Alice in Wonderland Themed Wedding

This alternative, Alice in Wonderland themed wedding is super unique and hosted at a fantastic location – Little Gate Farm in Rye. Sophie and Lewis used her love of all things Alice in Wonderland to inform their creative chaos theme and made sure to celebrate and enjoy everything together as a couple.  I do love a wedding full of unique ideas and genuine touches. My favourite kind of wedding day to photograph, so if you’re planning something weird and wonderful too then do get in touch and let’s chat about your plans.

A Unique, Socially Responsible Wedding Venue in East Sussex

Little Gate is a supported employment opportunity, which finds paid jobs for adults with learning disabilities and autism, giving them all the support they need to learn the role, adapt to their new workplace and become a real asset to their employer. Sophie told me, “We were struggling to find an outdoor venue that wasn’t extortionate in price. A friend recommend Little Gate Farm, and we got in contact. We were able to book the venue on the condition that their SEN staff could work. Obviously, we were happy for this to happen and most of all, they were able to interview, train and get paid for their work. We love what the farm does. One of the best things about using them as a supplier is that we learned about what they do.

Down the Rabbit Hole: A Unique Proposal Story

No Alice in Wonderland-themed wedding would be complete without a little magic. The couple’s journey down the Rabbit Hole of wedding planning began with a treasure hunt proposal devised by Lewis. “Lewis devised an adorable treasure hunt around the locations we had our first dates. Within the locations were hidden envelopes containing riddles and clues which ultimately led me to him and a sparkly ring. The clues were hidden at Summerfield’s woods , Di Paolos Ice Cream Shop and East Hill. One of our good friends helped and filmed the whole thing, I was oblivious. It was the most thoughtful, adventurous thing ever!”

Alternative Alice in Wonderland Wedding Theme

Ever since she was a child, Sophie has loved all things Alice in Wonderland, so it seemed the perfect inspiration for the couple’s theme, but really, they started off with the mission to put on a fun and relaxed day for their guests. They chose a picnic-style reception on haybales and served fish and chips from Harry’s Fish and Chip Van as an informal wedding breakfast. There were teapots filled with prosecco and an Alice in Wonderland wedding cake.

Their ceremony was set in the woodland of the farm and complete with magical, toadstool seats. They wrote their own vows which were more along the lines of a speech to each other. One of Sophie’s bestfriends was a mock vicar. “She is like the mother of our friendship group and we agreed she would rock it.” Of course, their beloved pup Joe couldn’t be forgotten, so he played ring bearer and stole the show!

A Music Lover’s Wedding Soundtrack

The couple put a lot of thought into the soundtrack to their wedding day, devising playlists for the duration of their two-year elopement. “We had one for the day and one for the evening. Initially, the daytime playlist equated to 14 hours and the evening playlist was 25 hours… We tried to shorten it but alas, it was too much work. Our alternative wedding processional song was Eels – Beloved Monster and we left down the aisle together to My Hero -Foo Fighters. Our first dance was a unique choice of Red Hot Chilli Peppers – I Could Die for you. We have a diverse music taste and feel the DJ selected wisely from the playlist to suit the interests of our guests.”

Kind Words

“My wife has been following Dale on Instagram since before we were even engaged because she loves his style of photography, so we decided to book him to shoot our wedding and he was the perfect choice! Dale was able to capture our day, and our guests so beautifully and in a style we love – we literally could not have asked for better! He made both of us feel so comfortable and relaxed in spite of the fact that we both hate being the centre of attention! He was a very calming presence and manage to keep out of the way and capture really candid shots. Thank you so much for capturing our special day in such an amazing way! We absolutely adore all of our photos and will treasure them forever.”