A Humanist Tipi Wedding Inspired By Nature And The Outdoors

A wonderful good morning to you! Did you have a good weekend? Have you been soaking up the sun or organising the last few arrangements for your impending Summer wedding? Whatever you've been up to, we hope you've had a lovely time.

We'd like to start this week with a suitably Summery and sunshiney wedding that took place on 8th June at Fforest in Wales, when Laura and Marco tied the knot over a Humanist ceremony.  My family and I holidayed at Fforest in Wales last year so I know how utterly beautiful a place it is.

"We chose the venue, Fforest campsite in Wales, for its sheer
beauty and simplicity. We wanted a relaxed, alternative venue and
Fforest ticked all of the boxes; a stunning setting, glamping, a vintage
tea-party, out-door fires and being able to have the ceremony in a
tipi! 

We loved the idea of being close to nature whilst
still having some everyday comforts.  We also loved the fact that all of
the guests stayed over, so the celebrations lasted for the whole weekend."
 

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Claudia Rose Carter

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"We both love nature and love being outdoors, so this was the main
inspiration and reason for choosing
Fforest, with its relaxed, bohemian
feel. We wanted the wedding to be natural and simple and not worry about
colour schemes or things matching.

I am inspired by elements of
different eras and periods so I’d just say that I am in love with all
things vintage and bohemian and this was reflected in the style of my
dress, hair and shoes – and the decoration of the venue."

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"We romantically met in a student pub in Bangor on a ‘pound a pint’
night! Marco then found me on Facebook, asked me out for a drink- then
the rest is history! We soon moved in together and became inseparable.

We initially decided we didn’t want to have a formal engagement with a
ring, but that Christmas we went on a mini-break to Florence, Italy.
After a day of sight-seeing, Marco pulled out a little box from his
pocket. Inside was a beautiful ruby and diamond ring that belonged to
his Nonna! (Nanna in Italian). We were engaged for around 2 and a half
years before the big day.
"

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"My dress was the Carly design by Sally Lacock – I purchased my
gown from
Sally's studio in Dalston, London.  I fell in love with the
simple, yet beautiful style of the dress – the delicate capped sleeves,
the three different types of lace used and the bohemian/vintage feel of
the dress.
"

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"We loved the fact that during the Humanist ceremony in the tipi,
we were free to express our vows in a way suited to us. I chose to read
‘Sonnet 43’ (with an adapted ending) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

'How
do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and
breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the
ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men
strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love
thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my
childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost
saints, I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life- and
I stand here before you today as your caring, loving wife.'
 

Marco chose to read an extract from a short story by Raymond Carver."

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"I chose to have lavender as mine/my bridesmaid flowers. I love all
flowers but these are my favourite. We bought a batch of dried lavender
from Hitchin Lavender Farm, Hertfordshire and prepared them
ourselves."

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"Table plans were drawn on a chalkboard. An itinerary of the weekend
was also drawn on a big chalk board by the lodge where guests could
easily check the going-ons of the weekend.
"

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"Some of the bunting was provided by Fforest,- the rest of the
bunting was handmade by my wonderful auntie Jacky. My other wonderful
auntie Debbie also made the bunting in the giant hat tipi and placed
pictures of me and Marco on it.

She also placed framed pictures of us in
the barn where we had the tea party and hog roast. We also used old jam
jars to hold flowers and tea-light candles and wine bottles filled with
fresh flowers holding the table names on a mini heart chalk board on a
lolly pop stick, bought from ebay. The wild, fresh flowers were picked
from the grounds of Fforest."

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"Our photographer was the extremely talented Claudia Rose Carter.
She captured every special moment of our day and did such an amazing
job- she even helped me with my breathing during the ceremony."

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"My amazing Dad, Gary gave me away. He is usually a ‘strong,
together’ person but he completely broke down during the ceremony and
started us all off crying! He asked if I was definitely sure I want to
get married just before we walked into the Bwythyn, where the civil
ceremony took place (haha) and cried during the tea party too! He said
that it was the ‘hardest day of his life, giving his baby girl away’! 
We walked in to the sond of 'Bittersweet Symphony', by The Verve."

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"My bridesmaid’s chose their own dresses. I preferred the idea that
they were able to wear to something they like, which suited their own
style, in keeping with the relaxed feel of the wedding.  A few shops
were Topshop, Coast and Debenhams.  They also wore flowers in their hair – all freshly picked from Fforest!

My beautiful bridesmaid, Lachrissa read ‘Love and Harmony’
by William Blake and my nephew, Henry, age 4, bravely and beautifully
read ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ by Edward Lear.
  We
love literature and we particularly like Blake’s work. I wanted my
nephew to read something and ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ is perfect for a
child to read at a wedding!"

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

"We're not in to the 'first dance' tradition, so we decided to have a
‘Star in their Eyes’ talent competition instead, where talented members
of our family and friends performed! We spent the evening chilling and
relaxing by the fire pit, talking and spending time with the people we
love, drinking fine Italian wine and cups of tea with Jose Gonzalez and
Cat Power playing in the background!" 

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography 

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"People told me to enjoy every moment of the planning, the
organising and the day itself because it goes so fast… I can now say
it really does! My advice is to enjoy and cherish every exciting second,
from choosing the venue, the flowers, to sending invitations-
absolutely everything- and the most important thing of all is regardless
of the details; it’s your marriage, commitment and declaration of love
to the love of your life that matters the most!

I can honestly say that I loved every single second of our
day… from eating breakfast with everyone in the morning, to getting
ready, being with the people we love, the glorious sunshine, the
setting… but yes, my very favourite part was meeting Marco’s eyes as I
walked down the aisle during the ceremony and hearing the words ‘you
are now husband and wife’! I still get goosebumps when I think about
that.

For favours, we bought mini fairtrade hessian sacks made in Bangladesh and gave our guests some lavender seeds,
to symbolize the growth of something new (marriage) and also as a
reminder of the weekend.  The children had a brown bag of sweets bought
from a traditional sweet shop in Hitchin."

Fforest wedding, Sally Lacock Wedding Dress, Fforest Wedding, Claudia Rose Carter Photography

You can see more weddings at the beautiful Fforest on Love My Dress here. Also check out other Humanist ceremonies, tipi and tent weddings and more gorgeous wedding photography by the lovely Claudia Carter here.

As always, I'd love to see some love for this couple today through some comments from our readers.  What do you love most about this wedding? I think I love the relaxed nature of it all and those sweet, simple lavender posies, but most of all, I'm rather in love with that gorgeous Sally Lacock wedding dress.  I adore everything that Sally does – and if you haven't already, you really must see these exquisite new designs of Sallys.

Have a good morning won't you 🙂

Annabel

Heart

 

Photographer – Claudia Rose Carter
Venue + Catering – Fforest in Wales
Brides Dress – Carly, by Sally Lacock
Brides Hair Accessories – Fresh white gypsophila
Brides Shoes – designed by the bride, made in Italy
Grooms Suit – Gutteridge
Bridesmaids – Own choice

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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