{"id":237643,"date":"2018-08-24T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T06:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=237643"},"modified":"2024-08-05T12:51:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T11:51:08","slug":"magical-nostalgic-summer-marquee-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/magical-nostalgic-summer-marquee-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Magical & Nostalgic Summer Marquee Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Flower<\/p>\n

Weddings<\/a> are the very beginning of a beautiful marriage, the start of new memories and adventures. But I do love how Paul and Bea looked to the past when it came to planning their day, a wedding filled with nostalgia thanks to Bea’s childhood memories with her grandparents in Studland. Harry Warren House located in Studland, Dorset<\/a> turned out to be the perfect spot for their seaside marquee wedding<\/a> reception, the beach hut Bea grew up in is below the cliff top of the garden, how wonderful is that? They chose the 16th June 2018 to get married, in a church ceremony before walking to their venue to celebrate their marriage with all of their loved ones. Their day just radiates love and happiness and the photographs by Big Bouquet Photography certainly capture all the joy and emotions (thanks to Emma and Ian for sharing them with us).<\/p>\n

The pole tent marquee really looked so stunning adorned with an abundance of greenery, hanging Edison lighting, trees and the prettiest coral charm peonies on the tables. It really is a sight to behold. Bea’s bouquet really was a masterpiece, with coral peonies, dusky pink roses, gypsophila and foliage all making an appearance. That alongside with seriously gorgeous attire and you have a very beautiful wedding style. The touches of coral pink really bring everything together so perfectly. Just one more thing, the flower arch of dreams decorating the church is just incredible<\/em>. It’s one not to miss folks!<\/p>\n

\"Bride<\/p>\n\n

\"Groom<\/p>\n

The Proposal<\/h3>\n

We have travelled a lot together \u2013 our tables at the wedding were named after the first 10 countries we went to \u2013 and every time we went on holiday in the 14 months we were together before getting engaged, our friends and family would wonder if we would come back engaged.<\/p>\n

So of course we didn\u2019t get engaged on a big holiday, but during a pretty normal weekend in Studland. We had been for a long walk to Swanage, back round Old Harry and up to the church yard to visit my granny\u2019s grave \u2013 and Paul proposed in the church yard. I wasn\u2019t expecting it at all at that moment but given how personal the area is to me, I was over the moon. We are also quite a private couple, so doing it when people were least expecting was perfect. We took a few weeks to tell everyone, doing it bit by bit and revealing details when we felt like it!<\/p>\n

The evening we got engaged we went to the local pub for a pint \u2013 it wasn\u2019t a good one, so we threw it away and went back and sat in my granny\u2019s garden watching the sun go down.<\/p>\n

\"Groom<\/p>\n\n

\"Groom \"Flower \"Flower<\/p>\n

The Vision<\/h3>\n

I wanted to bring in lots of my childhood memories. In Studland growing up, we were always out on fishing boats bringing in nets and lobster pots, we spent most of our time in the beach hut and nothing was ever particularly fancy. I am a real outdoors person, so in our marquee I wanted to feel like we were bringing the outside in with beautiful flowers which didn\u2019t look too \u2018done\u2019 \u2013 more wild looking. I wanted it to be homely, with great simple food and plenty of it.<\/p>\n

\"Flower \"Harry \"Dress<\/p>\n

The Planning Process<\/h3>\n

Both Paul and I have full on jobs, and in particular in the 9 months before the wedding I was working on a project which meant I was incredibly busy. I also started a new job 3 weeks before the big day – I wouldn\u2019t recommend this in the run up to your wedding! But we knew it was going to be like that so we planned accordingly.<\/p>\n

We instantly knew we wanted to get married in Studland \u2013 there was nowhere else we discussed. And we knew we wanted to get married in the church there, where I have been going all my life and they have been getting to know Paul in the time we\u2019ve been together. It\u2019s full of meaning and emotion for my whole family; the last time we were all there was for my granny\u2019s funeral, so there was a huge amount of excitement about the fact that we could get back together (I have a huge family and we are rarely all together) for such a happy occasion.<\/p>\n

