Held as a two-day celebration, Felicity and Sam were inspired by music festivals for their wedding at Felicity’s family home on a farm near Martinborough.

Why did you get married at the family home?It’s such a beautiful setting. And there was something very special about walking out and down the aisle from my childhood bedroom. It also gave us the freedom to create what we wanted.

Why did you choose the festival theme?We lived in the UK for four years and loved going to music festivals there – we wanted to create the fun atmosphere of a music festival for our wedding. Many of our guests were travelling to the wedding from all over the world, and we wanted them to have the best experience.

What were the challenges?Sam and I were living in the UK until two months before the wedding, so many things were organised long distance. I bought my dress in London, but we had to book things like the tepees a year in advance. Every week we set aside time to focus on wedding planning… we called it ‘wed-min’.

How much needed to be done at home? My parents (Philippa and Michael) worked on their garden and outside area for months beforehand. There was a large pit in front of the tepees that my mother transformed into a garden of bright wildflowers. Planting had to be well-timed to be in bloom for the wedding.

What other special touches were there? Dad made a wedding arch out of an old white birch, and also a little wedding tree for guests to tie their wedding wishes. We set up a table with framed photos of our parents and grandparents on their wedding day. The separate whiskey and gin tent included a cocktail menu propped up by an old typewriter. We collected or hired props to fit the festival theme using old rugs, hay bales for seating and lots of fairy lights. We used olive branches, brass candlesticks and gold netting to decorate the tables which were named after different festivals we had attended. We had two music stages – the Main Stage for our band– Superbad Soul Section, and some friends did DJ sets after they had finished at the Chapel Stage.

What about the food? Nick Arnold Catering worked from a catering tent for the whole weekend. They even packed away the dishes and washed them off-site. We chose to have a ‘cheese cake’ a wedding cake made of different cheeses and crackers, plus chocolate brownies instead of wedding cake or dessert. And after the speeches, we served espresso martinis that helped get everyone up on the dance floor.

What were the highlights? It really was the best two days of my life – there were so many highlights and I was overwhelmed with emotion. I just loved seeing all or friends and family at my family home, dancing under the stars in a paddock in the magical festival world that we had created.

Top Tips

It definitely helps to have a wedding planner. Shelley Mason of Festival Hire kept everything on track on the day.
Put everything on a spreadsheet to keep track of budget and planning.