Caitlin’s Tipi Wedding – Featuring Oliver

By Worcestershire Wedding Photographer – Paul Willetts Photography

Welcome to Caitlin’s wedding…. featuring Oliver!!  (I promise I am not being mean; this was the wedding strap-line!)

In my 42 years, it’s fair to say that I have been to some pretty impressive parties, but this was another level!!  Apparently, this is standard practise at a Young Farmers Wedding, and I don’t think I will ever think of Nelly the Elephant as a children’s song ever again!  Awesome fun with an awesome crowd and the perfect opportunity for some fun and creative wedding photography!

Caitlin and Oliver have been together 7 years and decided to make it official when Oliver proposed on the beach of Port Isaac in front of none other than Doc Martin’s house!

The day started at home to get some prep photos of Caitlin and her bridal party and of course their beautiful little boy, Eddie.  There was an instant chilled out vibe as soon as I arrived, and it certainly helped that everything was so close together.  The insanely impressive marquee from The Marquee Company of Worcester sat proudly on the family farm and with the ceremony happening at St. Bartholomew’s Church only a short distance away, we definitely weren’t going to struggle with logistics.

Caitlin’s incredible dress was a design by Luna Novias from Annabel Sarah Bridal and the reactions of Caitlin’s lovely parents and bridesmaids when they saw her, say it all.  The dress was the perfect blend of simple elegance along with beautiful details paired with a pearl encrusted headband and veil.  The bridal party had the very talented Joanne Turner Hair and Hannah Louise Field MUA to help them get ready in the morning and I can’t think of a better dream team if I tried.

The bridesmaids wore a very dark blue/green gown from Gatehouse Brides giving off the same elegance, and Caitlin’s mum got the memo too, sticking with a beautiful dark blue mother of the bride outfit as well.

Not forgetting the Groomsmen of course who wore navy blue tails with natural taupe-coloured waistcoats and floral ties from DJ Formal Wear.

The ceremony was light-hearted, fun and just lovely to capture with a very special appearance from the furry family member, Rusty, who was impeccably behaved.

After the ceremony, Caitlin and Oliver certainly left in style having their very own traction engine to take them to their marquee for their welcome drinks and the yummiest canapés from Knightsgrove Events.

The marquee looked absolutely beautiful, dressed by the very talented Wedding House, Droitwich.  There were hot pink table runners and an array of brightly coloured blooms in different vases along the tables and guests were even given a place to park their hat!  The colours really popped, adding warmth to match the weather.  The floral displays from Blooms by Charlotte, certainly brought some extra sunshine with beautiful bright sunflowers, hot pink peonies, vintage roses, purple stocks and orange poppies in the stunning bouquets and buttonholes.

Tipi Wedding Photography-Paul Willetts Photography

Whilst the guests were busy with champagne and canapés, I stole Caitlin and Oliver for a few photos on their own as well as some dreamy ones with little Eddie too, making the most of the stunning surroundings.  They really are the happiest little family which made my job so easy and photography of children at weddings just adds so much fun to the day.

Kidsatweddings-PaulWillettsPhotography

Finally it was time to sit down to the traditional young farmers meal choice of roast beef with apple crumble for pudding but it was clear by this point that this wedding was going to be non-stop entertainment so of course Caitlin and Oliver were announced in to the marquee by the amazingly talented saxophonist from Tux Fizz…..And what an entrance it was!  Its no wonder that Oliver describes this as one of his favourite moments from the wedding (aside from maying the beautiful Caitlin of course!).

The speeches were hilarious which I totally expected from this pair but there was also a lot of emotion too and it was really lovely seeing a break from tradition and having a bride’s speech for a change.

As the day moved into evening, there were more rides on the traction engine for guests, beer pong, croquet and some drunken photobombing all wrapped up with the cutting of an amazing tower of cheese and the cutest Mr and Mrs Caterpillar cakes.

Tux Fizz then got the party started and to say it was lively would be an understatement.  The entertainment was incredible and there was not one person who didn’t make it on to that dancefloor.  We had props, downing pints from a shoe (which I have now learned is called a shoey), shoulder rides, confetti cannons and some pretty impressive moves.  I usually tell my couples that there is more happening in the morning to capture than in the evening, but this wedding was non-stop from start to finish and I loved every second.

Mr and Mrs May, thank you so much for putting your trust in me and inviting me to the next best thing since Glastonbury!!  I hope life continues to be one massive party for you both!!

Mr and Mrs May Est 11/05/2024:

“Working with Paul was amazing. So relaxed. Absolutely smashed what we asked you to do… capture people having fun and not too many staged photos.

You’re just amazing.  It was the best wedding and I feel we totally had all the best suppliers. I might actually go into wedding planning now. All your photos are amazing and I don’t have a house big enough to have them all framed so I am not sure what I’m going to do!!