So, it was a matter of choosing which venue to go after the church. We went to see two venues and instantly knew Harry Warren House was the right one \u2013 Andrew and Alex who live there were so warm and welcoming, and also very experienced. I do remember feeling at the start like I didn\u2019t really know what I was doing, of course I\u2019ve never organised a wedding before. Despite having known Studland for my whole life, as I mentioned before we\u2019ve always led such a simple life there, so things like caterers, florists, even getting my hair and make-up done were things I had never considered in that part of the world. I didn\u2019t have any contacts or recommendations \u2013 but Alex and Andrew have a section on their website with suppliers\u2019 details, and they were both really happy to talk about their experiences of working with them all from an objective point of view. We went to the venue several times, especially early on, to meet suppliers there and Alex and Andrew were extremely generous in welcoming us in every time \u2013 it\u2019s their home, at a wedding you put up a marquee in their beautiful garden but it\u2019s still their private house and I was really conscious that I didn\u2019t want to take advantage of that. On those visits, you can also get a glimpse of suppliers as they\u2019re setting up for weddings or taking things down the day after \u2013 I think it\u2019s interesting to see that, you can see how experienced they are and relaxed etc, and what it\u2019s likely to be like working with them on the run up to your own wedding.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth pointing out that Alex and Andrew, who live at Harry Warren, go a long way to helping you make the day a success, too. When the marquee is up, Andrew tends to go round it in the evening and make sure lights are working etc \u2013 he just does that because he wants you to have a good day. It\u2019s so comforting knowing you\u2019ve got people like that looking out for you and helping you when you\u2019re pulling everything together in those last few days.<\/p>\n

We met DP Marquees the first time we went to Harry Warren, and we knew instantly we didn\u2019t need to look any further. The marquee was beautiful \u2013 they were taking one down but we saw it while it was still up \u2013 and they were friendly and professional. I got in touch the next day and asked for a quote for pretty much exactly what we\u2019d seen. Then you start to add your own personal touches. For example, we had the beautiful fern lining and their new pallet seating for after our meal, where people could sit around a fire pit.<\/p>\n

\"Harry \"Pink<\/p>\n

Catering & Decor<\/h3>\n

Rabbit and Rose were the caterers and also looked after styling and flowers, again highly recommend by Alex and Andrew. We visited Harry Warren to meet Melissa there one Saturday morning when she was setting up a wedding. The food was extremely important to us, and I wanted the main impact in the marquee to be flowers\/foliage\/styling.<\/p>\n

Melissa from R&R filled us with confidence straight away, and we arranged a follow up meeting with her at their offices just outside Wareham that day. At Harry Warren, you bring everything in yourself \u2013 eg marquee, catering, decoration, anything else you want. And as before, because I\u2019d never planned anything like a wedding in that part of the world it was tricky to know where to start. Melissa made it feel easy, really coaxed our ideas out of our heads and put structure to it. On the day, the end result was exactly what we wanted, it could not have been more perfect. The flowers were absolutely show stopping and the food delicious \u2013 so many of our guests were swooning over it! Melissa really listened to us and got our vision so quickly. She also made useful suggestions and made us feel like anything was possible, and nothing too much trouble.<\/p>\n

On the day itself, Melissa ran the timings for us \u2013 also invaluable, who wants to be looking at their watch on their wedding day? She got to know our best men straight away and liaised with them about proceedings. We didn\u2019t have to worry about a thing.<\/p>\n

We went to a food tasting at Rabbit and Rose in February\/March time and my mum came with us. I was so busy at work, and going there was just this lovely afternoon where we tried all the delicious food, made our choices, and talked further about how to decorate the marquee.<\/p>\n

What I really liked about R&R was the fact that they were so flexible. I\u2019ve mentioned how busy we were \u2013 Melissa was happy to do as much or as little as we wanted for our wedding and that meant that I could completely rely on her to do something exactly as I wanted it, or if I had a moment where I wanted to get creative I could and that would also be fine. We added things into the plan and took other things away, it was all super easy, and Melissa also had lots of contingencies up her sleeve \u2013 outdoorsy wedding, English weather etc\u2026!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth adding that it really suited me that R&R could do flowers as well, this saves cost getting the same supplier to do them, and leaves less room for lack of communication to another supplier. And, Melissa\u2019s partner owns another business (I think? Or there\u2019s a connection to another business) so if we wanted something that R&R didn\u2019t own, she could get it \u2013 for example we had a boat full of flowers and beers next to our bar and that was brought over by Melissa\u2019s partner, it was really cool too!<\/p>\n

