Rachel and Ben were married in the beautiful countryside of South Wales in the UK after finding Moelgolomen Farm nestling amongst the hills. Their festival wedding theme even extended to the guests camping on the grounds, with Rachel and Ben having their own riverside yurt which was decorated by family and friends as a surprise. Local, organic fare and wildflowers along with lots of DIY was the order of the day and as you’ll see, not much was needed to enhance the natural beauty of this stunning countryside captured by Christopher Ian. (And yes, these shoes deserve two shoe shots!)

Rachel and Ben spent several months planning and eventually decided to get married first at the local registry office a few days previous to the wedding celebration, to leave them free to keep the main focus on the celebration they had planned without worrying about the legal bits. The couple sourced food locally and had organic lamb from Moelgolomen Farm itself on large fire-pits with several other options for guests to choose from. Overall the food was a huge success with virtually no leftovers. For their decor, they didn’t want to limit themselves to one colour scheme but simply used lots of wildflowers which coincidentally had lots of pale yellow, so that with the bridesmaids in lemon yellow they figure that retrospectively yellow was their theme! The marquee was decorated with lots of DIY- bunting, flowers, lanterns and string lights that twinkled like stars after dark fell. Driftwood centerpieces made during the lead up to the big day along with wildflower arrangements by the bride’s mother brought the outside in. The fact that the weather was stunning for the whole weekend really added to the fun.

If Rachel and Ben had any advice for those looking for a great way to get guests to mingle and also save on their budget, it would be to hold a “Home Brew Competition.” All guests brought their own entry and a table was set up with tasting glasses. Everyone sampled these throughout the evening and voted, whilst later on the winner was announced. They did provide wine, ale and cider as well but the competition was a fantastic and fun way to get people talking, and the fact that each person had invested a little something made them feel even more a part of the whole thing!

I left out a good few scenery photos from the feature which it pained me to do, I am just in love with the Welsh countryside- it reminds me so much of north-west Ireland where I used to live. I think this relaxed festival-type wedding is the most fun type and I’m really hoping ours will be like this in a few weeks! Thanks to Christopher Ian for sharing these beautiful images with us and we will be featuring more from him on Fly Away Bride soon.

Photographer: Christopher Ian | Venue: Moelgolomen Farm | Bride’s Dress: Blue by Enzoani | Bride’s Shoes: Irregular Choice | Reception Marquee & Rental Supplies: Accasion Marquees | Tree-Printed Marquee: Roustabout | Catering: Treehouse | Flower Supply: Interflora Aberystwyth; Flower Arranging: Bride’s Mother | Wine & Prosecco: Laithwaite’s Wine | Local Ales & Cider: Aber Ales | Cake: DIY by groom’s family | Linen on Straw Bales: Wheeler Fabrics | Vine Ring & Bridesmaid’s Rings: Jo Fothergill (groom’s sister) | Tractor: Moelgolomen Farm

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