I had absolutely no doubt that Helena & Samuel’s would be absolutely bananas after the very first line of their enquiry: “we’re getting married at a paint-balling site in the forest that’s now overrun with plants and all of our friends are camping. Oh and we have no idea what it’ll look like as the owner changes it every few months.”

Helena, count me in.

The day started very much not in the forest but instead at the local pub in Hampshire where Helena was getting ready and sporting a stunning Rime Arodaky number complimented by a bouquet by the lovely Katie Mawson.

Unfortunately the weather was very much not on our side for the first half of the day, so Ceremony Plan A ended up becoming Plan D as the clouds and rain just kept rolling in like clockwork. But Mother Nature being the sassy minx that she is, the sun soon popped it’s head out mid-ceremony and meant all the worries were pretty much for nothing. Great timing, eh?!

Dinner was provided by Vamos Paella in enormous quantities and was bloody lovely. I also have a soft spot for rows and rows of long tables for dinner and speeches instead of round ones. The shapes and layers are just something else.

Photo opportunities were literally endless. I mean come on, a paint-balling site in the forest?! This has me written all over it. And things only got better once the sun finally set, as the entire forest was kitted out with light orbs to keep things going until the wee hours. 

The dance floor was much what I expected—a hell of a lot of drinking combined with a hell of a lack of rhythm.

What an absolute blast.