\"Dress \"Dress<\/p>\n

Budget<\/h3>\n

We were extremely lucky \u2013 my parents paid for the majority of the wedding. We bought the wine and paid for bits here and there like the band, and Paul\u2019s mum chipped in a bit too. It\u2019s fair to say I\u2019m not entirely comfortable spending someone else\u2019s money, though my generous father said again and again that all he wanted was for us to have a great day.<\/p>\n

As I did the majority of negotiation with suppliers and negotiation on costs, I made sure we counted \u2013 and documented \u2013 every penny we spent and regularly communicated with my parents about costs.<\/p>\n

We have told my parents we will buy them flights to a holiday in Europe in the autumn, their choice \u2013 how do you repay your parents for something as huge as that?<\/p>\n

\"Harry \"Harry \"Harry \"Harry<\/p>\n

The Readings & Music<\/h3>\n

We had the lovely church choir and organist at St Nicholas Church in Studland. We had a traditional service with three hymns and three readings, read by my two brothers and Paul\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n

Our service was extremely emotional, so happy but lots of little touches \u2013 there was a candle on the organ to remember my grandparents and Paul\u2019s father who has sadly died, and some flowers which the vicar brought from a rose bush that my granny gave him years ago. The whole choir has known me since I was knee high to a grass hopper and we had friends from the village who waited outside the church to see me go in.<\/p>\n

\"Harry \"Harry \"Flower<\/p>\n

Bridesmaids<\/h3>\n

This was trickier than buying my own dress\u2026! I only had two bridesmaids but they have very different styles and what suits them really differs too. They also live far away from each other, and not that close to me, so shopping excursions weren\u2019t easy. I also knew that one might have wanted to be pregnant on the day, and one had recently been pregnant, so changing sizes!<\/p>\n

On the one shopping day we had, we went to Davids Bridal in Westfield Stratford. Nothing there was right and nothing looked like it did online \u2013 just not right on them. We also went around John Lewis, Coast and other high street shops, but they all had winter things in stock which would have looked out of place at a June wedding. Because I knew my work life was getting so busy, I really wanted to sort it out rather than wait for the next season\u2019s stuff to come out so I ended up ordering loads of clothes online, sending them to the girls and getting them to take photos of them trying stuff on. Then we picked a dress \u2013 it was a really simple but sweet teal dress from Jolie Moi. The girls wore their own shoes etc.<\/p>\n

\"Confetti \"Dress \"Harry \"Harry \"Bouquet<\/p>\n

The Venue<\/h3>\n

Harry Warren House, Studland, Dorset. Absolutely beautiful. It\u2019s a Dorset stone house with a big garden overlooking South Beach in Studland and Old Harry Rocks. The beach hut I grew up in is below the cliff top of their garden, though it\u2019s very secluded and we didn\u2019t know the place well before we started planning our wedding. Of course, once planning begins I looked on Instagram at photographers\u2019 photos of other weddings there \u2013 I got a lot out of looking at other people\u2019s photos because it makes you realise how creative you can be with a wedding. Ours was our life in a snapshot \u2013 absolutely amazing.<\/p>\n

\"Harry \"Pole \"Pole<\/p>\n

The Cake<\/h3>\n

My aunty made the cake \u2013 as my dad said in his speech, she has been making us cakes for 35 years so there was no one and nowhere else we wanted to get one from really! We were just so pleased she said yes because it\u2019s a big undertaking \u2013 she made a delicious 3-tier fruit cake, and Paul made a lego bride and groom for the top.<\/p>\n

\"Harry \"Coral \"Map \"Harry \"Coral \"Pole \"Harry \"Pole \"Pink \"Boat \"Harry \"Harry \"Harry \"Pole \"Dress\"Harry \"Harry \"Bouquet \"Harry\"Harry \"Dress<\/p>\n

