Lilly & Phil’s Tim Walker Inspired Wedding at The Lost Music Hall in Devon

Lilly and Phil married at The Lost Music Hall in Devon at the end of May, filling this beautiful bohemian country manor and its gardens with pastel colour, handmade details and plenty of eccentric flair.

Photographed by Anna of Luna Wedding Photography, the day moved from a meadow ceremony into dinner and, later, a final party in The Lost Music Hall’s hidden basement disco.

British fashion photographer Tim Walker was one of Lilly’s reference points for the styling, alongside a love of colour, playful detail and a willingness to have a bit of fun with it.

Lilly wore the Jane gown by Katherine Tash, found at The Fall Bride in London, with a bespoke embroidered veil by Rebecca Anne Designs. She shares much more about the thinking behind the day in her own words, including the choices that made the ceremony and celebration feel so personal to them.

Lovely bride Lilly’s words follow. Enjoy darlings!

Our venue was The Lost Music Hall in Devon. We had been searching for a venue with a particular kind of charm – somewhere immersive, enchanting and unexpected. When we arrived at the ivy-clad Manor House, we knew we’d found our location.

The Lost Music Hall has a special kind of magic with hidden rooms, unexpected gardens, a fire pit tucked out of sight. Beneath it all, the Cellar Club, a basement disco waiting to be discovered by the die-hard party goers later in the evening.

More practically, as a dry hire venue, it offered a bucolic canvas on which to paint our day, governed completely by our whims rather than the limitations set by a more traditional venue. 

This freedom is only possible due to owners – Jennie and Graham – instinctive hosts, generous with their home and the myriad possibilities it offers for a bloody good party! Wild, Whimsical, Wonderful was the dress code, encouraging guests to dust off their sequins, feathers and bright suits and bring their most flamboyant selves.  They delivered!

Sadly, my lovely Dad is no longer with us. I knew it would be an emotional walk down the aisle, so I asked my best friend, Matt (who I lived with for six years), to do the honours.  He kept me calm and stopped me from sinking in the grass on my stilettos! Matt and I walked down the aisle to the Florence and Machine version of ‘Stand by Me’.  

Phil and I wanted the ceremony to be high energy and surprising, so each bridal party entrance had its own soundtrack: our Mums walked down the aisle to Mamma Mia (Abba), our flower girls and page boys to Blame it on the Boogie (Jackson 5), and the bridesmaids to Get it On (T-Rex).  Our ceremony was in a meadow, with a winding path towards the guests; each arrival was greeted by riotous applause from our friends and family – exactly the tone we were hoping for! 

We had two readings – the first was a patchwork of sections from Jilly Cooper’s How to Stay Married (quite tongue in cheek – it was written in 1962).

I’ve been reading Jilly Cooper since I was 12 and am such a fan that my bridesmaids threw me an 80s Jilly Cooper themed Hen party –this felt apt! 

The second reading was an extract from Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive.  At the end of the book, he lists all the small moments in life that make it worth living, from sunsets to dogs to eating pizza.

To us, this encapsulated what love means – it’s not about the grand, sweeping gestures, it’s the small, everyday moments that are rendered magical because they’re experienced together.

We each wrote our own vows. I would highly recommend this to any couple; the ceremony was so personal, and I loved reflecting on our life together and the future we want to build.  Neither of us take life that seriously and were able to convey our deep love for each other whilst keeping light hearted moments (I vowed to learn to appreciate the middle aisle of Lidl, he vowed to make me laugh every day).

My ring was by Alex Monroe is one of my favourite jewellery designers – as soon as I saw the platinum band with leaves and flowers wound around it, I knew it was the ring for me; we live on a farm and this reflects our outdoor lifestyle.

Phil’s ring was a gold band, melted down from a christening present given to him by his Auntie Kay.

Our photographer was Anna of Luna Weddings. We wanted both editorial and documentary style photography for our wedding day, and when I came across Anna’s website I knew she was our girl! 

Anna has an incredible talent for taking dramatic, cinematic photographs that could comfortably sit on the pages of Vogue.  She compliments these with documentary style photos that capture the detail of the day: laughing family members, happy tears, dance floor chaos… 

In person, she’s laid back, great fun and manages to slip into the background whilst capturing every key moment.  

Trying to prove to my younger animal-loving sister that there were ‘nice men’ on Hinge, I clicked on the man with all the horses in his profile picture.

He was a farmer and lived in the countryside; this was nothing but a hypothetical swipe and a far cry from the city boys living in Clapham I’d previously been dating… his first message made me laugh, and a year later I packed up my South London flat and moved into a farmhouse in Wiltshire.

New Years Day 2025, and Phil seemed…livid.  We’d had friends staying, and at 5.30pm, they’d only just left.  Phil took me into our kitchen, for what assumed was going to be a diatribe on my friendship group.  It was a complete surprise, therefore, when he got down on one knee and proposed!  Turned out he was extremely nervous, having to wait all day to pop the question!

We were married – officially – in a tiny registry office in front of our families in December 2025, with our big white wedding this May 2026. 

We had hand-made paper chains, cardboard stars, painted pastel ladders, I painted our ‘parking’ and ‘toilet’ signs in pastel colours and used the border design I’d used on my invite and place names, so everything had a cohesive style. 

We didn’t provide guest ‘favours’ – I think they’re a waste of money! Instead, I wrote individual notes to every guest, saying what they meant to me, shared memories over the years and why I was happy they were there to celebrate with us.

Many guests mentioned how much they loved this, and how personal it was!  

I also designed our invite, table plans, place cards and table names and orders of service.  These were printed via Papier and Canva.

My talented mum arranged the table flowers. Our bouquets and buttonholes were created by local florist Hannah of Bouquets n Bunches, who grows them in her garden.

I liked that they were seasonal, and we agreed she would create the bouquets based on what was flowering at the time.  As each bridesmaid wore a different pastel dress, Hannah created corresponding bouquets in pink, blue, green, yellow and lilac – they looked gorgeous.

The whole day was incredible – it is impossible to pick a favourite, but top three, perhaps, are: 

Being surrounded by my best friends, sisters, mum and nieces in a stunning, light-filled bedroom looking out across rolling green hills.  The music was on, the Verve was flowing, and the hair and make-up girls were working their magic.  There was an air of deep contentment and excitement for the rest of the day. 

Walking towards Phil for the first time: he looked SO handsome in his tux, our friends and family were all grinning at us, the sun was shining, and I’d not tripped once whilst walking down the aisle!

The band finished their brilliant set; everyone thought the night was over, then a secret door opened taking guests downstairs to the basement disco for a final DJ set! 

Look inwards and outwards.  

Inwards at the two of you: this is YOUR day, it doesn’t have to follow the conventions of other weddings (unless you want it to).

We removed elements that didn’t feel like us and adapted others to suit us better: no cake, bangers and mash for supper, congregation singing pop songs during the ceremony.  Have fun with it and make it your own! 

Look outwards: the wedding is about the two of you, but it’s also about your friends and family, the people who’ve stood by you and helped shaped who you are today.  Consider their experience too: make sure everyone is fed and watered properly, think about elements you can add that are joyfully unexpected, think about the overall flow of the day. I also wrote individual notes to each guest, because they’re all so important to us and I wanted them to feel loved! 

I was nervous in the lead up.  Having done most of the organisation and prep myself (and being a little bit of a control freak), I was anxious about relinquishing control on the day.  I shouldn’t have worried: our friends and family were amazing, and Jennie (venue owner & on the day co-ordinator) ran everything to absolute perfection.  

Finally – ENJOY it! It truly is the best, and you’ll feel like a celebrity all day – it’s wonderful! 

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