A brilliant marquee wedding at River Cottage: Thomas and Tilly’s wonderful day

Thomas and Tilly got married on Saturday, with the most fantastic wedding celebrations at River Cottage. They started the day in Lyme Regis, with the relaxed preparations including a swim in the sea (sadly before I got there, otherwise I might have been tempted to join them) and a lot of laughter. Then it was off to River Cottage, a tractor ride down the hill, and a really beautiful outdoor ceremony in the sunny kitchen garden. Thomas and Tilly are lucky enough to have talented musician friends, who accompanied the guests through some songs during the ceremony. I loved hearing everyone join together and sing acoustic versions of Yazoo’s Only Love, and The Beatles’ I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Such a brilliant way for Thomas and Tilly to give their ceremony a personal feel to it. The singing reminded me of Cos and Vicky’s humanist ceremony in Wiltshire a couple of years back.

After the ceremony, everyone spread out into the games field to enjoy champagne and canapés in the sunshine, with more music and a wonderful impromptu singalong and dance. There was also much fun with welly wanging and garden skittles. Thomas is French, as are his family and many of his friends, and it was so funny (and slightly terrifying!) to see the French contingent attempting skittles with a boules style throw!  At the end of the drinks reception, the musicians made like the Pied Piper, and led all the guests past the River Cottage farmhouse and into the back field for a completely brilliant marquee reception. There were wonderful speeches, and much hilarity at some of the French/English confusion, plus some good natured ribbing of English food – apart from the River Cottage feast, which was described by the French as ‘French style food’. The view from the marquee was quite incredible, with the sun setting over the valley and most of the guests heading outside at this point to enjoy it.

Then followed the party to end all parties! A fantastic night of dancing and singing and drinking and more dancing, with the excellent and highly entertaining Piano Factor providing the music. It was really great to photograph the dance floor right through to the sticky and emotional end, and capture Thomas and Tilly’s sparkler exit to finish. I had such a wonderful day, and really loved every part of it. I think that the relaxed and fun side of it all really shines through, and I’m so excited about editing the full set of images. For now, here is a selection for the blog…

Wonderful suppliers involved in this wedding:

Venue & catering: River Cottage

Tilly’s dress: designed by Rime Arodaky, from The Mews Bridal, Clifton

Tilly’s shoes: Patricia Blanchet

Thomas’ suit: Guide London and bowtie Colonel Moutarde

Florist: Luna in the Wild

Band: Piano Factor

Marquee & lighting: Abbas Marquees