Bohemian Outdoor Tipi Wedding with a Festival Vibe

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A happy Monday to you all, I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to get cracking with the week ahead :-) To begin I have one smashing wedding with a boho cool festival vibe. YES.

WWW readers Stephen and Laura married over the August bank holiday weekend last year. They wanted to create a bohemian outdoor country tipi wedding and my gosh was it a stylish party.

From the colourful array of bountiful blooms to the quirky décor and cakes, it was all rather fabulous.

Fashion designer Laura had hear heart set on a dress by designer Kristene' design. Which she accessoried with a Claire Pettibone and chose the stunning ' Rosie Willett crown and Harriet Wilde shoes. Wow. Meanwhile groom Stephen looked so very dashing in Ted Baker and bow tie from Mrs Bow Tie.

Thanks so so much to the wonderful Sarah Janes Photography for providing the dreamy images.

THE PROPOSAL | Where the story begins right? Well not quite in mine and Laura's case but to cut a much longer story short, we'd been together around 5 years before I plucked up the courage to propose. The last few years were mainly spent apart as Laura was given an incredible opportunity to work out in America doing menswear fashion design (She's a very talented girl - as her vision for the wedding hopefully shows!). Naturally it was a difficult time as long distance normally tends to be but rather than drifting apart, it brought us even closer together. We spoke pretty much every day via text, phone calls, emails, facetime (Isn't technology great these days?) and a fair few treasured trips around America together. I still feel the need to thank our parents and friends for their amazing support, we really don't know how we would have got to this point without them!

So the proposal..... I'd actually asked Laura's dad several months prior for his blessing, a little startled, but thankfully he said yes! By this point I was very close to Laura's parents and often found myself gravitating there on weekends even when Laura wasn't around! And so began a UK wide hunt for a very special engagement ring before heading out to America for Christmas and New Year's. Anyone looking for an antique engagement ring or something a little bit different for wedding bands should really check out BJ Antique Jewellery online, Beverley was incredibly helpful and passionate about what she does.

And so I flew out to America (the ring never left my pocket!) to ask Laura a very important question.

It's fair to say I left Laura's parents hanging by the phone for about 2 weeks as rather than settle on a Christmas or New Year's proposal, I asked her somewhere in between! We had decided to take an overnight break just outside Columbus Ohio which was perfect, complete with huge snow drifts!. Anyone who happens to be out that way should really check out the Glennlaurel Inn, It's a Scottish themed retreat which at first seems a little surreal but it's a truly memorable experience. I had planned to propose that evening once we were back at the cabin but had to abort when I found Laura star-fished asleep on the very comfy bed! I still tell her to this day how she ruined my big moment! In all seriousness though, I'd always wanted to propose to Laura privately, just the 2 of us together and managed to find the words the following morning before breakfast. After many tears from both of us, she finally remembered to say yes and the following days were probably even more special as we let family know (We broke the news to Laura's family via video call while they were in a furniture shop back home, cue hilarious scenes of a very proud mum telling a random shop assistant we had just got engaged). We spent the remainder of the festive season celebrating extensively with Laura's housemates. Housemates who have become very close friends; it was a perfect end to 2012.

THE VISION |Mainly came from Laura ill be honest, I can't take much of the credit for some of the great ideas she had. What we both really wanted from the day though was an outdoor boho experience, relaxed with a feel good festival atmosphere, one that was family orientated so children could come along and enjoy the day too. Family and friends are really important to us so that theme ran throughout, we really didn't want anyone standing on ceremony when it came to the big day!

THE PLANNING PROCESS| I have to say relatively stress free.... Although Laura's mum Karen would probably say otherwise! Mums are great aren't they? We were lucky enough to have Karen (She could seriously be a wedding planner!) helping out every step of the way in what was a 12 month process. It is pretty daunting and you never feel like you are getting anywhere, but we just kept chipping away at it. Given that this was to be a tipi reception we were essentially getting an empty shell to do whatever we pleased with, so it did require us to think a bit outside the box at times!

