Rustic Tipi & Barn Wedding with Boho Style

Oh those balmy days! Kyle and Jasmine’s wedding was a scorcher, held on the 29th September 2019 at Upwaltham Barns in West Sussex. The venue is actually Jasmine’s home so there was no doubt that they would host their day there. To add a twist and to surprise their guests they decided to hold their evening party in a stunning rustic tipi but before that they held a blessing in the church followed by a ceremony and meal in the beautiful barns. I always think it’s lovely to have a surprise for guests on the day, don’t you?

I love how their loved ones came together to create a really special celebration, with family all contributing to the flowers, the decor, the gardens, the catering and even the bar. How amazing is that? Let’s not forget how pretty it all was, I adore the outfits, Jasmine’s flower crown, the meadow flowers lining the aisle and the lighting come evening. Just incredible.

Huge thanks goes to Cotton Candy Photography for sharing these super dreamy images, the shots in the fields are so perfect. Wow.

The Proposal

[Kyle] We first met at uni in 2009 and, have been dating since then. Fast forward 8 years and we’ve lived in different countries, different cities, apart and finally we were together in London. I knew the only place I wanted to ask Jasmine to marry me was in our flat. I’d designed the ring and found Simon Wright an amazing jeweller in Farringdon who had made a stunning ring and had it stashed in my sock drawer for a few days. When Saturday eventually came round, what I hadn’t planned was some sore heads from a 30th the night before. After a rather hearty breakfast and a few cups of coffee I managed to persuade her to go load the dishwasher so she went off and came back to find me on two knees (I’d got a bit nervous!) On our living room floor. It was the start of an amazing champagne fuelled few days.

The Vision

[Jasmine] Having parents who work in the wedding industry and home being Upwaltham Barns wedding venue, I’ve forever been absorbing different influences and deciding on things I did and didn’t like! However, when it actually came to deciding what we wanted it was hard!! The dream was to have an English country wedding that fundamentally felt relaxed and fun. If we were to have not got married at home we would have chosen a more ‘festival’ themed wedding in a Tipi but we decided we could bring some of that relaxed vibe to the barns.

As a couple we are in the middle of ‘wedding season’, this year alone we have been to 12 weddings, so we wanted ours to feel like us full of memorable little moments that reflected us and we decided the best way to do this would be to try and do as much of it ourselves so it felt unique.

The Planning Process

[Jasmine] We had an 18month engagement and having grown up within the wedding industry I had spent a lot of time seeing other peoples weddings. At first I found it incredibly hard to decide on a ‘theme’ or ‘vibe’ until I realised that these were completely unnecessary. We wanted it to be a relaxed day that reflected us as a couple and therefore just started deciding on things that we loved and trying to reflect them throughout the day. We had a lot of help and advice from friends and family and plenty of time to do research and plan the day from start to finish. On the actual day it was completely out of our hands but everything fell into place and we had a wonderful team of contractors who worked their absolute hardest to make it all come together in the end.

Bridesmaids

[Jasmine] I initially wanted the bridesmaids in white, but this proved a near impossible task! We therefore opted for a soft dusky pink which suited all the girls complexions. The key thing was that the girls all felt comfortable in their dresses and not self conscious at all, therefore I let them each choose a different style which suited their figures. We looked at a few companies but ‘Maids To Measure’ were perfect for us. That said about halfway through the day they did end up cutting one of the linings out as they were all so hot! I didn’t blame them in the slightest!

The Venue

[Kyle] We were so lucky to have a wedding venue planned long before we were engaged! We’re biased but, we think Upwaltham Barns is the absolute perfect place for a rustic wedding and it has so many special memories for Jas’ family and quite a few for me as well! If you’re looking for a home away from home to get married, look no further!

Groomsmen

[Kyle] My ushers came from Uni and from my time working in Geneva. 10 of not only mine but, Jas’ best friends.

Given we were keeping it chilled the boys all wore their own suits, most of the weddings we go to are in morning suits so, it was pretty hilarious seeing all the boys experience a bit of the ‘what am I going to wear’ conundrum we’re so critical of with the girls.

