Camilla and Mike’s Laid Back, Handmade Somerset Wedding by This and That Photography

Todays wedding takes us back to late summer when the sun was low and the air was warm. A gorgeous Somerset wedding full of laid back vibes and a family friendly ethos. With 30 children in attendance this was a fun packed, entertainment filled wedding, as well as a day full of good food, lots of smiles and an array of handmade projects. Camilla and Mike pulled off a relaxed celebration set across three venues with some gorgeous photos from Kirsty from This and That Photography.

‘Relaxed, fun and inclusive wedding- with the focus on family and friends’

Camilla and Mike were married on12th September 2015 at All Saints Church, Trull, Somerset with Tea and Cake at Trull Community Centre and reception at The Haymeadow, near Churchinford, Somerset. ‘All Saints was Mike’s family church, in the village where he grew up. As an outdoorsy couple, we were keen for a relaxed marquee reception with plenty of room to run around, for kids to play, for outdoor games and a blank canvas for us to decorate as we liked! The great rural reception venue meant we could have fire pits for toasting marshmallows into the evening and we could camp/ glamp in the meadow too. We had 120 guests including 30 children and the wedding planning took 7 months.

How they met
We met at work! And have been together for 3 years.

The Proposal
We got engaged in the Brecon Beacons- after a long walk on a chilly, sunny February day with our cocker spaniel Digby! Mike proposed behind a waterfall that I had fond memories of visiting on may occasions as a child

How did you allocate your budget
The focus was on a fun family day therefore the important spends were food, booze, games and party bags for the kids! And a kid friendly venue! We had a budget, that I think we just about kept to- balancing some big spends with some cost saving exercises too!

Where did you splurge and where did you save
I don’t think we had any ridiculous splurges, except for over catering on the booze- we are still quite happily drinking our wedding wine! My dress was a bit of a splurge, but it was the one item I had saved for and once you know the one, you know!
We saved by having a kind friend make our amazing wedding cake, having family and friends help out with the flowers and by crafting the invitations, table decorations, place names and table plan myself. We also saved by not hiring wedding cars- but dressing up our well-loved Land Rover!

How did you choose your photographer
We had been recommended Kirsty from friends of friends and could not in anyway have found anyone more perfect. Not only had we heard she was great but we had a look at her website and style of photography and instantly loved all her work- not only with wedding photography but with her family shots too. Family and friends are massively important to us and this is 100% what she captured, in a relaxed unobtrusive manner. Not only was her work fantastic, but she and her husband were helpful, lovely and incredible fun and great to have with us as guests! I couldn’t recommend them enough

The Dress
My dress was by Laure de Sagazan at The Mews in Clifton, my veil was borrowed from my Sister in Law and my shoes from Dune. My earrings were from Promenade Antiques in Cheltenham and my necklace was borrowed from my Mum.

The Suit and Bridesmaids
Mike’s kilt was his father’s- handed down through his family. The bridesmaid dresses were handmade by Gabrielle at Tinker and Belle in a Liberty print fabric that we had chosen

Theme or Colour Scheme
Not really, other than working around the Liberty print idea, with the bridesmaids in 1 print and the groomsmen in ties all different Liberty prints

Flowers
Our flowers were all hand grown locally in Somerset by Jan at JW Blooms who also did the floristry. Jan made all the flower crowns, bouquets, corsages and button holes as well as providing 2 milk churns of flowers. She also provided us with buckets of flowers for us to use to decorate the rest of the church and reception. Mike’s mum and her friends had also grown some flowers and they kindly arranged the church and table flowers.

Decoration
Plenty of flowers in vintage glass and china vases collected from charity shops- stood on vintage books, metres and metres of handmade and borrowed Liberty print bunting- some of which we made on my Hen do, tissue paper pom poms and hand painted table names.

Food
Initially a pit stop of tea and cake after the service, followed by canapés and fizz then a sit down hog roast with fresh salads. We had Mike’s favourite sticky toffee pudding for dessert- then plenty more cake and cheese and biscuits in the evening.

Wedding Cake
Was lovingly and beautifully made by a very clever friend

Entertainment
We had plenty of outdoor games, including a skittle alley we had borrowed from the local church to keep the kids amused throughout the day then a local ceilidh band, Hobson’s Choice for the evening.

The Stationery
I hand painted and designed the wedding invitations, table names and table plan. A local printer to us in Gloucestershire helped us with printing the invitations and Order of Service, which we designed just as a computer document

Personal or Handmade Touches
The invitations, which was quite a big undertaking in the end, but we definitely did save money doing this. In a similar style, I hand painted the table names and used a pyrograph tool to handwrite place names into old wooden pegs. I also handmade about 400 marshmallows as favours too- again I think didn’t appreciate how much work that would be too!

Special Moments
Our church ceremony, surrounded by family and friends was a definite highlight- having friends play, sing and read made it all so personal and special for us. Although it was fairly crazy, having so many children there made it feel like a proper family event and although it took quite some organising- and at times a little stressful, I wouldn’t have changed this for the world.

Advice to other couples
Make it personal to you as a couple and include things unique to you both.Think about what matters most to you with regards to the day and make that the priority.

Biggest surprise
How quickly time flies and how ecstatic but completely knackered you feel by the end of it!

Supplier Shout Outs

• Reception – www.blackdownevents.co.uk
• Caterers – www.food-4-you.co.uk
• Ceilidh Band – www.hobsonschoice.org.uk
• Flowers – www.jwblooms.co.uk
• Hair and Make Up – www.buffdayspa.co.uk
• Dress – www.themewsclifton.co.uk
• Bridesmaid Dresses – www.tinkerandbelle.co.uk
• Groomsmen’s Ties – www.mrsbowtie.com
• Cheese – www.finecheese.co.uk
• Photography – www.thisandthatphotography.co.uk

For more information on Kirsty’s work please go to:

www.thisandthatphotography.co.uk / www.thisandthatphotography.co.uk/blog / [email protected]  / 07971630765 / FACEBOOK / @ttp_photography / I:thisandthatphotography / PINTEREST

Super relaxed, smiley, heart of my sleeve story teller based in Hampshire covering the whole of the UK.