A Feminine Lace Dress, Primrose Yellow Bridesmaids and Lashings of Ice Cream

The often inclement weather in the UK means the Love My Dress inbox rarely overflows with submissions that feature outdoor weddings. It's a shame, because Annabel and I love a bride and groom that take a gamble and plan a day that makes the most of potential sunshine and fresh air. Which is why we were thrilled when photographer Belinda McCarthy submitted this beautiful summer fete inspired wedding.

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Belinda McCarthy

Lisa and Tom Freeman were married at St. James the Great in Winscombe on 8th September last year.
Their church ceremony was followed by a reception at nearby Banwell Castle.

'Tom’s got family in Switzerland and I’ve always wanted to go. One day it dawned on me – after he said he had a plan as to how he was going to propose – that it would be in Switzerland. I confided to a friend how I hoped he was taking me for my birthday as we were talking about going away, but then as the date drew nearer it was suggested we go and visit his brother in Birmingham at around that time… but then the morning we were due to drive up Tom surprised me with a Swiss style breakfast and handed me my passport! He’d even made little Swiss flags for the cheese in his studio flat (1 room) the night before without me even noticing! I was quite overcome because I guessed what it might mean but didn’t want to let on in case I was wrong… but I wasn’t!'

'We didn’t start planning the wedding for a while as we decided to buy a house first. When we did book a venue in South Somerset, we then found out we’d been double booked! So we quickly – in the space of 2 weeks at the beginning of the year – had to find a new venue which would let us keep our date so we didn’t lose our car and photographer deposits.' 

'We wanted something relaxed and fun so we decided on yellow/lemon to keep things light and sunny. We’ve recently moved into a Victorian house so a slightly vintage theme appealed but we didn’t want to overdo any “theme” too much. We just wanted personal touches and everyone to have a good time.'

Lisa wore a beautiful lace dress called 'Ali' by Augusta Jones.

'I wanted something that wasn't strapless – partly because I’m not always comfortable in strapless dresses but also because I remember my Grandma saying when I was little that she didn’t like bare shoulders in church! So I loved the neckline on my Ali dress and the lace back. I also wanted something not too big… but nearer the time I decided that, as I wouldn’t get chance to wear a big dress again, I would put a layered petticoat underneath!'

Lisa accessorised with a veil by Lily Bella which she modified herself. She carried a bag purchased at a vintage market in Bristol. Lisa's earrings were also vintage and she wore a bracelet belonging to her Mum for her 'something borrowed'. She completed her look with a gorgeous pair of sparkly shoes from Dune.

'I did my own make up after a trial at MAC. My
hair was done at our local hairdressers, Jacaranda Salon, which is literally a 2 minute
walk from our house! I
absolutely loved the intricate design they did with my hair! Liz
and the team were so lovely having set up a little table of drinks and
breakfast for us all.'

I love, love, love the dresses Lisa chose for her maids! Such a sweet shade of primrose yellow. Just beautiful. The dresses were from ASOS, but Lisa was able to purchase two from John Lewis who stock ASOS lines but were selling them for £12.50 each rather than £50!

The girls wore little flowers in their hair from H&M and shoes from BHS. Lisa sourced pearl necklaces via Etsy seller Porsby Design and bought complementing bracelets and earrings from Morrisons, Primark and Accessorize.

The couple hired morning suits from 1860 at Greenwoods in Worcester.      

'My favourite part of the day was easily the ceremony – walking down the aisle with
my little brother, seeing all the faces of friends and family, leading
up to Tom. Then a beautiful ceremony with our lovely Vicar, Lydia. I
want to do it all over again!'

'I walked down the aisle to 'The Queen of Sheba' by Handel as I think it’s a beautiful piece which can really “fill” a church. Our biblical reading, read by Tom’s Dad, was Corinthians. I wanted
a reading from a piece of literature having done English at Uni, but
all the classics – such as Wuthering Heights – are passionate but so
depressing and angry! Finally though one afternoon we were hunting online again and found A. A. Milne’s 'Us Two'! It’s a
poem about Piglet and Winnie the Pooh – and despite a random part about
hunting dragons it has a lovely rhythm and very cute sentiment! I
definitely recommend giving it a read!'

