A Bright and Colourful Somerset Marquee Wedding

I have the prettiest wedding for you this Friday afternoon my friends.  This gloriously colourful celebration was submitted by wedding and event stylist Jessie Thomson and these photographs were taken by Jonathon Watkins.  I love how this wedding mixes tradition with modern contemporary, it works beautifully and Jessie has done a really super job of styling the occasion.

Mr and Mrs Stubbings tied the knot on 8 September 2012 with a marquee wedding (supplied by Archers Marquees)
in the garden of a family house in Dowlish Wake, Somerset – a place
of happy memories for the groom, as he used to holiday there as a child with his Great Uncle and Aunt.  Here the bride talks us through the styling aspects of her wedding day, which she wanted to pay homage to her French heritage…

"The idea was to have a country-style wedding, very
traditional but classy. The bride is French and her husband English, so we wanted to use the English
countryside style with hats and lots of wild flowers in the gorgeous
garden.

Despite the format of the day being quite traditional, we weren't keen on havign too many formal decorations and flowers
(roses etc) as the venue was fairly laid-back – it would have seemed out
of place. 
During our church service, we had French
and English readings and songs, followed by cocktails in the garden and a
seated dinner.  The wine and champagne were brought from France, the food
was English, and we had two cakes: one French, one English."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Jonathon Watkins

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Our wedding planner and stylist Jessie Thomson
came up with the theme and colour scheme for us (actually she came up
with a few as we originally thought we wanted a yellow and blue theme,
but as it happens Philip loved the bright colours the most!), and at
her recommendation we decided to have lots of colourful paper lanterns
that lit up in the marquee at night.

On the morning of the wedding
Jessie made table runners for us out of hessian, as well as little
touches like creating a place for guests to hang hats with twine and
mini pegs. Jam jars with flowers and tea lights lined the tables, and in
the week before the wedding we found an old vintage bathtub, which
Jessie and the caterers filled with ice and champagne. The gardens
provided a stunning backdrop to the marquee."

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

'Our Florist was Bramble & Wild.  We
went for a relaxed mixture of bright country flowers in jam jars, mixed
with tea lights, which were inspired by the colourful moodboard put
together by Jessie. The church had a larger display as well as hand tied
pew ends tied with raffia and the bouquets were also hand tied and
relaxed to complement the theme.
"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"I did not want to spend too much money on the shoes as I
would probably not wear them again so I found a nice pair in suede with
some nice decorations on it via www.notonthehighstreet.com
"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"As favours, we provided French lavender soap for the girls, wrapped
in kraft paper. They were made in France, shipped to my parents and I
brought them home on the Eurostar. I bought the paper and ribbon to
decorate them online at Jessie’s suggestions (via notonthehighstreet
again). For the boys, we gave them a 33-cl bottle of local Somerset
cider. The cider was actually sourced and made in the village where the
wedding took place. Philip and his family bought the cider two days
before the wedding and we poured the cider into the bottles ourselves.
It was a fun moment, with some guests helping us out (as well as his
two-year old nephew). I had bought the bottles on the internet (cheap by
the 100s!).
"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"The flowergirls (and the page boys outfits) were chosen with my mother on a French website called Place Dauphine. It added a pretty little French touch!"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"We met at a wine tasting organised by my former
University. Philip knew the organiser. We paired up for the tasting and
then went for a sing-along at a nearby pub. Our first real date was
lunch at a pub with no alcohol involved!!! We became engaged in early
November 2011. Philip proposed after a delicious meal he cooked at home."

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"I designed and printed the booklets at the Print company in Canary
Wharf, they were very helpful. We decided not to have a menu. The place
cards were hand-written on luggage tags tied to the favours. The table plan was designed and created by In the Treehouse (found by Jessie).
"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"We had one French cake (a croquembouche) from Fancy That Wedding Cakes
and one English wedding cake made by my mother in law with the icing
done by a baker in Oxford where she lives. Flowers were provided by the
florist and arranged by Jessie.
"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"Our photographer was Jonathon Watkins.
I met him once before the wedding, on the same day that I had my hair
and make-up trial so he took a few photos for me. It helped to trust him
on the day. Actually, he was completely free to do whatever he wanted
on the day of the wedding. Having him arrive early and leave as late as
possible was great since he captured 95% of the wedding day
."

