diy wedding | Hanami Dream | Cotswolds copywriter

Inspiration: african/english fusion garden wedding

by Hanami Dream | 17, January, 2020 | blog, inspiration

A relaxed, family-oriented celebration in May 2019 saw the rustic fusion wedding of Rachael and Godwin at Worton Hall in Oxfordshire.

The energy and exuberance burst out of these images with pops of lavender wedding inspiration. What a jam-packed wedding full of colour, music and vibrancy. The African dancers stole the day, blowing everyone away with their epic singing, dancing and drumming.

Cotswold farmland venue

All members of the wedding party and families stayed at Worton Hall the night before. The groom and his family were in the main Farmhouse, whilst the bride stayed in one of the cottages.

handmade decor

Almost all of the décor was handmade by the bride, her friends and family. The bride and friends dressed the main hall the day before the wedding, and then 2 friends went out in the morning and put finishing touches to the décor. Simple, romantic and quintessentially english country garden styling.

English wedding ceremony

Rachael and Godwin got married in the wooden pagoda on ‘The Green’ in front of the beautiful old Farmhouse at Worton Hall. Oxfordshire’s registrars undertook the traditionally English ceremony whilst the guests baked in the lovely hot sunshine.

It didn’t take long after the ceremony before the champagne was flowing. Everyone enjoyed fizz on the lawns before throwing epic amounts of fresh lavender confetti over the bride and groom.

afternoon tea

Later, everyone headed into the main hall for a traditional cream tea. The English buffet-style afternoon tea was delicious, especially the freshly baked scones.

african traditions

Speeches were dotted throughout the afternoon. And in line with African tradition lots of friends and family members had the opportunity to stand up and speak.

And then after a quick outfit change for the bride and groom, they were walked back into the main hall by African dancers singing traditional African folk songs. The dance show was just epic.

An African Feast was then served with an out of this world peanut butter spinach dish.

dance the night away

The dancers came back and rocked the party again after everyone had finished their traditional African feast. Guests were given shots as favours and flip flops to wear to dance the night away.

Dancing, mischief, one hell of a fight over the bride’s bouquet and loads more dancing to end the night. What an incredible day.

Plus loads of other fabulous but low key suppliers who don’t have website links.

wonderful wedding wares

Inspiration: coral and gold festival wedding

by Hanami Dream | 17, January, 2019 | blog, inspiration

A laid back celebration in August 2016 saw the relaxed festival wedding of Verity and Paul at The Isis Farmhouse in Oxford.

Relaxed and laid back vibe

This wedding was a real break from tradition with loads of beautiful handmade touches and a ton of personalisation. It fully embraced the festival trend and utilised the truly creative skills of the bride to diy many elements of the day. It seems like the perfect time to share this casual wedding – not only is the theme bang on trend but it also features the summery coral colour that is the Pantone® colour of the year in 2019.

Above everything else, this was a true celebration of love and family. It was a chilled out day with friends, less about structure and more an informal and fluid affair. Not overtly lavish but heaps of fun. With the focus on the people who were there.

Rural remote meadow view

The festivities began in the centre of Oxford where the happy couple officially tied the knot at a ceremony at the Town Hall. This was a day of two halves though. From town to countryside. After the ceremony, the whole wedding party walked together through the city centre. Then had a lovely drinks reception whilst on a boat ride down the Thames to the Isis Farmhouse. A stunning rural setting in Oxford’s flood meadows alongside the river was perfect for the wedding reception. You can only reach this venue by foot, pedal power or by boat. Around the back of the Farmhouse is a covered barn and a meadowside garden which was great for this relaxed celebration.

Rustic festival décor

The barn was set up with long trestle tables laid out in two lines. Along the centre of each table was linen, which draped off each end, with an array of brightly patterned mismatched vases containing wild flowers. The displays were mirrored by the flowers and plants hanging in macramé holders (made or collected by the bride) above the tables. These flowers were provided by a lovely friend who grows cut flowers in her garden and were arranged by the bride.

The bride made the place names which were cut out gold glittery lettering, plus a nice ice breaker card containing things to spot and capture was placed on each table. In addition, the bride had designed the napkins herself which contained drawings of important places and things throughout the couple’s history together.

Gold accents

The bride wore a gorgeous end of line strapless fitted fishtail satin dress with a chiffon capelet with bat sleeves. She accented this with Betty Ballroom gold high heel shoes, a gold hair vine and gold belt. Her hand tied wild flower bouquet in coral and gold colours was from an amazing flower farm near Wallingford who arranged the bridal and bridesmaids’ bouquets. She also held a vintage beaded ivory clutch bag. The chief bridesmaid wore a gold sequined dress to match the gold accents beautifully and the flower girls wore ivory dresses with gold bodices and ribbons (also made by the bride).

Creative catering

Food was served at the tables and consisted of a hearty lasagne or moussaka with healthy salads, plus a rustic buffet for the evening guests. The venue catered perfectly for vegetarian and vegan diets to ensure all guests were content. The two cakes (one lemon and the other chocolate) were also made by the venue and incorporated fantasy and action figures in lieu of a bride and groom topper (that the couple decorated themselves).

Entertainment for children of all sizes

The main focus of the day was to encourage guests to mingle and keep children (big and small) entertained with colouring, wands and a bubble refill station. There were postcards for guests to sign which would be sent to the couple and polaroids were taken of all the guests for a pictorial guest book. The day ended with guests dancing along to crowd pleasing classics on the dance floor.

Practical favours

The gifts for guests echoed the vibe of the whole day. They were handmade, low key and had purpose. Guests could pick which soap to take home, with a choice of either lavender or rose and geranium. These were boxed, branded and served in a vintage case. Plus there were some seeds to take away too, in order to sow in your own garden, share the love and remember this charming day in years to come.