Shades Wedding – Kate & Andrew at Loseley Park

Published on 17th October 2019 by Jenny Mason

The Wedding

I had been to several marquee events and weddings in the past and I thought I had a fairly good handle on things. However, it was not until June 2018 when I was at my best friend Char’s wedding in Hook Heath. She had been telling me about the marquee she had lined up for her big day for ages, but it didn’t quite occur to me how beautiful and different it was going to be until I saw it! I decided that moment (pre my own engagement!) that I would have a sailcloth marquee when I got married. Char couldn’t recommend the team at Shades any more, so when we got engaged, I followed her trusty recommendation and got in touch with them myself.

I had always dreamed of having our wedding in the grounds of a country home with beautiful views and gardens. Loseley Park ticked all those things, and being situated just miles from where I went to school, it seemed really special. As soon as I visited, I knew that the marquee was going to look amazing on the front lawn.

The Details

Couple: Andrew & Kate
Location: Loseley Park
Photographer: The Shannons
Videographer: Perfect Moment Films
Wedding dress: Suzanne Neville
Make Up:  Kristina Gasperas
Marquee: Shades – Aurora Sailcloth
Flowers: Kate Osborne (The Gorgeous Flower Company)
Catering: Caper & Berry at Loseley Park
Band: Soul Beat

The Planning

I found the entire planning aspect of the wedding fairly relentless, tiring and stressful! I am a bit of a perfectionist and I think my traits really came out in their full glory. Luckily, Paul from Shades was incredibly kind, easy to deal with, and very forgiving of my numerous emails and phone calls with endless questions. The actual marquee organisation was the easiest part of the planning process as I knew what I wanted, however, it was only in the last days (and hours) that I decided how I wanted the outside of the marquee to look. Bringing this idea to life could have been tricky with just days to spare, but Paul had a great idea of using sheep skin rugs on top of wooden benches to create a ‘polished’ but rustic look. I loved it!

The Day

The day was perfect and everything went to plan. Paul and his team came down from Yorkshire the night before, and then were on site all day which was brilliant, and very reassuring to know that if anything went wrong, they’d be around! Luckily the weather was beautiful and we were able to open up the sides of the tents to allow everyone to enjoy the lawn

Top Tips

I was very lucky as there was a brilliant team running the show at Loseley Park. Our caterers Caper & Berry who are based on site, were fab and really helped the day run smoothly. Our florist, Kate from The Gorgeous Flower Company had worked with Loseley Park many times before so knew the team well. All these things helped make everything run so easily. All of the suppliers commented to me on how professional they found Shades to be, and also how wonderful the marquee was. Everyone was very impressed! I don’t know what my top tip would be, but I suppose it’s probably fair to say “always trust the expert”. There were many things I just asked for Paul’s advice on, and trusted him, as ultimately he’s done this far more times than I have! 

If you’d like to know more about our Sailcloth Tents, or planning your Wedding with Shades, do get in touch either by email – info@shades-canvas.com or phone – 0844 880 544