Emily and Darren go native with tipi wedding in Eccleshall

We’ve read about DIY brides and grooms before, but Emily Blaize and Darren Coslett took things to a whole new level with their tipi wedding.

“Our wedding day we wanted to be a complete reflection of ourselves, hence why we were so hands-on from the flower arranging to actually doing the food,” explains 29-year-old Emily. The couple went hunting for a tipi to house their plan — specifically knowing they didn’t want a marquee.

“We felt so lucky to have found Eccleshall Castle where we hired a tipi and bought a catering tent and attached it to the back and then hired all the catering equipment,” says Emily. Darren, an executive chef, 30, prepared all the food a few days before the wedding on May 17, 2014.

The menu included canapes followed by a tasting selection of the couple's favourite foods. Mini fish-and-chip parcels were delivered mid-course and the his 'n' hers wedding cakes - a cheese wheel for Emily and pork pie stack for Darren - doubled as a welcomed snack later in the evening. "Both of them got completely demolished!" recalls Emily.

Their ceremony at Holy Trinty, Eccleshall was complete with a church organist, choir and flower arrangements by Parsley and Sage. They even had handmade confetti for afterwards. “We hand-dried flowers from our parents' and grandparents' gardens a year before and mixed it with our heart-stamped tissue paper which we did ourselves,” explains Emily.

The couple honeymooned in Singapore and Bali.

Photos courtesy of Will Fuller Photography.

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Emily's gown from Luellas Boudoir "blew the budget" but was definitely "the one", she says.

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"We were so lucky to have known about Eccleshall Castle and even more lucky in the fact that they only hire the grounds for two to three weddings a year," says Emily.

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"The venue was erected on the Wednesday and friends and family all helped us set up inside the tipi," smiles Emily.

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Tags: blush wedding, country wedding, real weddings, rustic wedding, tipi wedding, will fuller

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