PRESS RELEASE

SOMERSET SHEPHERD HUTS CREATOR USES HUTS AS INSPIRATION FOR A VERY COUNTRY WEDDING

Blackdown Shepherd Huts owner Will Vickery knew that having huts as the main feature of his wedding was an absolute must, having spent the last five years making huts for such occasions. Will and his wife Emma used the hand-crafted huts, designed and built in Ilminster by Will's team, to bring a rural and traditional element to their wedding.

Will says: "Our huts have an authentic charm and quality that fitted our special day, and the fact that we could dress them to suit the wedding allowed us some real creativity."

Will and Emma had five Blackdown shepherd huts in his parents' field for their wedding reception. The huts were used as a photo booth, a food hut, a drinks hut, a present hut, and as the honeymoon hut.

"The huts were great talking pieces and added something special to the reception," says Will. "The photo booth hut went down a storm - the space was perfect to create a fun-filled, intimate room for photos. We also tried to see how many people we could get in one hut - that was a highlight of the evening! We hadcurrybeing served from the food hut, and a range a drinks for our guests from the drinks hut. Blackdown designs catering style huts exactly for this purpose, and it was great for me to be able to use them on mine and Emma's special day."

In 2016 Blackdown Shepherd Huts have responded to an increase in requests for shepherd huts for weddings and have set about creating special for-hire huts that meet all types of wedding needs from bride's dressing rooms to the ultimate honeymoon hut.

Will adds: "The demand for huts to be used at weddings has certainly increased. Shepherd huts appear to be bang on trend, probably because they're beautiful to look at and work well as photo backdrops, as well as being idyllic and private, special and intimate.'

Will says the idea of the huts is catching on in the hospitality and wedding industry. "Brides, grooms, and hotels and venues that host weddings are looking at huts as really unique additions to weddings. Shepherd huts have become a real talking point and I'm so proud of the way we handcraft our huts at Blackdown, there's no way I would let our Somerset wedding happen without using the huts in some way."

Recent enquiries about using the shepherds huts at wedding have seem them used as dressing rooms for brides and bridesmaids, as groom's and ushers' rooms (with a fridge in of course!), as honeymoon suites, and as photo booths.

Blackdown Shepherd Huts are inspired by the original shepherd huts that once adorned the British countryside. Will says: "Whatever your wish, we aim to create your ultimate dream hut. Customers have purchased shepherd huts for a range of purposes, from writing dens to extra family room space and glamping businesses to saunas and garden offices - we really do make all kinds of huts. It seems the traditional shepherd's hut is very much becoming part of British culture again and that's a wonderful thing.'

-Ends-

For more information, interviews, or additional images, please contact

claire@blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk/ 07734 702653

Blackdown Shepherd Hut information can be found atwww.blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk

The hiring of wedding huts starts at £500 plus vat for a weekend, excluding delivery which is £1 per mile plus vat each way.