Prim and Sam’s Relaxed Tipi Wedding

On the 2nd April we were delighted to welcome Sam and Primrose to Robert’s Field. They kicked off the season for us in style with their beautiful, informal tipi wedding.

We first met Sam and Prim back in May last year, a very chilled couple they were looking for a relaxed wedding, which would cater for their guests and all the children they had invited, with space for them to roam free and safely. “I did not want the day to feel too structured and manufactured like hotel weddings. Originally I wanted a seaside wedding, as my dad was a great sailor, however it wasn’t practical with working around school holidays. From then I quickly came across tipis and fell in love with the relaxed country feel. The big appeal was that I could be very creative and add my own personal touches. In a way it is a blank canvas.”

Sam and Prim were keen to handover some of the organisation over to us, so we worked with them to build the perfect package. For their guest numbers we opted for a two giant hat and one Kungsornen set up from Tentario. With guests seated at 10 round tables in the two giant hats, this left the Kungsornen for the bar area, some relaxed lounge seating and one of the two open fires (with obligatory marshmallows on hand for toasting). To make the most of the space 4 tables were set on the dancefloor, but these were speedily packed away by caterers and ourselves in time for the first dance.

For catering Sam and Prim found Sausage & Pear, based down in Dorset. We are only too happy to work with new suppliers and build packages around them, and Sausage & Pear were a fab find by Sam and Prim. They served up beautifully presented rustic boards of afternoon tea canapés and as guests took their seats they were welcomed with Smoked Venison, Air Dried Pork Loin & Saucison Sec Charcuterie boards, served with homemade bread, olives & creamy roasted garlic hummus). Main course was a choice of delicious home made pies (Steak & Ale, Chicken and Ham Hock, Sweet Potato and Feta) served with creamy mash and seasonal veg and dessert was a mixed board of delicious mouthfuls of meringue, chocolate brownies, lemon posset, pavlova and wedding cake. Evening food – for those who had room – was wood fired pizzas from Catch a Fire and our absolute favourite was nutella, raspberry and marshmallow, We know, it sounds odd, but wow does it work!

Our package also included the posh toilet trailer, security services, generator, a couple of heaters for the tipis and on the day coordination. Nothing particularly sexy or interesting, but all very necessary and a few less things for Sam and Prim to worry about.

So, on to the finer details of their wedding. Their special Saturday arrived and after a slightly dodgy week weather wise, S&P got their wish for a crisp, bright day. They married in the local St Nicholas’ church and Prim was the perfect romantic boho bride, with her blonde hair loosely pinned up and filled with loose wild flowers. Her dress with lace bodice and tulle skirt was simply stunning. “From the very beginning I had a very particular style in mine. I wanted long sleeves and unstructured as I don’t like wearing clothes that feel heavy. I found my dress very quickly about a month after engagement. I found it originally on American website bhldn. I then searched for it in the UK and found one stockist in Beaconsfield. The dress is by designer Love Marley.

Prim was accompanied down the aisle by her brother and her 9, yes 9, nieces and nephews as flower girls and pageboys. We loved their simple but classic outfits with a vintage twist.

The vintage theme continued as guests were shuttled from the church to the field in a vintage bus from Ages Past and Sam and Prim made their way in Prim’s brother’s cool little Fiat with personalised windscreen bumper.

The tipis definitely had the wow factor for guests as they walked into the welcomed warmth. Wild flower mixes in mismatched bottles and tins by Cherfold Flowers looked stunning. The cake by Prim’s sister-in-law was a three tiered lemon sponge with nearly nude icing, dressed with loose flowers and topped with a china Mr and Mrs Rabbit. If she doesn’t make cakes professionally then she should!

Prim is a huge dog lover, so the table plan was a little doggy quiz . A wooden pallet was marked out with black silhouettes, with each one corresponding to a particular breed of dog, represented by a china version on each of the tables. The tiny little bulldog was definitely our favourite.

The walkway provided by Tentario was dotted with beautiful little mason jars filled with fairy lights and the short distance from the church and field entrance were marked with home made wooden signs. Place settings were handwritten rustic tags, wrapped around the napkins with a sprig of rosemary and favours were little boxes of gourmet marshmallows, also made by Prim’s sister-in-law.

The bar was a relaxed help yourself affair with a funky bar unit provided by Tentario and copious amounts of beer, cider, prosecco and wine provided by Sam and Prim in tin ice buckets. They had hired our Kilner dispensers and little bottles with paper straws for their home made cocktail ‘Kate Sessions’. A mix of gin, St Germain, lemon juice, strawberry puree and fresh raspberries. It was totally delicious. We only had a little sip for research purposes of course.

The dancing was kicked off with Sam and Prim’s first dance to “I’m still in love with you boy by Sean Paul. “It was a unusual choice but it is a song Sam and I have always liked singing and dancing too. Also I often sing it to my dog Mabel 🙂 The dance floor was bouncing all night until the singalong to Take That ‘Never Forget’ marked the end of a most special day. Fab job guys, it was an absolute pleasure. Can’t wait for our next one, which is err, tomorrow, best be heading to bed.

Ps Big thanks to the lovely Anna B for allowing us to use some of her gorgeous pics.

SUPPLIER LIST
Tipi – Tentario
Catering – Sausage & Pear and Catch a Fire Pizza
Flowers – Cherfold Cottage Flowers
Photography – Anna B
Generator – OEEH
Entertainment – Ollie Wade and A1 Discos
Transport – Ages Past