A Colourful and Handmade Treehouse and Woodland Wedding with a Bride in Ballet Shoes

We’re down in the woods today for a family focused wedding in the most incredible treehouse setting; one that will turn your thoughts towards autumn, and the air filled with the scent of wood smoke and the burnt sugar sweetness of toasted marshmallows.

Kimberley, owner and therapist of a holistic complimentary therapies clinic, and building site manager Pete celebrated their marriage on the 23 September 2017 at the Countryside Education Trust Treehouse in the New Forest, Hampshire. Kimberley and Pete took a really lovely approach to the planning of their day, wanting to ensure that guests were truly part of it all. Kimberley also found this approach helpful as means of combatting the anxiety she felt about being the main focus of attention.

“We just wanted a relaxed wedding with all ages welcome and lots of activities to make our guests feel like part of the day and not just spectators…I found it less scary to plan a day where I am part of it and not the main event to be watched.”

Images by Emma Stoner Photography

“We also wanted a wedding devoid of religion, but full of meaning with a bit of spirituality thrown in for my hippy heart. We had no colour palette, just as much colour and brightness as possible, and encouraged our guests to wear whatever they liked and felt comfortable in – we had everything from tailored suits to jeans and wellies!”

Hair and make-up artist Juliet Suttill put together a fresh and natural look for Kimberley, perfectly in keeping with the relaxed feel of the day.

Kimberley’s talented mother designed and made her daughter’s wedding gown, and it’s the most beautiful piece, made with love and meticulous attention to detail.

“Initially we were going to buy a plain dress and customise it to suit our vision, but in the end it became apparent that it would just be easier to do it from scratch to get it perfect (and my mother is a perfectionist). I love absolutely everything about my dress!”

“From the layers on the skirt each being a different shade to give it depth, to its vintage 1920’s mother of pearl buttons my mother found in an obscure fabric shop, to the French lace top section. It’s all beautiful and made by the person who made me, which is something that makes me happy.”

Kimberley’s multi-talented mother also used to be a dancer, so this prompted her to wear ballet shoes as a sweet homage. For jewellery, she wore rose gold knot earrings from Bloom Boutique, and in her hair a flower crown of brightly coloured summer blooms, by florist Vicky at Purple Door Flowers. Working to Kimberley’s brief of wildflowers in vibrant shades in keeping with the woodland setting, Vicky created beautiful, meadow fresh arrangements.

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“My mother is a 60’s hippy at heart, and her nickname for me has always been Rainbow – so I wanted flowers colourful enough to match my name! I love wildflowers because they are relaxed but also beautiful and fun. I loved there being different shapes and textures.”

Bridesmaids (and childhood friends) Gemma and Sarah wore soft chiffon dresses in the palest of duck egg blue, which were bought from RenzRags via Etsy with silver-grey ballet flats from New Look.

“The same shade but different styles to suit their preferences, but each sharing similar elements with my wedding dress (Gemma’s dress had lace detailing like my dress and Sarah’s had an illusion neckline similar to the neckline of my dress). We all had matching rose gold knot earrings.”

The couple chose Emma Stoner as their photographer, and she did a great job of capturing all of the colour and vibrance of the day, as well as the beautiful woodland setting. These images are the perfect evocation of autumn.

“Emma is a brilliant, creative and understanding photographer. She understood my vision and what I wanted the photos to portray and went beyond what I imagined! Wonderful, talented photographer.”

Musician Joe Derrington played during the ceremony, and in keeping with the couple’s wish to have their loved ones really feel part of their special day, more entertainment came in the form of archery instruction from the team at the venue, and lots of fun crafts for the children, sourced from Baker Ross.

Kimberley and Pete first met when Pete was working on the building of a new spa at The Grand Hotel in Brighton, where Kimberley was working as a spa therapist.

“I would essentially just perv on him Diet Coke advert style until one day during a work night out he managed to summon up enough game to try and flirt with me at a bar. He was terrible at it, but it clearly worked because we have been together ever since.”

“We got pregnant with our son fairly quickly and when Xavier (our son) was nearly 2, we went back to Brighton for the day and Pete attempted to propose on Brighton Pier, positioning us so The Grand was in the background.”

“Once I realised what he was doing I lost it a bit (I’m very bad at public displays of affection and being the centre of attention in crowds, so this was my worst nightmare!) and told him in rather flowery language to get up and just give me the ring. Which was beautiful and I had no hand in picking! We laugh about the whole thing now. It took about 18 months from that day to our wedding day.”

Kimberley and her dad walked together down the woodland aisle strewn with leaves to an acoustic version of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters, for a handfasting ceremony, overseen by celebrant Christina Derrington.

