After Nick proposed to Jen, it was only 6 months later that they were getting married!

Pulling off the most amazing celebration in our Three Pole Sailcloth Tent at Fillongley Hall, and working with some amazing suppliers, they wouldn’t have had it any other way. Having some awesome entertainment for their guests was a major factor, and they well and truly delivered!

What made you decide on a Sailcloth wedding?

To be honest we didn’t actually know we wanted an outdoor wedding when we started looking at venues. For us we wanted an inclusive venue, that would allow us to spread the celebration out over the whole weekend. Fillongley Hall was a venue that allowed us to do that. When we then saw your brochure, we were blown away by the Tipis and Sailcloth. Neither of us had been to a wedding before that involved those type of structures.

We decided on the Sailcloth in the end due to the natural light it offered, and with us getting married in May and Fillongley Hall offering a double aspect view, we really wanted to make the most of that and the light available, so we could bring the outside in, which the Sailcloth definitely did!

What did you both wear?

I had my dress from the Bridal Boutique in Warwickshire, where Madi and I really hit it off. Wearing a Hey Zues Pharaoh dress with a cape for the Church and daytime celebration, then changing my hair and belt, adding a Bolero jacket for the evening. It was a traditional dress, quite large and while plain it made a real statement, especially with the accessories. I loved it that much, I’m looking to have it altered and dyed to make a nice evening dress.

Nick hired a suit from Black Tie in Coventry. He chose navy tails and grey silk trousers, with a light cream waistcoat and cravat. He sent a photo of what he wanted, and the guy he dealt with said navy tails and grey trousers were a first for him!

How would you describe your ceremony?

We got married at St. Thomas’ Church in Coventry. It has family ties with us, especially for Nick, whose parents and sister got married there. He was also christened there and I was Godmother to my Goddaughter there. The vicar, Charlotte, was also so helpful in the lead up to the wedding and it was a really nice ceremony.

On getting to Fillongley Hall, we wanted our arrival to have a bit of humour. We had one of our Groomsmen, Nigel, act as a bit of a Flower Dude which he absolutely nailed! He announced us in, with a bum bag full of flower petals, and danced along to ‘Here Comes the Hot-Stepper’. This was whilst the guests enjoyed a cocktail reception. They had no idea it was going to happen so it was a complete surprise for them. It was a real highlight and Nigel absolutely loved doing it!

How did you feed your guests in the day and then evening?

Thomas the Caterer provided Canapés to start. The guests enjoyed them while taking in the amazing views at the back of Fillongley Hall. The Sailcloth looked absolutely amazing and it totally complimented the view. We spent about an hour and a half outside Fillongley Hall with the weather being so amazing. Nigel got everyone singing ‘I am the Music Man’ whilst he filmed them which was really funny. Nick’s best man Luke then announced us into the Sailcloth for our sit down meal. We started with an Antipasti sharing platter in the middle of each table, which looked incredible.

Thomas really worked with us on creating our menu, and personalised it to us. Even one of the pies as a main, included some welsh cheese, bringing into the menu the fact that I was born in Wales. For the other mains we had a blade of Beef, and a vegan option of a Goats Cheese Tart. Thomas then incorporated both of our Dad’s into the names of the desserts. Michael’s Banoffee Pie and for my late Dad and Stuart’s Sticky Toffee Rum Pudding which were really special personal touches. Our Mum’s also made some cakes with my Mum doing Susan’s Scone Station and Nick’s Mum making some Welsh Cakes.

For the evening food we had pork and stuffing batches also from Thomas the Caterer at around 9pm, which neither of us actually had, but we heard they were really good.

For the bar service we offered free drinks up to around 4pm, and then we had a bar service provided by Fillongley Hall and The Secco Cart offering Prosecco and Gin. The bar staff were incredible, really quick with their service and so efficient which was important to us as we didn’t want people waiting for a drink.

How would you describe your theme/styling?

Adele from Bunting and Willow is such a good friend of ours, from me and her worked together previously, so she did all our styling and stationery. She’s such a hard worker and I’m so proud of everything she’s achieved. She worked with me from the morning after the engagement, helping to source venue options, so she was with me from the start of the journey.

We wanted floral structures hanging above the tables and she totally embraced this and completely pulled it out of the bag, working with Sophie from Lilac and Wild. For the place names we had a bit of a travel theme with us both working in the Aerospace industry, so all the guests had first class airline style tickets asking them to take their seat on entering the Sailcloth. Apart from one guest, who had an economy ticket, which we quite enjoyed! Also, having the long tables was really important for us and felt they really brought everyone together.

How did you entertain your guests?

After the main, we had the Singing Waiter Masters, who perform largely on the West End so they were really good, and totally upped the energy. They worked really well with Thomas’s team and spent lots of time speaking with guests and putting on different accents. Gavin, the main waiter, had everyone duped as a polish character, pretending to fall over and drop cutlery, then apologising over the microphone and singing ‘Your Song’ which blew everyone away. Then the female waitress came out from the back and sang ‘You’ve got the Love’, which again just blew everyone away. They completely did what we wanted to do and more and the guests didn’t stop talking about it. We’re both very sociable and love music, so we wanted to incorporate that into the day and bring something special to the entertainment.

Nick’s speech was also in poem form which was a reference back to his proposal to me back in November in Wales. He had ten poems which he’d read to me over the course of the weekend, which were leading up to him proposing, which was really special.

We wanted a live band for our evening entertainment and we found a rock band called 5th Street through Entertainment Nation. They surpassed all our expectations, and totally read the crowd. We also had Deluxe Booths which the guests loved. They were a last minute decision who I’d met at a Wedding Fayre three weeks before the wedding, and we were so glad we had them.

What are your Top Tips for planning a Sailcloth wedding?

Listen to the experts. That’s not to say, don’t have your own ideas, but run them past the people in the know. I’m a very ‘ideas’ based person, but it was the practical people like Sami Tipi who helped make them happen. Also read the newsletters that Sami Tipi send out. Whilst I didn’t want the same as other couples, I was forever taking photos of the little things I liked and sending them over to Adele, to help her get an idea of what I wanted. If you have your own ideas or not, you’re surrounded by experts who have the ideas, so trust in them.

We’d also recommend getting people in for the tidying up the day after. Whether that be getting guests to help, or hiring people in. It isn’t something you want to be getting involved in.

Finally, don’t look at your wedding as just one day. It really isn’t. We were riding on a high for weeks after the day.

Suppliers You Used, Loved and would trust to recommend

The wedding industry is so well set up for helping couples get everything planned, especially for couples like us who were keen to get married not long after our engagement. When we came to you with questions you already had the answers, which was just so professional and helpful. The big three suppliers for us were Beth from Sami Tipi, Linzi from Black Cat and Callum from Thomas the Cater. Planning the wedding in only 6 months, they really supported us in having everything we wanted.

Their Suppliers

Jen and Nick’s Sailcloth Wedding at Fillongley Hall