Alexa & David’s Wilderness Reserve Wedding

Alexa says…

Knowing that we had guests coming from all over the world, we were looking for a venue that had lots of space and onsite accommodation. We envisioned a weekend of celebrations in a truly relaxed, unique, natural/outdoor location, and Wilderness certainly ticked all those boxes.

Our immediate family and close friends arrived on the Thursday evening so that we could come together a day early to unpack, explore, and prepare for the weekend ahead. That evening we had takeaway pizza, beers and wine outside the main house – it was a very relaxed start to the festivities ahead.

On Friday, all 158 guests arrived, and we hosted a BBQ in the Walled Garden, complete with our plan B stretch tent (the weather forecast was rather ominous from Saturday onwards), hanging festoons, hay bales and firepits. Our welcome BBQ allowed our guests to meet each other and start the celebrations together in a casual and relaxed environment.

Our wedding took place on the Saturday, under the stretch tent in the Walled Garden, which was filled with an abundance of fragrant and foraged Moss & Stone blooms. After our ceremony, guests ventured down to the main house (Sibton Park) to enjoy champagne, canapés and music, whilst the bridal party snuck off for a few photos by the sunken swimming pool (complete with inflatable unicorns!). When the rain eventually hit (and boy did it hit), everyone moved inside to make use of the multitude of rooms within Sibton Park.

Our Wedding Breakfast took place under the 2nd of our marquees, which was attached to the main Orangery. We dined on long tables surrounded by a canopy of Dreamwave Events pendant and cut-glass festoons, followed by dancing in the Orangery and an epic “After Party” in the Cellar.

On Sunday, we abandoned our pool party in favour of THE most legendary of plan B’s – hay bales and blankets underneath the Walled Garden stretch tent, margaritas and Caesar’s (a Canadian variation of the Bloody Mary) served from our personalised Made by Wood & Wood bar, street food dining, an abundance of champagne and a live DJ.

In terms of fashion, for the Friday I wore a skirt from Etsy and a bodysuit, my wedding dress was a Romona Keveza dress accessorised with Lanvin shoes and bespoke pearl earrings. My Bridesmaids each sourced their own dress in the dove/light grey colour range. Our hair and makeup was by the wonderful Jo from The Hair and Makeup Atelier and her fantastic team. David wore a bespoke tailored suit and his groomsmen wore M&S.

For our décor, our wedding planner Katrina, created a styling and design concept for the weekend based on our initial ideas and preferences, from which she then brought together an epic team of suppliers to help this come to life. From the long wooden farmhouse tables and cross back chairs from Wedhead, to the subtle blush tumblers from CMA Hire.

On the Friday, Brigitte from Moss & Stone and her team kept things relaxed and worked with the existing beauty of the Walled Garden, providing an abundance of potted herbs. On the Saturday, Brigitte was given the brief to allow her imagination to run wild, with an oatmeal/blush colour scheme and pops of deep red to add contrast. Our Ceremony setting featured statement arrangements that grew, tapered and tumbled. On the tables, we went with a mis-matched look of contrasting bud vases and a statement living top table.

We chose a local caterer from the area, Mackenzie David Events. Their service over the weekend was incredible, and the food was delicious. For the main Wedding Breakfast, we started with sharing boards of burrata with squash and truffled honey, smoked salmon, figs, tomatoes, avocado, roasted vegetables, stuffed peppers, balsamic onions and baba ghanoush. For our main, we opted for free-range chicken wrapped in Suffolk pancetta, followed by New York style cheesecakes with a selection of coulis, sauces and berries, served with honeycomb and chocolate shavings.

On the Sunday, our street food vans served strips and fries (from PECK’s hutch!), sour dough pizza cooked in a Land Rover Defender (Wood Fired Wonders), and super cheesy Mac ‘N’ Cheese straight from the back of Mac St Kitchen’s vintage Bedford Ambulance.

The Curries were our photographers – a husband and wife team, who have this amazing way of making you feel like you’ve known them forever and also that they aren’t even there! We ADORED The Curries, and having the time where they were taking photos of just David and I meant that we got some quality time to catch up and speak to each other!

Katrina Otter Weddings – Kat (and her team – Cara, Gemma, Tom & Pippa) were the brains behind everything and executed our weekend to perfection! We cannot ever thank Kat enough for everything. Kat was a pleasure to work with from beginning to end, and made the experience so enjoyable and fun!

Best part of the day

It might sound obvious, but genuinely, having all our family and friends together in one place to celebrate was the best part of the day/weekend. We just had the most amazing time because of everyone around us.

From one couple to another…

Take time to enjoy a moment as just the two of you… because it all goes by so quickly, and so much happens, it’s nice to share a few moments together.

Venue Sibton Park at Wilderness Reserve

Wedding Planner Katrina Otter Weddings

Photographer The Curries

Film This Modern Revelry

Florist Moss & Stone

Caterer Mackenzie David Events

Bar/Drinks Cellar 27

Bespoke Bar & Signage Made by Wood & Wood

Furniture Wedhead

Tableware CMA Hire

Linen 88 Event Hire

Production Dreamwave Events

Band Soul Beat

DJ That Event DJ

Saxophonist Sister Sax

Stretch Tents Tentickle

Stationery Bureau Design

Hair & Makeup The Hair and Makeup Atelier

Transportation Greys of Ely

Guest Favours White Label Cocktails

Blankets (and Umbrellas) Brolly Bucket

Sunday Street Food Vendors Mac Street Kitchen, Wood Fired Wonders, PECK