Inspiration

If you're looking to escape all the rain and brighten your day you've come to the right place, as we whisk you off to the coast for a colourful wedding full of bright blooms and natural wedding decor, all beautifully captured by recommended supplier Matilda Delves Photography. It's probably a good idea to get your pinning fingers ready for the rope and wicker lampshade hanging installation too. Such an innovative idea.

What Made Our Day Unique

From the very start, we knew we wanted a venue that was a bit different. The Gallivant ticked all the boxes, offering fantastic, locally-sourced food and drink, a relaxed yet polished vibe, the option to hire out the whole venue and of course a fantastic seaside location. We combined this with a more traditional ceremony location (Rye Town Hall). Together these two venues worked incredibly well, balancing formality and grandeur with a more boho-chic reception. We also really enjoyed our evening photos on the beach, amongst the sand dunes and in the cool seawater, with an incredible evening light providing the perfect backdrop.

Helen & James

Natural Wedding Decor

All hail Helen and James who did an incredible job of decorating their marquee wedding reception at The Gallivant. They incorporated lots of natural wedding decor including rope, wicker and macrame. I can even spy a wooden trellis as a fabulous top table backdrop, which was the perfect spot to hang their pampas grass hoop. All of this natural decor was enhanced by colourful wildflower centrepieces and displays. The bright wedding flowers also make the bridal party's white halterneck and off the shoulder dresses pop! What a style statement.

Inspiration & Styling

Being right next to the sea and in the middle of Summer, we wanted to capture some of that seaside feel in the styling and props. So we made use of materials such a rope, driftwood and macrame. We used nautical props, including barrels and wicker chairs. Our flowers also reflected this, with the use of grasses and local wildflowers. This all came together to create a relaxed, seaside, boho look which we loved! I think the most major installation had to be on the ceiling of our marquee. We had a vision of creating something colourful, nautical and spectacular on the ceiling. We wanted to use rope - because of the nautical connection - but also to combine this with the use of flowers and grasses to echo the flower selection. This was a labour of love and all thanks to the great work of Caroline Grimble, florist at Wild Rubus. There were many evening phone calls where we tried to describe our vision. Caroline provided a number of sketches and eventually, we reached a decision on the design. It wasn't until the day before the wedding that we actually saw the finished article. It was even better than we had imagined and really brought life, colour and joy to the marquee.

Helen & James

Speeches

Both our favourite moments were the speeches. In fact, these are always our favourite part of any wedding. My mother did a speech, where she recounted some hilarious tales of my childhood as well as a heart-wrenching depiction of when we parted ways at Gare du Nord in Paris, where I was to spend 6 months (having the time of my life, I might add!). James' speech was brilliant too as was his best man's. Both were really funny and thought-provoking. I also said a few words - which I really enjoyed doing.

Helen & James

If you're thinking of writing your own bridal speech or not quite sure if you should give it a go, listen to our Brides Speech Podcast to give you a little bit of dutch courage first.

Lorna Shaw

Written by Lorna Shaw

Wedding Venue: The Gallivant | Florist: Wild Rubus | Stationery: Canva | Decor & Hire: Hire Love | Wedding Dress: Charlie Brear | Bridal Boutique: The Pantiles Bride | Bridal Shoes: Dune | Headdress: Arianna Tiaras | Hair & Makeup: Gemma Souter | Bridesmaids: Coast | Grooms Suit: Jack Bunneys | Gift List: Prezola

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