A midsummer night’s dream: Carly and Steve’s enchanted forest wedding

With working lives that can keep them apart, Carly and Steve know how to make the most of the time they have together.

“We actively fill our time together with as many obscure activities as we can, including tandem cycling, paragliding, massage courses, scuba diving, life drawing, glass blowing, stunt kiting, jetskiing, hiking, murder mystery, pottery painting and rock climbing – to name a few!” Carly, 30, says.

“The time we do get to spend together is precious we try and make the absolute most of it. I guess the bonus is, this far into a relationship, we still get to miss each other and appreciate each other.”

The couple met online when Steve, 29, was an army corporal. Seven years and two tours of Afghanistan later, and Steve is now an offshore engineer, which still means plenty of time apart.

Carly says made it even more important that their enchanted forest wedding reflected their stories and hobbies.

The Bristol pair chose Orchadleigh House in Frome for their April, 22, 2018 wedding celebrated with 70 guests.

“We fell in love with this place as soon as we saw it, I have always wanted to get married outside with a Midsummer Night’s Dream-esque feel and the old garden with the contemporary building just lent itself perfectly,” Carly, a former wedding planner says.

“The day’s décor was based on our hobbies, tattoos and stories. The theme was enchanted
forest so included a lot of vintage pinks, greens, rose gold accessories and moss.”

Photos courtesy of Neil Atkinson Photography.

Carly’s experience in the wedding industry, and now as the owner of her own cupcake company, paid off when it came to her own big day. “I made everything from the invitations to the centre pieces, bouquets, button holes, fudge favours, signage, table plan and wedding cake,” she says.

Steve proposed while the couple were on a scuba diving trip in Croatia. Steve hid a fake ring in a treasure chest at the bottom of the sea, before a second proposal with the real sparkler back home in the UK.

“We wrote our own personal wedding vows – mine re-lived Steve’s words to me on our fifth date ‘I trust you, please don’t prove me wrong’, and his compared marriage to a tandem bike ride we once had – if he ever finds life hard, he knows I will be peddling just like he is even if he can’t see,” Carly says.

The couple were thrilled with their wedding photos by Neil Atkinson Photography. “The colours and the mood of Neil’s editing really fit with our day and the tones of the venue,” praises Carly.