Wedding Date: 12/05/18

Venue: Slade Farm, Southerndown // The Plough & Harrow Inn, Monknash

Theme: Beach Boho

‘Dave and I started the wedding planning process with some core values that we wanted to incorporate into our wedding day. These were important because they reflect who we are as a couple and what we stand for. We wanted to jump off the wedding treadmill and always tried to ask “why?” before following any traditional customs! The first core value was to try to be as environmentally friendly as possible – we achieved this by hand crafting or recycling what we could to avoid waste and excess. It also made financial sense and helped us keep to a budget under £9k – which was another core value! The wedding dress was bought from a Cancer Research charity shop (Prichard and Moore) in Whitchurch, Cardiff. As well as being recycled (or preloved!), the dress was also budget friendly, and best of all donated to charity in the process – a total win win! The rings were passed down through family and made using recycled metals. All the venue decorations were made from drift wood collected from local beaches, or glassware (used jars, bottles and jugs) collected by kind colleagues and friends. Groomsmen were encouraged to wear existing suits that matched our loose colour scheme. And bridesmaids wore dresses that suited their shapes, rather than a uniform look, so that they would want to wear them again! The bridesmaids flowers were hand made by the bridal party. However, the flower crowns and bridal bouquet were made by the talented Rachel Poole from Sweet Peony, Penarth, who totally understood the leafy boho brief!

We wanted to create a wedding day that reflected us a couple. We both love the outdoors and spend most of our lives near or on the water, so we wanted as much of our big day as possible outdoors and on a beach! Slade Farm, located near our favourite beach in South Wales was a perfect match! Having only just opened its doors to public weddings, Dave and I were thrilled to be able to use this beautiful arty venue with walled gardens and a shell path that meanders through a forest to access Southerndown beach. We opted for a very intimate service, with 30 of our nearest and dearest, then made our way in Wellington boots to the beach where we celebrated with Prosecco and home made canapés served from the back of our camper van, enjoying sand under our feet and salt in the air!

The beach was a relaxed setting to celebrate, and also made a beautiful backdrop for photos. Our talented photographer Francesca Hill took full advantage of this, capturing some wonderful beachy shots!

From the beach we made our way to The Plough & Harrow Inn at Monknash for some hearty pub grub for our small party of 30. We invited people to say a few words – tell stories or share poems and we had some beautiful and hilarious contributions from loved ones!

Our priority for the evening was to have a big party with all of our friends and family. We wanted to ensure it was more than just a knees up – it had to have some ceremonial significance so that our evening guests felt a part of our wedding day. We erected a marquee in the garden of The Plough & Harrow, and Paula the Landlady gave us total creative freedom to decorate it as we chose, including filling a dinghy with ice and beer! Barry Male Voice Choir sang a repertoire of songs collaboratively chosen with myself and Dave. My father, Sagaradana Carey performed a poignant Buddhist blessing, which brought the congregation together in a tying of the knot ceremony. All the guests ate a relaxed evening dinner of curry and rice in recyclable cardboard take away boxes, and enjoyed hand made cakes for desert prepared lovingly by our kind friend Jane. These were alongside the three tiered wedding cake, which was made by my grandmother and I, and decorated by Hayley Bryan @atouchoffroatingcakes. We saved the speeches until last, and finally danced the night away to the brilliant Sisterhood 5 piece band!

Favourite moment/memory of the day:

During our intimate wedding dinner, we invited our loved ones to share readings, give advice or just say a few words of their choosing. The result was eclectic and beautifully personal accounts, which we will cherish and remember for a very long time. A personal and magical touch.

Advice to couples planning their wedding:

Jump off the wedding treadmill! Design a day which represents you as a couple. Many venues want to sell you their version of a perfect wedding day – don’t be fooled by the expensive price tags and fancy things! Decide what is important to you as a couple and stick with it. Sometimes this will create more work, but if you want an individual bespoke day it will take effort and thought! It’s worth it! We hand made and recycled everything possible, this had huge cost savings and we would recommend doing the same. Don’t be afraid to use the resources around you – people are glad to be able to contribute!

Full Suppliers list:

Dress: Prichard and Moore

Flowers: Sweet Peony Floral Design

Videography: Richard Gough

Venue:

Slade Farm, Southerndown

The Plough & Harrow Inn, Monknash, Cowbridge

Wedding cake decoration: Facebook: @atouchoffrostingcakes

Band: The Sisterhood