Christina and Jamie's DIY Summer Tipi Wedding

Christina and Jamie’s DIY Summer Tipi Wedding

Christina and Jamie celebrated their DIY Summer tipi wedding back in July on their own land, after covid postponements they were so excited to finally have their special day!

Doing most of the styling themselves, from table decorations and stationery, to seating plans and wedding favours, they really did get stuck in with the DIY option for their day. Alongside stunning florals, with yellow sunflowers being the main pop of colour. It really paid off, as the Three Giant Hat Tipis looked absolutely stunning.

Christina talks us through the details here, alongside gorgeous photos by Flawless Photography.

What made you decide on an outdoor wedding?

We always knew we wanted our wedding reception at home, in our garden. We also wanted it to look beautiful and have a warm and inviting atmosphere. Tipi’s we’re the perfect solution to this, they just seem to make any backdrop look awesome, even our building site (literally)!

What did you both wear?

I wore a really comfortable and relaxed Sheath style Allure Bridal wedding dress, from their 2018 Allure Romance collection. It had mink colour lining and ivory lace overlay. I didn’t want anything too sparkly, but the delicate and subtle sequin detail made it that bit more special. Even though I made the mistake of losing weight after my final fitting (please don’t do that ladies, your dress may wrinkle and end up being too long!), it was still a pleasure to wear and the style was pretty forgiving. I wore necklace and earrings from Accessorize, and flowers in my hair. Ceremony shoes were embellished Badgley Mischka 6” heels from Amazon and reception shoes were platform, daisy patterned Converse.

Jamie wore a Custom Made, slim fitting, three piece, oatmeal coloured suit. We chose the external fabric to match one of the hire suit options, hired the suits for the groomsmen and tailored the grooms suit with extra details. The beautiful navy and gold lining, personalised embroidery and leather effect buttons were our favourite additions to Jamie’s suit. Jamie’s shoes were tan coloured brogues from Loake.

What about the rest of the bridal party?

The bridesmaid’s dresses were probably one of the most difficult thing to source out of everything! We always knew we wanted yellow to be our theme colour, as whenever (on the odd occasion) Jamie has bought me flowers, they’ve always been sunflowers. We’re both quite extroverted people too, so sunflower yellow seemed fitting. Unfortunately, standard bridesmaid gowns usually come in lemon or orange, and I didn’t want to compromise. So… around 15/20 bulk online orders later, I finally found THE DRESS – Forever New, bought at ASOS. The same colour in reality as it appeared on the screen, as well as being relaxed and comfortable. Bridesmaid’s shoes were nude coloured, block heels from New Look, great for walking on uneven ground!

Tell us about your ceremony.

Our ceremony took place a mile down the road in the Vale of Belvoir, St. Andrew’s. Jamie and his groomsmen arrived in our own 1967 VW Bay Camper and Groomsman Matt collected the bridesmaids and then myself and my mum in his own Camper. I made a flower garland and the boys attached this to the front bumper of our van. We took the opportunity to exit the church through the tree lined road at Langar Hall. Our friend Craig played the bridesmaids down the aisle, including his partner and little girl. My maid of honour and closest friend Amy then sang my mum and I down the aisle. Many a tear filled the room, not least from Jamie and I – nearly 10 years together, 4 years wedding planning and we’d finally made it!

How would you describe your theme / styling?

I don’t really know how to define our theme, other than ‘homemade sunshine’. We made Lavender Bags the year prior with lavender from our garden and a little sunflower detail. I stamped 100 small envelopes and put wildflower seeds inside them – unfortunately the stamp said ‘Christina and Jamie, meant to bee 🐝 15/08/2020, so I hand wrote ‘it was’ onto each so they then read ‘Christina and Jamie, IT WAS meant to bee 🐝 15/08/2020’. Then I hand-wrote everyone’s names onto their envelope and hand-wrote the seating plan. For which I made sunflower decoration for with faux flowers bought online and mounted on my easel.

I hand painted a watercolour wreath for our invitations and orders of service, for which Jamie uploaded and edited to add the text. I washed and peeled labels off of over 300 glass jars and bottles, then cut down taper candles to fit inside, along with 200 tea lights. We also made table numbers together, using the watercolour wreath and images of us from age 1-14 (some pretty embarrassing ones)! I also crated a ‘family tree’, for which Jamie and friend Matt positioned to one of our trees and added fairly lights to.

How did you feed your guests?

We booked the Italian Stallion who provided our day and evening food. We had an Italian Feasting table in the day; pasta salads, breads, meats, cheeses, salads etc. This was followed by a ‘bake off’, in which family and friends entered the competition to win Champagne, apron and cookbook prizes.

In the evening their pizza van provided the best pizzas we’ve ever tasted! This was followed by our wedding cake, made by a lovely work colleague called Laura and decorated with flowers from Sophie’s Flowers, to match my bouquet. We also provided a free bar and told guests to bring any specific tipples they liked. We had so much alcohol that we’ve managed to stick up an anniversary party!

How did you entertain your guests?

We hired a bouncy castle and bought an array of outdoor games for the little (and big) kids. We also hired one of Jamie’s best friend’s dad and his band to play for us. The 8 piece band played two, one hour sets and the dance floor was never empty! We also decided to replace the traditional ’first dance’ with a ‘first song’ in which Jamie and I played a song we’d written nearly 10 years prior. We then played ‘You’ve Got The Love’, accompanied by the band, where we asked our guests to provide the ‘first dance’.

What are your Top Tips for planning a Tipi Wedding?

Top Tip 1

Book a reputable company (preferably Sami Tipi!) so you feel safe in the knowledge that they’ve got your back no matter what. I can’t imagine having to postpone twice with another company would have been quite as smooth!

Top Tip 2

Ask questions. They are professionals for a reason and they’ll be able to give you ideas and alternatives that work for an outdoor wedding.

Top Tip 3

Stay organised. Sami Tipi gave us a planning map when we booked and it served us well.

Top Tip 4

Get support. Jamie and I, with the help of his friend Matt and his mum and dad were really pushed to the last minute sorting the interior. If you have the money, book a company to sort the decorations – it will save a lot of stress and sleepless nights!

Top Tip 5

Chill out. If you’ve book an outdoor event, we know there are same variables which are out of our control. If it rains, embrace it! The wind blows your decorations over, just laugh and get someone else to pick them up. It will always be perfect, no matter what.

Top Tip 6

Do you. It may sound mean, but do ignore everyone else’s opinion as much as possible. Stick together, support each other, go with your gut and make it about the two of you and no one else.