Pompom Wedding

This was our first Pompom wedding and it was amazing! The couple had been the greatest of fun to work with over the months leading up to the wedding and the fun continued in spades over the weekend.

The couple had chosen to put their marquee up on the lawn by the house and to have a second for shade on the lower lawn. Dorset Party Marquees arrived early on Thursday morning to set to work. and it was not an easy job as the ground was incredibly hard but by mid afternoon it was all up and only the finishing touches to put in place - ie pompoms!

These had been made in their hundreds by both families and threaded into garlands by the bride and groom the night before, They were laid out in lines so that Ed and his gang of helpers could haul them and some giant paper lanterns, into place at the top of the marquee without them all getting tangled.

https://dpmarquees.co.uk/01258 452539 / info@dpmarquees.com

Meanwhile the bride and her Aunt fluffed up boxes of tissue paper pompoms ready to decorate the Capri tent on the lower lawn where huge amounts of vintage china, shelving, signs etc were being unloaded ready for assembly the following day.

Work started on decorating the ceremony chairs with multicoloured paper fans and the bride’s uncle filled small Kilner jars with Cassis ready to put on the tables as favours for the guests.

The following day, friends and relations descended on Shillingstone house ready to help put everything into place. Colourful shelves made by the Groom’s father and stepmother out of crates and planks were screwed together and vintage china arranged in mismatching sets - not for tea but for Prosecco! They had been collecting the china for months.

The gin bar materialised by the entrance to the lower lawn with mixers and metal baths of beer and a rustic bar was set up in the main marquee by Southern Mobile Bars from Blandford - southernmobilebars@gmail.com/0772916927

The catalpa tree was turned into a photobooth with a large selection of props and frames painted in bright colours hanging from the branches. Great trailer loads of plants arrived to decorate the aisle for the wedding the next day. They were left in the shade of the yew hedge to stay as fresh as possible.

Pompons of all sorts were tucked in everywhere, even on the steps!

Meanwhile, New Forest Bell Tents were setting up their village in the outer walled garden under a brilliant blue sky - https://www.newforestbelltents.co.uk

The family work-party laboured late before leaving - some to rest and some to party.

The great day dawned and the groom and his friends - some a little the worse for wear - returned to set out the last minute finishing touches.

The chairs were brought out from the Capri marquee onto the lawn, and set in rows ready for the ceremony. Plants went on logs all down the central aisle and a notice was put out to welcome guests, plus umbrellas not for rain but for shade. Glass jar lanterns, painted with the Worker Bee symbol of Manchester where the Bride’s family come from, were hung among the flowers.

Signs appeared outside the marquee to show guests what time everything was going to happen and where they should sit for the wedding breakfast and the groomsmen put out rugs and mats for relaxing on the lawn.

The band, Dexter, who had come all the way from Cheshire, started to set up in the Marquee and Jo, from Martha and the Meadow, arrived to finish the flowers on the gazebo that Emma had started the day before - She only had to come from the village! Once the table cloth and chair seats were in place the gazebo was ready for the ceremony.

Dexter - https://www.dexterband.co.uk

Martha and the Meadow -https://www.marthaandthemeadow.com/

Meanwhile, Carl, from the Perfect Pig , was setting up his ovens and filling the picnic baskets full of delicious goodies ready to set on each table for the wedding breakfast. This was to be followed by a barbecue and salads if guests had room! http://www.theperfectpig.co.uk/ / Carl@theperfectpig.co.uk

With the hampers in place, the marquee was ready to receive guests. The bride and groom had taken so much trouble with favours, menus etc, even the children had games by their places.

Guests began to arrive and head for the gin bar in the shade of the catalpa where they were greeted by drinks of every sort and an amazing selection of fruit.

Dexter’s Acoustic Set started to tune up by the Gazebo, ready to play during the ceremony. Guests were shepherded to their seats where they were offered bags of confetti. Some immediately made use of the umbrellas left at the end of the aisle, to keep off the sun.

The bride looked amazing, as she stepped out of her car, dressed in a white gown with a lace bodice and a huge skirt which flounced round her as she walked. On her head she had a circlet of bright flowers, echoing the flowers in her beautiful bouquet. (Both also made by Emma from Martha in the Meadow). She was accompanied by four lovely adult bridesmaids in shades of blue and purple and a divine young page and tiny bridesmaid in blue and white.

She went into the house to see the registrars in the dining room before coming out to pose for a few photographs by the front door.

Soon it was time for the bridal party to walk, down under the catalpa tree, to the gazebo where the groom was waiting.

The ceremony that followed was a lovely combination of formal and informal moments.

As the bride and groom came back down the aisle, they were pelted with real flower confetti. They were quickly surrounded by congratulating friends and family in the Capri tent where drinks and tea were being served. A time to show off her personalised sneakers!

Some guests took the time to sign the couple’s bench, while others tried out the photo-frames hanging from the catalpa tree. The photographer took the chance to take more incredible photographs, some more formal than others. Darima Frampton took all the photographs in this blog, except those marked SH, which are in house. - https://www.darimaframpton.com/ The couple had also hired a videographer to take pictures -  digitalbohemiaweddingvideography.co.uk

With the wedding breakfast ready to serve, the guests moved into the Marquee to find their places. A delicious selection of cakes, made by family and friends, had been laid out for guests to sample, including one with the couple on the top, made out of sugar paste.

The bride and groom entered the tent to a standing ovation. The meal that followed looked delicious and it was some time before clapping and cheering announced the start of the speeches.

With speeches over the guests spilled out to the lawns to relax in the sun or try the lawn games or even try out the tractor.

The bride and groom set off to have more beautiful photographs taken in the gardens.

As evening drew in the band began to play and the bride and groom burst into the tent to start their first dance.

Dancing continued until midnight with the night warm enough for guests to continue to relax outside and the Bee lanterns were moved for extra lighting near the marquee. At the witching hour, some guests departed in taxis or in the bus that had been hired to return them to their B and Bs, others wended their way through the fairy lights to their tents in the glamping field. The bride and groom retired to their bridal bell tent in the walled garden.

On Sunday morning, Carl returned to cook the campers breakfast and serve some much needed coffee. Some of the guests took this to eat on the lawn and two girls took up residence in the gazebo. Later much clearing up took place but many hands make light work.

The couple were incredibly generous in leaving their vintage china, pompoms and photo booth props behind for other couples to use - see suppliers list on the website - and some of the pompoms now adorn our Indian Style Bell tent.

It had been an amazing weekend - dotty, colourful and above all enormous fun!