'We did our reception flowers ourselves from the garden. My bridesmaid Esther and I picked them on the morning and then Esther and Alex (Tom’s
brother’s girlfriend) arranged them at the Castle! We wanted a continuation of the country garden scheme in our bouquets and button holes provided by Eden in Winscombe {no website}. We continued the lemon theme but also added some lilac. Gail at Eden also supplied the flowers for the ceremony which ladies from the church arranged beautifully for us in exchange for a small donation.'

'Tom’s Mum organised the cake for us. It had tiers of fruit and lemon… The trails of pearls were fab. Gail at Eden did the flowers for it. We also had a cake table full of muffins and cupcakes I’d made, Tom’s famous chocolate brownies, my bridesmaid Lucy's Lemon Drizzle Cake and cakes by our Mums!'

 

'I did the stationery myself (with plenty of help from Tom with slicing and sticking!). The invites had Swarovski crystals on them and included menu, information and directions cards. The place settings were tags but we also reminded people of their menu choices and had a piece of trivia about someone else on the table to act as an ice breaker.'

'The organist played Beatles songs whilst we were signing the register so Tom printed the sheet music onto paper which he made into cones which held lemon confetti from Shropshire Petals.'

Lisa and Tom created an incredible summer fete in the castle grounds, complete with giant games from Essential Event Hire.

'Our wedding favours were very simple as we had the fete which included prizes of homemade jam, fudge and damson gin! We gave each guest at the wedding breakfast a miniature Toblerone – Tom’s favourite chocolate and a reminder of Switzerland! I surprised Tom with a giant Toblerone in his place which I’d bought in February so it had hearts on the packaging!'

'I collected glass candle sticks and vases for months in the run up the wedding from charity shops. Each table had at least 2 glass vases and they only cost from 50p – £2 each. We also had lots of fairy lights, including some solar powered lights and a couple of gazebos from The Range. Tom made a little white fence to section off our fete area by painting posts from B&Q which were supposed to be for surrounding decking! Esther, my Mum and I made lots of bunting (or what felt like lots!).'

'We used a picnic hamper I gave Tom for his Birthday last year for our table plan. My Grandma knitted us a bride and groom bunny which we had to feature on the day!'

The couple hired Popcycles Ice Cream in lieu of a dessert as part of the wedding breakfast. The photographs of Lisa and Tom's guests queuing up for their cones are brilliant! Such a fabulous addition to an outdoor reception.

 

 

Words of Wedded Wisdom

'An outside reception is fab, but it means you can’t set it up the night
before. So consider a marquee rather than being completely outside.
Also, if you’ve got a lot to take to your reception, try and make sure
it’s all packed and together in plenty of time so you can ship
everything over without forgetting bits and pieces. I’ve got a lot of
yellow and white striped sweet bags which were intended for our pick and
mix table which never made it to the reception!'

'We would have (somehow) set up the outside elements of our day before hand so we could see how it all looked and if anything else needed adding. As it was, Tom had to set up the fete on the morning of the wedding without me (as we couldn’t see each other) and there wasn’t time to fetch anything we’d forgotten to take etc.'

How much fun does this wedding look?! The games, the cake, the sweets, the ice-cream… everything! I love it. Thanks to Lisa and Tom for agreeing to share their day with us, and thanks also to Belinda McCarthy for submitting these beautiful images.

Are you having an outdoor wedding reception? Is anybody else planning to reference the quintessential summer fete at their celebration? Who's craving an ice cream after reading this?!

Much love,

Franky

 

Photographer – Belinda McCarthy
Venue – Banwell Castle
Wedding Dress – 'Ali' by Augusta Jones
Veil/Headpiece – Lily Bella
Brides' shoes – Dune
Bride's accessories – Vintage and borrowed
Groom's Attire –1860 by Greenwoods
Bridesmaids – ASOS 
Flowers – Eden, Winscombe {no website}
Cake – Provided by friends and family.
Transport – Age of Elegance 
Entertainment – MC Music, Weston-Super-Mare
Hair Stylist - 
Jacaranda Salon
Ice Cream – Popcycles Ice Cream
Giant Games – Essential Events Hir