Cat & Jack married at St Thomas-on-The Bourne Church in Farnham and followed with a reception at Hidden Valley in beautiful cream canvas tipis. The colour scheme was pastels, with pops of brighter colours, bringing a whimsical meets festival feel.
Canvas & Light had set up three giant hat tipis in a row, to maximise the open fronts and to let in the views. The left tipi was for dancing, with a top table running at 90 degrees to the rest of the guests who were sat informal banquet style in the middle tipi. The right tipi was for the bar, indoor fireplace and relaxed seating.
Out front were our Indian silk festival flags and rustic barrels for drinks, along with lots of lawn games including giant jenga, boules, kubb and cricket.
Together Tents had set up pastel coloured bell tents for guests that would be staying over
Cat’s bouquet was a romantic mix of pale pink roses, white peonies, pale blue delphinium. Pastel pink astilbe, stocks and eucalyptus foliage. Bridesmaid bouquets were posies of white and pink peonies with foliage.
Cat & Jack had kept the tables rustic with runners of white tulle dotted with small sprays of foliage and mismatched vases with colourful stocks, rainbow gypsophila, dark blue delphinium and dark pink astilbe.
Their stationery theme of illustrated foliage was used for the table plan and guest book. The menu cards, table numbers and place settings all featured the same theme, resting in cute mini log semi circles.
The top table had a feature arrangement using the same flowers as Cat’s bouquet plus dark green eucalyptus and the table fronts were draped with white tulle.
Rustic crate displays featured at the end of the walkway, with colourful pot plants and watering cans. Leading the way into the tipis where a pallet order of service stood on one side and a crate display of more plants and flowers and C&J initials.
After the ceremony, guests made their way to Hidden Valley. Cat and Jack stayed back with Amanda for a few couple shots, before making their way in a vintage burgundy mini. As they arrived into the field, guests lined up waiting to toss petal confetti and cheer their arrival.
As guests arrived, they were greeted with fizz and canapés, served by the Sear Events team.
/ Buttermilk fried chicken – pickled cucumber – sriracha mayonnaise
/ Oak smoked Scottish salmon – rye cracker – wasabi – dill
/ Crispy pork shoulder croquette – apple ketchup – pickled pink onion
/ Avocado puree – hummus – chives – sourdough cracker
Guests enjoyed the outdoor space, games, food and fizz, while Cat, Jack, friends and family spent time capturing some beautiful group and couple shots.
Sear Events provided such a delicious menu from their food truck that was served to the tables.
Starter
Burrata and tomatoes with herb crumb
Main Course
Slow cooked barbecue beef brisket or Roasted cauliflower steak.
Served with:
/ Aubergine puree
/ Triple cooked potatoes
/ Goat’s cheese and beetroot salad
/ Grilled tender stem broccoli with crispy onions and sour cream
/ Charred onions
Dessert
Triple chocolate brownie
A full bar was provided by the caterers, using our bar structure, with a keg of local beer Hogs Back Brewery beer.
The cake was a vegan two tier carrot cake and red velvet cake finished with buttercream, eucalyptus and lavender sprigs and lego couple toppers.
Cat’s chiffon dress was beautifully soft and romantic, with sheer, long cuffed sleeves, modern lace bodice and lace detail on cuff and down the sleeve. With a high waist and dot tulle back, the dress was finished with intricate buttons. For the ceremony she wore a long veil and extra train of chiffon, which she removed later on in the day.
Jack, groomsmen and Cat’s dad wore three-piece taupe suits, with white shirts and baby blue ties. Jack sported a pair of Superman cufflinks, continuing a long-standing tradition with his groomsmen of wearing DC character-themed accessories on their big day.
Each of Cat’s five bridesmaids wore a dress of pastel blue but Cat left the style choice up to the girls.
After dessert, guests moved back outside for more games, with entertainment from an acoustic duo. While the band were playing, we packed a few tables and chairs away to make room for the Ceilidh dancing that was to follow.
Cat tossed her bouquet with such gusto, it went over everyone’s heads and onto the tipi. She had another go and this time it was caught successfully. Cat and Jack then came in to cut their cake and danced their first dance to an acoustic rendition of Sweet Child O’ Mine before the Ceilidh band led everyone through a fun (and quite tiring I think) hours’ worth of dancing.
I got the fire lit in the bar tipi and Cat and Jack went for a few magic hour pics with Amanda. Cat then disappeared to get into something more comfortable; white jeans and top, black leather jacket with Mrs Horncastle embroidered on the back and of course, what bride wouldn’t be without her light up trainers.
If any guests were hungry there were evening tacos on offer from the Sear truck.
The Funked up band kept everyone dancing till it was time to move to silent disco.
“When we started planning our wedding, we knew that we wanted a relaxed, festival-style reception. We loved the fact that we had a beautiful blank canvas to work with in Hidden Valley; that we had the freedom to find and source our own suppliers while also having Nikki on hand to recommend suppliers who could help bring our vision to life! It truly was a magical day – seeing everyone on the dance floor, smiles wide and singing at the top of their lungs was truly a highlight (a close second to the moment we said “I do!’)”
Photographer / Amanda Forman Photography
Tipis / Canvas & Light
Catering & Bar / Sear Events
Cake / Bee Vegan Bakery
Bell Tents / Together Tents
Flowers / Purchased from Longacres and arranged by C&J
Mini / Grange Bridal Cars
Hair & make up / Storme Makeup and Hair
Entertainment / Funked Up Acoustic Duo & Live Band
Bridesmaid dresses / WED2BE
Bride / May and Grace Bridal
Groom and Bestmen / Moss Bros
Stationery / created by Cat and Jack using Canva
“We booked Hidden Valley for our wedding reception in June and had THE most perfect day. We really appreciated Nikki’s help in the lead up to the wedding day – no question was too big or too small – and she offered invaluable advice when it came to supplier recommendations. We chose to have Nikki as the on-the-day wedding coordinator and are so glad we did, it made a massive difference knowing the logistics of the day were in safe hands! Highly recommend!”
