Sammy & Caine's Lakeside Wedding

When planning a DIY wedding you couldn’t ask for a more stunning location than Sopley Lakein Dorset.

Knowing there are only a handful of weddings held here each year I felt extremely honoured when Sammy & Caine booked me to co-ordinate their wedding day.

I first met Sammy & Caine at a wedding fair and after a brief chat I remember feeling totally intrigued and wanting to hear more. It was one of those conversations where you pray you will hear from them again....

At our first consultation I could tell they were both naturally organised and they knew exactly what they wanted for their big day. Between them they had planned their wedding décor and styling to reflect who they were as a couple.

With a kids play tent and lots of garden games they really had thought of everything!

This is one of the BIG advantages of a DIY wedding...

A week before Sammy and Caine’s special day we arranged a visit to run through their time-plan.

Sammy had been super busy making all their own decorations, from signs to a Polaroid Photo wall...

...sweetie pots for favours...

...their table-plan...

...and a story-trail to lead their guests around the lake.

These handmade props made Sammy and Caine’s wedding personal to them...

On the day itself the sun was shining which is always a huge sigh of relief when co-ordinating an outdoor wedding. Not only do I pray for good weather for my couples, it also makes mine and the other wedding suppliers jobs a whole lot easier. I was delighted to be working with Lewis and Schofield Photographywho were there to capture Sammy and Caine’s day. Such fantastic photographers as you will see through this blog and so much fun to be around.

Having my families support in my business means the world to me and with my mum living abroad it was so lovely that she could help out for the day...

Our first job was to prepare the welcome drinks of Pimms and to set the drinks table up with bottles of beer and squash for the kids. Whilst the team got on with the drinks, I went off to wait for Sammy who arrived in a beautiful old Morris Minor with her mum.

Sammy needed me to take some champagne flutes and flower jars from her before she walked down the aisle to meet Caine at the other end!

Whilst their hand-fasting ceremony took place on the other side of the lake we got on with making sure everything was ready for when they came over to the marquee.

Michelle and my mum served the welcome drinks while Ellie and I were busy putting the wine on the tables, filling the water jugs and hot water urns, pre-cutting the puddings, putting the ice-lollies on a tray ready to be handed out and sorting the music. Whilst doing these jobs I came across two trays of beautiful button-holes made by Clarity Flowers, which with all the excitement Caine and his groomsmen had forgotten to put on. Not a problem, I took them out and helped pin them to all of their waistcoats so they would have them on in the rest of the photos.

When their caterer, Tim Orme (who was one of Caine’s good friends) was ready to serve we asked everyone to take a seat for the wedding breakfast. Tim had prepared an amazing vegan buffet menu which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. I think it was a bit of an eye opener to those that weren’t vegan, proving that a good menu doesn’t have to include meat, dairy or any animal products!

Sammy and Caine had decided to split the speeches, so once everyone had finished eating, we quickly cleared the plates so Sammy’s dad could start with his.

Much of what he said answered some of the questions that followed in the quiz compered by their good friend, John. This was such a brilliant idea and it certainly put everyone to the test to see how well they knew Sammy & Caine!

Once the winning table had been announced everyone went up for their pudding which we had laid out ready. There was a choice of brownie, lemon tart and meringue with strawberries and cream...

Whilst puddings were being eaten, we poured the toast drinks of Sammy & Caine’s favourite tipple, Passoa and lemonade. With a glass in everyone’s hands the speeches continued and WOW such beautiful words from Caine, his best man Dan and Caine’s dad!

After the speeches Sammy & Caine cut their cake which lead straight into the evening reception.

We got on with clearing all the puddings away to leave space for the yummy cakes some of their guests had made. Not only this but we cut their amazing wedding cake made by Cherry Bakeswell into pieces so everyone could help themselves to an evening nibble. This was a cake for everyone’s taste with two vegan layers of pistachio and chocolate and a non-vegan layer of lemon drizzle.

The band, Quinns Quinney arrived to set up...

...and the double-decker bus-bar, Hop on Inn were parked up alongside the marquee ...

With everyone outside mingling we cleared everything that was left on the tables and took a couple away to allow more room for dancing later on...

Just as Sammy and Caine were about to do their first dance, sadly it was time for us to leave.

We left knowing we had done everything we could to ensure Sammy and Caine’s day ran smoothly and that now it was time for them to let their hair down and enjoy the rest of their evening.

After speaking with Sammy since their wedding it sounds like The Silent Disco Companythey had booked was a totally brilliant idea. With everyone tuned in and wearing headphones, it meant they could party on past their music cut off time.

If you are considering a DIY wedding then Sammy and Caine’s special day shows the true meaning of the words DIY wedding. With the freedom to choose the wedding suppliers they wanted Sammy and Caine planned the wedding day of their dreams...

Photo Credits: Lewis and Schofield Photography