The couple dreamed of a wedding day that was filled with family, presented a space that could be individualised and made provisions for both good and bad weather.
"We looked at several venues but when we visited Huntsham Court on a cold, wet and windy day, we fell in love with it." Tamara and Peter's desire to stay for the entire weekend with friends and family was catered for, plus Huntsham's child-friendliness "was perfect because we wanted the day to be as much about the children as us", she says.
Selecting a palette of gold and blush to reflect their summer styling, the event assumed a garden party theme with outdoor games and a picnic, along with beautiful details including the bridesmaids' gorgeous astilbe bouquets.
Champagne on the lawn kick-started the post-ceremony celebrations, with an atmospheric string quartet providing the perfectly pitched soundtrack. Garden games including a coconut shy, croquet, strongman, swing ball and m�lkky kept guests both old and young entertained ahead of the sumptuous sprawling picnic.
Large hampers stuffed with local goodies allowed guests to pick their own seating and freely tuck into the array of delights including roasted ham, peppered pastrami, home-smoked chicken, vegetable antipasti, Westcountry brie, Quicke's cheddar, baba ganoush, a selection of farmhouse breads and organic leaf salad.
"As we didn't want a table plan, it made having the meal very social as everyone made conversation passing around the food," comments Tamara.
The speeches in the Great Hall were followed by tea and cake, with the evening party comprising a crowd-pleasing mix of entertainment courtesy of a DJ set, photo booth and hearty barbecue.
"With all the planning involved, I was so pleased that on the day I felt so relaxed and really got to enjoy every moment - which is quite hard when you are used to being an events planner!" laughs Tamara during a moment of reflection.
Fusing professional experience with personal insight, her tips for other couples highlight the importance of creative collaboration and personal input.
"Send a message to all your friends to discover any hidden talents that could help you for the big day," she suggests. "We had an amazing friend make our wedding cake and another kindly wrote out all the signage."
"If table plans are becoming too difficult, let everyone choose where they sit - it makes for great conversation and making new friends.
"Have children's activities. We made a special table for all the children to share and each one had a mini suitcase with colouring wedding packs, cameras, bubbles and pencils. It was a big hit with the kids." She adds: "And have your children do your first dance if you don't want to be the centre of attention!"
Photography Helen Lisk helenliskphotography.co.uk
Venue Huntsham Court huntshamcourt.co.uk
Dress Maggie Sottero from Pirouette pirouettethecollection.com
Bridesmaids' dresses Monsoon monsoon.co.uk Coast coast-stores.com
Groom's outfit Ted Baker tedbaker.com
Hair Holly Dickinson
Make-up Genevieve Satha genevievesatha.co.uk
Flowers Earth Gallery Flowers earthgalleryflowers.com
Catering Peter Mundy Catering Services petermundycatering.co.uk
Garden furniture and games Virginias Vintage Hire virginiasvintagehire.co.uk
The Prop Factory thepropfactory.co.uk
Entertainment Exe Valley String Quartet exevalleystringquartet.co.uk
DJ Simon from Live Events Group liveeventsgroup.co.uk
Photo booth The Remarkable Photo Booth Co. remarkablephoto.co
Copyright Wed magazine 2017
.JPG)
