Hobbit love: Chloe and Matthew’s theatrical woodland wedding

It was a case of art definitely not imitating life when Chloe Lang and Matthew Tanner first met.

“We were both cast in a play in Oxford called Princess Rubyslippers. In the play we hated each other, but in real life, we liked each other,” Chloe, 33, says.

“One day I asked him to help me get into my ruby slippers. In return, all he asked of me was to give him the time of day, 3,272 days later, I still am!”

Seven years later, Matt, 30, popped the question on Chloe’s birthday on a rowing boat in the Lakes District.

Their shared love of the arts and Lord of the Rings then helped set the scene for their theatrical woodland wedding.

The couple set their hearts on a theatre at Birnam, a small market town in Scotland, near where the bride is from, and first wed at nearby St Mary’s Church on July 23, 2016 in front of 130 friends and family.

“We’re little people and big Lord of the Rings fans so we called our wedding ‘production’ – Hobbits Get Hitched. We had it printed on hessian bunting, orders of service, napkins… and I walked down the aisle to the hobbit theme tune played on the guitar and penny whistle,” Chloe says.

“I wore ruby slippers, just like I did in the play where we first met. Matthew was an emotional wreck.”

Bagpipers paraded the wedding party to the nearby theatre, which the bride and groom and their families had spent two days preparing.

“We were able to use the box office as a way of welcoming each guest and to give them their ‘ticket’ guiding them where to sit,” Chloe says.

“We really wanted a photo booth… so we created our own, using a dressing room, a handful of props, costumes and a camera. In the main theatre we made  paper lanterns and pompoms and hung them from the lighting rig at different levels. Once everyone had drank their Pimms and settled down at their table, we burst onto the stage with multi-coloured ticker tape falling all around us. It was really magical.”

Photos courtesy of Benjamin Pollard Photographer.

Chloe chose a gorgeous Justin Alexander gown for the big day.

Pale blue was the perfect shade for the bridesmaids’ dresses.

 

Scottish additions to the big day paid homage to the bride’s roots. Matthew and his groomsmen hired their kilts from Slaters.

To honour the bride’s parents, who have been jiving for over 50 years, the couple learnt to jive and surprised them with a routine. “Then the Ceilidh band arrived and we danced and drank and danced and drank into the wee small hours of the morning,” Chloe says.