Natural Quirky & Boho Woodland Yurt Wedding

Be ready to feast your eyes on the dreamy The Paper Mill wedding of WWW readers Chantelle and Kieran in the Kent woodland. Their summer wedding was natural and quirky yet boho in style, with a woodland ceremony, a rustic yurt reception and so much style!

I love so much about their quirky day; the DIY decorations, the sensational outfits, the pretty flowers and all of the lovely little touches. It really is a summer’s dream and I just know you are going to adore their real wedding story below.

Jasmine Skye Photography, I can’t thank you enough for sharing these fabulous images with us.

The Paper Mill Wedding

The Proposal

We got engaged in beautiful Montenegro in a picturesque, little village called Parast. We went for a walk along the waterfront to get some dinner and then saw a little pathway up to a tiny church. We walked up to the top, Kieran set up the camera so we could have a ‘photo’ and before I knew it he was down on one knee!

He was really videoing the proposal so he could show our friends and family.

The Vision

Natural, woodland, boho vibes.

As we started to plan the wedding the one thing we knew for certain was that we wanted to get married in the woods. We are keen travellers and explorers and love being outdoors. We found finding a woodland venue that was licensed in our area really tricky so when we went to see The Paper Mill we knew it was the one- despite the knee deep mud as we viewed it in winter!

There is a barn on site which is beautiful but it was too small to fit our 100+ guests inside. I then came across a yurt on Pinterest and our hearts were set on having a yurt! Cheltenham Yurt Hire were fantastic and Abby was the most helpful and kindest person.

Budget

£25,000 but spent just under £30,000.

The Venue

The Paper Mill, Cranbrook

Your Outfits

My dress was from a shop in Folkestone called Wedding World Kent by a designer called Justin Alexander. I went in with the idea of having a small, simple dress and came out buying a big, beautiful, lace dress with 3D flowers, freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals.

I chose this dress because as soon as I put it on I just knew – I really thought that was a bit of an old wives tale but once it was on I really did know! I would highly recommend Wedding World Kent, the staff are absolutely amazing and so kind.

Despite having a summer wedding, Kieran was certain on having a tweed suit. He went for a lovely, chocolate brown tweed suit from Moss Bros and a short sleeved white shirt. As we didn’t have summer weather for our summer wedding the tweed suit was perfect and fit perfectly with our woodland wedding.

The Ceremony & Music

Our ceremony was nestled in the trees. Our guests were sitting on hay bales and it was just magical. It also rained and the sound on the trees was amazing and added to the magic. I came down the aisle to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri and we left to We Go Together from Grease.

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

Our photographers were Ruth and Joey and what a power couple they are! They were just absolutely amazing. When I say they didn’t stop snapping all day, they really didn’t stop! We absolutely love our photos. They are so natural, light and they captured every detail, moment and person perfectly. I could not recommend them enough. We are over the moon and words cannot express how great these guys really are.

Matt was incredible. He made us feel totally comfortable in front of the camera and he did an excellent job of merging into the background so we didn’t know he was there. As people who are normally hiding from the camera this was essential for us.

The Styling & Decor

We made most of our signs and decorations ourselves. All of the wooden signs were made by Kieran and we used a Cricut to add the wording. There was a lot of pinteresting and looking at wedding blogs for inspiration.

We wanted everything to be as natural as possible so lots of wood, flowers, succulents, naked cake etc. Kieran made all of the signs, table centrepieces, cake stand, lawn games and even the bar! My uncle put all of the flowers together and I had a great time going to New Covent Garden flower market with him the week of the wedding to pick out everything I wanted!

The Honeymoon

Unfortunately due to Covid our honeymoon was cancelled so our honeymoon is yet to come. We did however go on a mini-moon back to Montenegro where we got engaged which was just the most amazing thing. We stayed in the Iberostar in Perast, the village we got engaged in.

Michelle Goulding from the Travel Counsellors was absolutely incredible and helped us every step of the way. I cannot recommend her enough. We even got the surprise of an upgrade on our room which was just beautiful.

Memorable Moments

Falling down the stairs as I walked down the aisle – there is a great photo of my dad and I laughing after I tripped down the stairs which actually helped calm my nerves!

When the videographer told us he had 5 minutes left and asked what we’d like him to capture before he goes, we decided to play YMCA. The dance floor was packed with dodgy dance moves and laughter – it was the best!

At the end of the night the DJ played a few extra songs, one being Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. Everyone got into a circle and swayed to the song whilst Kieran and I danced in the middle – it was pure magic and everyone got very emotional.

Advice For Other Couples

If you are questioning getting a videographer – do it!! I am so glad we got a videographer as there were parts of the day you miss/don’t see and I am so happy that we get to see all of the parts we weren’t there for.

Take 5/10 minutes alone. I felt so overwhelmed after the ceremony and going to have our photos taken quickly gave us time to talk and really take it all in!

Oh so stunning. Chantelle and Kieran thanks ever so much for sharing your very special The Paper Mill wedding story with us.