Happy April folks! And welcome to another week of fun, festival inspiration for all you brides-to-be. I absolutley LOVE an outdoor barn wedding, and lucky for me, I have one lined up to attend as a guest in Brecon, South Wales next week – my first wedding of the year, and I can’t wait!
On to today’s real wedding, which took place at Wildwood Bluebell, one of our very own exclusive venues. Amy and Matt were married at Wildwood last summer; set in the glorious and secluded heart of the Cotswolds, surrounded by wild flower meadows, enchanting woodland and acres of private farmland, this venue is so dreamy, with so many hidden, intimate nooks and an exquisitely free spirited vibe – perfect for couples planning a DIY wedding! We are so proud to be able to offer this beautiful outdoor venue EXCLUSIVELY through Festival Brides, and with wedding season about to begin, we look forward to helping all of our 2019 brides to plan their big day at Wildwood.
Amy and Matt LOVE Glastonbury, and had no doubt that their wedding would follow a festival theme….
We created a spectacular rainbow coloured festival. We had rainbow lanyards with maps and ‘order of the day’ timings on, an amazing Glitter Parlour, music all day long, brightly coloured paddling pools filled with ice and BYO booze and a DIY pallet bar. Everything was Glastonbury inspired!
The couple brought in a marquee, fabulous festival-style entertainment (including a pole dancer and an enchanting ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed chill out tent) and hired caterers to feed their guests BBQ’s and breakfast for the entire weekend. With a huge camping field as part of the venue hire, many of Amy and Matt’s guests embraced the fest-feels and camped out as part of the wedding shenanigans.
Here is Amy to tell you more about her Wildwood festival wedding to Matt, with this gorgeous collection captured by the wonderful Jennifer Peel Photography ….
Fireworks Night Proposal
Matt proposed to me on my 30th birthday on 5th November 2015. We went out to see the fireworks with friends that night, and when we got home he popped the ring out. If I’m honest, I can’t remember what he said as I was crying so much!
Stunning Secluded Cotswolds Woodland Venue
We were married at Wildwood Bluebell in the Cotswolds. I’ve worked in events management for years, and I’ve run a lot of weddings, so we really didn’t want to book a ‘standard’ venue. We’re avid Glastonbury goers, and decided that we wanted to encompass the festival feel at a location where our guests wouldn’t have to come and spend a fortune on accommodation or drinks. We wanted a location where there would be barn accommodation for us to get ready, as I didn’t fancy trying to put a wedding dress on in a tent! We set about looking for venues that would allow us the flexibility to host a festival with camping – a friend of ours shared the Wildwood Bluebell link with us and suggested we might like it. We arranged a viewing and immediately fell in love with it! We had 3 marquees in the end which helped make the event feel like a festival.
Trailing Foliage and Calla Lilies
We used Jayne Casey from Blue Thistle as our florist. She immediately suggested different types of flowers and ideas which fit exactly what we were looking for. I love Calla Lilies and wanted to have those as the base for each bouquet. I had white Callas with succulents and trailing foliage in my bouquet, whilst the bridesmaids and groomsmen each had a different colour flower to match the bridesmaid dresses.
Pre-Loved Wedding Dress for the day and Sequined Leotard for the Evening!
After trying on a lot of dresses I thought I’d like, I tried one on because of the colour of it and absolutely fell in love with it. It was everything I thought I didn’t want – strapless, boned and a sort of champagne colour. I got it from a shop called Bridal Reloved in Coventry and got it half price because it had been worn and sold by someone else which fit in well with our eco Glasto ethos.
We also both changed into festival gear towards the end of the day. I wore a sequin leotard and tutu with pink tights!
High Street Groom’s Outfit and Multi-Style Bridesmaid Dresses
We wanted the groomsmen in something smart casual so they didn’t look too out of place in the woods. We got all of their suit trousers and Matt’s waistcoat from Next. I had six bridesmaids, and I wanted them to wear dresses that they would all feel comfortable in. I decided to get the style that can be tied in different ways to create different dresses. As a gift, I bought them a ‘tree of life’ necklace with their birthstone and initial on.
Handfasting Ceremony in Secluded Woods
We had a handfasting ceremony with the ring exchange at the end. I’ve known Martina (Wonderful Events) for years as she did the ceremonies at a venue I used to run. We loved the woods so much that we kept the decoration there quite minimal. We just added a few bells and rainbow ribbons in the trees.