As a little memento though I did get all the boys a great pair of personalised socks from Morrows in Putney and my best man and I were wearing matching ties from Beaufort and Blake.

Your Outfits & Accessories

[Jasmine] I wore a bespoke Jesus Peiro wedding dress which the ladies at Miss Bush Bridal kindly helped me design. I found a dress I loved but needed to alter the back of it little, plus I wanted to make it that extra little bit more ‘me’. They were so generous with their time and creative with their ideas. My younger sister kindly bought me some beautiful ceramic ‘bud and bloom’ earrings from pswithlove which really brought my bridal vision together. I had a very simple silk veil which was so soft and fluid and really completed the bridal feel for me. It was BOILING on our wedding day (34degrees!) And so I was very grateful that I didn’t have sleeves on my dress and also a little bit of breathing room. In the evening I removed my heels and veil and wore a beautiful flower crown and a pair of personalised Superga’s, a gift from Kyle on the day, so that I could spend the entire night on the dance floor. I honestly didn’t leave!

Kyle wore a bespoke suit from Edit Suits in London. He was able to design every element and avoid the pain and stress of the high street. He opted to have our wedding date embroidered into the inside of the jacket so that whenever he wears it afterwards he has a little reminder of the day.

The Readings & Music

We had two services on the day. A blessing with close friends and family in ‘St Mary the Virgin’ a tiny little church in the field opposite my house where my parents got married, and then our legal service at Upwaltham Barns in front of all our friends and family.

In the church we had three readings; ‘The Beauty of love’ by Anon and read by Jasmine’s Grandmother and then ‘A Gaelic Blessing’ and ‘Scaffolding’ by Seamus Heaney.

In the wedding service we had ‘He’s not perfect by Bob Marley’ and an extract from the book ‘Everything I know about love’ by Dolly Alderton.

Beauty

[Jasmine] The absolutely lovely Charlotte from Polka Dot hair and make up came to work her magic on the bridesmaids, mum and me. It was an early start at 7am but her smile and calm nature was just what we needed. We wanted a very natural look and she listened and all the girls looked beautiful! With the temperature already at over 30 degrees by the time I was leaving the house Charlotte used lots of products to try and keep our makeup and hair in place but without us feeling drowned in product. It worked and my make up was still fresh at 1am!

The morning of the wedding the bridesmaids went into the garden to select some flowers for their hair and all came back deciding they only wanted some fresh Summer Jasmine – such a lovely thought and so I also joined them with a few sprigs woven into my hair and veil.

The Details & Décor

Jasmine’s mum is incredibly creative and with an 18month engagement threw herself into making it incredibly special. She hand printed table runners for 80metres of table, she sourced approximately 300 little vases and bud pots to put down the middle of the table, she did all the flowers with the help of her best friends the day before the wedding (other than button holes, bouquets and flower crown) she handmade the elderflower, her Dad re-laid a whole lawn, her grandmother replanted the whole walled garden that year to have flowers that complimented our day. It really was a family wedding!

Having grown up by the coast I wanted a touch of seaside without having an all out nautical theme – so we hand built a photo booth using an old boat my siblings and I used to sail in as kids and a bit of DIY.

It was honestly the most hands on deck all-encompassing family wedding known to mankind! The catering company is run by my aunties and cousins, the venue by my parents, the bar by my uncle the gardens by my granny. We are a large family of approximately 36 people, and I honestly think every single one of them was involved or contributed in some way.

The Cake

[Kyle] The cake was made by Jasmine’s Godmother who practised making meringues for about 4 months before the wedding. She created an absolutely beautiful cake along with approx. 300 extra mini meringues which we served everyone for pudding decorated with fresh edible flowers. She also surprised us with a bespoke cake topper made by Halinka Fairies which we will cherish forever.

