Wedding at Shute House

Allison and Chris first met in Milwaukee while Chris was on a six-month work assignment and they serendipitously found themselves on a night out in the same venue. "Our friends conspired and encouraged me to go talk to Chris, which I willingly did," remembers Allison. "He was only meant to be in the States for a few more months after we met, but we quickly fell pretty hard for each other!"

Having initially lived together in Wisconsin, the pair travelled across the Atlantic for their wedding in South Devon before recently making the move permanent in order to commence married life together.



A day stacked with special memories saw the couple wed in an outdoor humanist ceremony in the courtyard of Shute House, where Chris's family own a home. "Chris has a lot of fond childhood memories of time spent there and it was one of the first places we went to on my first visit to England," comments Allison.



The idyllic rural setting saw an English countryside aesthetic develop, featuring an eclectic mix of rustic furniture, seasonal flowers and bunting. "We tried to keep it simple but fun. It was definitely a group effort putting it all together," says Allison. "Chris's aunt made cordial, his cousin made our cupcakes, his cousin's wife loaned us items for decor, and the live music for the ceremony was played by family, which was probably one of my favourite touches of the day."



Pimm's, local ales and canapes including mini Yorkshire puddings, spiced rissoles and homity pies welcomed guests ahead of the huge buffet style hog roast. "Instead of the cake cutting, we had a pi�ata and ice cream outside the marquee - it is so great to look back at the photos and see the reaction on everyone's faces!" says Allison of another treasured highlight from the day.



"There was also a moment where Chris and I ran back to the house for photos and afterwards we were able to look out of the window onto the communal garden and hear the music going. It was nice to have that moment together to soak it all in," she adds.







Allison compels other couples to do the same. "Make sure you take a moment to pause and take it all in. And don't be afraid to enlist the help of others - or try not to make impulsive decisions or let other's opinions overwhelm you," she says. "Mostly, relax and enjoy it - you spend so much time and effort in the moments leading up to your wedding, it's important to be mindful on the day to really absorb it all."

Photography My Fabulous Life
Venue Shute House
Marquee Southwest Marquees www.southwestmarquees.co.uk
Furniture Virginia's Vintage Hire www.virginiasvintagehire.co.uk 
Dress Aria at Miss Ruby www.missrubyboutique.com 
Bridesmaids' dresses J. Crew www.jcrew.com 
Grooms outfit Suit Supply www.suitsupply.com 
Flowers Cottage Flowers www.cottageflowersandmore.co.uk 
Lavender Winter Flora www.winterfora.com 
Petal confetti Forage For www.foragefor.co.uk 
Hog roast Astridges www.astridges.co.uk 
Ice cream Otter Valley Dairy www.ottervalleydairy.co.uk 
Drinks Cider Pig www.ciderpig.co.uk 
DJ Graeme from Wedding Jam www.weddingjam.co.uk 































Copyright Wed magazine 2016