Rustic Colourful & Theatrical DIY Laurel Farm Wedding

Welcome to the beautifully rustic Laurel Farm wedding of WWW followers Lotty and Costa in Oxfordshire. Their day was colourful with a touch of theatrical (be sure to read their proposal story!) as well as plenty of DIY decorations. AND all for a budget-friendly £13.5K which is just remarkable.

There is so much to love; the stunning marquee reception, the very stylish outfits and of course the romantic florals. There were lots of smiles, fun moments and special times indeed, which you’ll discover when you read their report below.

Caroline Opacic Photography thank you so much for sharing these exquisite images of a very beautiful wedding indeed.

Lotty on WWW

We knew we wanted an alternative and unique day and WWW was a great source of visual inspiration.

Laurel Farm Wedding

The Proposal

The proposal was elaborate! We met working in theatre so Costa couldn’t resist an immersive theatrical proposal!

He created an audio walking tour through Oxford (where we met) which he convinced me was a test run for a friend’s theatre company. It lead me past lots of significant places from our love story: the café where we had our first date, the theatre we worked in, the place he left surprise flowers for me.

It lead me through the city to the Magdalen Bridge and instructed me to meet someone in a rowing boat! Costa was waiting in a boat with a picnic and the ring hidden away. When we were out on the water he popped the question, and then we popped the champagne!

The Vision

We were let down by our original venue just 6 months before our wedding (after already postponing for a year due to covid). We had planned a woodland ceremony and marquee reception under the trees.

Cue a frantic search for a new venue in the midst of the Christmas lockdown! We had to completely rethink our vision for our new venue, the stunning Laurel Farm. Thankfully our second venue was even better than the first with more facilities and indoor space. Laurel Farm is Mike and Catherine’s family home and they made us feel like part of the family all weekend!

Our vision was for a festival feel, but with a colourful and theatrical twist. One of our first dates was at Wilderness Festival so we were inspired by the slightly eccentric and creative flair of Wilderness as well as our years in the theatre.

We also wanted to be mindful of waste and upcycled lots of fabric, damaged books, and wood, to make decorations. Ultimately we wanted a day which felt like us!

Budget

Started at 10k but after all the venue changing and covid ended up at 13.5k.

The Venue

Laurel Farm Oxfordshire

The Ceremony & Music

Our ceremony was held under the trees on the lawn at our venue. Our celebrant, Rachael Rafferty, was a ray of sunshine and calm throughout the whole process. She wrote the most beautiful ceremony, weaving together our love story.

Three friends gave readings: a poem, an excerpt from His Dark Materials, and the ‘sexy Priest’ wedding speech from Fleabag.

In the evening we had an all-female funk and soul band perform. They were incredible and really got the party going!

Your Outfits

Costa really wanted a custom made suit as he’d wear it again, and he struggles to find hire suits to fit. He had a beautiful wool suit made for him by Healy and Son Tailoring. I made all the boys’ pocket squares from Liberty fabric chosen by Costa.

The dress – I visited quite a few bridal shops, including second-hand ones as I was buying my own dress and didn’t want to spend too much on something I’d only wear once! I found some of the dress shops rather overly princess-y for my style, and I wanted something a bit different.

Luckily I discovered Lucy Can’t Dance and their laid back and inclusive studio! They make stunning dresses you can actually eat, drink, and party hard in! I couldn’t afford a made to measure dress, but luckily they had a sale at Christmas time and I found my perfect dress at a fraction of the price.

They made me a custom reverse dip-dye slip to show off the beautiful leafy lace. I had a hairpiece custom made by Mignonne Handmade incorporating the colours of the bridesmaid’s dresses.

I made the flower girls’ dresses from vintage table cloths I found on eBay, and the bridesmaids chose their own dresses in keeping with the colour scheme, most already had something perfect hanging in their wardrobes.

Our rings were made by re-casting my great grandmother’s ring. The incredibly talented Charlotte Rowenna cast a fine twig textured band for me to fit around my engagement ring and a really unique sandblasted ring for Costa. They are extra special for being linked by the gold from my great granny’s ring.

The Styling & Decor

We went big on DIY! Costa used to work in theatre lighting and sound so he made an incredible neon sign for the barn, as well as hanging copper lights, and ribbon chandeliers for the marquee.

I taught myself how to use Procreate on my iPad during lockdown and made our stationery. My mum and I used my Granny’s silk fabric offcuts from her quilting projects to make many meters of festival style bunting.

And I enlisted friends and family to help me cover the tables with pages of Shakespeare from damaged vintage copies of the Complete Works. Costa made the table name holders and wooden signs, using wood from reclaimed pallets and twigs pruned from trees in our garden. I invested in a Cricut machine to help me make signage.

We put ‘star baker’ awards in certain guests’ invitations to invite keen bakers to make cakes for the dessert table. They all did us proud! My sister’s partner even made my parent’s Land Rover Defender out of cake!

Your Photographer

Caroline Opacic

Caroline was so fun to work with. She managed to catch so many stunning candid shots and made us feel totally at ease. She managed to be absolutely everywhere, catching gorgeous moments, and the same time completely unobtrusive.

The Honeymoon

Due to covid, we were nervous about booking overseas travel. We spent 4 days at Hotel Du Vin in Edinburgh. We visited some incredible restaurants and climbed Arthur’s Seat in blazing sunshine!

Memorable Moments

Our groomsmen and best-woman surprised us after the ceremony with a gorgeous acoustic rendition of ‘The Only Way Is Up’.

In the evening it transpired that everyone who had gone on the stag weekend had secretly learnt Greek dancing, the band introduced it and the guys performed it in the barn to everyone’s surprise!

Advice For Other Couples

We snuck off for a quiet moment (and some Prosecco) after the ceremony. It was the best man’s idea and such a good call. We needed time to be in the moment together and celebrate finally tying the knot.

There will be a flurry of last-minute spending. We did ‘money away’ some of our problems towards the end.

Be prepared to ask your friends to help if you are going for a lot of DIY. But make sure you feed and thank them!