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I will always hold a special place in my heart for woodland weddings, they are just so magical. This one today is no exception; think colour, love and all round loveliness. Splendid.
Caia and Anders were married in a humanist ceremony on the 23rd July 2016 at Wise Weddings in Kent. They wanted to achieve a village fete feel to their celebrations with a big party for their loved ones. There were locally sourced eco friendly seasonal blooms in the brightest of hues, not to mention a striking marquee filled with Mexican bunting and tassels. The signage complete with sweet fox and tongue in cheek table plan are my faves here today though.
Caia wore a boho beautiful frock by J Crew, while Anders and the groomsmen donned waistcoats and chinos for a relaxed look. The bridesmaids looked lovely in emerald multi way dresses, which really popped against their wild bouquets. There is so much to love here today folks.
Thanks goes to Sasha Weddings for providing these sensational shots.
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THE PROPOSAL | We had spent the day wandering around beautiful Tresco island (Scilly isles), and decided to round off the day on a big rock on the beach. Two seals had spotted us and were bobbing up and down in the water nearby, keeping an eye on things. A pretty perfect spot for a proposal!
THE VISION | We wanted the day to have a village fete feel – just a big party for friends and family. We knew we wanted an outdoor humanist ceremony, and for the day to be as bright and colourful as possible.
THE PLANNING PROCESS | We found the venue almost immediately – it was the only place we checked out, and we instantly knew it was perfect for us (forest, treehouses, swinging sofas, camping and magical lighting? Yes please!). The rest of the planning came quite smoothly – all the big things were sorted out early on, and we spent the rest of the time fine-tuning and DIY-ing. We had a lot of help from friends and family, and are extremely grateful for all their input! We really couldn’t have done it without them.
THE VENUE | Wise Wedding Venue (Whetstead Farm, Tonbridge)
THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | The dress was a beaded gown by J Crew. Caia made the flower crown herself on the morning of the wedding (there’s nothing like some last minute DIY to calm the nerves!).
FINDING THE DRESS | Caia wasn’t keen on visiting any bridal stores. She found a dress she liked on eBay, and just took the plunge. It fit like a glove, and only needed to be taken up a tiny bit.
GROOM’S ATTIRE | Anders spent a day wandering around Debenhams and picked up all the pieces he wanted. Navy blue trousers, pale blue shirt, tan waistcoat and a red tie. The outfit was completed with his favourite RSBP goldfinch pin.
THE READINGS & MUSIC | One of Anders’ groomsmen serenaded us down the aisle with his (amazing) version of Herman’s Hermits ‘Something Good’. We played Ray Lamontagne’s ‘You are the best thing’ after the ceremony. We had two readings – Song for the open road by Walt Whitman, and an excerpt from ‘Wild Awake’ by Hilary T Smith.
BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | Four incredible friends from all stages of Caia’s life.
Caia found a lovely etsy store (thedaintyard) that sold infinity dresses. These can be worn in all sorts of different ways, so the girls could pick their preferred style.
THE FLOWERS | The flowers came from Blooming Green – an eco-friendly florist who grows flowers in the middle of a fruit farm in Kent. We met with Jen several months before the wedding and ran through some ideas with her. She was fantastic, and the flowers they picked for us were absolutely stunning. The next day, we donated all the flowers to a nearby hospice – they loved them as much as we did!
THE CAKE | We got incredibly lucky with this. One of Caia’s bridesmaid’s sisters is an avid baker, and (without ever having met us!!) made us the most incredible layered chocolate/lemon wedding cake. It was gone in all of about 5 minutes!!
YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | We knew we wanted an alternative photographer – we didn’t want to have stiff posed shots, and really just wanted someone to blend in with the festivities and capture the real moments. We searched the internet for a few days, and were sold when we came across Sasha’s website – the way she works with light and colour is stunning. We met with her for a drink in London, and knew immediately that it would work. She was incredible on the day, we barely noticed she was there. She managed to capture more than we could have hoped for!
THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | Most of it was DIY. We had a lot of help from friends and family the day before the wedding. We had bright pompoms lining the marquee, bright Mexican bunting in the forest, and lots of flowers and photos of us as kiddos all over the place. Anders’ brother made us a beautiful wedding sign (that we now have proudly displayed in our house). We hired lots of outdoor games and extra bits and bobs from ‘To Have and to Hire’.
THE HONEYMOON | We spent a wonderful week exploring the Azores. We went hiking, paddle boarding in a volcanic lagoon, canyoning, cliff jumping, whale watching. We didn’t have a wedding registry – we set up a patchwork present site where guests could contribute to the honeymoon (if they wanted to). It was an amazing adventure holiday.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS | There are too many! The humanist ceremony was beautiful (Ginny, the humanist celebrant, helped us write a really personal and moving ceremony). The band (Dynamic Duo) was absolutely incredible and we had so much fun boogying to them! We also loved the campfire at the end of the night – all the guests gathered around it and even after all the lights were turned off, we spent ages belting along to classic 90’s tunes from a little hand held radio.
ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Get all the big stuff booked as soon as you can, and just spend the rest of the planning period having fun together. Things may feel overwhelming at times, but keep calm, everything will fall into place on the day.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |
Photographer | Sasha Weddings
Flowers | Blooming Green
Food | Mobile Pizzeria
Band | Dynamic Duo via Alive Network *WWW wedding directory member*
Humanist Celebrant | Ginny Collins
Games hire | To have and to Hire
Venue | Wise Weddings
Oh my, so very special.
Caia and Anders, thank you both so much for sharing your amazing wedding story with us xo Lou