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

The bride wore a  Mia Mia dress that she purchased from Morgan Davies in Islington

"I wanted a
very simple dress, with no lace. It would have to be simple and subdued
at the front but with a nice décolleté in the back. I wanted some
ruffles underneath (not the right term… sorry!). I loved that it looked
crisp and classy but with a twist. It was very flattering for my figure,
especially the waist. I also liked the pockets!!! It was easy to wear
and not heavy or restraining
…"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"I wanted something nice to replace the veil, without having to change my hairstyle so I picked something on Glitzy Secrets.  Again, mindful of cost, I picked earrings and hairpiece from Glitzy Secrets. It did the trick without being over the top or looking (too!) fake."

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"I only had one bridesmaid and I let her decide on her outfit. I have
admired her very Parisian style so I trusted her to rise to the
occasion!
"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"I walked down the aisle to the sound of The Wedding March, played on the organ by my 11-year old God-ddaughter
(she panicked a little but managed very well in the end). It was very
sweet and very sentimental since my grandmother (her great grandmother)
played the organ at church when I was a child so it was a great
continuation of a family tradition. I was very touched she accepted to
do it."

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"We followed traditional church of England vows. At rehearsal, I
struggled to say the word “law” (I have always had an issue saying that
word correctly in English!) so the priest suggested a replacement and
wrote it down. He used another book on the actual day of the wedding and
forgot to change the word Law but I whistled through! The family and my
husband were very happy with me! We had two readings from the bible,
one in English and one in French.

The songs were one in English (Guide
Me through), one in French (dedicated to Mary, who is more present at
Catholic services and my name comes from Mary (Virginie) and I like the
female symbol she represents as a mother and woman). The third song,
Thine is the Glory, was sung alternatively in French and English (I
asked the English church in Paris for advice).
"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"We had a jazz band, chosen by Philip, called The Sugar Band to entertain guests in the evening…"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

"I let Philip choose our first dance. He chose The way you look tonight because he finds it romantic and easy to dance to!"

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"I found that in the run up to our wedding, different things mattered to us both. and this can create tension – as the other one stresses about something
that means little to you and vice-versa. You have to each be respectful
and accepting of that.

On the day itself, you
feel overwhelmed and it really goes by too quick. If you have a chance
to have your guests arrive earlier, do that! It will enable you to talk
to them early on as you won’t engage in any catch-up on the actual
wedding day. That’s also why you need to put them next to people they
like/know or that you are certain that they will like since they won’t
be talking to you and you won’t have a chance to introduce people to
each other.

Go for the simplest solution for the table plan. You can
always have them over for the dinner afterwards if you think they will
become friends. We actually had several dinner parties in the run-up to
the wedding (plus stag do and hen do) to ensure that some of our friends
who didn’t know many at the wedding would get introduce to the wider
circle. (*tip from Annabel for readers – go take a look at Top Table Planner if you haven't already – it's BRILLIANT!)

My mother (who was very
engaged in the whole process) said that the day went perfectly,
which is a fantastic compliment! In all seriousness, seeing both my
parents happy was also a great joy.

You can’t really concentrate and
be deep in a conversation on the day (or even the day after). I tried
too hard to be with everybody so ended up not being with everybody
really! But I think they all understand the situation and all seemed
happy with the day!
"  

Bright and colourful Somerset marquee wedding

How lovely! So colouful and bright and fun and beautifully styled by Jessie Thomson – huge thanks to both Jessie and Jonathon Watkins for sharing these lovely images.

Is anyone else planning a marquee style wedding? Do share your plans, we'd love to hear from you.

Have a fabulous Friday evening everyone 🙂

Much love,

Annabel

Heart

Photographer – Jonathon Watkins
Wedding Planner/Stylist – Jessie Thomson
Marquee Hire – Archers Marquees
Wedding Dress – Mia Mia via Morgan Davies in Islington
Brides' shoes – own + accessory/clip via www.notonthehighstreet.com
Bride's accessories – Glitzy Secrets
Groom's Attire – already owned
Bridesmaids – own choice
Flowergirls  + Page Boys – Place Dauphine
Flowers –  Bramble & Wild
Cake – Fancy That Wedding Cakes

Entertainment –
The Sugar Band
Favours – French lavender soap
Catering Company – Dine with Style
Hair and make-up Artist -  Harriet Cook

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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