A Relaxed Boho Country Wedding Inspired by a Painting - The Reception

With a brilliant boho teepee reception venue, an incredible lake-side location, and even a bell-tent village for guests wanting to camp overnight, this stunning big day ticks all my boxes. Lisa and Marcus decided on a relaxed, country wedding, and discovered the amazing Lyndon Top campsite as a wedding venue. Theirs was the first wedding ever held there, and it made for some challenging logistics. Everything, including electricity, had to be brought in - but didn't it make for an incredible wedding? I love all Lisa's wedding details, from the DIY'd reception flowers {including cornflowers - my favourite!}, the boho but elegant teepees, and the Lisa and Marcus' decision to forego cake and favours, and choose cheese instead! Nowadays it's all about having your wedding your way, and picking and choosing from the standard traditions. Enjoy Lisa's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire, and feast your eyes on Victoria Phipps Photography's amazing work!

We celebrated our wedding on 6th July 2013 at St Mary's Church in Ashwell. We hosted our wedding reception in a teepee at Lyndon Top, overlooking Rutland Water. Our teepees were from Papakata, who I would highly recommend. Their teepees look fantastic and their attention to detail is excellent.

We were hoping to create a relaxed, country wedding, with a hint of boho, and were delighted to find a field overlooking Rutland Water, so we had a fantastic view of the lake as well.

For our wedding theme, I was inspired by the painting, 'Midsummer Eve' by Edward Robert Hughes.  Watching the flower girls and page boys dancing, as the sun was setting over Rutland Water, reminded us of this beautiful painting.

Our wedding photographer was Victoria Phipps. She was recommended by a friend who had used Victoria for their wedding. Victoria is fab; really easy to work with and she is able to really capture the atmosphere of the day. Most importantly she takes beautiful photographs!

 Our wedding videographer was Richard Mattock of Studio 27.

The wedding bouquets and buttonholes were created by our wedding florist Miss Pickering. The bouquets included honeysuckle, spray roses, sweet peas and herbs such as mint. 

We were looking to create wild, loose floral displays with lots of colour; in particular pinks and purples and creams. 

Looking back on planning our wedding, it's worth noting that we didn't go down the easiest route, as we choose a venue that had never been used for a wedding before, and we had to bring in all the services, power etc onto the site. But it was definitely worth it to create a very special day.

My advice to brides? Stay calm, it will all be OK! Make a plan and keep working through your To Do list! Where possible delegate jobs to friends and family - everyone loves to help and share in the preparations of your special day. Don't always go for the most expensive option, often the things you do yourself work out better.

Our caterers were Rutland Gourmet, our band Too Darn Hot, our AV Co-ordinator was Eal Productions, and we even had a flyby from The Blades! This was out of luck! The Blades were performing at Burghley House, nearby, and they very kindly agreed to swing around to our venue… they even did a loop the loop!

We set up a bell tent village so we could stay overnight at the site. It create another feature in the open field and it was amazing being able to wake up to see the sun rising over the water. Our bell tents were from Honeybells.

Our church and teepee flowers were created by a family friend - Goldie Bardwell, and her team of ladies. 

We decided to have a cheese tower created by the caterer rather than a wedding cake. We thought our guests might prefer to have cheese after their three course dinner, rather than cake. We also decided not to have favours. We didn't have huge tables so tried to keep the tablescape as simple as possible.

As one big DIY project, I created all my wedding stationery. I was keen to reflect the pretty, relaxed theme. I painted the Save the Dates, wedding invitations, table places and table names.

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A Relaxed Boho Country Wedding Inspired by a Painting

This beautiful boho wedding has me wanting to recreate my own wedding all over again! Lovely bride Lisa, was inspired by a the painting, 'Midsummer Eve' by Edward Robert Hughes, and painted her own design for her wedding invitations, Save the Dates, and table stationery. I've fallen in love with the relaxed country feel, the dreamy lakeside teepee wedding reception, and Lisa's divine messy bouquet, made up of spray roses, sweet-smelling honeysuckle, and mint. Every wedding detail fits perfectly, from Lisa's bespoke head-dress, her sweet page boys' and flower girls' outfits, and her divine David Fielden dress - which was actually the top and bottom of two dresses put together. Enjoy these wonderful pictures by Victoria Phipps Photography, and stay tuned for the amazing reception photographs. You wait till you see the Lyndon Top lakeside reception venue!

