REAL WEDDING: TWENTIES TROPICAL TIPI CELEBRATION IN THE LAKE DISTRICT

Hello again! Yes... it’s been some time since I blogged, but I’m back baby!

I’ll admit, it’s not been peachy being a wedding planner for the last 18 months – Covid has certainly made things somewhat of a nail-biting ride. I’m really excited to be getting back to doing what I love, planning cool weddings with amazing people in wonderful places! I’ve definitely had a sense of longing and nostalgia recently, thinking about past events I've worked on. I’m really excited to share some lovely content with you, featuring some of my favourite suppliers and gorgeous clients’ celebrations from the past few years (well, except 2020 of course…!)

Today’s blog takes us back in time to Lyndsey and Grant’s wedding in June 2019, at one of my favourite venues: Silverholme Manor the Lake District. Silverholme Manor is a beautiful exclusive-use wedding venue on the Graythwaite Estate, perched on the side of Lake Windermere. It’s a truly stunning spot for a marquee or tipi wedding – the views are to die for! The house provides luxurious accommodation for your nearest and dearest, and is the perfect location for a relaxing destination wedding which stretches over a couple of days. There’s a beautiful coach house building on site, which is licensed for wedding ceremonies and a lawned area which is perfect for a reception in a tipi, marquee or even a yurt!

Lyndsey and Grant were an absolute dream to work with (I miss our Sunday morning wedding planning brunches!) and I worked with them to curate a timeless, cool wedding design for them, and coordinate their wedding day itself. The brief was “twenties tropical”, taking inspiration from Lyndsey’s incredible 1920s style Eliza Jane Howell dress. Together, we dreamed up a timeless, and yet modern design, full of gorgeous colours and textures.

“We struggle to pin point what our favourite memories and moments were, because we loved it all. Seeing how everything came together was certainly a highlight, nailing my speech and just the general good vibes all day long. The moment you pulled out the party feet from your event kit… what a winner!

Working with you was a dream, nothing was too much trouble for you. You’re clearly very good at what you do. A couple of girls I work with got married in September, they were so stressed planning and doing everything but I never had that, which is all thanks to you and your hard work. “

Myself and my lovely assistant Ellie arrived on the Friday, and began setting up the ceremony room and tipi, making sure every candle, piece of cutlery and chair was positioned perfectly. The weather looked a bit touch and go, so we spent the day before the wedding crossing our fingers! Fortunately, the Brolly Bucket umbrellas which were hired were never needed – yay! Even if it had drizzled, the tipi by Special Event Tipis was lovely and cosy, and definitely spacious enough for some expansive dance moves…

In terms of the ceremony design in the coach house, we kept things classically beautiful, using the window as a central focus, and dressing around the space with foliage garlands and incredible colourful floral installations. Then we added candles and vintage rugs to lean into the subtle vintage styling which was woven throughout the overall design of the wedding.

After the ceremony, guests went out onto the lawn and had a glass of champagne overlooking Lake Windemere – Lindsay is a huge music-lover and so was all over the playlist (this photo of her leaning out of the window with her Soundboks speaker makes me smile so much!)

Next, guests were welcomed into the tipi for dinner… I love hearing the sound of excited guests seeing the reception space for the first time! Lara (of Wild Renata Flowers) and I went to town on the twenties tropical brief! Perhaps my favourite feature of the entire design was the huge showstopping floral installation in the tipi, suspended over the top table. It truly was a total work of art, made of grasses and fresh flowers.

The tables were dressed with the softest pastel pinky-lilac linen, and given an opulent modern-but-vintage feel with antique candlesticks, Danish candles, calligraphed menus, gold cutlery and vintage bottles with flower stems in. This left lots of room for the sharing platters which guests would enjoy for dinner!

I created placecards (which were also favours!) by making a little polaroid style image of every guest, and then stuck them into a small potted cactus or succulent (Lyndsey even sprayed the pots gold so they matched the rest of the table décor!)

Lyndsay and Grant’s first dance was “Outstanding” by The Gap Band – a choice which I loved, and was so completely “them”! The vibes throughout the day were so lovely and happy. The party went on long into the night, moving from the tipi back into the coach house at midnight for an afterparty. (But I’ll confess, by then Ellie and I were back at the local Premier Inn recharging our batteries for packing down at Silverholme Manor the next day!)

As a wedding planner, I’m lucky enough to get to work all over the UK, but I do have a soft spot for places with beautiful scenery like the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. If you’re thinking of getting married in the Lakes and are looking for some wedding planning support or even on-the-day wedding coordination, please do get in touch!

“You were extremely easy to work with and quickly understood our needs, the style and vibe we were wanting to achieve. All the elements of the wedding were brought together perfectly, we couldn't have wished for more.

On the day you were a pleasure to have around, coordinating everything to perfection. Throughout the whole process nothing was too much trouble, it really feels like you go the extra mile and genuinely care about your work. We loved working with you and can't thank you enough for helping to make our day everything we wanted and more.”

SUPPLIER DREAM TEAM

Venue: Silverholme Manor

Tipi: Special Event Tipis

Photography: Fox Tail Photography

Design & Coordination: Kook Events (us!)

Floral Design: Wild Renata Flowers

Catering & Bar: Karen Rhodes Catering

Bridal Party Make Up: Make Up Artists Yorkshire

Bridalwear: Eliza Jane Howell

Bride’s Shoes: Loeffler Randall

Bridesmaids Dresses: Ghost

Calligraphy: Sally Jane Calligraphy