Sally and Ang come from an era when same-sex weddings weren’t allowed, so bringing their true selves to their Tipi Wedding celebration was really important.

Every aspect of their day was personal to them as a couple, from the stationery through to their speeches. With the glorious British weather showing up, their Country Garden themed wedding had the guests talking for weeks afterwards.

What made you decide on an outdoor wedding?

Ang’s best friend Deb had been to a Sami Tipi Wedding and said how fantastic it was. We didn’t want anything conventional and we’re very much outdoor people and love the countryside. We did visit some venues, but whilst we liked the look of some of them, they came with packages which we didn’t want to use. For us it was about having a bespoke celebration with those we love and having the suppliers who we wanted.

What did you both wear?

We weren’t going to wear white or off-white because we didn’t want it to be too ‘weddingy’. In the end, we actually ended up wearing exactly that. It’s quite difficult for two women to match your outfits for colour. We both had an idea of what we wanted, but we didn’t want to spend a lot of money.

Ang’s dress was from Coast, and she loved it straight away. I ordered three or four outfits and chose one from them. We’re really glad we went with the white/cream because it made it feel like a wedding. Our guests were quite surprised that we’d gone quite traditional with the dresses. We’re now so glad we did because it felt lovely. They’ve both now been donated to our local hospice, so their patients, who might need to get married quite quickly, can use them, and that gives us a really nice feeling.

How would you describe your ceremony?

We actually got married at a Registry Office almost a year before the celebration with just two witnesses. We’d been together 12 years prior to us getting married so we felt the time was right. I never actually thought I’d ever even get married. As a same-sex couple, we can still remember not being allowed to get married and that still lives with you a little bit.

When we were planning the celebration, we found a lot of our guests wanted to actually see us ‘get married’ and so that’s when we decided to bring the ceremony into the day. A friend of ours, Ros is a celebrant, so we asked her if she’d be happy to do it, and she was over the moon. I was given away by my two brothers and Ang was given away by her sister.

It was totally bespoke, we wanted it to include the sentiment of a wedding, but we also wanted the opportunity to say a lot about each other, which we did. There was a lot of humour. It took a little while to bring together and Ros sent us a lot of suggestions which really helped. It was very relaxed and worked really well in the surroundings, especially with the weather.

How did you feed your guests?

The food was really important to us. We had Thomas the Caterer and with us being quite foody, he really delved into what our food influences were and together we pulled together an amazing menu. We didn’t have daytime and evening guests so Thomas catered for us all day. For the evening food we wanted something to soak up the beer so we had cheese toasties with homemade tomato ketchup which were bloody lovely! Thomas also did the bar, and we supplied the wine and fizz. This was what probably gave us the most sleepless nights, the bar, so having Thomas do the bar service made it all so much easier, and it took away a lot of the worry.

How would you describe your styling?

Halfway through the planning, I got diagnosed with breast cancer so having a wedding planner became a really important must-have. I’m thankfully clear of it now but having Linzi from That Black and White Cat Weddings help with the planning was the best decision we made. At one point we had a four-hour meeting, but afterwards, we felt so much better. She made a massive difference to the whole lead-up to and on the day. Just a little thing like one of our guests spilling a drink on their dress, Linzi was there on hand to help.

We had a local florist who we know do the flowers and she really knew how to build on the theme of us getting married in a country garden. My Mum was a painter and her country garden paintings formed part of the wedding stationery from some of her sketchbooks, which was a really personalised touch, especially with my Mum no longer being with us. This also gave us our colour palette and it ran through the whole day.

How did you entertain your guests?

We had games outside for the guests and we had a game of Mrs and Mrs. We wanted our guests to feel relaxed, so we gave them time to do this, whether they wanted to play games or just relax in the chill-out areas that we created.

At night we had Waking Vegas as our band and they did two sets which were great. We also had a playlist that played in between so people could carry on dancing if they wanted to.

What are your Top Tips for planning a Tipi wedding?

Use Sami Tipi! You’ve been so professional throughout and helped us immensely through the process. From set up to take down the whole experience was faultless. The guys from the setup team were amazing and they behaved as if it was their own ’do’. You could see they wanted to feel proud of what they’d done, and so the effort and passion they put into that build was really apparent.

Do what you want, not what you think everyone else wants. Have it exactly how you want it, which having the Tipis definitely allows you to do.

Have a Wedding Planner, especially on the day and in particular one who is familiar with outdoor weddings. We couldn’t have done it without Linzi.

If you’ve got suppliers you really want, get them booked early on. You don’t necessarily have to have all your ducks lined up straight away, but get the big things like food and of course, the Tipis booked in.

Spend your money where it matters, then if you need to come in under a budget later on there are things like stationery and styling you can do yourself or even ask friends to help.

Suppliers You Used, Loved and would trust to recommend

We had such a laugh with your put-up guys, and they were absolutely a part of the whole experience. They were amazing company and anyone thinking about an Outdoor Wedding needs to use Sami Tipi.

Linzi from Black and White Cat Weddings was also a massive factor in the planning and management on the day. If your budget can reach to a wedding day manager at least, we’d highly recommend having one. It takes any worry away so you can concentrate on enjoying your day.

Their Supplier Team

Sally and Ang’s Country Garden Tipi Wedding