Determined to have the wedding in Devon where she grew up, the couple struggled to find a venue for the laid-back event they envisioned. "We couldn't quite find anything as relaxed as we would like and when my parents offered the field that they owned next to our family home, it felt like the most obvious choice for the type of wedding we wanted," explains Ellie.
Having legally tied the knot at Plymouth Registry Office two days previously, their wedding day was the culmination of a huge collaborative effort by family and friends. "We held the ceremony on hay bales under a driftwood arch that my dad and I put together, with my mum's beautiful home-grown flowers to decorate it," says Ellie, who also organised for the mobile bar to be serving drinks before the vows. "Having a G&T or a cold beer to drink during the ceremony was a big hit with our guests and added to the laid-back feel of the day!"
Following a home-grown and handmade theme with blue as the principle colour, the day featured an array of personal touches such as using Ellie and Joe's "big white fluffy cloud" dog's fur that had fallen out to make wool for the hand-fasting rope used during the ceremony. Ellie's mum grew and arranged all the flowers, from hanging bicycle wheels in the marquee to the buttonholes, corsages and jars of flowers on the tables, while touches such as Ellie's late grandfather's sail flags added to the poignant decor.
"As much as it was a lot of work, the save the date cards, cake and lollipop favours that I made went down so well with the guests it felt like it was all worth it," reflects Ellie.
Live music, garden games, cocktails and canapes were served after the ceremony, while hot sharing barbecue-style dishes of beef steak, spicy king prawns, Cajun chicken and vegetable and halloumi kebabs with a smattering of sides were finished with a delicious trio of puddings.
With an energetic set of live music, fireworks, sparklers, fabulous tractor wheel firepits and freshly baked pizza, the evening proved a party to remember.
"I loved that we got some time away from it all just the two of us to look back on how happy all our family and friends were, and also to take in the day," says Ellie when asked to reveal her highlight.
"Our advice to other couples is make sure the day is what you want - if you love it, so will your friends and family," she adds. "Both Joe and myself spent a lot of time worrying about stuff that we thought mattered - and when it came down to it we had a day that was better that we both could have imagined because we both stuck to our guns and picked what we liked, not what others told us to."
Photography Freckle Photography frecklephotography.co.uk
Marquee Hatch Marquees southwestmarqueehire.co.uk
Dress Rembo Styling rembo-styling.com
Bridesmaids' dresses ASOS asos.com
Flower girl Monsoon monsoon.co.uk
Groom and groomsmen Country Master countrymaster.co.uk
Hair & make-up Style Rite facebook.com/pg/Style-Rite-Hairdressing-655553251192165
Drinks New Coast Events newcoastliquor.co.uk
Catering Lyme Bay Field Kitchen lymebayfieldkitchen.co.uk
Pizza Dragon pizzadragon.co.uk
Entertainment Blue Lion Band bluelionband.co.uk
Copyright Wed magazine 2019