The Flowers

[Kyle] Jasmine’s mum used to be a florist and so is incredibly gifted with a beautifully creative mind. She also had an army of wonderful friends who came for two days before the wedding to help out! We wanted it to always feel natural and not too formal, and so the idea was to try and create the feeling that the flowers had sprung out of nowhere. This was especially important when walking down the aisle. Jasmine wanted to feel like she was walking through a meadow, so we went for height and wildness rather than symmetry and neatness. We also wanted to be able to move the flowers around the venue so we created something that could be picked up and moved and worked in both the church, barns and Tipi.

As we had long tables, and everyone rather squashed in(!) We opted to have smaller jars of blooms down the table rather than bouquets or displays.

The lovely Kerry at Rose Cottage flowers kindly helped do the candelabra in the barns, all the buttons holes, bouquets and Jasmine’s flower crown.

Your Photographer

Finding a photographer was particularly hard. We wanted to capture the fun and relaxed vibe so needed someone who had a great eye and wouldn’t keep us posing for ages and missing the party. We also wanted to find someone who made us feel comfortable. Whilst there’s lots of regular photographers at Upwaltham, we wanted someone new who didn’t know the venue or the family too well!

We found Gem on Instagram and loved her pictures, when we had our first call, she was still on maternity leave but she fit us in for a call and we knew immediately we wanted her to shoot our wedding. When she came to the farm for the first time she had such great ideas and really understood our style and what we wanted. Then, on the day, she was a SERIOUS trooper. It was so, so hot, it was a really long day and we were using every corner of the farm. We love the pictures, they’re so perfectly us and still bring a tear to Jas’ eyes everytime they come out.

Your Filmmaker

We chose the wonderful Sam Sutterlin. He worked his socks off in the sunshine and captured the entire day perfectly. We cant stop watching the video!

The Honeymoon

We had two options for our honeymoon, Kenya or Sri Lanka was the big decision! But, after a quick chat with some experts Sri Lanka was the winner. We spent two amazing weeks travelling around the island, relaxing, on safari, surfing, seeing temples and eating some incredible food. The people were so lovely and it was only a few weeks after the terrible terrorist attacks in Colombo so, it was incredibly quiet. But, it’s an amazing country full of beautiful people and experiences so, we really hope people start going back!

Memorable Moments

Kyle and I met 10 years ago as students at St Andrew university in Scotland. Kyle is also half Scottish and we wanted a little ‘nod’ to this in amongst everything. We therefore asked one of our good friends if he would play the bagpipes at our wedding. As 90% of the guests were either family or have been to a family event (wedding/birthday/christening/new year’s party) at the barns, everyone thought they knew how the day would run having done it before. However, we secretly planned to have a Tipi hidden at the top of the valley behind the farm for the party. After the meal finished, we asked everyone to gather in the courtyard for a photo and then asked them to follow us. Our friend ‘piped’ us all the way up the field with all our guests behind us. We could hear them all asking what was going on? Where were we going? And then they saw the Tipi…. It was the best feeling in the world knowing we had pulled it off! The sun was just setting and we had that perfect ‘Golden Hour’ for the backdrop of our first dance and we then had 2 hours of band and a further 2 hours of DJ, so a proper little rave in the valley into the small hours.

Advice For Other Couples

Kyle’s Advice – Stay a team, keep talking and remember it’s all meant to be fun. Give yourselves some wedding-planning free time as well especially if you’ve got a long engagement. And, when it comes to the big day, take some moments together and just keep trying to take it all in, it goes in a flash.

Jas’ Advice – Make it your own. Ask for help. Remember that although it’s your day, it also means the world to a lot of family around you. Involve them, don’t fight them – ask them to contribute even if in a small way, it will mean a lot to them.

When it comes to the dress – do NOT expect a yes to the dress moment… That’s just unrealistic. Ask for opinions but trust your gut. Rosie and the team at Miss Bush know what they are doing, ask for advice, listen to their suggestions, trust them!

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Oh how I love a rustic tipi wedding, so beautiful!

Kyle and Jasmine, thank you ever so much for sharing your really wonderful wedding story with us xo Lou