Today I have a beautiful countryside celebration to share with you.

Charlotte and Oliver held their hand fasting outdoor wedding on the 28 ^th September 2013 on Charlotte's family farm; Fordhall Organic Farm, Shropshire. They wanted their day to be natural, autumnal and locally sourced.

There were delightful blooms, a stunning tipi reception, bridesmaids in floral dresses and sunshine.

Charlotte looked gorgeous in her Justin Alexander lace dress with flowers in her hair, while Oliver donned his favourite suit. Amazing.

Thanks goes to Andy Li Photography for sharing his wonderful imagery today.

Apparently, he had been planning it for months. He had even personally designed a beautiful engagement ring, having it made from titanium - a metal he is used to working with, and one which he knew I could not break, scuff or scratch!

It was Easter Sunday and we were at my family farm. Oli kept insisting that we went for a walk before the family meal and I kept insisting that everyone join us. I couldn't understand why he wasn't keen for us to go as a family. Eventually he managed to drag me out for a walk alone. We went to the historic Motte and Bailey site at the farm, which overlooks the Tern Hill valley, one of my favourite spots.

This is where Oli proposed. I was so surprised that I asked him three times if he was being serious... Eventually though, on the third ask I said yes!

As the farm is not registered for legal ceremonies we knew we would have to do that bit elsewhere, but we were determined to do as much as possible at the farm.

So, we travelled to the county offices at our favourite holiday destination, the Lake District, where we legally married with some family witnesses. Then the following weekend we had a hand fasting ceremony on the Motte and Bailey site where Oli had proposed the previous year.

We wanted it to be relaxed, personal, and to make the most of the natural landscape at Fordhall. We wanted to recycle what we could, use local suppliers and limit our impact on the environment. We wanted our day to be part of landscape.

I have been organising events at the farm ever since we placed it into community ownership in 2006 and so marquees were a regular occurrence. We wanted our celebration to be different and so we opted for tipi's in the farmhouse garden for our reception.

We also chose a simple buffet instead of a sit down meal for our wedding breakfast. This allowed us to have a large variety of dishes for our guests, all made freshly on the farm to celebrate the seasons, and in the evening we tucked into a farm hog roast.

Apart from the leaves and booking photographers/tipi's etc, most of our wedding was planned the two months before our date, even the dress! We shared the planning process throughout, and we both agreed that we ended up with a much better celebration as a result.

Being in the middle of the field, there was no power and so for music we asked some local musicians to play and sing acoustically. I walked in to 'Love you 'til the end' by the Pogues. During the ceremony we had 'It must be Love' by Labi Siffri and ended with '500 miles' by the Proclaimers. Both of which we asked our guests to join in with the chorus'.

Our first reading was 'Us Two' By AA Milnes from Winnie the Pooh read by my sister, and the second was the words from the U2 song 'All I Want is You' read by one of the ushers.

Each bridesmaid also wore a silver hawthorn leaf necklace with a green peridot stone handmade in Wiltshire by Glover and Smith, who delivered them to me in super time. I was so excited when I came across their website, it all fit perfectly for our celebration. Not only were they hand made from eco friendly pewter, but the Hawthorn is a symbol of protection due to its sharp thorns. It is also seen as a tree that brings good luck and prosperity to the owner. The Peridot stone is associated with: love, truth, faithfulness, protection and loyalty. It is used to help dreams become a reality and is believed to attract love.

With dried leaves and a marigold picked that morning from the garden in their hair, they all looked gorgeous. I could not have wished for more.

When guests arrived, a tractor and trailer took them down the field to the site for our hand fasting ceremony and helped save those who had high heels!

The orders of services were printed on paper made from hemp, with a front cover of hand-made rose paper.

Autumn and nature was the running theme of our special day; using dried leaves on the tables, as confetti and as decoration on the grass outside. Hessian runners decorated the natural wood tables, with large candles and jam jars full of locally grown flowers.

Outside, we made tea light holders with some jam jars and garden wire. These were hung from the trees and gave a real magical feel. We also had multi coloured flood lights shining on the house at night, which were fantastic.

Our favours were also made by my sister in law. They were felt leaves and inside each had a small packet of poppy seeds for our guests. Plus the felt leaf could be used as a Christmas tree decoration filled with chocolate year after year! A garden branch hung our table layout, each written on a leaf shaped piece of hemp paper.

At the end of the evening we spent the night in our farm yurts - it was perfect.

The ceremony was perfect, it was great to share the hand fasting ceremony with friends and family. Trying to get the ladies and gents in the audience to split the chorus to 500 miles was hilarious, but it was worth a try!

Taking photos whilst the cows tried to eat my flowers after the ceremony was also not what I had expected to be doing on my wedding day.

Bringing Autumn to the ceremony with the help of my sister in law and some dried leaves, gave the day a warmth and natural feel, which was low cost and effective.

Our celebration was not what either of us had in mind initially, but by sharing our ideas and visions for our wedding day, we created something so much better.

Location | Fordhall Organic Farm, Shropshire.

Celebrant | Carol, Shropshire Ceremonies.

Photographer | Andy Li Photography, Telford, Shropshire.

Tipi's | Event in a Tent, Wrexham.

Food | Arthur's at Fordhall Farm.

Tractor and Trailer | A.R. Richards, Market Drayton, Shropshire.

Flowers | Amanda

Oh my, a dream wedding day. The location, the wedding, the atmosphere.

Thank you so so much to Charlotte and Oliver for sharing their beautiful wedding with us here at WWW XOXO Lou