Vegan Ethical & Organic Outdoorsy Tipi Wedding

We are joined today by WWW readers Melody and Martin who were hitched at Horsley Hale Farm in Cambridgeshire on the 27th July 2019. They had a really strong vision for their wedding celebrations which focused around being vegan, ethical and organic in nature. They also wanted to ensure that their day was really relaxed, with home made elements and informal outdoorsy atmosphere. They opted for an outdoor ceremony beside the lake followed by a tipi reception. I love all the pretty festoon lights and boho macramé décor, which worked so wonderfully.

The outfits were really special too, with Melody looking beautiful in her lace fit and flare gown by Justin Alexander and Martin wearing a grey mix and match suit, shirt without tie and monk shoes, which was a really stylish look. Finally a shout out for the food, as a street food truck provided the meal, a horsebox bar served drinks and cookie dough was served too, yum!

I cannot thank Thyme Lane Photography enough for sharing these utterly amazing captures with us. Oh so stunning.

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The Proposal

After a week travelling Chiang Mai and Bangkok, we spent our final week in Thailand on the golden sands of Khao Lak. One evening we went for a late walk by the water, and Martin had planned to get down on one knee as a surprise by the sea front. Just as he went to pull out the ring, a Thai man selling paper lanterns ran over asking if we wanted one. “No thanks”, we politely declined. Martin was getting nervous now, how could he ask as we were busy running away in giggles from Mr lantern man. The man however, proceeded to follow us asking again and again, until we left the seafront. We walked back to our hotel through a pathway of palm trees and Martin took this new location as his perfect moment to ask. It was quiet, and calm, and everything we could have ever wanted.

The Vision

We both knew right away we wanted something outdoors, informal and fun! Formal was never going to work for us, so we hunted around green leafy venues until finding the perfect one – Horsley Hale Farm. Melody fell pregnant the April after their November 2017 proposal, so we knew then we’d have a pretty small baby joining us on our wedding day! This helped our vision come together even more so, as we were sure a sit down silent meal and high ceilings weren’t going to go hand in hand with tiny cries and little giggles.

The Planning Process

With a new baby January 2019, and a pretty hard pregnancy throughout 2018 wedding planning often took a backseat! This however meant we slowly but surely put our vision together with the help of our family and friends. After venue hunting, we gradually came across things like our horsebox style bar online, and booked our cookie dough vendor after simply enjoying eating the vegan treat at a Cambridge market one Sunday! We used pintrest a lot, which inspired things like the homemade giant jenga Melody’s mum and mum’s partner made, the garden games, and the wheelbarrows full of booze. The planning was always really relaxed, we had no bride-zillas or hard to please grooms here!

Beauty

Lucy Anne makeup

Hair – Melody’s friends all did each other’s hair

Budget

15k but we did go slightly over after splurging on a few extra glamping tents and hay bales!

The Venue

Horsley Hale Farm – Ely – Littleport

The Readings & Music

Poem penned by Melody’s mum

James Arthur – falling like the stars (played by live cellist)

DJ – Cumminz, a house DJ Melody had co-written a song with in 2018

The Details & Decor

We wanted everything to be earthy, natural and as ethical as possible!

Macrame plant hangers – home-made!

Wooden table names – wood chopped from Melody’s mums garden.

Wooden logs on tables – wood chopped from Melody’s mums garden.

Table plan – made from a second hand mirror.

The Flowers

Flowers – from family’s gardens!

Table flowers – lavender supplied by our lovely photographer from her amazing garden!

Buttonholes – same as table flowers! Hand made by Noemi our photographer.

Your Outfits & Accessories

Melody

Dress: (designer) Justin Alexander from (shop) Shades of White St Ives

Hair Piece – Etsy

Wedding Shoes – from Shades of White St Ives

Watch – Martin’s mother’s mother’s old watch (something old)

Martin

Suit – He mix and matched pieces from various suit shops!

Your Photographer

The amazing Thyme Lane Photography

Groomsmen

Suits from Next

Advice For Other Couples

Relax, but also stay on top of all your emails!

Do everything together and with each other in mind.

Let every element from start to finish be about love.

Take as many moments as you can during the big day to just be together.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

If you are planning an outdoor wedding and are worried about the rain, then hopefully Melody and Martin’s rainy wedding day will reassure you. The rain certainly didn’t effect their incredible tipi wedding celebrations.

Melody and Martin, thank you both so much for sharing your epic wedding story xo Lou