Your Outfits & Accessories<\/h3>\n

Mine was a Pronovias dress which I got from Teokath in Wimbledon. Lots of people say they ended up with a wedding dress they never thought they\u2019d buy, but I always knew I wanted it to be lacy. I am not a big shopper and didn\u2019t want to go to loads of shops, so I went to two in the end \u2013 the first one, then another and then back to the first.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough, I hadn\u2019t seen my dress on my first visit to the shop because it was out of budget. When I went back to try on another one for a second time, they hadn\u2019t got that dress in the shop, it was in the tailor\u2019s. A bit of a mistake on their part, for which they were extremely apologetic. As I was wondering around the shop wondering what to do, I spied my dress hanging up and asked about it. They happened to have ordered it for someone else, but they had this spare one (in my size!) which they were looking to sell cut price because they\u2019d by mistake ordered two. I tried it on and fell in love with it straight away, my mum and bridesmaid had tears when they saw me in it \u2013 and they sold it to me for the same price as the other dress. Amazing!<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t have many accessories, some diamond stud earrings which Paul had given me and a little pearl bracelet that my bridesmaid had given me when I was her bridesmaid. And of course my diamond engagement ring.<\/p>\n

Paul got a suit made at Hawes and Curtis in Jermyn Street. We had coral pinks in the flowers so he and the best men and ushers wore coral pink paisley ties. I bought Paul some cufflinks which he wore. Importantly, it was a lightweight suit \u2013 thankfully the weather wasn\u2019t in the late 20 degrees but being mid-summer it could have been boiling hot, and had been just a week earlier.<\/p>\n

\"Bouquet<\/p>\n

The Flowers<\/h3>\n

As above, Rabbit and Rose did this. I really wanted the flowers to have a wild look, not look too done and formal. The arch of the church was an absolute show stopper and when I arrived I was totally overwhelmed by how beautiful it was. That church is so pretty anyway \u2013 but wow.<\/p>\n

\"Harry<\/p>\n

Your Photographer<\/h3>\n

The lovely Emma and Ian from Big Bouquet, who made us feel so at ease in front of the camera (we\u2019re quite shy when it comes to things like that) and offered lots of good advice too. Also, when I have looked at wedding photos previously I have never been interested in looking at pics of the marquee or the dress, the shoes etc \u2013 but Emma did say to me that you only get to see those things on one day, so you\u2019ll want the memories and the photos of them. And she\u2019s so right, it\u2019s so nice to look back now and see it all again and again.<\/p>\n

When I was looking for a photographer, I looked loads on Instagram and other sites (of course) and I absolutely loved the photos that Big Bouquet had done of a particular wedding in Studland a year before ours. They were so cheerful and natural, really colourful and beautiful \u2013 that was exactly what I wanted. Our photos are so full of life and really bring back that feeling we had on the day. They\u2019re really natural and capture moments so perfectly, and even reveal little things I never got to see (like guests arriving at the church).<\/p>\n

I think this sums it up \u2013 when we went to see Paul\u2019s mum after the honeymoon and she was asking how we knew our photographers, she thought they were old friends of ours.<\/p>\n

\"Harry<\/p>\n

Beauty<\/h3>\n

I had wondered about doing my hair and make-up myself, but as my hair rarely behaves \u2013 and especially doesn\u2019t in windy seaside locations like Studland \u2013 I decided to get my hair done professionally and do my make-up myself. My brother gave me a voucher to have a makeover at Space NK which was brilliant \u2013 I took photos I\u2019d found on Pinterest of makeup that I liked, and asked to be made up like that. Then I bought some products, and the cost of the voucher goes towards buying the make-up. It was so good my mum did the same thing and we were both really happy with the result.<\/p>\n

Hair \u2013 in my inexperience I was going around searching for hair dressers in Swanage. Then I spoke to our photographer, Emma at Big Bouquet, and she really strongly recommended that I get a hair dresser to come to the house instead of going out on the morning of the wedding. I am so glad she suggested this. I knew I\u2019d be getting nervous on the day and the time does suddenly start to move pretty quickly \u2013 if I\u2019d had to get back home from the hair dresser and then get my make-up going I would have been frazzled. We sat around in dressing gowns chatting, taking it easy, and the lovely Laura McKenzie who came to do my hair also helped me to get into my dress, she put my veil in and told the bridesmaids how to take it out without messing up my hair, and helped my mum with her hat. A great result!<\/p>\n