One of the things that we wanted to do where possible was source things locally, North Wales is a beautiful area with some really talented people and businesses so we ended up finding people through word of mouth and friends of friends which was a really nice way to approach it. This is how we stumbled upon Olive Tree Catering who would create a unique Tapas inspired wedding menu on the day. Of course testing the food first is one of the perks of wedding planning... they did not disappoint, the food is incredible!!

THE VENUE | The ceremony took place in the picturesque village of Hawarden at St Deniols Church, a stone's throw away from the family home. Everyone was in great spirits for the day, even with the slight delay of Laura forgetting her bouquet! Luckily everyone saw the funny side, and it truly was a memorable ceremony.

Logistically we knew we had a challenge on our hands as we set our hearts on holding our reception up in the sleepy rolling hills of Cilcain. Laura's uncle owns a farm up there with some stunning views from the fields. It's a place especially close to Laura's heart, as she spent much of her younger years running around the fields whilst her uncle tended to the farm!

In keeping with the feel good atmosphere for the day we decided to hold a tipi reception which would be a great setting for the remainder of the day. We ended up bumping into All About Me Marquees at a wedding event and were really impressed with the setup and friendly crew on site. James, Sam and Dave were really helpful and I have to give a shout out to Andy and the team who came to setup the various tipi's, chill out zones and catering tents. Anyone else due to have a tipi reception should really stick around to watch the tipi's go up. It's pretty cool!

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | Kristene by Claire Pettibone, found at the White Closet Didsbury, were extremely helpful, this small boutique in the heart of Didsbury is amazing! Champagne, cupcakes and friendly staff to help you pick your dress, what more could you want? The long veil was also from there and the crown was from the delightful Rosie Willett - who is also amazing and was really helpful when it came to picking the design I wanted.

FINDING THE DRESS | Took longer than you would think for someone who works in fashion! I knew that I really wanted a Claire Pettibone design the problem is all her dresses are so beautiful narrowing it down took some time. Eventually after two trips to Didsbury and some research done previously in America I managed to choose Kristene and added the low back detail to get the look I wanted.

GROOM'S ATTIRE |It's a small detail but I really wanted to feel comfortable with what I was wearing on the day, we initially discussed things such as Harris Tweed and braces. One thing was for sure though, I wanted to look more fun than formal, something I could wear again. Tails and cravats are really not my thing!

Navy was to be the dominant running theme for me and the ushers. I wasn't going to be renting suits given this was mish mash of styles, so after a longer search than I would have liked, we happened upon some navy suit trousers from Gieves and Hawkes (Yes.... I did end up buying the jacket to go with it! I have no will power!). Once we had that everything else fell into place pretty quickly, we found a light tweed Ted Baker waistcoat and Jacket which tied in perfectly. The Ted Baker theme continued to the shoes, I'm not going to lie, I'm notoriously bad with looking after shoes and I've promised to look after these!

The shirt was from Paul smith, not a suit shirt as such but I liked the fact that from a distance it looked quite formal but when you look closely it had a fine pattern running through.

The really fun part about the groom and usher outfits was the skinny bowties we all had. The idea was that each usher would have a different style (and in some cases suited their personalities!). Laura managed to find a fantastic online shop called Mrs Bowtie, who had a really wide range available. They even took the time to send us a little note wishing us well for the big day which was a really thoughtful touch.

THE READINGS & MUSIC | Laura walked down the aisle to I was glad by Parry. We had two readings, one from Romans read by Paul Lewis (Laura's godfather) and Colour of love by David Foster and Arthur Janov read by Ian Sutton (Stephens Uncle).

We left church (as happy newlyweds!) to Pomp and Circumstance No.4 by Elgar.

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | Choosing the bridesmaids was easy, my sister, (Bethan) my high school best friend (Nia) and my two best friends and American family (Laura and Cat) however choosing the bridesmaids dresses was not... Bethan had the task of picking as she was maid of honour but after numerous (and I do mean numerous) trips and 'trying on' sessions nothing seemed right - Fussy detailing and the fact I had a very specific colour palette were definitely not helpful! However, she did eventually find 4 beautiful J-Crew gowns in the exact colours I wanted and in a style that suited everyone. Who knew it could be so difficult!

