Yellow Meadow Marquee Home Made Wedding

Doesn’t yellow just make you smile? For me it conjures a sense of summer, fun and energy which is why I love a pop of the hue at a wedding.

Chris and Tessa chose to get married on the 23rd May 2015 in the village church followed by a meadow marquee reception. A country garden feel was order of the day with a home made touch. It was important to them that their personalities shone through, an ethos I have to agree with.

Oodles of blooms, a happy confetti shot and personalised pies all added to the fun times. Not to mention just how gorgeous they both looked in their chosen attire. I love it all.

Thanks so much to Fairclough Photography for sharing these delightful photographs.

THE PROPOSAL | On our anniversary on a crisp winter’s day in Bruges. Chris had just finished putting me off the scent when he got down on one knee.

THE VISION | We wanted the day to be as much about the types of people that we are as possible. The emphasis was on fun and happiness without too much ceremony. We did away with the traditions that weren’t important to us and kept those that we liked.

THE PLANNING PROCESS | Pinterest, pinterest, pinterest! We did as much of the planning and execution ourselves as possible, partly to keep cost down but partly to keep the day personal.

THE VENUE | We got married in the village church and had a marquee in Chris’ Mum’s meadow and kept the reception relaxed with a country garden feel.

I am Scottish, so we were piped through the village on a walk from the church to the marquee with our guests for the reception.

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | I wore a lace dress by Avenue Diagonal called Paien. I wore silver/gold sequin Carvella shoes and a simple single tiered cathedral veil, which I had borrowed from my sister-in-law.

FINDING THE DRESS | I went dress shopping with 4 of my bridesmaids (there were 7 in total), who are my best friends from secondary school. I bought the dress in a lovely shop in the North West called Lotties Bridal. The moment we walked into Lottie’s shop, I knew I would buy my dress in there. Lottie encouraged me to try on all sorts of dresses, many of which I would never have thought to try and made it such a fun experience.

GROOM’S ATTIRE | Chris wore a Gieves and Hawkes fine wool light grey lounge suit, a bespoke tartan waistcoat in my family’s tartan and a pale yellow tie to match the bridesmaids dresses.

THE READINGS & MUSIC | We had two hymns – One More Step Along the World I Go and Lord of All Hopefulness. Our biblical reading was read by Hayley, one of the bridesmaids (Colossians 3: 12-17) and our non-biblical reading was read by Lizzie, Chris’ little sister (a passage from Esio Trot by Roald Dahl). I was piped into the church to Amazing Grace, which was my Granddad’s favourite song and I managed to find a Royal Philharmonic Orchestra version of a Queen album to play (as a surprise to Chris) when we were signing the register. I’m sure half of the wedding guests didn’t understand the significance, but Chris is a massive Queen fan and it put a smile on his face!

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS |  I had 7 bridesmaids, which were a mixture of school and university friends and future sisters-in-law. They were gorgeous and so helpful. Part of doing as much of the wedding ourselves as possible meant relying on friends and family to lend a hand in the days before the wedding to put everything in place. The bridesmaids and the groomsmen were brilliant!

THE FLOWERS | Chris’ uncle Rudolph did our flowers for us after a trip to the New Covent Garden flower market. They were a mixture of spring flowers arranged in Hendricks and Bombay Sapphire gin bottles that we had collected from the Savoy American bar in the months leading up to the wedding.

THE CAKE | In the end, we had two – one very simple 3 tiered (sponge, fruit and chocolate) from M&S and a cheese cake from Cryer and Stott, who were amazingly helpful.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Fairclough Photography. I actually went to secondary school with one half of this husband and wife paring and they came recommended to us by a friend. Their customer service is excellent, everything is made extremely easy and the photos we have are brilliant – just what we wanted.

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | We kept the themes quite straightforward – country meadow, gin, candle light and fun. We dressed the tables ourselves, made our own favours and made the details personal where at all possible. This definitely meant more work for us, but it allowed us to have the wedding that we wanted and the day ended up being a true reflection of us as a result.

THE HONEYMOON | We went to the Amalfi coast for a week to relax and explore that coast line before heading to Rome. The whole trip was beautifully romantic and just what we were looking for.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | For both of us, the bit that we enjoyed the most was the wedding ceremony itself. We were so happy and relaxed and just couldn’t wait to tie the knot!

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Make sure you focus on the things that will make you happy as a couple. Make the day as personal as your time will allow, the rewards are huge.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Photography | Fairclough Photography

Marquee | Fairytale Marquees

Bagpipe Player | Tony Kelly Bagpipes

Make Up | Rose Make Up

Dress Boutique | Lottie’s Bridal Boutique

Cheese | Cryer & Stott

Wine | Calais Wines

Band | The Mandarin Dukes

Caterers | Cousins Catering

Absolutely lovely.

Thanks so much to Chris and Tessa for sharing their gorgeous nuptials with us xo Lou