Sally and Conor’s Rustic ‘Festival Chic’ DIY Derbyshire Wedding by Sarita White Photography

Happy Monday everyone and how are you all? Did you have a good weekend? If you’re the same as me you were trying to squeeze the last drop of summer out of the weekend, wasn’t it glorious! We were in Chester visiting my good friend Becky and her lovely family. They took us out on their new boat and we had an absolute blast! I wish summer could last all year round! Today I am taking you to the beautiful Derbyshire countryside for this gorgeous Tipi wedding. Sally and Conor wanted a chilled, laid back day where they were able to create as much of the wedding themselves. They hired some super pretty Tipi’s and set about creating a DIY extravaganza. They fed and watered their guest themselves and created lots of the decoration. The whole day had a chilled vibe which went perfectly with the warm summer sunshine. The whole day was captured perfectly by Sarita White Photography.

A relaxed atmosphere where people could really enjoy themselves. The best day of our lives…so far!

Sally and Conor were married on 24th August 2019 at The Hidden Hive, Rosliston, Walton-On-Trent in Derbyshire. ‘We wanted somewhere relaxed and outdoors with lots of nature around and plenty of room for garden games. The Hidden Hive offered us all of the above and more, it is absolutely beautiful! The PeakTipi’s team were amazing and put us at ease with all our planning. We had around 75 day guests and 90 evening guests. We decided to set the date in January 2019, so it took just under 8 months to plan.’

How they met
We met at university whilst both studying to become registered nurses. We were put into the same groups for a few different projects and ended up being best friends in our first year. Second year we decided to house share and the rest is history! We had been together for around three years before tying the knot.

The proposal
Conor bought a beautiful vintage ring and had it restored around Christmas 2017, we were walking along the Tissington Trail in Derbyshire. Conor stopped when we got to a beautiful clearing in the woods where he asked me and I initially thought he was joking and laughed at him. After about 2 minutes, I asked him to show me the ring and put it on, I guess that was a yes.

How did you allocate your budget?
We wanted to do everything we could to keep costs down, such as food and table drinks. We downloaded the bridebook app, which was really useful to track your outgoings and overall budget.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We saved a lot preparing the wedding breakfast ourselves (with the help of our amazing family) and providing our own welcome drinks and table wines. We also asked people to take part in a bake off competition for the desserts, so people just helped themselves after the meal to what they fancied.
We wanted our photos to be special, as it’s the only thing other than the rings that you have left from the day. We didn’t focus on price for the photographer, we just got who we knew would be perfect. We had a band in the evening too, we love music and didn’t want cheesey!

How did you choose your photographer?
We did A LOT of research on local photographers and came across Sarita by chance whilst looking at another venue. We fell in love with her photos, and after meeting her we knew she would be perfect. Sarita and Craig both put us at ease on the day, the photos are incredible, and she captured the day as a beautiful story.

The Dress
I wore a Rembo Styling dress from Alexandra Anne Bridal in Bakewell and I added bespoke sleeves last minute by a fabulous local seamstress called Sarah.  I didn’t want anything too formal and wanted to be able to dance in it! My shoes were from Asos, just flat sandals as I can’t for the life of me walk in high heels and ended up going barefoot for the majority of the evening anyway. My veil was from a small, family owned shop on Etsy and I didn’t have many accessories apart from my rings and Ashes into glass earrings which have my dad’s ashes in.

The suit and bridesmaids
Conor’s suit was from Moss Bros, he had a two piece Linen waistcoat and jacket, chinos, a white cotton shirt and blue suede loafers. All of the groomsmen wore the same waistcoat and chinos with their blue suede shoes. The bridesmaids wore dresses from Asos which we thought really suited the style we were going for. The maid of honour wore a slightly different colour, and they all looked beautiful.

Theme or colour scheme
We went for a rustic/ festival vibe. We didn’t really have a strict colour scheme, but most of our flowers and decorations were pinks and greens. To fit with the festival theme, we had luxury bell tents for guests to stay in for the night, provided by Tinkersbells.