We celebrated our wedding on 6th July 2013 at St Mary's Church in Ashwell. We hosted our wedding reception in a tipi at Lyndon Top, overlooking Rutland Water.

We were hoping to create a relaxed, country wedding and were delighted to find a field overlooking Rutland Water, so we had a fantastic view of the lake as well.

My wedding shoes were from the Rainbow Club, and I bought them in John Lewis.

As one big DIY project, I created all my wedding stationery. I was keen to reflect the pretty, relaxed theme. I painted the Save the Dates, wedding invitations, table places and table names. {You can see the invitation just under the bridesmaids shoes in this picture}.

My wedding dress was designed by David Fielden, and I bought it from Hannah at Noble and Wright. We tried to create something pretty, fairly traditional but with a hint of boho. We ended up taking the skirt from one dress and the top from another to create the final design.

A very clever friend made my wedding headpiece and my mum's hat. Her name is Sophie Iliffe.

My wedding bouquet and our buttonholes were created by our wedding florist Miss Pickering. The bouquets included honeysuckle, spray roses, sweet peas and herbs such as mint.

We were looking to create wild, loose floral displays with lots of colour; in particular pinks and purples and creams. 

My flower girls wore cardigans and ballet pumps by I Love Gorgeous, pretty tops by Petit Bateau, and their tutu skirts were a friend's discovery, but I'm afraid they were a small supplier and they're not making them anymore.

My page boys wore shirts and shorts from Little Linens, and sandals from Sarenza.

My husband's suit was designed by Bladen, and supplied by Paul Richman Gentleman's Outfitters in Stamford. His shoes were by Cheaney.

I walked up the aisle to Canon in D Major by J. Pachelbel. The recessional was Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring by J.S. Bach. Our first dance was Islands In the Stream, sung by our fantastic band, Too Darn Hot.

Our church and teepee flowers were created by a family friend - Goldie Bardwell, and her team of ladies.

Our wedding photographer was Victoria Phipps. She was recommended by a friend who had used Victoria for their wedding. Victoria is fab; really easy to work with and she is able to really capture the atmosphere of the day. Most importantly she takes beautiful photographs!

 Our wedding videographer was Richard Mattock of Studio 27.

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A Secret Garden Wedding with a Woodland & Travel Theme - The Reception

This is one of those amazing weddings where the bride thought of every single detail, and DIY'd a fair few {like most} of them. A regular reader of Before the Big Day, Kelly came up with several fabulous themes, and combined them all with panache! Travel plus secret woodland and a colourful palette equals wedding heaven. And the ideas to steal - there's too many. Just take a look at the amazing handmade hot air balloon table names, the stunning paper cut-style seating plan, and the pinecone place markers. Kelly was up till late the night before her wedding, decorating her tepee venues with six friends - so if you're considering to DIY your decor, remember to arrange a helping hand {or 10}. I love how she placed a sprig of rosemary at each seat, and the hand-stamped balloons on the stationery are the cutest. Instead of a cake, Kelly and Pete chose a massive array of sweetie treats....my type of wedding! Enjoy Kelly's hints and tips in her answers to the Before the Big Day Brides' Questionnaire - there's tonnes of advice for budding brides. Huge thanks to Richard Galloway for his stunning wedding photographs.

We got married in the beautiful Secret Garden at Wasing Park in Berkshire. It was a bright and sunny May Day. I liked the idea of a secret garden full of surprise and intrigue, and Wasing Park was the perfect venue. We kept areas hidden so as to surprise our guests with each stage of the wedding.