Giant Marquee, Alice in Wonderland Theme and Hobbit Hut
The main marquee was called Shangri La and we got the marquee company (Cotswold Marquees) to build a tunnel from this that people had to crawl through to get to a secret area called the Rabbit Hole. We used a leisure tent (which we usually take to Glastonbury) and filled it to the brim with ‘Alice in Wonderland’ decorations, a fairy light net and an AstroTurf floor. We provided coal and marshmallows for the Hobbit Hut, (which is part of the
Wildwood Bluebell venue), so that guests could use it as a chill out area and toast marshmallows over the fire. We also had a ‘circus’ – an area with a jump rope, hula hoops, diablos and juggling balls.
Alternative Glasto Inspired Guestbook
Instead of having a guest book I painted a canvas with the outlines of Matt and I (from a photo taken at Glastonbury which we used for our wedding website, save the dates and invitations). We provided acrylic paint pens and asked the guests to colour us in and sign the canvas.
DIY Festival Signage and Rainbow Bar
Aside from the marquees, all of our decorations were DIY. We made a lot of the decorations ourselves including rainbow coloured festival style signage and the rainbow bar. We bought nearly a kilometre of bunting which we ran all the way from the ceremony area to the reception field and surrounded every tent and area.
Homemade Rainbow Centered Cake
The mother of one of my bridesmaids very kindly made our wedding cake as a gift. She’s been a close friend since childhood and I used to spend a lot of time in their house when I was a child! We wanted the cake to fit in with the theme, so from the outside it was plain white, and the middle was brightly rainbow coloured. She even made a variety of different tiers to cover all of the dietary requirements!
Jennifer Peel Photography
We used Jennifer Peel from Jennifer Peel Photography as our photographer as I’ve known her for a long time and have always loved her work. She was fantastic – she came to see us a couple of times and talked us through the whole process. We also had a second photographer on the day to help capture it all (and also because Jen was 7 months pregnant at the time!)
Live Festival Music and ‘Surprise’ Pole Dancing Performance
To fit with our festival theme, we wanted to have music playing all day, so we hired a guitarist who played during reception drinks and also did a set later in the afternoon. We had a fantastic DJ who was awesome, and he also helped to organise the other musicians throughout the day. We had a band called Johnny Kowalsi and the Sexy Weirdos – they were brilliant! Ed (the DJ) recommended them if we wanted to go full on Glasto style, and he was absolutely right.
I do pole dancing for fitness, so we also asked my instructor if she would perform for us. She was amazing! She and my friend created an amazing ‘Alice in Wonderland’ style routine which we advertised on the lanyards as a ‘surprise performance’.
First Dance
We did our first dance to the ‘Best of You’ by The Foo Fighters. We saw them together at Glastonbury in 2017 which brought us both to tears. It was a brilliant moment to share together, so it seemed appropriate for our first dance.
Favourite Moment
I don’t think I could pin it down to just one favourite moment to be honest. Once all the other ladies had gone to the ceremony and left us in Bluebell Barn it was really surreal….I was far more nervous than I anticipated! The whole day was exactly what we wanted and so much more. It was amazing to walk up to Matt and see him for the first time that day. I think the best bit for me was just being there together with everyone and having a good time.
Any Advice?
Do whatever you want to do! It’s your wedding and the people who love you just want to see you enjoy yourself. Also, the things that people will remember won’t be what colour your chair covers were or how long the food took to be served, so don’t sweat the small stuff.
Having run a lot of events, especially weddings, I was fully aware that they don’t run smoothly without any work behind the scenes. We hired someone I used to work with to be our events manager for the day, so that we could relax – it was well worth it.
The Line Up
Photographer: Jennifer Peel Photography; Venue: Wildwood Bluebell; Celebrant: Martina Paul at Wonderful Events; Marquee: Cotswold Marquees; Bride’s Dress: href=”https://bridalreloved.co.uk/” target=”_blank”>Bridal Reloved;Caterer: RJS Catering; Florist: Blue Thistle; Guitarist: Dai Cable; DJ: Ed Steelefox; Band: Johnny Kowalsi and the Sexy Weirdos; Ice: The Ice Man; Toilet Hire: Town and Country
