'At the end of the walk by a lake, Tom got me to hide (we play a game where one of us hides and Pippin runs to find them) and after a slightly long wait Pippin, dressed in a dog tuxedo, found me and Tom proposed. The plan was for Pippin to carry the ring in a little basket but he jumped in the lake so that didn't go to plan!' laughs Amy.
The couple chose The Old Rectory in Pyeworthy as their wedding venue, with a World Inspired Tents' tipi at the centre of the celebrations. As ardent 'The Lord of the Rings' fans, they loosely designed their day on character Bilbo's 111th birthday, having visited the Hobbiton Movie Set in New Zealand where they attended the evening banquet, 'which gave us a lot of inspiration!'
'Family grew the vegetables that lined the tables and I designed the table set-ups and made the napkins with freshly picked fern leaves,' says Amy of the creative collaborations during their extended celebrations. In addition, their wedding planner friend, Kelly, pitched in whenever needed, while close friend and fellow vet, Azusa, made the wedding cake and relative Ed handmade the striking signage.
'We got legally married on the Friday with a small group of close friends and family, then we all went to the pub together and came back to decorate the tipi. That day was so much fun,' says Amy. 'Everyone loved helping and we worked together really well. Tom's dad even made the hanging chandelier and we decorated it with the kids the night before ' it looked incredible on the day!'
The following day, Amy and Tom welcomed guests to their unique ceremony presided over by one of the groomsmen, which was followed by photos and tapas ahead of a lip-smacking veggie feast, featuring the likes of aubergine parmigiana, Eton mess and treacle tart.
'Our favourite moment was walking into the tipi together when everyone was sitting down. It was amazing seeing what was in our heads come to life and crazy seeing people from all different parts of our life hanging out with each other,' reveals Amy.
'The music was the duo that Tom's sister had hired as a present to us who were absolutely brilliant!' she says of the evening's shenanigans, which also featured DJ sets from friends that kept the party alive until 4am. 'The next day was fancy dress day and bring-your-own-booze with lawn games, and everyone just generally chilling out,' says Amy of the Sunday's wind-down session.
'Don't get too stressed, think about what is important to you and don't waste money on what isn't,' she says as word of advice. 'Also, get the family involved! We had so much help from our amazing families who made everything 100 times easier. Just enjoy the day as it will go so fast.'
Photography Yeti Photography yetiphotography.co.uk
Venue The Old Rectory theoldrectorypyworthy.com
Tipi World Inspired Tents worldinspiredtents.co.uk
Planning Artisan Catering artisan-catering.co.uk
Dress Y.A.P Bridal yapbridal.co.uk
Hair French Hair & Beauty hair-salon-torbay.co.uk
Make-up Fiona Miller fionamillermakeup.co.uk
Catering Seadog Foods seadogfoods.co.uk
Bar Bar Dé Van facebook.com/BarDeVan1
Entertainment The Plum Sellors facebook.com/theplumsellors
