Back garden weddings are my favourite. They always look so cosy, warm and welcoming. This one is especially fabulous as there’s a Tipi and the family dog gets to join in the festivities.
Katie’s parents house was always her dream wedding venue and she has been best friends with Groom Andy since they were at nursery! Their familiarity and together-ness shines through in all of the images.
Their families and friends look like a really lovely, happy group of people and I bet that some of them knew very early on that Katie and Andy would one day end up Man and Wife.
Home Sweet Home
Katie The Bride: Ever since I was a little girl I have always wanted to have my wedding in my parent’s garden. My dad converted the barn into our home around 20 years ago and it’s been the central point of our family ever since. So when Andy proposed to me on a skiing holiday I knew instantly we had the venue sorted!
I found the tipi tents online before we even got engaged (as you do!) and absolutely loved how different they are to any other marquees. Andy wasn’t so keen to start with until we went to an open day with Tipis4hire and he was sold too! The team at Tipis4hire were brilliant and really competitively priced.
A Colourful Lip
I knew I wanted to wear my hair in an up-do so I wouldn’t have to worry about it on the day. I bought my hair comb at the Save the Date wedding fair. My hair isn’t very long and it’s quite fine so my auntie Sue (who is a hairdresser) recommended a Balmain hair piece. This was amazing and I still use it now when creating my own up-dos.
I wanted my hair loose with a messy look and Leah from Head Candy in Market Harborough totally nailed it. She’s so lovely to work with and also did all the bridesmaids hair and my mum’s! I tend to go for a bright lip colour and keep my eyes neutral when doing my own makeup so thought I’d stick to what I like. Mandy Adams is fab and did an awesome job of all our makeup. It lasted well into the night despite lots of hugging, kissing and a little crying!
Exactly As Imagined
I knew I wanted some lace in my dress and I was completely adamant I didn’t want strapless. I have to say I never had an ‘it’s the one’ moment but when I decided on my gorgeous Benjamin Roberts gown it’s exactly the dress I imagined wearing on my w-day. I wasn’t so keen on the neckline of the dress so I had the sleeves pinched in to expose more of my shoulders. I added an embellished sash that I bought on Etsy.
Sparkly Princess Gorgeousness
My something old was my Mum’s veil that she wore when marrying my Dad and this was really special to me as I’m so close to both my parents. Top tip: After 30 years in the loft the veil was rather yellow, so my Mum hand washed it in Glo white net curtain whitener, and TA-DA, it was as good as new!
Ooh the shoes…I wanted some I could wear again to remind me of our special day so I went for the ultimate in sparkly princess gorgeousness… Jimmy Choos! I kept my jewellery simple with some small vintage chandelier earrings from the Save the Date wedding fair and a sapphire ring my Grandma Sheila gave to me for my 21st birthday, this was also my ‘something blue’.
Andy bought me a beautiful delicate Astley Clarke bracelet as a wedding gift and I surprised him with the Tag Heuer watch he’s dreamed about for as long as I can remember.
Well Dressed Wedding Party
I had seven bridesmaids in total – my sisters, Andy’s sisters and our three cousins. I stumbled across the older girls dresses in Topshop, they’re from the boutique range Coco’s Fortune and knew they’d look amazing on all my girls.
My little girls were really hard to dress as they were 12 and 11 at the time, too young for ladies dresses but too big for flower girl dresses. In the end we went for a dress from Monsoon teamed with glittery gold pumps.
Andy had two best men and they all wore the same three piece navy suit from Jeff Banks. Andy loves his shoes so went for some lovely tan brogues from Grenson. Their spotty ties were from Reiss.
Six Foot K & A
We wanted an outdoorsy, rustic and fun feel to our day. The tipis needed to be bursting with pretty decorations so we used lots of fairy lights, bunting, paper pom poms, wicker hearts, paper lanterns and tons of gorgeous flowers and foliage. I had seen on RMW some fantastic giant light up letters so my Dad decided he could make these and 2 days later, voila – we had a 6 ft K & A in the garage!
