Autumn Themed Llama Farm Wedding: Rachael & Andy

We chose The Wellbeing Farm in Bolton as our wedding venue as it is quirky, fun, relaxed and of course because we love animals and were able to have llamas and donkeys at our wedding! It was also important to have somewhere suitable for young children as we have a toddler and this venue is great for kids and adults alike.

Words by Rachel. Images by Kieran Bellis Photography.

Having real flowers was important to me as I love them. We married in early November so wanted an autumn wedding theme. I asked for flowers that were in season in autumnal colours. My favourite flowers are sunflowers so I’m really glad these were incorporated too. They were so perfect! The thistles and eucalyptus looked amazing with the flowers too as they looked more rustic and fitted well with our venue and other decorations.

We were keen to use real pumpkins and squashes to decorate the venue and this worked so well. We also used pine cones and conkers that we had collected as a family and silk leaves in autumnal colours. The venue has a prop shed with loads of things available to use and lots of our decorations were from there – it’s like a treasure trove! We used some wicker llamas, bunting and paper lanterns as well as lots of fairy lights and large “love” letters which all belonged to the venue.

I absolutely loved our walk around the farm after the ceremony with Kieran the photographer. It was raining and we got soaked but it was lots of fun and we got to just spend time with each other as a couple and take in the beautiful views around the farm. Kieran got some amazing photos. It was fun walking the llamas too which we got to do prior to this!

We didn’t have a set theme as such but wanted to decorate the venue in a rustic and autumnal way due to the time of year and the type of venue. We feel the barn looks beautiful in autumn and the oranges and yellows complimented the venue really well. We wanted to incorporate llamas into our wedding as much as possible as this was an exciting part of getting married at this venue for us. We named all the tables after different farm animals and famous people for example Alpaca Cino, Meryl Sheep and Kendrick Llama.

If we could impart any advice we would say. Just enjoy it! Don’t stress about the little things, it really isn’t worth it. The day goes so quick but by the end of it, you’ll be shattered. We had a brew station at our wedding and the guest loved this. If it rains on your wedding day it does not matter, it didn’t spoil our day at all and we still got the most amazing photos. Also, shop around, there are lots of ways you can make your wedding really personal and special without breaking the bank. We bought a lot of things in advance in the sales and saved a lot of money that way.