Lindsey Bourne and Pieter Lawman married in a Humanist ceremony at Pitt Hall Barn - here Lindsey shares their day
With many of our guests coming from a performance background, our ceremony was a theatrical affair, including a recital of an original poem by storyteller Sarah-Liisa Wilkinson, and a congregational singalong of ‘Bring me Sunshine’ led by musician Tim Van Eyken.
Our wedding had a ‘birds & books’ theme with a vintage twist featuring book centrepieces, Mills & Boon favours, romance novel confetti, and a book arch under which we spoke our handwritten vows. Much of the wedding was handcrafted, with bird bunting from vintage Ladybird books, cross-stitched table names and a sweetie table showcasing wedding photographs from both of our families - even the elderflower champagne was created by my father especially for the occasion. Vintage milk churns, tins and bottles filled with country garden style flowers decorated the venue, alongside hand-drawn wedding stationary and a bespoke piece of artwork detailing our ‘relationship story’.
I wore a vintage-inspired Justin Alexander dress, with four bridesmaids wearing dresses from Brighton-based ‘Dig for Victory’, which uses vintage material to create new dresses. The entire bridal party sported 50’s hairstyles courtesy of The Topiary Hair and Beauty in Old Basing.
Our 120 guests were served Pimms and canapes, followed by a picnic-style wedding breakfast of porkpies (Pieter is from Melton Mowbray), cheeses, chutney, breads and salads, with a ‘create-your-own Eton Mess’ for dessert. Evening guests were served hot-dogs with caramelised onions and a choice of four differently flavoured wedding cakes.
Local DJ Mark Halliday and band The Zu-Zu Men supplied the entertainment for the evening, with the whole day captured by photographer Chiron Cole.
