Inspiration

A warm September day set the mood for Polly and Rory's colourful village hall wedding dressed with hanging lanterns. After thirteen years together they tied the knot in front of all their closest friends and relatives, seeing their loved ones come together from all over the world was a huge highlight for the couple. Set in Kent, the village hall hosted both the ceremony and the reception which was dressed up to the nines with colourful homegrown dahlias and bright paper lanterns. The drinks reception saw the guests testing their strength and accuracy in The Stump Game (also known as hammerschlagen) before toasting with glasses of fizz and their very own oyster shucker. Laughter filled the evening's celebrations along with an excellent eight-piece band, combined with plenty of emotions as they shared stories during the speeches, hitting the perfect balance of humour and love.

What Made Our Day Unique

We wanted the whole day to reflect us and our personalities. We were also extremely lucky that contributions from friends and family took the uniqueness of our wedding one step further; Polly’s dad grew all of the flowers for the venue, the maid of honour baked our three wedding cakes; our friend built the outside bar and a family friend designed the wedding invitations and table plan; both of which were adorned with a caricature of us. Also, a whole group of friends chipped in the day before to set up the venue – we couldn’t have done it without them. We hands-down agree that the speeches hit the perfect balance of humour, love and sincerity. We are soppy goofballs behind closed doors but PDA isn’t our thing, so proclaiming our love in front of the room of friends and family allowed us to reveal a more emotional side of ourselves. Staggering the speeches throughout the wedding breakfast also prevented the guests from getting hungry and allowed each speech to be remembered in its own right.

Polly & Rory

Hanging Lanterns

Colourful hanging lanterns covered the ceiling at this couples village hall wedding, combined with beautiful dahlia table arrangements and three very delicious cakes made by the Made of Honour's company (The French Tartes). Polly looked amazing in her long-sleeved lace dress from Wear Your Love XO which she teamed with gold ballet pumps and a colourful bouquet. The bridesmaids also looked fab in blue star print dresses featuring a wrap over detail from Dancing Leopard. So much colour and happiness creating a wonderful, relaxed celebration filled with fun.

Inspiration & Styling

Relaxed enjoyment and most importantly a lot of fun. The whole day was in one venue and we wanted guests to enjoy every moment, filled with food, drink, entertainment and the odd game. There were no real formalities to the day and the whole venue exuded with laughter all day long. The styling reflected our personalities; there was colour everywhere; in the hanging lanterns, the flowers and the array of cocktails served in the evening!

Polly & Rory

Advice & Planning

Spreadsheets!! While we wouldn’t normally advocate for such formality it actually helps you to visualise what you need; when you need it by and your budget. Once you have your date locked down you can then work backwards and see how much you need to save each week/month, which we promise takes away so much stress. Also, don’t sweat the small stuff; if something doesn’t turn up or goes wrong your guests won’t have a clue and honestly neither will you!!

Polly & Rory

Are you considering a village hall wedding? We've put together a list for you to pore over and find lots of inspiration here, maybe you're thinking of heading back to your hometown or doing a bit of DIY, we've got you covered!

Olivia Smith

Written by Olivia Smith

Venue: Chilham Village Hall | Bridal Dress Designer: Wear Your Love XO | Bridesmaid Dress: Cayenne Dress in Royal Star | Grooms Suit: Charles Tyrwhitt - Navy Two Piece | Bridal Shoes: Gold Ballet Pumps | Food: The Flavour Kitchen | Cake Details : The French Tartes (MOH's Company) | Flowers: Contemporary Flowers | Hair Stylist: Emily Langston | Makeup Artist : Emma Phillips-Jennings | Stationery: Designed by Priscilla Lamont | Entertainment : Bare Groove | Decor & Hire: The Hanging Lantern Company | Transport: Longleys Private Hire | Celebrant : Kent Registry Office | Favours: Personalised Polaroid Photos | Oyster Shucker: Whitstable Oyster Company | Photo Booth: Oh Snap UK

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