Tor & Tom's Wedding Story
I spent the morning getting ready with my family and bridesmaids at my parents home, whilst Tom was a mile down the road with his family. Tom, his family and ushers, spent an hour or so before the ceremony I n a friends cider barn (in the absence of a village pub, and conveniently next door to the church).
The bridal party were able to walk round to the village church, where the ceremony took place. This was a really special part of the day, with lots of villagers coming out to see us all as we walked round.
After the ceremony, the guests all walked through the village back to my parents house, where the reception was held in a marquee in the garden.
The marquee was full of seasonal British flowers in pastel blues and pinks, which we had arranged ourselves and each table was named after a different Gin - 21 of them in total. Each place setting had a lemon, with the guests name written on a fresh bay leaf. This was a must, as our married name is Lemon, and it was really well received by our guests! We had made little bottles of homemade sloe gin, and gin limoncello as our wedding favours - inkeeping with our love of gin!
The marquee housed a bar which Tom and I had made with help from family. It was totally upcycled from old kitchen units, pallets and a dresser top, and it went down an absolute storm. It is still used to this day!
The wedding meal was a very relaxed affair, with speeches coming during the starters. Joints of pork were carved at the tables by "the lucky chosen few" who were given hats and aprons for the job!! The desserts were made by our family and friends, and laid out in a buffet style, along with the cake, which had partially collapsed in the heat, only to be rescued by our amazing caterers!
The evening became incredibly raucous when the band, Apollo Soul, started, and the dance floor was packed all night! We had made an Instagram frame, and provided plenty of props, which were certainly well utilised!!
We also hosted brunch for around 60 people the following morning, nursing the hangovers with bacon butties and reminiscing on the events of the day before.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather, and this allowed us to make the most of my parents incredibly beautiful garden! The wedding had so many elements which we had made ourselves, and it was heartwarming to receive so many compliments from guests about how personal the wedding had been, and unlike any other they'd been to.
We had the perfect day, but also look back on the full 12 month build up really fondly. We had so many fun experiences sourcing, buying and making all the things that made our wedding so evidently "us".
We were over the moon with our choices of suppliers, all of whom excelled our expectations, and we would recommend to anyone!
Photographer: J S Coates Photography; second shooter Will Fuller Photography
Caterers: Orchard Catering
Band: Apollo Soul
Hair: Sarah McNamee
Flowers: sourced direct from grower through Flowers from the Farm initiative
Marquee: West Country Marquees
