When you are in the middle of your Medical Exams and your other half lives in Ireland, planning a Sailcloth Tent Wedding at Lavender Lake, might seem like a big job!

Becci and Jonah worked together to bring their outdoor wedding vision to life even with “life” getting in the way. With Becci finishing off her final medical exams and Jonah living in Northern Ireland, long distance was a challenge. But by spending lots of “date” nights together, they were able to map out everything, draw layout maps, create lists and even put in a timetable.

Celebrating at Lavender Lake with a Two Pole Sailcloth, Becci and Jonah knew when getting engaged they wanted an Outdoor Wedding.

We handover to Becci and Jonah to talk you through their day;

What made you decide on an outdoor wedding?

Since we got engaged, we always talked about the idea of getting married in a Tipi or Sailcloth Tent. The rustic idea of being outside, and having a relaxed family feast appealed to us. We didn’t like the idea of formal sit down style weddings (you know the ones where the guests get bored or the chair covers get in the way of sitting down). So for us, Sami Tipi was the main route for getting our dream outdoor wedding. And the spot we chose, Lavender Lake, was perfect for us!

How would you describe your ceremony?

We were quite unconventional by not having the traditional church wedding, but we did want to still capture the ceremony part.

Rather than having to get our guests to move locations, we combined it into one: ceremony, meal and entertainment all under one roof. So the wedding kicked off by getting our guests to sit down either side of the ‘aisle’. Once the beautiful bride arrived, we started the wedding by exchanging our vows, singing hymns, and even got our siblings to participate with readings.

One of our highlights was getting the guests to participate with marriage advice based on themes (like communication, love & patience etc). Exchanging rings was really special for us and before we walked out, both sets of parents did a send off with hugs and prayers.

We then made our confetti exit by lining up all the guests outside to bomb rose-petal confetti at us! Because we were next to the lake, the backdrop was beautiful and helped us arrange our day around it.

How did you feed your guests?

With over one hundred guests, we wanted to make sure they were all fed well! With the advantage of staying in one location, a quick twenty-minute turnaround transformed the Sailcloth tent from a “ceremony aisle” seating plan to a fully decked-out banquet space with over sixteen tables.

We had to cater to lots of different dietary requirements, so we made sure our canapés, mains, evening snacks, and desserts were enough. We wanted both quality & quantity – and it was totally worth the investment.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to eat much of it as we were so busy and full of emotions on the day! Our tip is to make sure to get a doggy bag as you’ll be hungry later!

What are your Top Tips for planning a Sailcloth wedding?

Work closely with the organisers and come prepared with a vision
We really enjoyed working with the venue staff and Beth from Sami Tipi. We were able to communicate our full plan, from start to finish. Once we got them onboard, they were able to give us ideas and help us bring our dream to a reality.

Do it together: it can really bring you closer
Becci was finishing off her final medical exams and Jonah lived in N. Ireland, so long distance was really hard. But being able to spend a lots of “date” nights together, we were able to map out everything. We drew layout maps, we created lists and we even created a timetable. But rolling up your sleeves can be fun. We had about seven months to plan the wedding, so we got on with it. Doing it together made us both feel more invested in it, as it felt like “OUR” wedding.

It’s okay to delegate to others
Don’t be put off by the huge mountain of tasks. Just try to create mini-deadlines for things, like booking the photographer. And then set deadlines for when things need to be paid too. If you prepare it in advance, you hopefully will find the brain fog clears and helps you focus on looking forward to your big day. We got our ushers to work, and other family members who were great at helping with the logistics of things. Doing the planning in advance, getting decisions done helps avoid stress or any “groomzillas” or “bridezillas”!

Doing it yourself can save some of the costs
There are many ways you can save money, especially for things like decorations. However, you have to weigh up your time and money. We did all the stationery, table decorations, signage and desserts ourselves.

We also used a wedding website planner, withjoy.com to manage our gift lists, RSVPs and even added signup forms for people to sign up to bring desserts. So long as you have the basics setup, then you can save some costs by getting creative and doing bits yourselves.

Suppliers You Used, Loved and would trust to recommend

Go for what you love, and feel free to shop around. We managed to meet with our suppliers and get taster sessions. Trying before you buy is really important. For example, we loved our catering vendor, Zest. They put together a full taster selection of canapés, mains and desserts. We then got to pick which ones we liked. Similarly, our photographer, Alice & Grace Photography did an engagement photoshoot with us, which helped us check out her work and vibe.

If you can, try and attend one of Sami Tipi’s wedding open-day events. We went to one and it was awesome to see everything come to life, get lots of inspiration for decoration, and meet other suppliers.

Suppliers

Becci and Jonah’s Sailcloth Tent Wedding at Lavender Lake