As soon as the engagement shoot of Ali and Ricky appeared in my inbox I knew the wedding was going to be EPIC.
And I wasn’t wrong.
The styling is simple yet perfectly bohemian and the fashion is delicious, Ali’s 70′s Biba dress is stunningly beautiful and she exchanged her pretty floral crown headpiece to a statement beaded number for the evening reception, a quick and easy way to change up your look.
And the bouquet?! like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Just about every single image from this affair is wall-worthy and every detail completely covetable, make sure you check out the gallery for even more magical moments.
Check
The amazing Fforest in Cilgerran Wales was our chosen festival wedding venue and my god did it tick all the boxes! Vintage tea party…check, giant hat tipi…check…, pub…check, log fires…check, Beautiful landscape…check, glamping…check, amazing food…check, super staff…check, perfect for a festival wedding…CHECK !!
We wanted a relaxed, bohemian party and Fforest delivered our festival dreams and then some! Our wedding lasted an entire weekend with guests camping onsite with us. SHEER BLISS. Would I recommend this venue to everyone? YES!!!!
An Era I Love
My hair and make was relaxed & bohemian to reflect the tone of the wedding. Pinterest was amazing for inspiration on this genre and I also love all things boho! Simple plaits amongst loose curls created the look for my hair. My make up was simple with a touch of colour on the lips and a heavier eyeliner on my eyes to a represent the 70s; an era I just LOVE!
Nicky from Beauty call (nationwide hair & makeup artists) created the look with such ease & perfection & was a total gem on the day!
Vintage Glamour
My dress was BIBA. I have always admired the fashion heritage of this brand. When I found out they did an exclusive bridal range I just had to source one of their dresses! My dress is the Alexia Dress and totally captures the 70s; I just loved the simplicity of it. A simple embellished waistband & open back adds a touch of vintage glamour.
I was in love with this dress from day one & it did not disappoint on the day! Thank you BIBA!
A Dream
Ricky was suited & booted in a Ted Baker navy herringbone suit. We mixed up textures & prints to add that boho touch and his shoes were from Dune. He looked a total DREAM!
Vintage Pinks
Dressing my best girlfriends in the world was easy & a delight! The colour scheme was vintage pinks, creams, peaches, nudes. All three of the girl’s dresses were from Miss Selfridge, each dress was different but matched together by colour. Textured flowers, pretty jewel detail & pearls are all on trend features for SS13 & fit perfectly with my vintage boho wedding!
To finish the look each girl wore a super cute floral trim cape by Lashes Edit featured in Topshop and on Lashes Of London.
From Boho To Flapper
During the day I wore a flower crown headband with satin ribbon & heart detail to add a pretty bohemian touch to my look. The crown was made by Whichgoose from the online handmade marketplace Etsy.
In the evening I wanted to make a point of difference & add glamour. I found my flapper style vintage headpiece from Rouge Pony, an amazing handmade store on Esty.
My shoes were 70′s matt gold platforms by Bertie – perfect for my 70′s boho look! I also wore a pearlised ring – from the prettiest, sweetest shop in London ‘Little Paris’ in Crouch end.
The Boys
The groomsmen wore shades of navy & blue – each boy had a different boho look mixing up different prints & textures. Their outfits were put together in Topman & accessorised with vintage pieces. Brown brogues topped off the look.
A Spring Fete
My colour scheme was vintage pinks, creams, peaches, nudes and pastel colours, for décor we designed around a spring fete/vintage tea party with bunting, mix match vintage china, cake stands, pastel balloons, ribbon, fairy lights, jam jars, vintage bottles, crochet blankets, crochet jam jar covers, tipi, festoon lighting, log fires, candles, vintage buttons, lace, wild foliage and…(breathe)….and wicker baskets!
A Touch Of Whimsy
My flowers were from the fabulous Jill at blooms. I wanted my bouquet to be really whimsical & my god did Jill get it right! The flowers were beautiful in an arm sheif bouquet draped with lots of vintage lace & ribbon to add a totally boho feel! Jill was a dream to work with & totally got what I wanted.
My bridesmaids had a simple whimsical bouquet mixed with wild flowers to add a pretty rustic touch to their gorgeous dresses and finished with vintage ribbon.
The table flowers were various pretty flowers in jam jars, simple gorgeous and totally vintage!
We also had Wilde foliage in the barn, floral wicker hearts and various foliage and flowers to decorate the tipi.
Marrying My Sailor
My favourite part of the ceremony was marrying my sailor! we had an intimate candlelit ceremony with parents for legal words and then a Humanist tipi ceremony so we could have everyone we LOVE under one tipi!!
All of our fabulous friends and family watching us get wed! Sheer bliss! I also remember the moment my Dad first saw me in my dress – A special moment to remember for the rest of my life.
Local Produce
We had a great band – RADWN, a Welsh folk band Acoustic set & live gig we also had some great DJ’s – James LeRouge, Leon & Lewis & X-Bo !
All food was handmade made on the farm with Welsh local produce – The Fforest catering team have this down to a tea & are brilliant!! For the Vintage tea party we had cakes, sandwiches and a hog roast.
We had a selection of drinks, wine, cocktails, processco, real ales, real ciders and homemade lemonade. The brilliant Fiona Perenaras a member of the Fforest team made our victoria sponge wedding cake.
Personal Touches
Detail was super important to me as I really wanted make my own stamp on the wedding!! Our tables were named after our favourite places & cities that Ricky and I had travelled too. We made name cards which had our initials & wedding date on them!
For the table plan a chalk board decorated in shabby chic lace & bunting, names were printed on vintage luggage tags. For place names we had super cute heart shaped shortbread biscuits!
The Best Time Ever
Enjoy the build up & try not to get too stressed, Don’t worry about your guests, they LOVE you & will be happy whatever the circumstance! Having a festival wedding in Wales, I totally freaked out about the weather & worried my guests would too when in actual fact they just embraced every aspect. Luckily enough for us it stayed dry… for majority of the weekend anyway!
Having people around you that are calming & used to weddings on the wedding morning is a massive advantage! Think about who you hire as your photographer & hair & makeup artist – do you get on with them? Our photographer Claudia Rose Carter & my hair & make up artist Nicky from BeautyCall were both AMAZING!!! They made me feel totally brilliant & really helped to calm my nerves.
JUST LAP IT ALL UP, IT’S THE BEST TIME EVER !!!
Click here & view all images from this wedding
Venue – Fforest
Hair & Make-Up – Beauty call
Brides Gown – Biba
Brides Floral Crown – Whichgoose
Brides Flapper Crown – Rouge Pony
Brides Shoes – Bertie
Grooms Suit -Ted Baker
Maids Dresses – Miss Selfridge
Florist – Jill at Blooms
Catering And Cake – Fforest
Photography – Claudia Rose Carter
Told you so.
I want Ali’s dress. And headpiece. BOTH in fact.
I also want that cake. For my breakfast.
Big 70′s Love
Charlotte xxx