Zoe & Ben

An Ecologist want's to get married where? Outside of course! Zoe, our outdoor loving, Ecologist Bride, had always dreamed of getting married outside, surrounded by nature in all its glory.  Ever After, The Dartmoor Wedding Venue, Devon was to become the perfect venue! With its stunning Orchard for a Humanist Ceremony, beautiful buildings for a wet weather plan and the most helpful staff and owners.  As perfect as this wedding looks and was, the road leading up to it was rather bumpy. First losing their original florist, then six weeks before the big day they lost their photographer! GASP!!!! Can you imagine? They did strike gold though when by chance Moon Gazey Hare was available to step in and couldn't have captured a prettier day. There are some brave colours popping out in this Tropical wedding that work so well with the couples theme. Reds, burnt oranges and deep rich purples are pure joy. 

The Theme

Lords or The Rings, Nature Loving, Tropical,  Humanist, Personal.

Bride's Fashion, Custom Enzoani Gown.

Zoe the Bride:  wore a custom gown by Enzoani. The gown was originally strapless and with a higher back, but Zoe had always wanted a low back to her gown. As such, she had the back lowered, and a pair of simple, thin straps added to compensate. The simplicity of the dress was paired with a more elaborate lace veil, full-length and also by Enzoani. Rather than elaborate wedding Jewellery, Zoe chose to wear a meaningful amber necklace, which was the first piece of Jewellery Ben bought her, paired with matching amber earrings. Ben wore a tailored 2-piece suit by Hugo Boss, paired with a custom tweed waistcoat, and walnut brogues by Loake. Always a fan of Paisley ties, Ben wore a tropical orange number, representing one of the primary colours of the day’s colour scheme.

Venue, Ever After, The Dartmoor Wedding Venue, Devon.

We searched long and hard for the perfect wedding venue, determined to find a setting that would leave us as connected to nature and the outside as possible. When we found Ever After, it was simply perfect. The secluded setting amongst Dartmoor forestry gave the venue unmatched privacy, and as soon you step foot onto the venue, it feels as if another world has been entered. Given the summer date for the wedding, and nature of Ever After's stunning outdoor areas, Zoe had her heart set on accenting the natural beauty of the venue with tropical colours. Deep purple, tropical orange and raspberry red were chosen as the primary colour scheme and were implemented across the wedding. The bridesmaids wore deep purple dresses, whilst the groomsmen wore tropical orange paisley ties and purple button-holes.

Tropical Theme, Orange and Deep Purple Flowers by Amanda Randall.

Bouquets also reflected these colours, with the raspberry red being used as an accent colour. Amanda Randell’s stunning floral work was a key part of the day. The vivid purple, orange and red design brief was implemented brilliantly. Striking flowers, including strelizia grown in South Africa, were incorporated to create the bold and colourful bouquets, as well as the centre-pieces. To top it off, Amanda created a floral chandelier which hung proudly in the marquee, brimming with lush foliage and bringing a tropical feeling to the wedding breakfast.

An Outdoor Humanist Ceremony.

We had our hearts set on being married outdoors, and so held the ceremony in a secluded area of Ever After, overlooking the forest, and where the flow of the stream could be clearly heard. Sarah Chapman conducted a wonderful humanist ceremony, including hand-fasting and a flower ceremony, giving an opportunity for guests to get involved in the ceremony by placing flowers in a vase, symbolising the union of the two families. After the completion of the ceremony, guests were guided away for canapés and drinks, whilst we slipped into the licensed barn area of the venue to fulfil their legal obligations with a waiting registrar, and a few witnesses. For entertainment, we kept it simple, having a live band in the evening. Ever After itself is such a wonderful venue, with nooks and crannies for guests to explore, so we didn’t want guests to feel tethered to one specific area with formal entertainment during the evening. Plus Ever After scattered around plenty of fun things for guests to get stuck into should they please, such as giant Jenga!

In House Catering by Ever After, The Dartmoor Wedding Venue.

Fortunately for us, Ever After work exclusively with their own caterers, so the effort of finding topnotch food was already done! We were presented with numerous options, all fantastic, but went with a traditional format of canapés followed by a sit-down 3-course wedding breakfast. We tried to cover all bases with our food, so canapés ranged from vegetarian tarts to miniature sausages lined with mustard mash, whilst our wedding breakfast took in a creamy chicken liver pate, slow-cooked beef tips, topped off with a trio of desserts with something for everyone, including chocolate mousse and a passionfruit tart.

Four Tier Wedding Cake.

For our cake, we hired the incredible Edible Essence, who provided a four-tier cake decorated with all the colours of our theme in a modern, abstract way. We selected a mixture of flavours across each tier, including salted caramel, lemon drizzle, fruitcake, and dark chocolate.

Photographer and Videographer.

We were lucky enough to have a dream combination of photographer and videographer, who just so happened to have worked together before, providing a wonderful synergy to the day. Whilst Moon Gazey Hare snapped away, Baxter & Ted subtly filmed the day. One of the highlights for us was an hour spent in the forest filming and photographing just the two of us, giving us some much needed alone time on a busy day.

Advice.

If we have one piece of advice, it would be for the bride and groom to try and take 30 minutes to themselves later on in the day to truly reflect on the day. If this is sneaking off with the photographer for some special shots, or just stepping away from the crowds, make sure to soak the whole day in with your significant other!

Watch the Video by Baxter and Ted.