Rustic English Marquee Wedding By Katy and Co Wedding Photography

Ben and Katie brought their love of Italy to their quintessentially English wedding.

In the words of the newlyweds, their day was ‘Mediterranean meets Oxfordshire'.

So you can expect a mix of Great British countryside, guests in fancy hats, delicious Italian food and rustic, colourful, herb-infused touches. Plus they had the sweetest getaway car and fun interactive entertainment during dinner with guests becoming chefs for the evening!

Katie looked absolutely stunning in her high neck lace wedding dress teamed with an intricate chignon and a wild, cascading bouquet, while Ben kept it classic in tails, accessorizing with a massive smile.

Lucky for them (and us) that Katy and Co Wedding Photography was on hand to capture all the beauty and joy of their day.

Wedding Style

Ben proposed in Sicily, where we loved the food, wine, herbs and colours. We wanted to bring a touch of the Mediterranean to our country wedding in Oxfordshire. We were lucky that bright blue skies helped create the right atmosphere!

Our decorations, food and car (an old Fiat 500 called “Fifi”) were inspired by the Mediterranean. We had long tables decorated with herbs in terracotta pots, interspersed with vases of vibrant red, yellow and blue flowers. Olive branches hung off the back of our chairs, and each place name was made up of a sprig of lavender and a stem of corn.

The Flowers

We wanted a natural and relaxed look. Our florist listened to our ‘mediterranean and herb’ inspired ideas and created an effect we loved. The bouquets were ivory with foliage and herbs, so they smelt wonderful. We tied lace ribbon round the bouquets in trailing bows. We also had herbs in the buttonholes, as well as small white roses.

Our rustic church didn’t call for much decoration, just simple white flowers. In the marquee we had small blue, yellow and red flower arrangements interspersed with herbs in terracotta pots (after which we named our tables). My mum grew geraniums in terracotta pots for the marquee entrance.

The Attire

I wanted something with lace, and my sister burst into tears (in a good way!) when I tried this dress on, and that helped me make my mind up! Our two adult bridesmaids wore long champagne dresses from Coast. My youngest sister wore an ivory dress and our page boy hired a suit that matched my Dad’s.

The Ceremony

The Song of Solomon read by Ben’s sister Louise, and Yates’s poem ‘He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven’ read by our friend Rachel.

Favourite Moments

Favourite moments included poking our heads through “Fifi” the Fiat 500’s sun-roof surrounded by our guests, having a moment together when our photographer took us for photos in a wheat field, and walking into the marquee together and seeing our guests smiling at us.

The Photography

We loved Kate’s natural style of photography – and the original moments she had captured of other weddings. Kate was just brilliant. Having her around as I got ready in the morning just felt like having another friend there, and our guests commented on how unobtrusive she was. We are thrilled with the photos and can’t stop looking at them!

Décor & Details

My family is very creative, so we were lucky that we had lots of people who wanted to be involved! My sister printed our wedding invitations and designed a table plan around the theme of rolling Tuscan hills and herb gardens. It took her about two days, but we’ve now got a wonderful keepsake that we intend to frame and hang up in our home!

Ben loves cycling, so we decorated his bikes with flowers, and hung blackboards on them as sign posts. We also left a basket of fancy dress costumes on the dance floor!

The Refreshments

We had hints of Italian flavours, with focaccia and olives, plenty of herbs and a beautiful lemon tart. We chose Italian wines, – including a sparkling Franciacorta, Italy’s answer to Champagne, and homemade lemonade.

We picked guests to carve legs of lamb for those around them. We gave the carvers chef’s hats and stripey aprons. One of our favourite moments was watching our carvers as they gathered to see a carving demo dressed in their outfits!

As big cheese fans, we chose cheeses from the Covered Market in Oxford to make a tower, which we decorated with olive branches and surrounded with candles.

Wedding Music

Our friend Helen is an incredible pianist and she played a Chopin Nocturne while we were signing the register.

I had been dreading the first dance. But our friend Emily taught us an easy and fun dance to Elvis’s ‘The Wonder of You’, and it was actually one of our favourite parts of the day!