Colour And Texture
The beautiful flowers were exactly as I’d imagined and arranged by the wonderful Carolann at CK Flowers. I wanted lots of colour and texture so for the bouquets she used pink peonies, herbs such as rosemary and lavender, orange roses and blue thistles.
We also had two large arrangements in milk churns and two smaller arrangements for the top table. Then my lovely Grandma organised our table arrangements in wooden heart lanterns. We then raided my parent’s garden for tons of ivy and foliage that we used all over – throughout the tipis, around pillars and to make an arch at the altar of the church.
Marrying My Best Friend
Andy and I have been friends since we were at nursery so it was really special for us to get married at our local parish church where we were both christened. My sister Charlotte read a poem by Louise Cuddon called ‘I’ll be there for you’. She kept this as a surprise until the day, it was so personal to us both and she read it so beautifully. I was worried I would cry throughout the ceremony but I was just so excited to marry my best friend all my nerves melted away.
You Belong With Me
Andy’s sister Kate is a phenomenal singer and asked to sing at our wedding breakfast. She chose Ed Sheeran ‘Kiss Me’ and it was absolutely amazing. It was really important to us that we had a live band that would get everyone dancing. We came across TI Funk in Nottingham and knew they’d be perfect! They’re a great blend of soul, funk and RnB with two incredible lead singers. We chose our first dance so long ago nothing else could compete… We had Ho Hey by The Lumineers and it will forever be one of our favourite songs.
Lovingly Homemade
My parent’s friends and exceptional caterers, Nick and Mandy Healy from Nick’s at Home, produced our delicious menu. We had canapés then a selection of homemade breads, oils, hummus and smoked salmon for starter, succulent supreme of chicken for main and a trio of desserts to finish. For the evening we had pork cobs with all the trimmings and lots of homemade cakes loving made by friends and family. For our favours my mum was amazing and made plum jam, raspberry vodka and sloe gin for the ladies. Then for the gents we bought hipflasks and filled then with whisky.
Talented Friends And Family
When it came to stationery we were extremely lucky to have such a talented bunch of friends and family. Our lovely friend Ian of Twin Tipped Designs offered to design all our wedding stationery. He is fab and all the invitations, menus etc looked brilliant. My Grandad is a great artist and sketched the church for the front of our order of service and our family friend Paul Duval printed everything for us.
A Wedding In A Field
If you are planning to organise a wedding in a field or garden then you need tons of support! We were so lucky to have amazing parents, family and friends to help us out because there is so much more to think about and arrange; the list is endless!
Andy and I tried to make sure we had some time together as the whole day is a whirlwind of kisses, thank yous, laughs, tears and much more! I know every bride says this but it’s over in a flash so savour EVERY moment!
Breath-taking Photography
Emma Case and her husband Pete are simply the best! They are such lovely, genuine and wonderful people and their photography is breathtaking, everything we could have wished for!
We also enlisted Carmen of Carmen Weddings as our wedding organiser and I truly don’t know what we would have done without her! She worked her socks off and ensured that on the day we could relax without worrying about lighting candles, moving tables and the thousand other things that needed doing.
It was Lolly’s wedding on RMW that made me realise we HAD to have a videographer and we decided on Minty Slippers who captured our day beautifully. I can honestly say all our suppliers were absolutely awesome and amazing to work with.
Click here & view all images from this wedding
Bride’s Gown – Benjamin Roberts
Sash – Etsy
Shoes – Jimmy Choo
Bridesmaid’s Gowns – Coco’s Fortune at Topshop and Monsoon
Hair – Leah from Head Candy in Market Harborough
Groom and Groomsmen – Jeff Banks
Tipi Hire – Tipis4Hire
Jewellery – Lou Lou Jewellery
Band – TI Funk
Florist – CK Flowers
Stationery – Twin Tipped Designs
Videography – Minty Slippers
Wedding Planner – Carmen of Carmen Weddings
Photography – Emma Case Photography
Isn’t Katie’s hair and make up gorgeous? Very fresh and fun looking.
And who needs a prop hire company when you’ve got Katie’s Dad??
Lots of love,
Fern x