THE FLOWERS | Being in a tipi we knew the flowers had to be perfect and there needed to be lots of them! They were the main event and they did not disappoint. I thought it would be difficult finding someone who would understand my theme and be able to execute my ideas the way I envisaged. The very talented Sioned and her hard working team at Tulipa gave us everything we wanted and more. Nothing was too much trouble or too crazy, they really understood our quirky brief and provided succulents, air plants and wild flowers to fit in with the boho theme and stunning location.

THE CAKE | As you can imagine picking cakes is a REALLY enjoyable experience! We met Emma through Laura's sister Bethan, a truly great home baker with some fun ideas. We had a variety of different flavoured cupcakes (Lemon Meringue cupcakes were delicious!), biscuits and a three tiered Victoria sponge cake decorated with summer fruits.

There is a deep love of cheese within our families so we couldn't have a wedding without cheese. We had a cheese cake made by the Churchmouse Cheese Company who had plenty of options and choices available through their website.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Where do you start? We met Sarah Jane on a snowy March morning in 2013 at her studio behind a quaint little farm shop where we chatted over coffee. Her passion for photography and getting to know the couples she shoots makes you instantly feel at ease. I can honestly say we had a blast with Sarah, summed up by a hilarious test shoot in an antique shop!

On the day Sarah was simply superb, even helping with the button holes in church! If the flowers were important to Laura on the day then the photos were just as important to me, I was so chuffed with the unbelievable photos Sarah took on the day, she worked tirelessly. I never really appreciated the little details on the day (nor do you really have the time!) but Sarah captured it all brilliantly.

Is there any greater compliment you can pay other than we are actively looking for excuses to use her again? She knows we love her and I've told her this before..... While we will always remember the day through the incredible photos, we will never forget who took them.

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | We wanted to keep everything really relaxed, hand done and locally sourced to match the theme and highlight the brilliant flowers. It started with the invites which bridesmaid Cat did (these set the scene at an early stage and with too many envelopes, also handily doubled up as confetti cones on the day!!). The tassels, glitter feathers, table names / settings and table plan were all done by Bethan the maid of honour; cushions were kindly made by Claire, a local seamstress (Claire's Sewing Leeswood) who did an amazing job and was really helpful making the favour bags for our amazing hand crafted tipi tea lights made by local ceramist Kirsti B.

THE HONEYMOON |Portugal, Algarve in a private villa. No distractions, private pool, just what we needed!

MEMORABLE MOMENTS |There are so many it's hard to pick just a handful! We would have to say seeing the tipi fully set up for the first time and having friends there from near and far - especially friends from America!!! The amazing band that absolutely killed it and had people crowded on the dance floor all night (The Rebel Party Band, such dudes and who else could have had everyone rocking out to Sabotage by The Beastie Boys). Ladders on the dance floor, space hopper fun had by children and later on some guests! Mostly though, just the amazing time we had from start to finish celebrating with all our closest family and friends BEST.DAY.EVER.

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | I know it's so cliché and EVERYONE says it but nevertheless it is so true, enjoy it, take every minute in, breath and don't get stressed because it will be the best and also the shortest day of your life. It will fly by and before you know it you'll be sat re-counting details the morning and weeks after. Think about the style of wedding you really want and do what makes you both happy, it's your day not anyone else's, don't feel like you have to follow the rules!!

Most importantly if you have an amazing wedding planner (Mum) Never forget to say THANK YOU!!! She was amazing!!!

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Photography | Sarah Janes Photography

Lucy the love bus (Charlotte) | Split the difference

Blue Loos & Generator (Donna, superb) | Blue Loos

Catering | Olive Tree Catering - John and the team

Bar | Event Bars ( Gareth, Awesome!)

Hair | Foyes Hairdressers (Jo, Emma and the team)

Bus | Four Girls Bus Company (Carolyn)

Decorations | Bethan Parry

Stationery including Invitations, Place names, order of service, wedding menu | Catherine Ann Lewis

Tea Lights | Kirsti B - Ceramics