Intimate Sustainable & Vegan Off-Grid Woodland Wedding

Is there anything better than a couple who march to the beat of their own drum? Well, that’s exactly what Evangeline and Edward did for their off-grid woodland wedding, which was a total dream!

At the heart of their day was a sustainable and vegan ethos, with cruelty-free choices, simple decor and a vintage wedding gown. Wow. It’s also remarkable that they had no facilities in the woodland clearing, it must have been so idyllic. Not to mention they achieved their celebrations in a budget-friendly sub £10,000.

They describe their day as “intimate, grounding, and adoring” which I totally love. It was all about the sentiment and their love, whilst staying true to their values.

Huge thanks go to Purple Kite Photography for kindly sharing these sensational images of one incredibly special celebration in the woods.

Off-Grid Woodland Wedding

The Proposal

Ed proposed whilst we were away on a weekend trip to Cheddar Gorge in February 2022. We drove up in the morning and hiked to the top of the Gorge. We found a quiet ledge, away from the main path and with no one in sight, to sit and have our packed lunch.

As we sat, I began to construct my sandwich and then he said, “I best do this now before you stuff your face”, and I looked up to find him on one knee holding the most beautiful vintage sapphire ring. Of course, I said yes.

The Vision

We wanted a simple wedding with just our closest friends and family. We also knew we didn’t want a wedding venue or a religious ceremony but instead, we wanted to be married outside and have a more spiritual/traditional ceremony where our family could be involved.

It was also essential for us that everything was vegan and to make our wedding as sustainable as possible.

Budget

<£10,000, since it was such a DIY wedding it was very hard to know how much it cost but we wanted it to be cheap so avoided conventional wedding venues and didn’t have décor etc.

The Venue

Through a family friend, we were able to get married in a small, wooded area a few miles from Evangeline’s family home. Since it was not an actual wedding venue there was no water or electricity.

Although being off grid was a perk. The wedding guests had to walk 1km (with those unable being taken by Land Rover) into the woods to a clearing lined with oak trees within which the ceremony and afternoon tea would take place.

The Ceremony & Music

Our ceremony was led by our celebrant Alex Hilder. First Evangeline’s brother (man of honour) and cousin (ring bearer) walked down the aisle and then Evangeline was given away by her father.

The ceremony involved a reading from one of the best men followed by the laying of our ceremony rope by our parents and the laying of bundles of herbs by our grandparents in the Celtic heart knots tied by Evangeline along the rope.

After entering the circle we exchanged rings which we had made ourselves with Anna Loucah and then proceeded to our handfasting. The ribbons represent the 5 elements and were made by Evangeline from some old wedding dress fabric given to her by her grandma and then dyed with natural dyes.

After tying the knot, we jumped the broom and walked back down the aisle lines with our friends and family ringing bells and throwing dried lavender confetti grown by Edwards’ mother.

Your Outfits

Evangeline wore a very simple vintage silk dress from My Green Dress in Farnham. It was important for her to have a secondhand dress because of the environmental cost of a wedding. She wore bare feet and had a dried flower headband and bouquet from Wilt Studio.

She also wore some olive branch earrings Ed bought her when they first started dating and bought a handmade silver olive branch necklace made by Greek Goddess Jewelry in Greece to wear for the day.

Edward wore a pink linen suit from Hawes Curtis, and some black oxford shoes from Wills Vegan Shoes. Both the suit and shoes are things Ed will wear and has already worn, many times in the future.

Your Photographer

Purple Kite Photography

The Styling & Decor

Decorations include homemade bunting sewn by the bride and her grandmother.
Cakes for afternoon tea from Dopa Delights.
Flowers (headband, buttonholes and bouquet) from Wilt Studio.
DIY signs, homemade napkins made from scrap fabric and hand-painted place cards for each guest made by Evangeline.

The Honeymoon

We went off on our honeymoon just 2 days after our wedding to travel around Europe via train for 3 weeks. We started in Rome then travelled to Trieste, Vienna, Nuremberg, Brussels, and Paris.

Memorable Moments

Standing in the ceremony circle with our hands bound, listening to the trees, the birds and taking a deep breath together, taking a moment to capture the moment and save it forever.

Next was sitting at the end of the table together, looking down and being able to see everyone we love and care about, all on one long table, enjoying cruelty-free food and drink amongst the trees.

Advice For Other Couples

Never sleep on an argument and tell each other you love one another every night before you go to sleep. By bringing the problems of yesterday into the present you’re living in the past, learn to communicate and be present with one another.

Don’t live in one another’s shadow, give each other space to grow.