Lucy & Andrew’s Tournerbury Woods Estate Wedding

A beautiful coastal-influenced day in Hampshire for Lucy & Andrew.

Lucy had always dreamed of a marquee wedding and I think they chose very well, opting for the stunning Tournerbury Woods Estate – 50 acres of private woodland in an unrivalled location near Chichester Harbour. I adore all the seaside touches and cocktails in teapots? Yes please!

Over to the bride…

Notes from the Bride

I grew up by the sea on the south coast and later went to university in Plymouth, largely because I love being by the sea and wanted to continue sailing and be near the surfing hotspots. Since being together, some of our favourite trips have been at the beach and Andrew proposed at my favourite place in the world, Croyde Bay. Therefore, when it came to choosing a wedding venue we knew that it had to be by the sea.

We started our planning by writing our top priorities for the wedding on post-it notes. The themes we wrote individually were almost identical when we came together – relaxed, large enough to be able to invite our friends and family, marquee, live music, hay bales, food and drink to keep everyone smiling.

We hadn’t heard of the Tournerbury Woods Estate, despite it being only half an hour from where I grew up. That made it more appealing as we didn’t want to say ‘I do’ where other people we knew had. We first visited the venue in July 2016 and booked it straight away! We had only seen one other venue, near where we live in Wales, but it’s fair to say I was blown away by Tournerbury. As a little girl I imagined a marquee reception and the fact that we could get married outside was perfect for us.

Andrew liked the venue, but found it hard to imagine our day as it really is an empty space which you can do whatever you like with (which was a massive plus point for me.) I will never forget his face when he popped to the venue the day before the wedding and my amazing set up crew, (featuring my dad, sister and 4 friends,) were just finishing decorating. Andrew walked in and said ‘I love it.’ I knew he would but it was amazing to see and hear.

We both like blues and greens and anyone who has ever met me would know that my wedding colours would always be turquoise and teal. That theme flowed from our invites to the bridesmaid dresses, ties and hanging lanterns which decorated the marquee. The day also featured shells and nautical elements.

My bouquet was made from shells. It was my ‘something borrowed’ from my friend whose mum made it for her beach wedding a couple of years ago. I actually caught the ‘stand in’ bouquet she threw at her wedding, which I then threw at my wedding, so it all felt very special. I was delighted when she offered me the beautiful bouquet for my wedding.  Truly Madly Creative Wedding Products then made the bespoke bridesmaid bouquets and button holes.

I have to say that wedding dress shopping was not my favourite, but with the support of my mum and bridesmaids we got there in the end! We visited a few shops but found ‘the one’ at Anya Bridal Couture in Droxford. Anya and her team made us feel very welcome and helped me narrow down the dress selection. I loved my dress, Armengol designed by Pronovias. It was light to wear, felt comfortable all day and the beading was stunning. I felt lovely.

Our bridesmaid dresses were ordered online and then two of my lovely friends (Rejoco- creations in Portsmouth and Karen in Wales) altered them for my seven bridesmaids for which we are incredibly grateful.

The morning of the wedding was perfect with the bridal party having our hair and makeup done at my parent’s house with a glass of bubbly and croissants. It was very relaxed and ran to time like clockwork. I worried before that it may be stressful with so many ladies, but we were safe in the expert hands of Riot Hairdressing and Gemma Laverick make up. We then travelled to the cottage at Tournerbury to put our dresses on and make the final preparations.

Andrew’s friends and family stayed near the venue at the Langstone Hotel as they travelled down from Wales. The men were all in navy suits from Next, including Andrew’s 12 year old son, Evan who made the speech of the day during the wedding breakfast.

Our ceremony was something else and really set the tone for the day. The sun was shining, and I walked down the aisle with my dad to Andrew, to Coldplay ‘Yellow,’ one of our favourite songs. The registrar Alan was a real character and ensured there was a balance of taking the nuptials seriously whilst celebrating the marriage.

We hired the recommended caterers Marmalade Hospitality, and Denise who ran the operation was fantastic. Delicious canapés were served on the lawn with flowing Prosecco and a boat full of beer and cider available to all. Holder and Smith entertained with acoustic music and later performed magic at the tables during the wedding breakfast. Inspired by a wedding we went to in 2016, we decided to have afternoon tea with cocktails in teapots. Our naked wedding cake was beautifully made by Lorraine of Celebration Cakes. During the evening, a hog roast was served.

I have known Jason our photographer since our teenage years and he shot my best friend’s wedding last year where I was bridesmaid. He was a superstar from start to finish. We’re not fans of being center stage or in front of the camera, but Jason managed to relax us. Our pre-shoot was great for this so on the day we didn’t even think about it. We had so many comments about what a great guy he is and are absolutely delighted with the finished photos. We will treasure them forever.

We both loved every minute of the day and I really enjoyed the planning (although I wouldn’t want to do it again!) Our highlight of course was marrying each other. We are already a little family but making those promises meant the world to both of us. We also loved having our family and friends there to share the day, listening to Evan’s amazing speech and partying the night away until the early hours with our family and friends and DJ Small Paul.

Venue Tournerbury Woods Estate

Photography Jason Williams Photography

Bouquets & Buttonholes Truly Madly Creative

Bride’s Dress Pronovias from Anya Bridal Couture

Bridesmaid Dresses Rejoco Creations

Hair Riot Hairdressing

Make-up Gemma Laverick

Overnight Stay Langstone Hotel

Suits Next

Caterers Marmalade Hospitality

Cake Celebration Cakes by Lorraine

Entertainment Holder and Smith

Evening Music DJ Small Paul