Having been an avid Instagram follower for a while, Alix knew an Outdoor Wedding was what she wanted

When Alix and Carl visited their first Showcase event after getting engaged, it confirmed it for them both, and boy did they go to town! They celebrated with a Festival theme wedding at Cattows Farm, with Four Giant Hat Tipi’s and an array of epic suppliers, they certainly did what they said they were going to do…”HAVE THE FUN STUFF!”

What made you decide on an outdoor wedding?

I’d followed Sami Tipi for ages, and not knowing anyone who had a Tipi wedding, when we got engaged I literally jumped on Instagram and saw you were having a Showcase and so we attended and that just confirmed it for us. It was amazing! We had four Giant Hat Tipis, and we really believe it was the best layout, everyone loved it. The space suited everyone and if people didn’t want to dance they had an area to chill out, but also meant they stayed involved. It was a lovely hot day too so it was the perfect weather for being outside.

What did everyone wear?

I wore a dress from Dress Me Pretty, which was fitted and went out at the bottom, with lots of detail and beading. It went off the shoulder so it certainly helped with the heat. The bridesmaids had sage green dresses from Asos, with thin straps and low backed, quite simple and again really good for the hot weather.

Carl had a three piece tweed suit, which he bought and he hired the rest for the Groomsmen. Carl also had a matching flat cap, which proved perfect to help keep the sun off.

Tell us about your ceremony

We got married at our local village Church in Desford at 1pm. The highlight of the ceremony would definitely be the DeMontfort University Gospel Choir. They were amazing and really set the tone for the day and we just danced the whole ceremony. It wasn’t necessarily for religious reasons that we chose to get married in a church, it was just something we wanted to do, and it really was the perfect start to the whole day. I walked into the Gospel Choir singing Rise Up and we both danced out to Oh Happy Day.

How did you feed your guests?

We didn’t want a formal sit down meal and our food was a real important factor to us. We had grazing cups with breadsticks, meats and olives for the guests on arrival which were provided by Absolutely Cooked. These went down really well.

For lunch we had a choice of Cajun Chicken, Beef Brisket or Halloumi Flatbreads from Gorgeous Gourmet Grub and we had Fish and Chips from Ocean View Catering.

We’d made the decision to cater both options for all our guests which we’re really pleased we did, because the guests loved having a bit of both. Everyone ate outside so it was really relaxed. We made sure we had seating for everyone inside just in case it rained, but thankfully it didn’t!

We chose to do our speeches first, so everyone sat in the Tipi’s for these, but we were literally sat down for half an hour.

Caroline at Cattows Farm also made sure we ate which we really appreciated, it would have been so easy to get carried away and not eat.

After lunch we had Jenni and Ice Cream providing Ice Cream and Sorbet for our guests, which we were so grateful for with the heat. For the evening we had Alpine Pizza, which one of the guests, who was Italian commented, that it was one of the best pizzas she’d had. The Manor House Bakery provided Crepes which went down so well that my friend had seven of them!

We decided not to have a Wedding Cake so Absolutely Cooked did us a dessert table, which included Brownies, Blondies, Cookies and Rocky Road. We also had a S’mores board which was enjoyed in the early hours of the morning!

How would you describe your styling?

We used Bryony of Bobbi Wren for our styling, which we initially ummed and ahhed about, but eventually I decided it would have just been too much for me to do in the lead up to our wedding. We bought a lot of things ourselves, with numerous trips to Ikea, but she came the day before and started styling the Tipi’s with everything we’d bought.

Bryony also provided us with some items such as the double rattan chair which we sat on and some apple crates. She was an absolute babe…it looked totally amazing! I think I’m good at some of that stuff, but she was next level. The Zoom meetings we had were really helpful, so together we created a theme that we absolutely loved.

How did you entertain your guests?

We had the Piano Man at the Tipi’s who literally played from the beginning and finished early in the evening. He was such a nice guy and just so different from everyone else we’d seen, so we had to have him, he really interacted with the guests too which they loved. For the evening music I wasn’t allowed to be involved in choosing this, and Carl chose a DJ who gave us a Kisstory styled theme, which also looked fantastic. They had an app so you could pick songs for the night, which the guests really enjoyed getting involved with. We did a bit of a routine for our first dance, which took a bit of practicing, but we’re so glad we did.

We also had Deluxe Booth who came in the evening. They did two copies of each photo and put one in a photobook, so we got to keep them, and it was great going through them the next day. It even brought people together who didn’t know each other before the wedding, which was a really nice thing to see. Friendships got created and they came away with a little story, which gave us a great feeling.

What are your Top Tips for planning a Tipi wedding?

Attend the Sami Tipi Showcases, we found most of our suppliers from there. We’re not really visual people, so these were a really important thing for us. You get to see how the set up will look and get a real feel for it.

The hampers in our toilets were what the guests commented on the most! They had suntan lotion and deodorant in, which the guests were so grateful for.

Have on the day management. Caroline at Cattows Farm ensured the whole day ran so smoothly, even down to simple things like replacing the candles. Caroline took all the stress away from the day and we really felt like we were in safe hands, nothing was an issue.

My biggest advice is don’t worry about what other people think. Be the Bride and Groom you want to be. Have a list of the non-negotiables, be clear what you want and HAVE THE FUN STUFF! Your day is about you, no-one else.

Suppliers You Used, Loved and Would Recommend

Our Sami Tipi experience was the absolute best, nothing was too much trouble and everyone knew what they were doing. We owe a big shout out to Beth. From day one when we spoke to her at our first showcase, she was so real and easy to chat to. She went above and beyond and always gave us such good advice, nothing was too much trouble. The planning meetings really helped us plan the site and turning up to it on the day…well, just WOW! Carl had to sit down to take it all in!! We knew it was going to be a great day because we were getting married, but it was just absolutely amazing, we wouldn’t change a thing. Our guests still say it was the best day ever!

All of our suppliers were amazing, I’m so glad we had each and every one of them. Our photographer, Abi from Waves of Wonder especially, was so good at capturing the day. I’m sure she was a Ninja! How she caught some of the photos was unbelievable and when I first met her, it felt like she was a best friend!