“We did a handfasting ceremony using different coloured cords to represent each chakra (energy centres on the body – there are 7), which were presented to us by family members (both sets of parents, our eldest siblings each and our son) together with an affirmation related to the chakra being represented, which were then bound round our entwined hands and pulled off into a knot (‘tying the knot!’). We exchanged short and sweet vows, but minimal words due to my public speaking anxiety.”

Pete and his two groomsmen Ben and Sam wore matching suits from Notting Hill based tailors Stumper & Fielding in a lovely, warm autumnal hue. The groomsmen wore matching pocket squares and ascots, while Pete opted for a contrasting floral print in blue, orange and bright green.

Kimberley’s best friend and bridesmaid Sarah read Taylor Mali’s poem Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog.

“It’s funny and romantic, but not cliché or sickly sweet. The love it explains is one I understand and feels real rather than the aspirational ‘movie love’.”

The couple’s sweet son and page boy Xavier wore a super waistcoat with a steampunk inspired hot air balloon print from DistinctIndividual via Etsy, paired with a shirt, trousers and cable-knit cardigan from H&M.

“There was lots of homemade touches to our wedding – more than could be mentioned individually! Pete spray painted all the pallet-signs, my family helped me put together all the appetiser mini picnic baskets (made from floral crafting card), my mother sewed all the tablecloths (and made the bunting and sourced all the saris that were used to cover the hay bale seating for the ceremony!).”

“I handmade mini scrolls in boxes filled with moss for our formal invites (each scroll had the link for our wedding website on), my bridesmaid Gemma made our lawn games to put around the woods and the groomsmen were responsible for the bathtubs, barrels and wheelbarrows full of bottles of beer/prosecco.”

“Flowers from Purple Door Flowers were hung in bunches from the rafters in the main treehouse. All colourful mismatched chairs were hired from Purple Door Props and the colourful tablecloths were made by my mother. Hanging decorations and paper plates/cake stands were from Talking Tables.“

A laid back Brazilian style barbecue feast was prepared by Ginger Catering Company Ltd, and a gorgeous naked Victoria sponge decorated with fresh flowers from Kitty’s Tilted Teacup.

“It was delicious! We had more than 14 kids at our wedding so we wanted a cake that they would actually like to eat and would fit with our wedding décor.”

As favours, each adult guest received a personalised mason jar with their name, to be used throughout the day for drinks. Children received a lovely teddy bear each at their Teddy Bear’s Picnic table, and a wishing bracelet from Hobbycraft.

After the wedding, Pete presented his wife with the most thoughtful gift – an illustration of her wedding gown by Name & A Dress.

“I had an amazing gift from my husband after the wedding …a bespoke hand-drawn fashion illustration of me in my wedding dress, beautifully packaged and sent to me. I wish I had known about them before my wedding because they do a live illustrator service where they illustrate scenes unfolding at your wedding, which I think is a wonderful alternative/complimentary service to have alongside a wedding photographer.”

Later in the evening, there were toasted marshmallows around a camp fire as the night drew in, and band The Somebodys began the evening festivities. For the couple’s first dance, they played a live rendition of Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud.

“We loved having all our favourite people in the same place for a day mostly! I couldn’t pick a specific part because it’s all one big haze of awesomeness in my head.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“I have no real pearls of wisdom because every bride has her own set of worries surrounding her wedding, but I can tell you some things I have learnt that I wish I’d known before wedding planning and I hope they help…You can be an introvert, have anxiety and still have a big wedding! Just be sure to practise self-care throughout the entire process.”

“Everything about a wedding is customisable, never allow any outside force/vendor/family member/friend tell you otherwise! I enjoyed every moment of my day because I made sure I was 100% comfortable with everything happening.”

“Don’t feel comfortable posing for photos? Hire a documentary-style photographer (like Emma!) or a videographer to capture the day.”

“Don’t want to walk down an aisle with all your guests turning as one to stare at you? Come through the side door straight to the front or do as I did and make your aisle a spiral you walk around – then your guests get to really feel engaged in the ceremony and it’s less overwhelming for you.”

“My only other wedding day life hack is this: designate a spot that is just for you and your new spouse to hang out on the day, and visit it more than once. We were lucky enough to have a tower in the main treehouse which we kept off-limits to anyone but us. We could stand up there and spy on all our guests with them having no clue we were up there! Some of my favourite wedding memories are from being up there with Pete and a swiped bottle of prosecco, watching our friends and family enjoy this day we had spent so long planning. Most importantly, breathe it all in, because it’s bloody magical!”

Kimberley, I couldn’t agree more! Massive thanks to you and Pete, and for your honest and inspiring words of wisdom, which I’m sure will help those who share your feelings. Thanks also to photographer Emma Stoner, for such enchanting autumnal images. You can see more of her work on Love My Dress here, and more cosy and atmospheric autumn weddings on Love My Dress, right here.

With love,

Laura