Having your wedding venue cancel on you might not feel like fate, but this gave Thea and John the chance to explore what they had always wanted “An Outdoor Wedding” and it was all worth it in the end.
Thea and John celebrated in a two-pole Sailcloth tent at the Stunning Meynell Langley in Derbyshire. Embracing the DIY side of an outdoor wedding they enjoyed creating their own wedding Flowers and styling their Sailcloth Space.
What made you decide on an outdoor wedding?
Our journey to having an outdoor wedding wasn’t your standard one! When we first got engaged in September 2021, we were set on an outdoor wedding – however, we knew we wanted to get married in May and were put off by lots of people telling us about weather catastrophes and the extra planning involved with an outdoor wedding (very much worth it by the way).
We then booked a very traditional country hall wedding for ease and in the hope of giving ourselves less planning. In November 2022 – the Hall venue cancelled our wedding, and we were back to square one. It was really meant to be as we got the outdoor wedding we always dreamed of and the sun shone all day.
Sami Tipi and the wonderful Meynell Langley came to the rescue and it turned out to be everything we hoped for and more. Ultimately, we wanted an outdoor wedding for the atmosphere and the ability to personalise it in every aspect. An outdoor wedding gives you the freedom to make your day uniquely yours and we loved every second of it.
What did you both wear?
My dress was from Charlotte Elizabeth Bridal in Matlock, and John’s suit was from Fort Formalwear in Ripley.
We chose not to have the full bridal party in perfectly matching outfits. Instead, the groomsmen chose their own suits in a similar colour scheme and wore matching ties. The bridesmaid dresses were from ASOS in a few different styles from the same range.
Tell us about your ceremony
Our ceremony took place at St Mary’s in Wirksworth, our local Church which means a lot to us. John’s family have got married here for generations so it’s somewhere which brings us a lot of happiness and peace. Our ceremony was very traditional, and we love that we can revisit where we got married.
How did you feed your guests?
We wanted a sit-down meal without the formality, and absolutely love Mediterranean food. With the help of our caterers, we chose a menu which our guests loved. Everyone commented on how great it was.
We welcomed our guests with canapes, which were followed by tapas and paella, served sharing style to the table, with rhubarb and ginger cheesecake for dessert. Pizzas in a variety of flavours were our evening offering, which certainly helped to soak up a few beers!
Greedy Pig catered our whole wedding day and was absolutely outstanding. The ability to personalise our menu alongside excellent communication meant the service was truly seamless and the quality of the food was amazing.
How would you describe your styling?
All of our styling and flowers we did ourselves, including the bouquets! It was a mixture of rustic and English garden. All of the flowers were British-grown and sourced locally from Hollybrook Flower Farm or our own/families gardens.
Meynell Langley Hall has far-stretching countryside views. We were surrounded by trees, so we wanted to really compliment that with our styling. We used lots of natural tones, sage green, soft pinks and lilacs. Our centrepieces were simple bud vases, with lots of candles and lanterns.
We opted for extra fairy lights in our sailcloth tent which looked stunning all day, but especially as it dropped darker.
How did you entertain your guests?
We had hired speakers and had a playlist playing throughout our meal, and then in the evening we had an amazing live band (The Anthemics), and played our own playlist in between sets.
Outside we had some lawn games and a DIY Photo Booth for our guests too.
What are your top tips?
Choose the areas of your budget which are most important to you – ours were food, music, photographer, bar and the structure (Sailcloth tent!) itself – we saved money in other areas to allow spending in what mattered most, and to us made our day more enjoyable. Good food, wine and live music were important to create the atmosphere we wanted, so we prioritised spending in these areas. Our biggest budget saver was DIY-ing all of the flowers and decor, and you can source excellent supplies online and 2nd hand.
Be organised in the planning process, and delegate. If you’re going very DIY like us, make sure you have a good group of people who know what their role is.
Relax in the lead-up to your wedding, what will be will be and focus on what’s important. On the day soak up and enjoy every little moment.
Suppliers You Loved and Would Recommend
STRUCTURE – Sami Tipi
Sami Tipi, of course – more than just a tipi hire company, they helped us with essential planning elements. The tent was perfect and the excellent communication really helped us with planning our day, from timeline to tent layout, perfectly.
VENUE – Meynell Langley, Derbyshire
CATERERS – Greedy Pig
Our caterers were just incredible. Greedy Pig were seamless and professional, we all loved the food and they made everything so easy for us. They were such good value for money and designed a personalised menu that was exactly what we wanted.
BAND – The Anthemics
Our band really made our evening reception, The Anthemics, all our guests commented on how good they were.
FLOWER FARM – Hollybrook Flower Farm
Margaret at Hollybrook Flower Farm provided the most perfect high-quality British blooms for our DIY flowers and we could not recommend her more.
PHOTOGRAPHER – Marie Anson Photography
Marie really went above and beyond! She helped with the running of the day, photographed special moments seamlessly, was reassuring in times of need and we honestly feel the day wouldn’t have been the same without her. It’s true when they say that the pictures are the only thing you have to remember your day and looking at our pictures is like being there again because the moments were captured so perfectly.
ATTIAR Charlotte Elizabeth Bridal & Fort Formalwear
We would highly recommend both of these places. For the quality of the items and all the excellent service and attention to detail.
Further Inspiration
