Woodland Wedding: Constance & Alfie

Weddings are incredibly personal so when the bride and groom give you the reigns to design their day, you have to make it perfect. With a brief of bringing the outside in with an ethereal touch, we were going to move the earth (quite literally) to pull off this effect.

We had the pleasure of designing the reception on a blank canvas when it was decided that it would be held at the bride’s home in Berkshire; with the ceremony in a beautiful countryside church just minutes down the road. This allowed our creativity to flourish. We knew where it had to begin and we had a vision as to where we wanted it to end…

Their wedding fell on the last Saturday in October, and with a slightly later ceremony, guests began to make their way back to the house just as the light was beginning to fade, allowing the fabulous glass marquee, built and beautifully lit by Florey Marquees, to shine in it’s glory right on the boundary where their garden met the surrounding woods.

Guests were dropped at the top of the garden and were naturally guided through a trail of fairy lit bushes to the entrance of the marquee. The interior perimeter of the marquee was lined with garlands of ivy, rosemary and berries; with beautiful Silver Birch trees adorning each corner, whilst a magical pagoda doused in fairy lights and ivy took centre stage, tying it all together. With the marquee almost underneath the surrounding woods, and with exterior feature trees gorgeously lit with pops of colour, it was as close to a woodland wedding as we could get.

The reception flowed with Champagne and a delicious range of canapes from The Essential Party Ingredient, followed by a fantastic feasting menu - with a short interlude for speeches - of succulent pork belly with dauphinoise potatoes, spiced red cabbage and green beans.

As for the cake, inspired by the location of their proposal, The Essential Party Ingredient made a 4 tiered New York Cheesecake which took pride of place on an incredible shard of Oak tree, that quite literally fell in their garden a few weeks earlier, and was hand-crafted into this amazing feature. Decorated with moss, more ivy and a decadent display of berries and figs, this too fitted perfectly into our vision.

The night continued with music from the brilliant Gypsy Dynamite alongside coffee, cocktails and a rustic cheese station! As the evening drew to a close, it was time for the bride and groom to depart, and it was only right to do so with a bang. Sitting in the back of a retro pink beetle, they drove off as fireworks blazed through the night’s sky, stamping their wedding with a seal of sparkling approval.

Thanks to the amazing Allister Freeman who so beautifully photographed their day, and also to Dan Dolan films for capturing the magic on film.

Most importantly, a huge and heartfelt thank you to the new Mr & Mrs M-D and their wonderful families, for allowing us to be a part of your special day.