{"id":352889,"date":"2023-11-06T07:00:41","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T07:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=352889"},"modified":"2024-05-01T14:56:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T13:56:43","slug":"off-grid-woodland-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/off-grid-woodland-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Intimate Sustainable & Vegan Off-Grid Woodland Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/strong>, which was a total dream<\/em>!<\/p>\n

At the heart of their day was a sustainable and vegan<\/a> 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 \u00a310,000.<\/p>\n

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

Huge thanks go to Purple Kite Photography<\/a> for kindly sharing these sensational images of one incredibly special celebration in the woods.<\/p>\n

\"Red \"Red<\/p>\n

Off-Grid Woodland Wedding<\/h2>\n

The Proposal<\/h3>\n

Ed proposed whilst we were away on a weekend trip to Cheddar Gorge<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

As we sat, I began to construct my sandwich and then he said, \u201cI best do this now before you stuff your face<\/em>\u201d, and I looked up to find him on one knee holding the most beautiful vintage sapphire ring<\/strong>. Of course, I said yes.<\/p>\n

\"Off \"Off<\/p>\n

The Vision<\/h3>\n

We wanted a simple wedding with just our closest friends and family. We also knew we didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

It was also essential for us that everything was vegan<\/strong> and to make our wedding as sustainable<\/strong> as possible.<\/p>\n

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

Budget<\/h3>\n

<\u00a310,000<\/strong>, 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\u2019t have d\u00e9cor etc.<\/p>\n

\"Off \"Off \"Off<\/p>\n

The Venue<\/h3>\n

Through a family friend, we were able to get married in a small, wooded area a few miles from Evangeline\u2019s family home. Since it was not an actual wedding venue there was no water or electricity.<\/p>\n

Although being off grid<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

\"Napkin \"Kids \"Off \"Bunting \"Off \"Off \"Off \"Off \"Macrame \"Off \"Ring \"Circle \"Off \"Off \"Handfasting<\/p>\n

The Ceremony & Music<\/h3>\n

Our ceremony was led by our celebrant Alex Hilder. First Evangeline\u2019s brother (man of honour) and cousin (ring bearer) walked down the aisle and then Evangeline was given away by her father.<\/p>\n

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

After entering the circle we exchanged rings which we had made ourselves with Anna Loucah and then proceeded to our handfasting<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n

After tying the knot, we jumped the broom<\/strong> and walked back down the aisle lines with our friends and family ringing bells<\/strong> and throwing dried lavender confetti<\/a> grown by Edwards’ mother.<\/p>\n

\"Off \"Handfasting \"Jump \"Off \"Off \"Off \"Napkin \"Drinks \"Off \"Bride \"Bride<\/p>\n

Your Outfits<\/h3>\n

Evangeline wore a very simple vintage silk dress from My Green Dress<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> in Greece to wear for the day.<\/p>\n

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

\"Vintage \"Off \"Off<\/p>\n

Your Photographer<\/h3>\n

Purple Kite Photography<\/p>\n

\"Off \"Sapphire \"Off \"Sapphire<\/p>\n

The Styling & Decor<\/h3>\n