Style & Trend
Izzy and Andy’s fun tipi wedding venue
A beautiful tipi wedding venue was a dreamy setting for these newlyweds. Our WED2B Real Weddings feature reveals more…
Izzy and Andy met at a work party on a roof top, overlooking St Paul’s in London. “We barely spoke but Andy admitted he’d asked everyone there who I was,” says Izzy. “I drunkenly shouted a few words at him. We met at another work party a week or so later and spent all night talking to each other, laughing at our life stories.”
A round-the-world trip and a proposal
The couple was on a nine-month trip, traveling the world together, when Andy proposed. “We were in Kyoto, Japan, in the middle of a month-long visit,” says Izzy. “We spent the morning feeding monkeys on a mountain, exploring the bamboo forest and visiting a temple wrapped in gold leaf. It was the perfect day and we ended it at Fushimi Inari, a shrine with 1,000 Tori gates. It was in March 2020, so the usual tourists weren’t around, and it was super quiet.”
"I took a picture and when I turned around to carry on walking I thought Andy had fallen over. It took me a few seconds to realise he was on one knee, with a ring in his hand. It was a magical moment and ideal for us that no one was around. We both cried, it was one of the happiest moments of our lives and the perfect story for our trip. (Unfortunately, due to Covid, we had to cut our trip short and come home a week after. However, we put the spare money towards the wedding instead).”
Shopping for the dress
Izzy went dress shopping with her mum and two of her bridesmaids. “WED2B was the first shop we went to and the service was amazing,” she says. “We had a warm welcome and the customer assistant asked what I was looking for. I told her either something with delicate lace or something very simple and elegant.”
"She picked out five dresses for me, listening to what I wanted to accentuate and the parts I wanted to cover or avoid. The huge choice of dresses was quite overwhelming, so it was great to have the assistant suggest dresses for me.”
“James was the first dress I tried on,” says Izzy. “I thought the feeling I had was just because I was trying dresses on and I would feel like this in all of them. However, the dresses I tried on afterwards didn’t give me the same high. I knew it was ‘The One’, and my mum and bridesmaids all said my smile in that dress showed it.” For similar styles take a closer at Fynn, Cruiz or Dillon.
A fun tipi wedding venue
“We wanted a festival-themed wedding and then we came across Elmbridge Farm, a tipi wedding venue near Worcester,” says Izzy. “The venue is a field with four huge tipis overlooking a lake. We wanted to see it instantly but it was lockdown, so we had to wait until late summer. As soon as we could, we took both sets of parents to an open day. We knew it was the place and we booked it without seeing any other venues. Elmbridge is a blank canvas and doesn’t have any set suppliers, so we could have exactly the wedding we wanted.”
The big day
“I stayed in the onsite cottages the night before, with my three bridesmaids,” says Izzy. “I was so excited I couldn’t get to sleep till 2am. The makeup artist arrived at 5.45am! My seven-year-old niece was flower girl and we treated our mums to professional makeup, too. Everyone kept asking if I was nervous but I was just super excited to see Andy.”
“The service was at midday and we were ready on time,” says Izzy. “The church was only one mile from the venue, so my dad drove us there,” says Izzy.
“It was 36°C on the day and the groomsmen put out iced water for everyone in the church, which was a welcome refresher.”
“My dad walked me down the aisle to ‘Biblical’ by Callum Scott, sung by Jemma Johnson (our acoustic singer at the back of the church). We had Andy’s sister read ‘Love Monkey’ by Edward Monkton, our best friend read ‘Maybe’ and my sister read ‘Birthday Cake’ by Whitney Hanson. While we signed the register Jemma sang ‘One Life’ by James Bay. The whole service was very relaxed and fun.”
After the ceremony…
“When we walked out of the church Andy and I took a moment to ourselves,” says Izzy. “As a surprise, I had Andy’s late grandma’s wedding ring tied to my bouquet, so I showed Andy and we both had a little cry. The photographer then organised everyone to stand in a line to throw confetti at us before we headed back to the venue.”
“Our photographer also arranged a ‘smoke bomb’ photo shoot, which was great. Our first dance was to ‘Can’t See Straight’ by Jamie Lawson. We had a couple of dance lessons and hadn’t told anyone, so we had a routine for our first dance too.”
A funky festival theme
“We had a festival-themed wedding, so there was no colour scheme. We hired some festival flags and we made a large sign like the Glastonbury sign. Stewart is my husband’s surname, so we name the festival ‘Stewbury’. I spent two years making patchwork for it, as well as pom poms and 500 origami cranes. We also had a caricature, which was a touch of Japanese culture, as a little reference to our engagement. There was a personalised Escape Room in a horse box too, which was fun and different. Plus, bubbles, canapés and garden games”
Let’s eat!
“Jemma Johnson came to the venue to sing before dinner. We had posh pie for our wedding breakfast (a bit hot in 36°C!) and Eton Mess before speeches. After the speeches we played some of our favourite drinking games, which lots of people got involved in (including my dad, who played flip cup). Then we had a couple of sunset photos before I changed into a short dress, so I could cool down in the heat and dance more freely when the band started.”
The best bits…
“The entire day was perfect, it would be so hard to pick just a couple of memories,” says Izzy. “Seeing Andy at the top of the aisle and the feeling I had when I saw his reaction to my dress is definitely a highlight. Hearing everyone cheer after we first kissed during the ceremony was overwhelming, and to hear everyone we love be happy for us.”
My top tips…
“Don’t stress over the little things, the day will be what it will be. Only you and your partner know what it’s supposed to look like. So, if something is forgotten or not exactly what you expected, only you will know and most likely nobody will notice. Most importantly, enjoy every second of the day! Take time to soak it all in, everyone you love is there to support the two of you.”
Izzy and Andy’s Dream Team
Photographer: Lee Webb
Tipi Wedding Venue: Elmbridge Farm
Wedding Dresses Bromley: WED2B
Florist: Jenny Fleur
Caterers: Rustic Roast Kitchen
Makeup: Hannah Louise Make Up Artist
Photo Booth: Busography Photo Booth
Escape Room: Game Lab
If you would like us to feature your big day, like this tipi wedding venue, then please click here to share your story and photos with us and we’ll be in touch. Your nearest WED2B is closer than you think, click here for your nearest store and here for what to expect when you visit.
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