Sustainable Festival Wedding in the Woods

Ikonworks

October 10, 2015

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Jo and Jonathan were married in June at Wise Wedding Venue in Kent. They wanted an outdoor ceremony, and a laid back reception so a festival themed day it was!

“We set out and pretty much achieved our dream of a sustainable wedding themed around our love of Glastonbury Festival, New Orleans, music and movies”, said the bride. “We ensured everything was either second hand, locally sourced or would be used again. A lot of our guests camped to really keep that festival vibe alive and save on travel through the weekend.”

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The bride’s outfit was comprised of a navy blue tulle skirt which she bought on Etsy and a top from Brighton Lace. The couple had a very unique idea for their rings too. “We always wanted to make our wedding rings together and we came up with the idea of finding metal which was special to us”, Jo said. “We took a long shot and wrote to Michael & Emily Eavis at Worthy Farm to politely ask if we could have some metal from the farm site to put in our rings to tap into that special feeling that runs through the ground in Glastonbury. To our amazement (and eternal gratitude) we were given a chunk from the old Pyramid Stage. We then struggled for months to find a jeweller who would work with the metal and luckily found Shelley Thomas at the Forge at London Museum of Steam & Water, who not only wanted to work with us but allowed us to create bespoke silver rings ourselves with the nuggets of Pyramid metal inside. So we now have a bit of the Glastonbury Festival, which has been such a massive part of our relationship, inside the rings we crafted together. Following our wedding day, we went straight to the festival this year and had an incredible honeymoon in the fields of Avalon!
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“Other DIY included the garlands made out of an old Moroccan rug which was falling apart. We also made origami decorations and the table plan out of old 7” records which were no longer playable. Friends and family helped us collect 150 jam jars which we used to hold wedding favours and as candle holders, and one of our bridesmaids made garlands from old theatre scripts. We made table decorations out of our favourite vinyl sleeves embedded in sustainably-sourced firewood which was later used for a campfire. The vinyl sleeves are fine and being re-used to hold our favourite records again. Everything we used was created from something that already existed and needed a new purpose (i.e a tired old rug), not only making it budget friendly but keeping the whole day sustainable.”

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After a legal ceremony a few days before, the couple wanted a second ceremony on the day which was held in the woods. “Two of our closest friends married us in the most personal, funny, emotional and beautiful way which let us make the commitment we always wanted to make to each other. The ceremony was the best part of the day. That feeling when we first saw each other at the back of the clearing, then walking down the aisle together where all our friends and family cheered and welcomed us was so wonderful. Our Mums read our favourite passages, our Dads tied a fisherman’s knot together for us which we will keep forever. Another friend helped us make our promises, our niece and nephew were the flower-kids.”

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“While we managed to save on nearly everything else, our big expense was the venue”, she continued. “We saw a number of outside spaces but Wise was the perfect place and we knew instantly it was where we wanted to be married. We even viewed it in the pouring rain on a cold day and you could still get the sense of what a magical place it is. They were amazingly relaxed and accommodating to all of our sustainable needs and we were so lucky to have someone who was on top of everything on the day with no fuss at all.”

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“We know that a lot of wedding material is focused on the bride and the tradition of one person doing the lion’s share of organising”, Jo concluded. “We approached our wedding day together from the very start and are lucky enough to have the same dream, same desires and same ideas. Rock n Roll Bride was as much an inspiration for Jonathan as it was for Jo and it although every couple is different, there will always be aspects of the day which you can work on together and make that process fun! There is nothing better than seeing something you’ve worked on so hard as a couple come to life with both your families, all your friends and all your shared dreams becoming real in front of you. Some decisions may take a little longer but if you can work together you’ll end up with a really special day.”

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