\"Bride \"Harry<\/p>\n

Groomsmen<\/h3>\n

We wanted to make it as simple as possible for people so we told the two best men and four ushers to wear a grey suit and brown shoes. We supplied the same ties and they all had button holes. They\u2019re all busy people, they live all over the place and they were never all going to get together to go and buy a suit so it seemed like by far the simplest option \u2013 and cheaper for them too as most of them had a suit already, or the shoes, or borrowed them.<\/p>\n

\"Groom \"Diamond<\/p>\n

The Honeymoon<\/h3>\n

We went to Sri Lanka for two weeks. We left on the Sunday lunch time and were in the air by the evening \u2013 exhausted after an amazing few days. After all the excitement it was really nice to be together, just the two of us.<\/p>\n

We booked the honeymoon through Trailfinders which we\u2019d never done before, but they were fab. Everything was organised for us \u2013 we didn\u2019t even have to think for ourselves. For busy people who hadn\u2019t had a holiday for 9 months it was perfect \u2013 and our guide was super lovely too. And Sri Lanka \u2013 wow, it\u2019s beautiful, and it\u2019s got everything. Culture, beach, tea plantations, walking, relaxing, wildlife for days, drinks at the pool and beach bars\u2026 etc etc etc. Really stunning \u2013 amazing food too!<\/p>\n

\"Harry<\/p>\n

Memorable Moments<\/h3>\n

All of it, but a few are\u2026 My brother\u2019s reading, the first one and it was so brilliantly done, it set the tone for the whole service.<\/p>\n

Melissa came to get me and Paul when we got to the venue so we could sneak in and see the marquee for the first time, before anyone else had come in and just to sit down for 10 minutes. We had a little plate of our canap\u00e9s and drinks \u2013 so lovely. We also took a moment to ourselves to go to the other side of the garden late in the evening, no one knew we\u2019d gone over there, it was just us.<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s speech \u2013 absolutely beautiful, I hope everyone gets to listen to words as beautiful as those about them, truly amazing.<\/p>\n

The next morning \u2013 we stayed in the Pig on the Beach, and both happened to wake up early. We got up and had breakfast before most other guests had got up \u2013 it\u2019s typical of us to be early risers, and see the best part of the day. We then walked to the church to see the flowers again and put my flowers and Paul\u2019s button hole on my granny\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n

\"Drinks \"Pole<\/p>\n

Advice For Other Couples<\/h3>\n

Relax into it \u2013 I definitely thought this wouldn\u2019t really be my thing but I thought, I\u2019m only doing this once so enjoy it, and I really did. I had a great team around me, the suppliers I\u2019ve mentioned were absolutely fab and I felt totally comfortable with them.<\/p>\n

\"Barrel<\/p>\n

Credit Where Credit Is Due<\/h5>\n
\n
\n

Photographers
\nBig Bouquet Photography<\/p>\n

Marquee
\nDP Marquees<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Caterers Flowers & Styling
\nRabbit and Rose<\/p>\n

Hair
\nLaura Mackenzie Hair Design<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Just so special, what a beautiful celebration.<\/p>\n

Paul and Bea, thank you so very much for sharing your stunning wedding story with us xo Lou<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weddings are the very beginning of a beautiful marriage, the start of new memories and adventures. But I do love how Paul and Bea looked to the past when it came to planning their day, a wedding filled with nostalgia thanks to Bea’s childhood memories with her grandparents in Studland. Harry Warren House located in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":237663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[6026,628,695,440,85,200,519,6027],"class_list":["post-237643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pretty-wedding","category-real-weddings","tag-coral-wedding-ideas","tag-dorset-wedding","tag-harry-warren-house","tag-marquee-wedding","tag-orange-wedding-ideas","tag-pronovias-wedding-dress","tag-summer-wedding-ideas","tag-wedding-flower-arch"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":237663,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/whimsical-cdn.wedissimo.com\/2018\/08\/Harry-Warren-House-Wedding-Big-Bouquet-Photography20-300x200.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}