Coppleridge Inn Wedding Photographs with Carly and Alex

Coppleridge Inn Wedding Photographs without a Dinosaur Theme – Spot The Dinosaur!

Before we start we should mention that this was NOT a dinosaur themed wedding (as Carly says). There were, however dinosaur themed undertones throughout the Coppleridge Inn wedding day. Carly’s little green dino appears in more photographs than is obvious – how many can you see?

We began our day at the Coppleridge Inn wedding venue. A gorgeous traditional country pub set in an old farm-house on the outskirts of Shaftesbury, Dorset.

This would be where Carly and the girls would get ready for the big day but also the venue for the wedding ceremony and evening reception.

For their morning preparation the girls were in one of the rooms in the converted courtyard. Inside, Carly, her bridesmaids and mother were calmly getting ready. Carly’s dress hung in one window the sunlight shining through it picking out the detail below her wedding converse and special wedding wellys.

In another window the pastel pink and blue bridesmaid dresses hung with wedding shoes lined up below. Kaylie Carter Make-up artist worked her magic getting all the girls ready. Buttonholes and bouquets arrived from Heathers flowers.

Carly and the girls were excitedly jovial, constantly laughing and joking. Carly even had time for a dinosaur dance with her mother. As her flower girls were sewn into their dresses Carly presented her bridesmaids with unicorn themed presents (which would be utilised later).

Time seemed to fly by and before she knew it Carly was being laced into her dress. The sun had come out to play and the temperature was rising (which didn’t seem to affect everyone’s cool calm).

Groom Preparation for Coppleridge Inn Wedding

I found the guys already dressed in their blue suits they enjoyed a pre wedding drink. The wedding car was one of Alex’s best men’s. It already had wedding ribbons on. On the way to the Coppleridge Inn wedding they stopped to replace the number plates with special ones for the day which read “AC 19 AUG”. The Shiny BMW sat parked in the courtyard as the guys greeted guests.

Coppleridge Inn Outdoor Wedding Ceremony Photographs

The go ahead for an outside ceremony was given and the guests walked across the lawn towards the woods. At the end of the path in the heart of the wood stood the arbour. Here they took their seats on either side of the aisle guided by the groomsmen.

Alex stood with his best men and the registrars awaiting the arrival of the bridal party. The girls accompanied by the brides’ brother took the same walk across the lawn to the woods. Carly was led into the ceremony clearing by her flower girl and bridesmaids. Her brother delivered her to the arbour to the soundtrack to Jurassic park playing over the PA system!

After a short reading from the mother of the groom the soon to be Mr and Mrs made their promises to one another. Once announced as husband and wife the best men armed guests with confetti to launch at the newly weds as they ran the gauntlet of the confetti tunnel.

The bridal party led everyone else back up to the sun terrace and lawn where welcome drinks and canapés were served. Award winning cider was on offer as well as Pimms and juices. Both adults and children played on the lawn with bubbles and ball games. During the drinks reception we took the bridal party aside for some fun group photographs using the panoramic view as a backdrop.

Coppleridge Inn Wedding Reception Photographs

In the middle of the courtyard was the marquee which sat over the fish pond! The marquee was decorated with colourful bunting, on the tables were material button flowers and pastel centerpieces.

The guests took their places in the marquee and welcomed the new Mr and Mrs with cheering and applause. A cake of cheese from Godminster sat dangerously close to the edge of the fish pond. A delicious hog roast was the offering for the wedding breakfast. It was so good that we saw people going back for not just seconds but thirds too!! Before the guests had their desserts they enjoyed speeches from the groom and the best men.

Coppleridge Inn Wedding Evening Entertainment Photographs

The evening entertainment supplied by Martin from Hooles Discos was being set up in the old barn complete with illuminated LOVE letters either side of the door. Guests enjoyed the last of the countryside sunshine in and outside of the marquee.

With everything in place the guests were called into the barn to welcome the newly weds to the dance floor. They had the floor to themselves briefly before calling everyone to join them. By now the cheese had been served with artisan beads and the evening buffet was out. Guests switched between buffet, bar, dance floor, photo booth and back again as they celebrated into the evening.