Vintage lawn games and laid-back lounging kept Laura and Tom’s big day relaxed
Photos: Alex Rickard Photography Words: Laura Pattison
We got married on 9 August 2014. It poured with rain the day before and after, but lucky for us the weather was beautiful on the big day. We had outdoor games planned in the garden of Dorney Court, so I’m glad the sun decided to make an appearance.
I married Tom in the Tudor manor house’s church, St James the Less. It’s small, which was perfect for the intimate cermony we wanted, and the stained-glass windows looked beautiful in the sun. So much so that I kept the flowers to a minimum with lily of the valley for Tom and me, and pink astilbe for the rest of the party.
We wanted the day to be very relaxed and slightly bohemian in style, so we had a soul musician playing during the breakfast.
We decided on Absolute Taste for the catering and the pre-lunch canapés were inspired by our favourite cuisines from round the world. They were followed by a fig, beetroot and goat’s curd salad, herb-coated cannon of lamb, and a trio of mini desserts. In a nod to our venue, we had pineapple virgin cocktails for the non-drinkers, as Dorney Court was the first place in the UK to grow the fruit.
To tie in with the casual feel of the day, we set up vintage lawn games for our day guests, while everyone waited for the evening crowd to arrive. It was lovely watching people lounging around on the Persian rugs and wicker pouffes. We sipped Pimm’s and fizz while the kids were entertained with their own personalised toys. There were jars of crayons and loom bands to keep them occupied too – I seem to be wearing one in every photo!
My favourite feature of the day, though, had to be the lampshade pendant lighting. Our friend Kieran did an amazing job bringing it to life. He had brackets made that were fixed to the beams in the barn and hung bunches of 12 lights over the dancefloor and bar area – they made a great impact when the lights went down.
Highlight of the day...
Laura: ‘When we were pronounced man and wife, our little flower girl Ella cheered, ‘Yay!’ It was hilarious.’ Tom: ‘When we were dancing, I realised we had longer than we thought until kicking out time. We gave each other a cheeky high five and carried on!’
Suppliers:
Wedding dress Tantrums and Tiaras
Ceremony St James the Less church
Reception Dorney Court
Flowers Penelope Hunter Flowers
Floral Halos Emily London
Lawn games Virginias Vintage Hire
Catering Absolute Taste
Photography Alex Rickard
Lampshades Premier Lampshades
Music The Plus Ones
More photos:
This article was first published in Square Meal Weddings, 2015