Emily & Dom's Tipi Wedding

The Jubilee weekend was certainly one to remember for me, as I had the pleasure of co-ordinating the lovely Emily and Dom’s wedding at their family home in Wiltshire.

Being a DIY wedding there were lots of jobs that needed doing, so in the run up I wrote a very detailed time plan to ensure everything ran as they wanted it to on their big day.

Visiting the day before I was able to get a good feel for Emily & Dom’s day, see the layout and be shown where everything was kept should we need anything. When I arrived I was greeted by a very chilled Emily and Dom and WOW-ed by the incredible tipi from Oakleaf Marquees which fitted perfectly on the lawn.

Inside the tipi were rows of trestle tables decorated with terracotta herb pots and candles. Above the dance floor hung a huge glitter ball and boho style hangings, ready for some serious dancing later on!

Emily and Dom decided to change up the typical wedding order and instead of extra guests coming in the evening they had everyone at the beginning of their day and less guests in the evening.

You see, that is the beauty of planning a DIY wedding…

The day started with all of their guests at the church to witness Emily and Dom’s marriage to one another...

After the ceremony everyone made their way back up the road to the family home for delicious canapés served by Sear Eventsand plenty of fizz, beer and elderflower cordial served by the Tasha Mae team.

The sun shone while everyone listened to Just Silhouettes perform whilst catching up with one another and playing a selection of garden games.

It was soon time for everyone to gather around the lawn for the father of the bride and Dom’s speech.

After the speeches followed the cutting of the wedding cake which had been made by Dom’s mum. Soon after, we took it off to cut up in to smaller pieces ready to hand to the guests that were leaving.

Along with handing them a piece of cake we also asked them to sign the guest board which Emily and Dom were planning to frame with a picture of them in the middle.

Saying goodbye to their day guests this left only the closest friends and immediate family for the evening celebrations.

Making sure there was plenty of wine and water on the tables and the candles were lit, it was now time to ask the guests to take a seat for the wedding breakfast.

With an announcement from Emily and Dom’s good friend Blu who was acting as their MC, Emily and Dom made their grand entrance into the tipi…

One of the loudest cheers I have ever heard and with napkins being swirled around everyone’s heads Emily and Dom made their way down to the head table.

Sear Events served a platter of BBQ meats and salads followed by pudding whilst we kept the wine and water topped up. During the meal we also prepped the bar and set up the tea and coffee table for guests to help themselves to after the meal.

Whilst everyone was eating, the very talented DJV & Sax kept the music going and played the saxophone alongside his tunes.

Helping the caterers clear the tables it was then time for some more speeches from the bride herself and Dom’s best man, James.

The speeches ended with an 'Espresso Martini' game introduced and instructed by the brilliant Blu.

The aim of the game was for the chosen table runner to race across the garden to the greenhouse to collect a hamper from us which we had prepped with all the ingredients. In their tables they had to then follow the instructions on how to make the perfect Espresso Martini.

Once the Espresso Martinis were down the hatch it was now time for the first dance, so Emily & Dom made their way to the dance floor.

The first dance was followed by a fun and packed night on the dance floor for everyone with DJ-V playing the saxophone alongside Billy Keane playing his guitar.

Whilst everyone was dancing we cleared all the tables of glasses, hampers, linen, menus and name cards so the guests could sit back down at a clean table when they wanted a break from all the dancing.

On the bar the drinks were being poured with the most popular being the homemade Sloe Gin which Emily’s dad was a dab hand at making. Once this had run dry we kept everyone topped up with beers, wine and a selection of spirits.

As our time at Emily and Dom's wedding came to an end we stocked the bar with as much drink as possible so the guests could help themselves throughout the rest of the evening. Finding Emily and Dom to say Goodbye, it was so lovely when they gave us all a bottle of fizz to say thank you for everything we had done. This is not expected and not something that happens often but when it does it means so much and is extremely appreciated. We really did have the most fantastic day helping them both as well as meeting all their guests who were all so lovely.

Leaving everyone to party the night away we drove away knowing Emily and Dom were sure to have the most amazing end to their wedding day…

The review Emily and Dom left me after their big day made me so happy. I love knowing my team and I can take away any stress so my couples can relax and enjoy having the best day ever...

"Tasha is THE dream!

We couldn’t have had our wedding without her and have already recommended her to friends.

We had a marquee wedding in Emily’s parents garden and didn’t want one of our family having to deal with any disasters, questions from suppliers etc, but also didn’t want a full blown wedding planner as we had that bit covered.

Tasha and her team did the job perfectly!

We had 2 full video call consultations with Tasha to go through the order of the day, what we wanted to happen when and she typed it up for us so that we could share it with our families as well. Plus she came and did a site visit the week before to see the marquee, where everything was and run through any last minute questions, which was amazing.

Tasha was extremely practical - thinking of things we may have forgotten, suggesting timings for drinks/food etc based on her experience of how long everything takes. What your wedding is going to look like is mainly an idea in your head until it happens but I really think she understood what we were trying to achieve and how she could help us get there.

We catered all our own drinks and Tasha brought some super helpers to serve champagne, make sure everyone was topped up at the table, deal with our mad cocktail race and most importantly keep everyone topped up on the dance floor. They were full of energy and enthusiasm all day and nothing was too much trouble.

If you are having a wedding at home, book Tasha NOW!!

Tasha made the whole process so stress free and we didn’t worry about anything on the day".

If you or a family member have a big enough space in your garden for a marquee or tipi then why not consider having your wedding at home like Emily & Dom?

Having a DIY wedding means you can have total flexibility in doing your day as you wish without any restrictions or time limits. It might be harder work to plan and prepare but a DIY wedding is much more personal and can be so much fun to organise. To ensure your day itself is stress free then why not book an ‘on the day’ co-ordinator so you can relax and enjoy yourselves whilst all those behind the scenes jobs are being done for you.

If you would like to chat about your wedding to see how I can help you on your special day, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Hair: Wendy Stevens Salisbury
Florist: Cornflower and Artichoke