and her assistant to have less formal pictures taken in the gardens. Daniella took all the wonderful photographs in this blog except those marked “in house”. Daniella Marinos Photography - 07720 230977 / daniellamarinosphotography@gmail.com / www.daniellamarinosphotography.com
They even found time to practice their first dance!
5pm brought a summons to the tipis to start the wedding breakfast. It smelt and looked delicious and was served on more vintage china.
There was no cutting of the cake as this took the form of a huge pile of brownies, sprinkled with fresh fruit and rose petals!
The meal finished with speeches and the laughter and cheers was probably heard in the village. At the end the couple were presented with a photograph of the groom taken on his stag night which was cause for more laughter!
Guests spilled back out onto the lawn, some to sit in the shade of the gazebos and some to explore the gardens. The bride and groom went off to have more photographs taken.
A van drew up into the field and the Carterello band unpacked their kit onto the dance floor. As the light faded they tuned up and the couple took to the floor for their first dance which looked very polished and ended with the groom lifting the bride right off the floor!
07789 934698 / russparkermusic@gmail.com / www.carterelloband.com
The lights from the tipi looked incredible in the darkening night as did the lights from the Big Bang Pizza who had quietly set up their stall in front of the tipi.07521 413720 / bridget@bigbangpizza.co.uk / www.bigbangpizza.co.uk
The party went on until midnight when guests left either to go back to their B&Bs or to follow the fairy lights to their tents in the camping field. The end of an amazing day – non-stop laughter and fun.!