Boho Tipi Wedding with Alpacas, Hook a Duck and an Outdoor Ceremony

A boho tipi wedding, with hay bales, hook a duck, and alpacas, in Wiltshire.

I met Katie and Josh for a Planning Power Hour before they booked me for their wedding, and we talked through their dream scenario for their vision of a fun summer tipi wedding. I was upfront about how much work is involved in a dry hire wedding (i.e., where you have to piece together and hire everything separately yourself, from the furniture to the food to the booze to the ice and even bottle openers), but I assured them if executed in a prepared manner, then it would be amazing and so worth it!! I gave them next steps, some tipi tips, and some guidance on what sort of suppliers would work well for the sort of day they imagined.

Once they had figured a few things out, namely the tipi hire company, the actual location, and the food, we got to work on planning and coordinating their day. As with most dry hire weddings, (thankfully) they had lots of able and willing family and friends who helped, donated, or made a lot of their wedding for them.

Katie and Josh got married legally earlier in the week in a private ceremony close by, and then had a day or two to chill out before the big day. Once the tipi was erected, they were there the day before setting everything up with family and friends, from the furniture right down to the bunting, the hay bales, and ensured everything else was neatly in position. Luckily, we were in the middle of a heatwave so we had no worries about the weather, just some small final prep to do on the day, including the fun garden games, the flowers, and the cake.

Katie walked out from the back of the tipi to the front, where the ceremony area was laid out. She met her groom traditionally at the end of the aisle and their ceremony started. The couple had written their own vows, which made the ceremony that bit more special and emotive – although it also helped that Katie and Josh are both actors! So they were not shy and seemed to really enjoy this part!

After the couple disappeared up the aisle, I promptly fetched them a drink while they took a breath together. Meanwhile, I organise a long confetti aisle by the side of the tipi for the couple to reappear through – with the magical backdrop of the tipi and the sunshine!

Fun party food was circulated while the groom’s surprise VIP guests arrived for the couple photos – a set of adorable alpacas! Josh had been organising this behind the scenes for a few months as a surprise for Katie, and the guests loved them! (Although one of them was a little spooked by Katie’s big white dress….!) After carefully coordinating their entrance to sneak up on Katie (quite hard as where do you hide in the middle of a field…?!) the alpacas joined us for the drinks reception and couple photos, then left just before we did a big group shot pre wedding breakfast. Guests were seated for dinner, then the speeches commenced. There was a few to get through, but the highlight was the bride rapping her speech, and the couple singing some few words jointly and saying thank yous, to the tune of ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ by Billy Joel! It was spectacular! The couple really showed their talents…!! The crowd went wild!! (See the video on Insta,here!!)

In keeping with their fun summer vibe, the couple opted for picnic hampers for guests to share for the wedding breakfast, which worked wonderfully with their day, and served their wedding cake as dessert. As the evening went on and more fun and alcohol ensued, a dessert station was made up (additionally) outside while the bridesmaids and groomsmen helped turn the tipi into a dancefloor. A brass band kicked off the party, and luckily, they were able to make as much noise as they wanted as they had their own spot on private land in a tiny village. It was idyllic and the perfect punchy party to get everyone on the dancefloor!

The day was quite DIY from the couple’s perspective, but you would never know as they had such a professional team behind them on the day itself, making it all run smoothly and ensuring guests were comfortable; from all the friends and family chipping in at the right time, the catering team, some amazing waitresses (who did everything from serving drinks, to fetching water pails, to preparing the ice, to serving all the food, tidying up, preparing bin bags… and just generally keeping all the guests fed, watered, and happy!), to having a pro coordinator (💁🏼️) and an expert photographer. 😊 (I know and work with Chloe quite a lot, and we work great together as a team and have an amazing synergy together. 😊)

It was such a fun day that encapsulated the couple’s fun loving personalities perfectly, and everything went without a hitch… apart from some mild sunburn! (Despite Katie preparing the luxury loos with lots of toiletries, including sun cream!)

Wedding Coordination by Devine Bride.

“We highly recommend you hire Laura. Do it. Do it. Do it. We had felt a little lost with what to do and where to go with our wedding and really only had a shell of an idea. Laura helped sculpt and mould our vision for our wedding and gave us the confidence to go fourth and execute our idea. After our meeting with Laura, we knew that we wanted her to be our On the Day Coordinator for our big day. Our wedding was a dry hire wedding so we knew that having someone to manage our day was incredibly important. Laura was fantastic! Her organisation before and on the day of our wedding was amazing. We felt that our wedding was just as important and special to her as it was to us. There was such an honesty and care for us which meant we could just relax and let Laura take the reins. For that we cannot thank her enough.”

Photos kindly from Chloe Lee Photography.

CONTACTS AND SUPPLIERS

Wedding Coordinator: @devinebride 💁🏼‍♀️
Venue: Teffont Evias Estate
Tipi: Oak Leaf Marquees
Celebrant: Wiltshire Registry Office
Caterer: Platter and Slate
Hospitality Staff: Jenny and Ellie
Photographer: Chloe Lee Photography
Florist: Orchard Oast Flowers
Musician: Thomas Parrish
Games: Georgie Butt (friend)
Alpacas: Alpaca Adventure
Cake: Kneady Bakery
Band: Brass Junkies
Bar: The Cotswold Bar Co
Sweet Cart : William Marsh