George and Alfie's Chilled Outdoor Wedding

George and Alfie’s Chilled Outdoor Wedding

George and Alfie celebrated their chilled outdoor wedding back in July in Three Giant Hat Tipis. With the bonus of having a family farm where they could host the tipis. This gave them so much flexibility to be able to create the day that they wanted.

Having a really relaxed, chilled out celebration was the main priority for them. Which also lead them to the decision to have no formal seating plan. With the addition of three different food vans, this gave a real festival vibe, where guests were able to get food when they wanted and mingle with friends and family. Sitting inside the tipis if they wanted to, or choosing to sit outside on the straw bales in the sunshine.

Their tipis were styled beautifully, with incredible, colourful floral displays. George and Alfie poured so much of themselves into their day, it was just stunning. The perfect chilled wedding day just how they wanted.

George talks us through the details here. Alongside photos from Light & Lace Photography.

What made you decide on an outdoor wedding?

It was important to us to have a day that felt really relaxed and fun for both ourselves and our guests. We booked Sami Tipi first, which allowed us to have our venue on the family farm we live on. Which was a convenient two minute walk from the church and had huge sentimental significance. The ST team set up the tipis the week of the wedding, so we were able to enjoy setting it up for a few days and, in the case of my niece, practise dancing in it before the big day.

What did everybody wear?

I wore the 2201 with 236 skirt by Jesus Peiro bought from Miss Bush Bridal in Ripley. It didn’t take me long to find my outfit, I loved it and I’d wear it every day if i could! Alfie hired his suit and his groomsmen’s suits from Peter Posh in Warwick.

I love my bridesmaids for their individual characters and styles, and I wanted them all to be feeling beautiful on the day, so I decided not to have them all wear the same dress. I gave them a rough colour scheme, sent them on their way and they all looked amazing. We had the idea to give each of them a different bouquet made from a single type of flower that was represented in mine. I felt so proud to have them all by my side on the day.

Tell us about your ceremony.

We had a church ceremony, and it was really lovely. It was great to have loved ones playing a part in the service, by doing readings and singing which made it even more special. I walked to the church with my bridesmaids and parents which was such a happy memory and my Grandad drove us back from the ceremony in a JCB that we’d decorated with ribbons and flowers. It had tin cans tied to the back and although my mum needed some convincing about the idea of getting in a muddy digger bucket in my wedding dress, I loved our grand entrance!

How would you describe your theme / styling?

The only styling we did was the flowers! Our florist, Green Room Flowers, did an amazing job with my brief “big and pink”, and made us an amazing flower arch and bowls for the tables.

Me and my mum decided to supplement the florist’s arrangements with some of our own. So we went to a flower market, bought supplies in the colour scheme and had a really fun morning making little arrangements in tin cans and vases we’d found around the house. This was such a happy memory for me and I’d encourage people to try to enjoy the lead up to the wedding and lean into moments like this rather than getting stressed about the details.

Apart from those, the beauty of the tipi was that it was already so beautiful it didn’t need anything – the fairy lights, coloured lighting, hanging stars and wooden furniture all looked fab.

How did you feed your guests?

We had food trucks – pizza from Nonna Lucia’s, gyros from Kalimera and burgers from Bandit Street Food – and Vintage Wonder Ice Cream Van for the wedding breakfast. Along with Mambo serving cocktails, and didn’t have a formal sit down dinner which felt really chilled.

I have a lovely memory of seeing all our guests sitting on the grass and on hay bales in the sun on our way back from having photos – everyone looked so happy!

What are your Top Tips for planning a tipi wedding?

Top Tip 1

Enjoy the set up time – we loved sitting and watching the team put up our tipis! They were so skilled, it was quite a spectacle. We enjoyed a takeaway in there with family that night!

Top Tip 2

No need to go crazy on the decorations, the venue is already beautiful!

Top Tip 3

Our mantra for the wedding planning was ‘cut the crap’, and if the item or tradition wasn’t important to either of us, we wouldn’t do it. We weren’t so interested in a fancy cake, so we ended up with our Colin the Caterpillar scene for a cool 32 quid.