Magical Forest Wedding In Upthorpe Wood

 

How did you first meet and then get engaged?

Admittedly, we met on Bumble (Ivy made the first move). It was the beginning of COVID-19, still in the first UK lockdown. We would text and FaceTime as much as we could, and at our first opportunity, we had our first date at the zoo (because that is all we could do outside as all restaurants were still closed – I will add it was raining!). That was on the 16th of July 2020. We said “I love you” on the 10th of August, and we were engaged on November the 17th of the same year, exactly 4 months and 1 day after our first date. We really did just know! The proposal itself wasn’t planned. Chris cooked Ivy a little dinner in her uni accommodation, and the proposal just organically came to be on the kitchen floor – Chris gave me a ring he had worn every day since he was 16 as an engagement ring place holder until a month later when he took me back to Southwold beach, where we first said “I love you”, and presented me with the most stunning uncut diamond ring. 

 

The Wedding Dress Journey

What kind of dress were you originally looking for?

I had had what I thought was my dream wedding dress on my Pinterest board before I even met Chris… However, when I got the chance to try it on, it simply wasn’t right. I thought I wanted something a little more close-fitting, with bohemian French lace and long sleeves. But then I stumbled across Indie Bride London…  

What made Indie Bride London stand out from the other wedding dress suppliers you were considering, and why did you ultimately choose us?

The first thing that struck me about Indie Bride London was the dress designs – after my dream dress didn’t work out, I became so stuck with what I wanted. I just couldn’t find any other dresses that truly captured the look, feel, and spirit that I was after, but scrolling through the Indie Bride website was like looking through my own mind! And then I discovered the amount of emphasis Miina puts on environmentally friendly practices, and I honestly could have cried right there – Indie Bride filled all of my aesthetic and environmental dreams. “Pixie” was the first dress of Miina’s that I tried on, and I just gasped. I knew the second I put it on. I have never been the most confident person, so I didn’t really think that I would have that properly breathtaking “this is the one” moment. But I did! The feeling was exactly the same feeling as falling in love with Chris; yes, I was excited and had butterflies, but the overriding feeling was one of coming home. The dress already felt like mine. And then came the coloured veil – it was just meant to be! 

My biggest worry that Indie Bride London helped alleviate was…

My biggest worry was not being comfortable throughout the day, and that fact ultimately taking away from me being as present as possible on my wedding day. But every single dress I tried on was the most comfortable thing I think I've ever worn. Finding that balance of style and comfort wasn’t something I thought I would find within a wedding dress, but Indie Bride solved that issue with absolutely no compromise.

 

The Wedding

Tell us about your bridal look

I always knew I wanted to be barefoot for as much of the day as possible and that flowers and crystals in my hair were nonnegotiable – I had my hairstylist Ash and florist Sorcha, who did the most incredible job with my hair and hair flowers. Ash and I had the most simple exchange on the Saturday morning – “abundance?” “Abundance!” And that was how she came up with my hair design! The bouquet that Sorcha made for me was simply stunning – we went for a ‘classy rainbow’ of colour, including plenty of poppies (my favourites) and sunflowers (Chris’ favourites) with long ribbons that held it together. I made most of my jewellery, with anklets, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and my crystal hairpins making up my look. My gorgeous auntie and friend Pepa put more flowers in my Docs for when I wanted to put some shoes on post-ceremony, and I used some of the cord I had made our handfasting cord out of into shoelaces. I did my own makeup, which allowed me to wear as much glitter as humanly possible (I have a sparkly soul – I swear!), before my entire trial posse and I dosed ourselves in gallons of glittery hairspray! My final accessory was a bright red embroidered robe that I wore in the evening with a crystal crown to keep me warm and make me feel truly ready to boogie. 

Why did you choose Upthorpe Wood as your wedding venue?

I am pagan, so an outdoor, spiritual ceremony really connected to nature was incredibly important to me. We stumbled across our venue, Upthorpe Wood in Suffolk, when we were researching and couldn’t imagine a more perfect place for our wedding. The owners, Sarah and Alan, instantly put us at ease and truly made us feel like part of their family. Their own wedding was the first wedding they hosted as a venue, so they knew exactly how we felt and made the whole process such a breeze. They offer a two-day package, which was exactly what we were after, so we could have our legal and handfasting ceremonies on different days, with multiple areas throughout the venue being available for our two ceremonies and then our wedding breakfast and dances! 

What entertainment and food did you choose for your wedding?

Our fantastic caterers created the most beautiful grazing tables for our wedding breakfast that not only looked incredible and blended with our venue perfectly but also tasted utterly delicious! For our evening food, we had Chris’ favourite food, pizza, which was the perfect way to end our days. For entertainment, we wanted something to keep our guests mingling, as not everyone knew each other. I made a personalised “guest bingo” game on everyone’s place setting, which got everyone chatting! We also wanted to do something a little different for our guest book. I work as an art curator, so art is extremely important to me – instead of a traditional book, we had a canvas that all our guests painted, and we now have that hung up in our home as a constant reminder of our day and all our loved ones! 

Was there anything that went wrong on your wedding day, and how did you deal with it?

The only thing that went slightly awry on our day was our wedding playlist. We prepped a playlist that was perfectly the right length with all our favourite songs; however, we had a little tech issue, which meant that this didn’t quite go to plan – but that really wasn’t that dramatic! We knew that something was bound to go slightly off-plan throughout the day, so when it did, we simply went with the flow. Ultimately, nothing would or could ever ruin our day! 

Apart from saying yes to your husband, what was your favourite moment on your wedding day?

This is a difficult one. Our first most memorable moment was Ivy's twin brother James, who was also Chris’ best man, surprising us with a personal second dance. Ivy’s favourite musical artist is Megan Dixon Hood, and James had secretly asked her if she might record us a version of the song ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ by The Script, which we listened to the night we got engaged. We danced to this away from all our guests, tucked away in the woods. It was such a perfect, intimate, grounding moment right in the middle of the day that made us slow down and appreciate the moment. We will remember it for the rest of our lives – I truly cannot recommend a second dance enough. 

Our second most memorable moment was our last dance. Instead of a slow and romantic last dance, we chose to belt ‘Patricia The Stripper’ by Chris de Burgh at the top of our lungs. Utter perfection.  

What advice would you give to brides who are still planning their wedding?

Enjoy every bit of it! Planning a wedding is so unbelievably stressful – but try to enjoy that stress! I know it’s what everyone says, but it really does just go so quickly but this is the only time you’ll ever just be each other's fiancé, the only time you’ll plan your wedding; relish in it! 

But most importantly, the day is yours. It is about your story, your love, your life together. Never leave each other’s side on the day. The only thing that truly matters is that you love each other and that you have an entire day that is dedicated solely to that love; how beautiful is that?! I know it may seem like the world, but if the wrong songs play, or if the decorations are on the wrong table, or if someone forgets something, ultimately none of that matters. They will not be the things you cling to when you are old and wrinkly. 

 

- Ivy and Chris -

 

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