When first chatting with Cassie
and Oliver I knew straight away their wedding was going to be an extremely chilled out
and very relaxed garden wedding party...
Cassie and Oliver legally got
married at Bournemouth Registry Office but had planned a humanist blessing and reception party in Oliver’s parents garden in Bransgore,
Dorset.
Originally the plan was to have a
‘REAL’ outdoor wedding with no marquee or any outside cover. When Cassie first
suggested this I must admit I began to worry somewhat and recommended a few
marquee companies that might be good to contact as a back-up plan. It is always a good idea to have a contingency plan when relying on thegood old British weather, especially when planning an outdoor wedding!
Checking the weather
channels the week before, as I knew Cassie and Oliver were, frustratingly it
wasn’t looking good for their big day. With the forecast predicting what the
Great British weather does best...
Thankfully, Cassie and Oliver managed to book a
fantastic marquee which was the perfect size for Oliver’s parents
garden. Not only that but it fitted in all the guest tables perfectly for the
wedding breakfast and there was enough room for a dance floor in the evening
too.
Visiting Cassie and Oliver the
day before to look around and see where everything was, I was so excited to
return the following day with my team member Sam. When we arrived we said 'Hello' to everyone and introduced ourselves to the
caterers New Forest BBQ Company
who were busy putting a gazebo up and had started cooking.
The food smelt and looked amazing so we were really looking forward to trying a
sneaky burger and some of their delicious salads later on!
Our first job was to prepare the Pimms with the sliced fruit, which in my opinion always looks really pretty. We then went on to fill a wheelbarrow with ice to keep the beers cool, which is a great way to display your
bottled drinks as an alternative option for the chaps.
After prepping the welcome drinks, next on our schedule was to
lay out the tea and coffee table. This is one topic that always comes up when I
chat with my couples during their planning stages. Most people think their
guests won’t want a tea or coffee...
In my
experience nearly everyone will look for a hot drink after their meal. Whether
it’s served at the table by the caterers or it is a DIY table with a hot water
urn, milk jugs, teabags and coffee granules. No one will care whether it is
served in a teacup and saucer or a biodegradable cup with wooden stirrers, but
I can honestly say hand on heart you will be surprised at just how many cups
you will get through!
Whilst we were making the drinks, Cassie was upstairs getting ready. The time flew by and before we knew it Cassie was ready and the guests were arriving. Ushering the guests down to the blessing area, Cassie made her appearance in a simple but very elegant bohemian style
dress, with beautiful braids and feathers in her hair.
Wearing knee high Doc Martin
boots under her dress, Cassie looked perfectly calm with a sense of zen...not something you see all the time, so it was
really lovely to see.
The ceremony was to take place in
a clearing, which was down a few steps past a small pond at the bottom of the
garden, adjoining a field with a a couple of horses grazing in.
Only the week before this
area had been waist high in long grasses and nettles. Oliver’s mission was to
clear it in time for their wedding blessing which he did an amazing job of.
Once cleared, a handmade arch was put up and dressed with brightly
coloured parasols, along with hay bales for their guests to sit and witness
their vows and love for one another.
Just before everyone arrived, Cassie
and Oliver’s friends had a quick empty of the rain from the gazebo roof. It was perfect timing as the sun came out just in time for the guests to take a seat.
Checking everyone was down at the
clearing ready, I prompted the groomsmen to make sure the music was on and took
the confetti down ready to be handed out. Making sure Cassie was happy and
ready for her special moment, I watched as she headed down with her dad to meet
her lovely ‘husband to be’...
The guests watched as Oliver's brother led a truly beautiful humanist
blessing involving hand fasting.
When the blessing came to an end Oliver seemed pretty pleased with himself!!
With everyone’s confetti at the ready, Cassie and Oliver’s 'rose petal moment' was captured brilliantly whilst walking back up the aisle...
...and just outside the marquee entrance where they got a second shower of confetti!
After the blessing Sam and I
served the Pimms and refilled everyone’s glasses throughout the duration of the
drinks reception. Not long after, it was time for the wedding breakfast. We
checked the caterers were ready and asked all the guests to take a
look at Cassie and Oliver’s table-plan which in their beautifully quirky way was written on one side of a folded wallpaper table.
The animal themed table names had been lovingly hand painted on pieces of wood.
With everyone sat we sent a table up at a time to
collect their buffet style barbeque.
The guest seating was a
relaxed style with low tables surrounded by brightly coloured rugs and an
assortment of big cushions for the guests to sit on. Around the the edge of the
marquee were a few standard tables and chairs with gorgeous African print
cloths and Moroccan style lanterns.
Packets of wild seeds were put on each place setting as favours for their guests.
It was clear Cassie and Oliver
had a passion for ‘REAL’ photos with disposable cameras on the tables for the
guests to use and also the love for a Polaroid...
During the meal I met with the
band and helped with any questions they had for their set-up. We closed
the patio doors so they could set up on the long veranda opposite the marquee
dance floor. This was also under cover which meant any bad weather wouldn’t
effect them, although in all honesty despite a few heavy-ish showers early on
before the blessing, Cassie and Oliver were extremely lucky for the rest of the
day.
Whilst the caterers cleared the
plates, we sent a table up at a time once again to collect their pudding. While
the guests tucked into their pudding Sam and I displayed Cassie and Oliver’s
amazing wedding cakes which had been made by Ahh Toots
in Bristol. With one
main centrepiece cake, we placed the ceramic elephant cake toppers on top and
displayed several other large cakes and cupcakes around it, all in different
flavours, some vegan and some gluten free.
Clock watching is an important
job of mine, ensuring everything runs as close to the schedule as possible.
When the meal was finished I prompted for the speeches to begin and quickly
grabbed Cassie a cup of coffee before they started.
The speeches led into the cutting
of the cake where all the guests gathered around the cake table. Rather than having the cake cut into pieces later, as soon
as Cassie & Oliver had cut their cake for a photo, the guests helped
themselves to a cupcake or cut themselves a slice from the array of larger
cakes.
At this point the guests were so
distracted by cake, it gave Sam and I a chance to open up another side of the
marquee which faced the band, as well as move some of the low down tables and
cushions to the side. In doing this it meant the guests could ‘bust some
shapes’ and swing their ‘dancing pants’ on the dance floor later on!
Next we set to clearing all the
rubbish and dirty cake plates from the tables and began to squirrel away the
glassware from the tables before they changed over to biodegradable cups for
the evening.
The band started playing and the
guests gathered around to watch Cassie and Oliver’s first dance. Naturally this
led into the most incredible evening of amazing tunes from the 7 piece band
which soon got everyone moving and grooving!
As the music played Free Wheelin Pizza
arrived to set up their van on the drive. We made sure the
guys were ok and found them the power source to plug into. Once the open fire
pizza oven was fired up we told all the guests they could make their way out to
the driveway to order their pizzas...unlimited pizza...
Our time at Cassie and Oliver’s
wedding was drawing to an end, so after lighting the candles and making sure
all the fairy lights were turned on, we stocked up the bar so it was a fully
functional DIY bar throughout the rest of the evening.
Saying our goodbyes we headed
home, leaving Cassie, Oliver and all their guests having a totally fabulous
time!
If after reading this blog you
are now thinking this is exactly the kind of help you are looking for on your
big day, then please get in touch, as I would love to help ensure your
special day is stress free. After all your wedding planning it’s super
important you have the day you have been dreaming of with your friends and
family.
Huge congratulations to Cassie
and Oliver, it was wonderful getting to know you and an absolute
honour to be a a part of your special day.
Wishing you all the fun and
happiness in the world together!