Flowers 
We went for a rustic approach with lots of green foliage and eucalyptus. We had lots of different roses in the bouquets of all different colours. We were quite indecisive with what we wanted so we gave the florist artistic license.

Decoration
We wanted festival chic decorations, nothing too formal. There were lots of fairy lights already in the venue, we decorated with green foliage along the tables placed on grey drapes with candles. We hired LOVE letters and a wooden postbox, and did everything else ourselves. The ceremony area had an outdoor structure that was dressed with two gorgeous flower arrangements. We also had two massive peacock chairs to sit in for the wedding breakfast!

Food
We wanted people to pick at what they fancied, as we had been to weddings in the past and eaten far too much and too formal. We prepared picnic boxes for the tables the night before the wedding for people to share. They had a selection of cheeses, cold meats, salads, breads and homemade pies with lots of veggie options. For pudding we had the great wedding bake off! For the evening food, we had a BBQ provided by A Matter of Taste caterers, offering piri piri chicken burgers, beef burgers and veggie burgers.

The wedding cake
The wedding cake was a three tiered semi-naked sponge cake of three individual flavours. We chose lemon drizzle, raspberry and white chocolate and double chocolate for our flavours. It was decorated with lots of fresh fruits and flowers to top.

Entertainment
We had lots of garden games such as space hoppers, swing ball, croquet etc. which kept all of the children (and adults) occupied whilst we were off having photos. After the food, we had a game of Mr and Mrs and the band started shortly after. We had a band called the Nashville Heat, they were a three piece band who tailored their sets to what we wanted and made sure everyone had a dance and to finish the night, we had a disco.

Who supplied the stationery?
Our invitations were from vistaprint. We supplied all our own place settings and order of the day to keep costs down.

Personal touches
We tried to do as much as we could ourselves. In the chill out area of the Tipi we had lots of printed photos of ourselves and loved ones hanging from twine. Our favours were homemade Biscotti, wrapped in brown paper and twine for adults, and love hearts for the little ones. In the evening the Twisted Mojito bar staff provided our personal favourite cocktails which we had pre arranged, the bar staff were amazing and the cocktails were fab! We each had charms for loved ones that have passed away, I had two for my Dad and Grandad on my flowers and Conor had a pin on the inside of his waistcoat with his Auntie and Grandma on.

Special moments 
We thought the whole day was special but our highlight was the perfect ceremony. We had a very important family friend, Rosemary, to be our Celebrant. We had spent a long time planning this with her leading up to the wedding. We didn’t want it to be religious, but we wanted it to be spiritual and meaningful to us. The weather was perfect, and we have some amazing photos to remember it by.

Advice for other couples
Don’t stress too much about the small things, as the day goes so fast, you hardly notice them. Have fun planning your wedding and don’t take it too seriously. Lastly, remember it’s YOUR wedding, do what makes YOU happy!

Biggest surprise
The weather! It had been rubbish leading up to the wedding, it turned out to be the most beautiful summers day.

Supplier Shout Outs

• Photography: Sarita White Photography
• Tipi: PeakTipi’s
• Florist: The Little Flower Shed
• Band: The Nashville Heat
• Catering: A Matter of Taste
• Bar: Twisted Mojito  
• Event Decor: Ava Jax Hire
• Hair: Alice Reeves
• Makeup: Jane Bridal Beauty
• Dress: Alexandra Anne Bridal Boutique Designed by Rembo Styling
• Alterations: Sarah
• Tents: Tinkersbells Tents

For more information on Sarita White Photography go to

www.saritawhitephotography.com / www.saritawhitephotgoraphy.com/blog/ / [email protected] / 07808 327732 / FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER / PINTEREST

We are based in Derbyshire, and cover the Midlands and Destination Weddings. Our style is relaxed unobtrusive and to tell a creative story of the day as it unfolds.