Wedding case study: The design process
So, last time I talked you through my real wedding design process, with a little sneak peek of the Pinterest board I created for one of my couples. Continuing this look at what goes into the design of a wedding day, today I want to show you the visual process and how it translates to the end result, with a real wedding full of fab design details…
Real wedding couple
Becca and Adam met in the UK while at Southampton university, but were based in Becca’s home country, the US, when they got engaged. Deciding on the UK as the destination for their wedding, I came on board to help with the logistics and to bring their ambitious vision to life. They wanted their wedding day to have a great atmosphere and vibe, where guests could relax and enjoy the good food and great company. The brief centred around an informal feel to the day, with whimsical, vintage and fantastical styling, plus quirky touches with an edge of darkness inspired by Tim Burton/ Dr Seuss. This was a brief that I could have fun with!
They also knew that they wanted an outdoor ceremony, followed by their reception in a tipi. I found the Great Tythe Barn in the Cotswolds, which would provide the perfect backdrop for their ceremony and a large field for the tipi. But the barn also provided the all-important wet weather back-up, as well as on-site accommodation for their guests, which is always great when you have family travelling from all over the place.
After our design chat and my pinning sessions, I came up with the design concept. For this one I actually ended up putting together two mood boards, one for the first part the day- the ceremony and drinks- and the other for the evening. We wanted to have a feeling of transition from day to evening and this also gave us scope to add in those quirky touches they were after.
Design boards + the wedding
Above is the mood board for the day, which used the bridesmaids’ dresses as a starting point for the colours- shades of purple as the main colour, with sage, greys and burnished silver as accents. For the ceremony and drinks reception, we used white chairs, vintage rugs, light coloured vintage furniture and they stood under crystal chandeliers for their vows.
Then for the evening, this transitioned into fantastical styling and quirky twists. We had upside down parasols hanging from the roof of the tipi, and we hung fabric strips in black and white above the dance floor, with a central hanging focal point of black chandeliers. Guests sat on black chiavari chairs as a direct contrast to the earlier ceremony’s white chairs, an asymmetric silver birch inspired cake with edible mushrooms, moss and flowers, was displayed on a bed of foliage, and the tables were decorated with beautiful loose florals, unusually coloured cobs of corn, and textured linens.
This was such a fun wedding to design! I loved that it blended quirks and personality with a feeling of opulence. It’s proof that you can combine seemingly different styles to create something exciting and personal.
If you’re thinking about your own wedding design, this shows how you can take the ideas you find and adapt them for your own day. Sometimes, picking out 1 or 2 focal point displays can make the biggest impact to the feel, like we did with the hanging parasols and chandeliers. When guests arrived in the tipi, they knew it was time to party!
With a background in TV and theatre design, I can help you design a wedding day with a great vibe and real wow factor. Get in touch: weddings@alwaysandri.co.uk and let’s have a chat!
All Cotswolds Tipi wedding photos by Lillian + Leonard Photography
Florists Victoria Taberer + Simon Nickell
Venue Great Tythe Barn
Tipi World Inspired Tents
Vintage Furniture rentals Vintage Style Hire
For all mood board image sources and credits see Pinterest board THEME | Rustic Luxe Tipi Wedding
