Dreaming of a Wedding in Alberta? This Rocky Mountain Elopement Will Inspire You
A Family Infused Festival Wedding – Lisa & Fred
I have been so excited to share Lisa and Fred’s wedding on our blog today as they are the second of our two winners, who were lucky enough to have won their wedding photography from the always fabulous Craig Dearsley! The couple held a festival themed wedding on a family farm which instantly made me think that this was a couple that wanted their day to be that bit more personal.
Trust me the personal touches don’t end there, this is the perfect example of how to make your wedding your own, all captured wonderfully through Craig’s Lens. I will leave you with the beautiful bride Lisa, to tell you all about their day…
We decided on a civil service at Tern Hill Hall Hotel. The hotel has been completely refurbished this year and looks amazing, we loved the simple, clean chic décor and the staff were so lovely.
We held the reception at my family farm, it seemed the obvious choice as I had grown up there and we have since spent so much time there together, anywhere else just wouldn’t have been as special to us.
We had lots of personal touches on the day, the first would have been my wedding car which was very important to me as it is my own car that had been off the road for some time and my Dad had her resprayed and back on the road especially for our wedding.
As I am from a farming family it meant a lot to keep things local so our food was local, our bar had local ale, the linen was from a lady in the village and even our band was from the nearest town. Talking of keeping it local I also love home brewing although still a bit of a novice, my original plan was to have Elderflower champagne on the tables but sadly the batch I made was slightly explosive so we had to settle for just the infused Gins and Vodkas and shop bought fizz – to be fair it still went down pretty well!
My bouquet was another of my DIY touches the button holes and table flowers were all handmade by me, it took months and was so very tedious but I really loved how they turned out.
Fred wanted a bold blue suit and after a search online we put a little shortlist together. One of the options was a suit from Reiss, he had previously bought a suit from there so knew that he would love the fit and finish. Not surprisingly it was one of the first suits he tried on and he immediately loved it.
I on the other hand had a few internet dress disasters which left me only 6ish weeks to sort my dress out. Me and Mum went to Shropshire Brides just outside Much Wenlock and found a perfect dress but it was long with a train so I had their seamstress get cracking and made she it into ‘the one’.
I chose to only have one wonderful Bridesmaid and so their was no set colour theme I just wanted her to wear something she was happy in so, she found a fab red swing dress and we had matching necklace and bracelets from a little boutique in Fred’s Hometown Herentals in Belgium.
We chose to have two toadstool yurts a giant one and a baby one which were supplied by Yurtviva, they were absolute superstars and it was amazing to watch them construct these beautiful things the day before. The yurts brought a sense of romance and charm to the wedding that no modern looking marquee could have matched.
Most of the outdoors décor was supplied and arranged by the amazing hog roast folks Shropshire Hog roasts they went above and way, way beyond our expectations and on top of the décor it was the finest hog roast imaginable! They were fantastically friendly and suggested adding lots of decorations, which we happily agreed to. Their contribution to the atmosphere of the party was invaluable, and on top of this, the food was top notch. I have had quite a few hog roast baps in the past, but theirs was beyond doubt the very best. We can’t praise them enough!
We had a local band called a ‘Touch Too Much’ which I had spotted whilst photographing a local festival ‘Rock and Bowl’ where I was secretly scouting out potential wedding bands and they stood out a mile. They were perfect for our taste and when my Dad found a lorry trailer for them to perform in the wedding suddenly took on a festival vibe.
We were so lucky to have Craig Dearsley Photo to cover our wedding through the Bespoke Bride blog competition. I was really struggling to find a photographer whose portfolio checked all my boxes, being a photographer myself I had such a set idea of what I wanted for our own wedding, he was just perfect.
Craig and Veronica were so lovely and it was great that they are so chilled out. I haveve been told so many times that as a photographer people simply don’t notice you being there and now I see what they mean, they were like silent ninjas in the background.
If I had to give any advice to anybody getting married in the future I would say to follow your gut feeling when it comes to organising the wedding and make it your own. Don’t try and compromise for the sake of what your guests might think. I would also say don’t take it too seriously! There’s nothing worse, you will end up getting stressed and disappointed if things don’t work out exactly as you would have hoped. Just take it as it comes and don’t forget to have fun!
Credit Where Credit is Due: ♥ Photographer: Craig Dearsley Photo ♥ Ceremony Venue: Tern Hill Hall Hotel ♥ Yurts: Yurtviva ♥ Outdoor Decor & Hog roast: Shropshire Hog Roasts ♥ Entertainment: Touch Too Much ♥ Bridesmaid Dress: LadyVLondon ♥ Grooms Suit: Reiss ♥ Brides Dress: Shropshire Brides ♥ Florals: Di Shackson Flowers ♥
Aren’t the portrait photos of the couple super cute, who knew a rusty cattle shed and old barn would make such good additions to photos. The blue barn door has to be my favourite! I really love how craig has incorporated the farm into the photography.
I must say I am also in love with the toadstool yurts!
Enjoy the rest of your day lovelies!
Much Bespoke Love
Emily ♥
This is a fantastic write up from what was a truly amazing day. What an honour it was to be a guest at Lisa and Fred’s special day. It really did have such a personal touch and it really represented Lisa and Fred. More brides should take the plunge and dare to be different because it really was the most lovely wedding ive ever attended.
Lisa has also failed to mention the FABULOUS cupcakes that she made. they were very very yummy.
Thank you for sharing your special day with us. xxx
This looks like an AMAZING wedding! So tasteful! I really hope you guys had a great day! 🙂
it looks like a very unique wedding.. you guys must have had a great day.. thank you for sharing your special moments with us.. keep up the good work in the future also…