Becky and Alistair described their wedding theme as ‘crystals and ribbons’ and were inspired by Cornwall and nature. They wanted their wedding to be non-traditional, sentimental and outdoors because nature and the environment mean so much to them.
“Everything from the venue down to what colour ribbon we had hanging in the trees all had sentimental meaning to us,” explained Becky, “that’s what gives the wedding its unique flavour: it was a little bit of each family member’s creativity fused into one day. I’m pagan so we also wanted to incorporate that in the meaning of the petals used in the confetti (made by my mum from wild flowers around her house) and by having a wishing tree instead of a guest book.”
“Our ceremony was actually a pretty simple affair. My bridesmaid Penny did a reading of Pam Ayres’ Yes I’ll Marry you my Dear. It just seemed to suit us as a couple so well! It meant a lot to us that Penny could do the reading as well since she’s known us pretty much from the beginning. My granddad also did a reading of Robert Burns’ A Red Red Rose which was so lovely.”
“The whole wedding felt like one big DIY project! We made the backdrop behind the registrars table by spray painting bamboo and looping ribbons of varying colours and textures around it, the flower chandelier was made from a hula-hoop wrapped in more ribbons and fake flowers from Hobbycraft, my mum and stepdad baked and decorated our wedding cake in the shape of a tipi, and my grandparents helped us design and make the all the DIY projects because they’d just discovered Pinterest! The fact that our family helped make everything gave so much more meaning to them and to the day itself.”
For entertainment the couple got everyone welly wanging! “The welly wanging was a massive highlight of the day. I think everyone had a go, and videos of it were all over my Snapchat the next day! It really brought our two families together. Alistair’s Auntie Chris had researched all the rules beforehand so I think she was crowned champion in the end!”
“Our biggest expense was definitely the venue, but it was worth every single penny. The whole place was exactly what we were looking for. It was all outdoors, and there were lots of different areas we could use: fields, fire pits and a massive lake which was just beautiful. The venue is also very eco-conscious which was important for us.”
“We really saved money on decorations. Pinterest was a massive resource for us, and we found so many helpful DIY tutorials online. We would just literally google ‘boho bunting’ and see what came up! Another way we saved money with the decorations was by buying everything in bulk. If you have a big area to fill then wholesale is definitely the way to go.”
“Our advice for future brides and grooms is that, if you’re planning an outdoor wedding, plan for the worst and expect the best. Also, remember that it’s your day, so create something you truly want. Our families were very understanding with the fact that we didn’t want a traditional wedding, and that helped everything flow seamlessly. Just have fun with it and remember that it’s just one day so if something doesn’t go exactly to plan, then don’t sweat it, because you’re marrying the best human on the planet and that’s all that matters.”
