Tipi Wedding: It all started here…
‘It was beautiful…as if it was inspired by a fairy-tale! We had decided to drive down to Cornwall for a bank holiday weekend away from the big smoke of London, stayed in a log cabin in the bottom of a garden belonging to a farmhouse. Unfortunately that weekend was one of torrential rain! And huge storms! We spent most of the weekend indoors, either pub crawling or tucked up inside the cabin reading ghost stories to each other!
So on the Monday late morning we decided to call it a day and take the long drive back to London (via a Cornish pasty shop of course and a cup of tea to take the edge off!) When the clouds miraculously started to clear and we could see the sun was attempting to peak through, Leo much to my surprise, suggested going for a walk in a place that his Cornish friend recommended we visit before we leave.
We parked up by a beautiful stone church, in a very small village called Zennor and embarked on what was such a perfectly, picturesque walk along the coast. We walked through fields of flowers, archways of honeysuckle that smelt delicious and petals blowing in the wind. The sun was shining and reflecting on the turquoise sea below. It was stunning!
Leo stopped me for a second and asked to take my photo – he loves his old cameras. I sat on a rock with the sea behind me and a little stream by my feet. After taking my picture he came over, and asked if I was happy. I said, ‘yeah I’m great! I have my pasty and my cup of tea!’ He said ‘no, are you are really happy? With how life is panning out and with us?’ And I said ‘yes I am’ He then gave me this lovely speech and went down on one knee (which ended up being very soggy!) Needless to say I cried with happiness!’ ~Heather Costa~
Heather didn’t want a traditional dress. She searched high and low but couldn’t quite find what she was looking for. Heather and Leo travelled to Thailand to an incredible tailor to make his suit. As she watched it come together from various rolls of fabric she decided she would have her dress made in the same way too.
Heather’s dress was handmade using three different layers of delicate floral fabric bought whilst in Thailand. Using an amazing seamstress from ZigZag in Cheam, what she’d been picturing but had been unable to find came together to create this rather stunning and unique bridal gown.
As Leo is Brazilian they wanted a fun, party feel to their big day. The vast open space at the back of The New Inn Hotel made a perfect setting for a Brazilian, festival feel tipi wedding. Heather and Leo chose a three large giant hat white wedding tipi with a fire pit for marshmallows. They also hired a 12 seater boat that chartered our guests up and down the Thames all day.
Heather and Leo are ‘outside’ people. They love long walks in the country on crisp winter days and picnics on long summer days. So it made perfect sense for them to plan an outside tipi wedding with a river as their backdrop. After a lot of trips and searching they settled on a pretty Cotswold village called Lechlade which was a few miles from Heather grew up.
This was a tipi wedding of all weddings. They had an outdoor humanist ceremony overlooking the river and wrote their own vows. They chose two readings – ‘The Art of Marriage’ by Anon’ and ‘He’s Not Perfect’ by Bob Marley. As Heather walked down the aisle her bridesmaids handed out little linen keep sake bags out. Everyone was told not to peek until they were told too.
When Leo and Heather were standing together, holding hands their guests were told that there was a little surprise for them inside. When they looked inside they found a poem that talked about a baby girl that would be joining them six months from the day. Watching everyone reading the poem and their faces when the penny dropped was priceless! It was such a wonderful and memorable way to share such special news with all their loved ones. The day became a double celebration and Heather and Leo couldn’t have been happier in that moment.
I loved how this couple didn’t let the rain bother them. When I asked if they wanted to go out for some photos they grabbed their umbrellas and headed outside…
Heather and Leo literally dance the night away. What a perfect way to end a perfect day don’t you think?!
Thanks for stopping by!
Much Love
