Francesca and Tom's Rustic, Country Style Garden Wedding with Wild Flowers by J S Coates

Well hello Thursday, How are you all? It’s the last day in the office for me, as I am off tomorrow with Dexter. I must say I am very jealous of all the photos I’m seeing of people off on their holidays for half term! We are meant to be in Ibiza this week but had our holiday cancelled for the 2nd time! Still, Nik and I had lovely meal at one of our favourite restaurants last night, celebrating Nik’s birthday! So all is not lost! Today it’s the turn of Francesca and Tom and their beautiful Garden wedding held at Francesca’s fathers farm! The whole day is super laid back, full of personal touches, the most beautiful wild flowers, the most stunning marquee and a few quirky nods to Sheffield. With an elegant church ceremony, followed by a BIG party, this wedding is everything that a typical English wedding should be, and makes me long for the days when we can have BIG parties and weddings again! Big thanks to J S Coates for the wonderful photos, he’s really captured the day perfectly.

The most fun filled day, full of love surrounded by our friends and family.

Francesca and Tom were married on 7th September 2019 at St Bartholemews Church in Tardebigge, Worcestershire, with the reception in a marquee at Francesca’s Dads farm. ‘This was my local church where I was baptised, and parents were married. Always liked the idea of a laid back wedding. We ha 120 guests and it took 16 months to plan.’

How they met
We met on Tinder, I was still at University and Tom had moved to Sheffield for work. We have been together 6 years

The proposal
We had gone to the Lake district, and were planning to wild camp on the top of Old Man of Coniston. On the way up Tom was being very evasive and not letting me get anything out of the rucksack. We watched the sunset and it suddenly got very cold, so I brought my sleeping bag out to keep warm, and Tom knelt down to take a photo and then proposed.

How did you allocate your budget?
We had a rough idea of what we wanted from our day, including a free bar and sharing platters. Once we started looking at average prices we worked from there.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on the alcohol and food. In terms of saving, we had the bouquets made however got buckets of wild flowers and the day before friends and family made the tablet decorations.

How did you choose your photographer?
A friend had had Jonathan for their wedding and the photos were exactly what we were looking for – just the right amount of candid photos and awesome sunset shots.

The dress
Kate Beaumont – bespoke wedding dress maker in Sheffield. Brooch on the back of my ribbon – my Grandpa had designed for my Gran, something old and something blue. Bracelet – Anje Potze

The suit and bridesmaids
Toms family Fraser tartan formed the ties and his trousers, made from The Scotland Shop. Bridesmaids dresses were from Ghost

Theme or colour scheme
We wanted quite a rustic, country style wedding, with mainly pastel colours including blues and lilacs, incorporating thistles as well.

Flowers
As above, wild flowers grown on a local farm by a local florist, including cornflowers, thistles and roses.

Decoration
Local hops decorated the marquee, top table and bar area, with wild flowers dotted through. Each table had its own posy of flowers in jam jars decorated by Grandparents.

Food
Sharing feast from Wild Oven – Antipasti starter, slow cooked chicken or lamb with herby potatoes and salads, and Eton mess and brownies for pudding.

Wedding cake
My mum made the cake, 3 tiers with lemon sponge and chocolate cake with a fruit loaf on the bottom.

Entertainment
We had a band – The folklore, they were awesome!

Who supplied the stationery?
Our friend Tom designed the logo and website

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We spent a week down in Cornwall, including a few nights in Kudhva

Personal touches
Most of the wedding was very much personal, with a lot of family and friends helping out. We brought beer down from Sheffield to have at the day, as well as providing our favourite drinks. Our favours were also a nod to where we met – miniature bottles of Hendersons relish!

Special moments
Is it too cliche to say everything? The ceremony was taken by Francesca’s old school chaplain, the hymns were awesome and leaving the church to the theme tune to Jurassic park was incredible. The food and toasts were amazing, and everyone seemed to have a great day. Being around all of the people you love and sharing our day was the best.

Advice for other couples
Don’t try to please everybody. Ultimately it is your day and it is potentially the only day you’re going to have with this group of people in one place – make the most of it!