Lynsi and Paul's Laid Back Handmade Bohemian Tipi Wedding

Lynsi and Paul's Laid Back Handmade Bohemian Tipi Wedding

via

If you are missing those long summer days spent chilling at BBQ's with family and friends or out exploring wild flower meadows whilst being bathed in sunshine then you are going to love today's wedding!

Lynsi and Paul said I do on the 27th August 2016 at a pretty English country tipi wedding held in the grounds of Little Field Manor in Guildford. They wanted a bohemian relaxed festival wedding where everyone could feel comfortable and let their hair down and from the looks of these images, they certainly achieved that. Their day with its garden games, pretty wild flowers, rustic meets retro decor and handmade elements has had me smiling from ear to ear. Lynsi, with her cascading curls and gorgeous lace wedding dress, has the most infectious smile and it looks like all of their guests are soaking up the chilled vibes and pretty surroundings. I just love the whole relaxed vibe their wedding has and it certainly has me dreaming of warmer days.

Lynsi and Paul talk us through the planning of their lovely tipi wedding.

Look out for their handmade ribbon ceremony tipi (something you could easily recreate) and DIY garden games.

The year before the wedding we went to Paris for my birthday. I had always said if he was ever going to propose then please make it private. It's such a special intimate moment.

We stayed in the very trendy and contemporary Hotel Seven in the Latin Quarter. Three nights in to our stay I was sitting in our room ready to go out for dinner. Paul seemed to be taking some time. He then put our song on the stereo. Then he turned to me and said 'I forgot to give you one of your birthday presents'. He then got down on one knee, said some beautiful words, presented me with a diamond ring and I said yes!

I made the cake myself! Of all the craft projects I did for the wedding this was my greatest and most rewarding challenge. The cake was fruit. I made all the flowers from sugar paste using tutorials on the internet. I knew it was an ambitious project and never thought it would turn out so professional looking.

I wanted something ethereal and bohemian but I am only 5ft so the long floaty types didn't suit my frame. I love lace but some looked heavy and I seemed to get lost in them. I eventually found a lovely lady called Penny in Camberley who managed to source the dress for me. As soon as I tried it on I knew it was the one. An A line dress with very fine antique looking lace and a flattering sweetheart neckline.

Comfort was key for me when it came to my shoes and as we were going to be in a field all day heels were not an option. I choose some sparkly sandals in a leaf pattern to tie in with the bohemian feel.

I had two head pieces. For the day my florist made a headband with flowers to the side and another I bought a gold one made of jewels and golden leaves for the evening. I loved the flower headdress so much I wore it all day in the end.

My bridesmaids wore beautiful long blush pink floor length dresses. I'd seen some dresses on Pinterest that caught my eye, I spent hours/weeks trying to hunt down something similar. Then one day out on an unrelated shopping they jumped out at me on the high street. So I bought all the girls sizes there and then, thankfully they all fitted beautifully. All my bridesmaids looked stunning in them.

I made each bridesmaid a unique corsage to wear on their wrist. I sewed pearls, jewels and diamantes into patterns on to felt and then ribbon. I so gave them earrings with their birthstones in the morning as a small token of thanks.

We wanted a very intimate and non-traditional wedding. We looked for the perfect field/venue and came across Little Field Manor on the outskirts of Guildford where we had full rein to do as we pleased. We decided on an outside blessing, thankfully it was a late summer day in August and the weather was beautiful.

I walked down the aisle with my mum. Paul's fellow band mate Daniel Thurston kindly played our chosen music live on the piano. It was incredibly moving and romantic. I walked down the aisle to 'I fooled around and fell in love'. We love all things from the 60's and 70's especially music so this was important to us.

There were two readings from close friends. One from my favourite childhood book, an extract from Winnie the Pooh and the other written by Steven Merchant percentages of love from 'Hello ladies'.

We exited the ceremony to a cloud of billowing brightly coloured confetti to Dan playing the beautiful ones by Suede. Suede is Paul's favourite band, we have seen them in concert together. It sounded stunning slowed down on the piano. I highly recommend any bride and groom to consider playing around with music that means a lot to you that you may think at first won't be fitting.

We wanted to continue a bohemian/festival feel into the afternoon and evening so decided to have giant tepees. They are so cosy and you can decorate them beautifully with a little imagination. We found our Tepee supplier ' Tentario' via Google and I'm so happy I went with Becky and the team. They were so helpful and supportive throughout the whole process. Especially when it came to helping to decorate the day before. I had my heart set on having lush rich green fresh hops hangs from the cross bars. Which I then wanted to weave artificial wisteria through to make it all look very Midsummers Night Dream. Becky and team helped make this a reality and I was over the moon with the finished look.

We had two tepees linked together, a giant hat for eating and dancing and the other the bar area which included a cosy fire pit for marshmallow toasting (this went down very well with guests) and a low level seating which creating a snug area.

I filled the main tepee with fresh hops and foliage up the supporting poles. This would also work beautifully in an old barn. Then in the bar area we had lots of white paper pom poms.

I created a photo wall of old pictures of us and our family on an old rustic wooden pallet. For months we collected old baskets, wooden boxes and pallets. We scattered them around hay bales and bought extra pot plants to sit round them to add colour. I also made a traditional post box for cards with sat with them too.

Paul painted lots of signage for directions, games and my personal favourite a sign the looks very 60's and simply says LOVE. It now sits in our lounge.

I bought a hug amount of candles and various hurricane lanterns which I spotted around the venue, these looked dazzling when the sun went down.

My flowers were by Francesca Sharp in Farnham. She was wonderful and completely got our vision. I wanted the flowers to look relaxed, wild and just picked from the field. Francesca grows a lot in her own garden and is very knowledgeable.

I collected my dog's food tin cans for weeks to use to put flowers on the tables. I decorated the tins with natural twine and lace. My glue gun saw a lot of action. These were then placed on the table around candles.

I had made a mini tepee out of wood and ribbon for the ceremony. Francesca finished it off with a lovely ring of flowers to hang from the top.

My favourite flower display was a large milk churn full of blue hydrangeas. My bridesmaids carried green hydrangeas to complement the blush dresses.

My bouquet was spectacular, full of various bright and cheerful blooms.

We used Rupert at Café Fig who are located at the Pack House in Farnham. There was a range of BBQ food and yummy salads. They cooked the biggest burgers I have seen in my life! All our guests said how delicious and high quality the food was.

For desert Paul's father arranged an ice cream counter filed with ice cream from the family business, Amore Di Gelato. It is the Rolls Royce of ice cream and I felt truly spoilt. It was really special and meant a lot to us that we could have our own supplier for this in particular.

Paul and I love music. It was important to us to have all our favourite music. After the ceremony Dan continued to play the piano in the gardens for about 20 mins for our guests whilst we had photos. Then we used a PA system with our carefully chosen playlist. Which was also a joy to make in the months running up to the wedding, we would spend Friday nights listening countless songs at the dining table reminiscing over a bottle of bubbles. During the day we went through the decades starting from the 40's through to the 70's. I am a big hippy at heart and love 1960's music. The evening was then very upbeat and dare I say it some cheese here and there. There were certainly some shapes being thrown on that dance floor.

I had so many favourite moments it's hard to choose but one that stands out was Paul's speech. I didn't know what a great public speaker he was and the words were wonderful.

Think about all the things that are really important to you. When we first sat down to plan we wrote a list of must and definitely nots. That way you are on the same page from the beginning. Have fun with it and enjoy the process, especially if you like making things. I also took photos of craft activities and documented the journey as I know in years to come I will treasure them when looking back.

Login to comment

Follow us on