Our photographer was Richard Galloway. He is an old friend and a professional wedding photographer. We felt we couldn't have made a better decision, as he knew us, and knew that we were planning something fun and curious. 

Richard's style is reportage, and we wanted more natural shots than traditional posed wedding photographs, so he was the perfect fit.

My dear friend Anna is a graphic designer, and she said that for our wedding, she wanted to give us a gift of the design and execution of our wedding invitations. She carefully created the paper cut design and information sheet, in keeping with the woodland theme, with carefully cut deer and birds in a style similar to Rob Ryan. We even bought in the paper from an old Italian stationer! Lots of energy and patience, but the result was truly elegant.

We had a combination of decorations and themes - a travel theme, a secret woodland theme, and a night theme of fire. We also wanted plenty of colour to give the feel of a fiesta, but a country garden version.

In keeping with the secret woodland theme we decorated the tables with giant pinecones, and the tent poles with fir and ivy. We wanted it to feel like a feast for the eyes, with plenty of colourful bunting, and paper decorations to add to the ambience. 

Our wedding florist was a very talented lady called Yolanda Chiaramello  She had plenty of experience in floristry, and wanted to work with us on her first wedding. She was excellent at talking through our dreams and visions, and turning them into reality.  

Every detail, from the Tizer bottles hosting a single bud, to carefully chosen and placed blooms, and our bouquets were perfect. Yolanda's attention to detail made it an absolute pleasure to work with her. She surpassed our expectations and then some.

We are big world travellers, so we chose tepee hats as our marquees, with plenty of travel themed props. Our table names were handmade hot air balloons, which looked like they were floating, thanks to the wonders of fishing wire. 

We also had a table laid out with a globe, a guest book made out of a vintage photograph album, and framed photos of dear family members that are no longer with us. The look I was aiming for was a traveller's writing desk, complete with typewriter and other ephemera. 

I had a few too many DIY projects! I crafted all of the boy's buttonholes, each one bespoke. I also made all of my chicas {most special ladies} a bespoke buttonhole - each one individually designed. I made with six litres of home made vodka {2 lemoncello, 2 mandarin and 2 wild berry}, and the marshmallow and Ferrero Roche sweetie trees. I hand picked all the decorations, made chocolate pots, and the table plan with paper sourced in New York and spray-painted mdf....

I enjoyed most of my wedding planning. We had a two-year engagement so it gave us plenty of time to finely tune every detail. I also work in TV Production so genuinely enjoy organising! Towards the end it was at points stressful, but overall it was great. 

The night before I had six of my closest friends and my sister helping me out decorating the tepees when really I should have been doing my bikini line. We were folding napkins with rosemary and hessian until 10pm, and organising the table settings - this was quite testing, but also made me realise how special my closest friends and sister are to me.





My advice to brides? GO FOR IT {and double your budget!}. If you have a vision, there is nothing wrong with creating your own wedding from scratch. I would really recommend sticking to your plan and try not to be persuaded by packages or the standard. Personal touches go a long way – people really appreciate them and it makes your wedding tailor-made to you. 

Write lists. Create a bridal book and put all your thoughts and ideas in there. Use Pinterest to build up a mental image of the wedding you are trying to create. Think of your friends with good talents, and ask them to get involved. Enjoy - it is the most amazing thing to do - getting married to your partner for life. So make sure you relish every single moment!

Instead of cake, we had a desert table full of a selection of sweets and naughties – some DIY'd by me, but my best friend's mum {the best baker in the world} created a batch of her amazing brownies which we laid out on vintage china. 

My stepsister, Catherine Clark, is a chef and created the most magical confection – with everything from homemade Daim Bars to Scottish Tablet – oooooh naughty! Our wedding breakfast was a Pakistani feast, so we added lots of exotic sweets as well. 

More advice - make sure you plan at some point on the day to sneak of with your new husband. The day goes so quickly and it really is important you savour every moment and take a moment to look into each other’s eyes, cheesy as it sounds it is really very important. 

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