The champagne is flowing, the bunting is out in force and you have re-mastered the ability to walk in heels across muddy car parks — we’re in peak wedding season.
But what if horses rank as a higher priority to confetti? Or if rosettes take preference over roses?
New horse-mad husband and wife Phil and Ruby Dodds thought just that, so they set about transforming their Devon wedding venue into an equestrian extravaganza last month (24 June 2017).
Take a look at this dream equestrian wedding (and count how many horsey touches you can spot…)
How it all began…
Phil, a soldier in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, and Ruby met through horses when Phil moved his horse to the yard where Ruby had her horses. They're pictured here out hunting with the Spooner's & West Dartmoor
An equestrian transformation
Ruby and Phil transformed Meavy Village hall, near Plymouth with a lot of hard graft. "It was really hard to get it all done," says Phil. "But we had a good team, with our parents helping and our friend who works in creative design, so she had lots of ideas"
The church gets a makeover as well…
"The horse shoes are our own horses' shoes, which we painted, and Ruby's aunt decorated them with silk flowers," says Phil
The four-legged guests
Horses from Ruby and Phil's yard, where they produce their show horses, make an appearance
Guests got the memo
These guests stave off the rain with this on-theme umbrella
Rosettes’ galore
Who needs any other decorations when you can get your hands on rosettes?
Wedding favours
Meet the guest of honour
River, a dun pony who Ruby rescued, was the surprise guest of honour — complete with a sash in keeping with the colour scheme
Not your average name places…
Guests found their seats by looking for their very own rosette
Too good to eat?
A silhouette of the newly-weds graced the top of the cake
Look carefully at the vase…
Who knew a cowboy boot could double up as a vase?
Take your seats
Breeds were the order of the day for each of the tables for dinner
A tack-room-come-wedding-venue?
Even the contents of the tack room made their way into the hall, in case anyone was in any doubt what the theme of the day was...
Is that another horseshoe we spy?
What better way to hold down the table name than with a horseshoe?
A Welsh pony for the Welsh pony table
A grey model of a Welsh pony could be found nestled on the table
Gone riding? Quite right
"We cut lots of the greenery on the Friday before the wedding from the route where we go hacking together," says Phil
A horsey spin on the napkins
Even the napkins had been given an equestrian spin. And it doesn't stop there — the couple are heading off to Tenerife next week for their honeymoon. But it won't all be cocktails by the pool — they're off on a trekking holiday. What else would you expect after a wedding like this?
