Wedfest

Nick and Abi had a beautifully bohemian tipi wedding at Pennard Hill Farm.

Nick and Abi Guy first met at Bournemouth University, where they were both part of the rowing team. “We had so much in common, and we were both really sporty,” explains the bride. Fast-forward seven years, and Nick was planning on taking their relationship to the next level. “We were going for a nice meal in London for Nick's birthday, and he planned on popping the question there,” the bride tells us. “Unfortunately, I came down with food poisoning so we had to cancel.” Not to be perturbed, Nick cooked Abi a delicious breakfast the weekend after and proposed to her then. “It was a total surprise,” Abi recalls. “Especially as I was still in my dressing gown, having just got out of the shower!” The couple soon set the date for 15th July, 2017. Here the bride tells us all about their perfect wedding…

We're huge Glastonbur y fans and go ever y year. Although we no longer live in Somerset, we knew we couldn't have our dream wedding anywhere else. Pennard Hill Farm was per fect for us; we celebrated in a beautiful tipi and our guests could camp. Our parents and grandparents stayed in the on-site cottages.

We tied the knot at St Peter & St Paul's Church in Charlton Adam, a quaint building in the Somerset countryside. It was where my grandparents tied the knot 50 years ago, so we loved building on that family history.

We had signs and pallets to help people navigate and let them know the order of the day. There was bunting, fairylights and lanterns everywhere to tie in with our theme, and in the evening, we had hay bales set around a firepit.

We had a picnic-style meal on long trestle tables. Each table was named after a stage at Glastonbury Festival, and our place names were miniature bottles of champagne with labels handwritten by my grandfather.

Nick's 15-year-old cousin did a brilliant job making our cake and decorating it with the help of her sisters. There was a slight panic when their car broke down on the way from Cambridge, so the creation had to come down by train.

My dress was by British designer Charlie Brear. It was an elegant silk style with a delicate lace overlay and a small sparkly belt. I teamed this with a chapel-length veil for the ceremony. My mum leant me a small blue beaded bracelet that she wore on her wedding day.

The boys wore deep-blue Ted Baker suits with coral accessories, while my bride squad wore sequinned grey dresses. We ordered 20 different bridesmaid styles, and I rented an Airbnb so we could get together to try them all on and choose the favourites.

During the da y, we ke pt our family and friends enter tained with garden games and a singer. In the evening, we had a brilliant band followed by a DJ for the late-night ravers!

We chose a festival theme to run throughout the day, and our colour palette was inspired by wild flowers. Blue, purple, green and white blooms filled the tipi and really brought it to life.

My bridesmaid got out a bottle of Jägermeister and went along the top table giving ever yone a shot. Even my 101-year-old great-grandfather had one!

As lots of our guests camped overnight, we fired up barbecues the next morning and fea sted on bacon and sausage rolls while reminiscing about the day before. We were so touched by how much our loved ones helped us out – it was a real family event.

Our photographer felt like one of the guests; he blended in and really captured the feel of the day. He even let one of our friends borrow his camera to snap some brilliant action shots.

We didn't want presents, but a lot of our guests couldn' t believe we didn't have a gift list. Instead, we wrote a bucket list of things we wanted to do, su ch as meals out or spor ting events, which people then contributed to.

We were so busy setting up the tipis the day before that neither of us had time to get anxious. It wasn't until the church bells started ringing that the nerves set in. Nick's legs were shaking when I reached him at the end of the aisle. After the ceremony, any worries evaporated. We loved our first dance together and then sitting down and watching the par ty unfold.