Meeting at work through a charity event, Charlie and David’s connection was clear from the outset. A few years later and a sunny spring walk on Dartmoor led them to ‘Yes Tor’ – which should have been Charlie’s first clue of what David had planned!
“As Yes Tor is one of the highest points on the moor, you can see for miles in every direction. We had lived in Cornwall and Devon during our time together and were just about to move to Somerset,” says Charlie. “It was perfect; we could see where we had come from, where we were and where our future was, all at once.”
Bright colours and sustainability were the keynotes of their River Cottage wedding. “One of the reasons we chose River Cottage was because of their ethos around food: organically grown, celebrating local and seasonal produce, and they happily catered for vegetarian menus,” explains Charlie
In keeping with the sustainable ethos of the day, guests were asked to wear something they already owned or would wear again, and décor was kept to a minimum. “For favours, we bought plain cardboard matchboxes, stamped them with our initials and filled them with native wildflower seed bombs, so everyone could spread a bit of colour and give native wildlife a home,” says Charlie, who made the seating plan and order of the day from old picture frames. “We crocheted and knitted bunting out of colourful wool with help from our families, and we picked and dried all our confetti from flowers in our garden.”
With both Charlie and David dressed in brilliantly colourful attire, the ceremony took place in the vegetable garden. “It was amazing to get married outside with flowers and nature all around,” she reflects. “We were visited by a little hoverfly, who loved our floral outfits and kept landing on us, and a robin sung along as we said our vows.”
This was followed by canapés, cocktails, games – including welly wanging and a vegetable shy – and a novel painting idea. “Emma from Make Your Mark Events created a landscape of one of the beaches in Cornwall where we always used to walk the dog, for guests to colour in.”
The “sublime” vegetarian feast included a trio of beetroot, seasonal squash gnocchi and ‘diddy Dutch pancakes’ with mascarpone and raspberries and, as night fell, guests tucked into wood-fired pizzas topped with seasonal vegetables. “We asked River Cottage to make us a pizza to cut instead of a cake. They covered it in petals, which was an ingenious touch,” says Charlie.
“For our first dance, we danced and sang to The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room) by Flight of the Conchords. We thought people would join us after the first chorus but they were having too much fun watching us be silly!” Live band Pop the Top kept everyone dancing until the very end of the night, leaving the newlyweds to reflect on their day. “The whole day was everything we could have asked for and more!” says Charlie. “Fun, chilled, outdoorsy and colourful, with incredible food and all our favourite people.”
As an endnote, she has a top tip for nearlyweds who are on the hunt for the perfect location. “Choose a venue with an on-site coordinator if you can,” she says. “This was advice we were given to us by friends who’d just got married and proved invaluable!”
Photography Harriet Bird Photography harrietbirdphotography.com
Venue River Cottage rivercottage.net
Engagement ring Amy Jennifer Jewellery amyjenniferjewellery.com
Bride’s outfit jumpsuit Ted Baker tedbaker.com hoodie Dedicated dedicatedbrand.com shoes Vans vans.co.uk
Adjustments DB Sewing dbsewing.co.uk
Groom’s outfit shirt Neem London neemlondon.com jacket Brook Tavener brooktaverner.co.uk chinos Asket asket.com boots SoloVair uk.nps-solovair.com
Hair Bridal Hair by Rosanne bridalhairbyrosanne.co.uk
Make-up Laura Le Page Bridal Makeup lauralepagebridalmakeup.com
Flowers Bracken & Bloom brackenandbloom.co.uk
Rings Mirri Damer mirridamer.com
Stationery With Joy withjoy.com
Sarah Edmunds Illustration sarahedmondsshop.com
Entertainment Pop the Top popthetop.co.uk
Painting Make Your Mark Events makeyourmarkevents.co.uk
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