Mel & Laura's Tipi Wedding

The wedding planning was more my department as I'm super organised and Laura was away from home for the best part of two years in training so it was just easier for me to do the bulk.

We loved the planning of the wedding (probably me more so!) We were able to meet some lovely new people and who knew we would be able to organise such a fantastic day all by ourselves. Mel We love the outdoors and decided that the Codsall Wood estate was the perfect location for our wedding day as it played a big part in our lives. It's where we have enjoyed many walks and picnics and it is also where Laura has been brought up, as her Dad is the Gamekeeper of the estate. We chose two giant tipis to give a mini-festival feel to the day as we felt it reflected our personalities, and it was so relaxed and fun. Attire We both opted for tea-length dresses, as we were outside all day and knew these would be more practical. Our accessories were in keeping with our dresses. We did, however, come prepared with matching white Converse shoes! We knew we would be on our feet all day and with it being in a field we knew our heels probably wouldn't manage all the dancing!

Our ceremony was very personal to us. We had a celebrant ceremony which was bespoke and uniquely written by a lovely lady called Jo from My Perfect Ceremony.

We had a visit from her a few months before our day and as we sat and had a good chat about Laura and myself, she made notes which then transformed into our perfectly written ceremony. We wrote our own vows and each had separate to the other, we felt like this added to our bespoke ceremony and we could be heartfelt but funny with them at the same time. We also had just the one reading which was beautifully read by my sister. We had treats stashed around for our friends and family to enjoy throughout the day. We also had games available for everyone to play,including a coconut shy, hoopla and golf! Photographs Our photographers were brilliant. From the second we met Phil and his husband Toby, we knew we were in good hands. They are both so professional, yet so relaxed and make you feel at ease. As neither of us had ever been in front of the camera before it was a bit daunting, but we were made to feel really comfortable and we were able to get some really amazing photos from both the pre-wedding shoot and the wedding itself. The way Phil and Toby worked on our wedding day was faultless. They arrived on our day nice and early, one capturing the wedding party excitement and the other up at the Tipi while guests were arriving. The way they interacted with our guests was brilliant, they became part of the day and at times we all forgot someone was taking pictures of those special and natural moments. We couldn't believe how hard they both worked, from the moment they arrived they were so attentive with not only ours but also our guests requests. Everybody at the wedding has told us how much they thought of both Phil and Toby and how fantastic they were. There's no way we could imagine our day with other photographers. The hundreds of magic moments were captured and will forever help us remember our perfect day. The Music Our first dance song was Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You. We have both loved this song and I also sent a print out of the lyrics to Laura during her training, so we felt like it was the perfect song for us. I know it might sound a bit cliche, but the entire day was perfect for us and we couldn't possibly narrow it down to one specific moment or a particular thing.

From Them To You

Enjoy every minute of it! Even from the planning of it all because you will only do it once. On the wedding day make sure you make time for one another, even if it's only a few minutes. It's your day after all so you should be able to enjoy it together!