Silje and Alex were married in Norway in July. Their wedding was DIY heavy and inspired by nature. “We focused on aesthetics and ideas that fit our personalities”, said the bride. “We both love nature, and the foresty theme took hold after we decided to have the ceremony in the woods. Our colours were turquoise and gold, which is simply just one of my favourite colour combinations.”
The bride designed her dress herself with help from her maid of honour. “My main inspiration for my outfit was just to make my dream dress, and I feel very lucky to have been able to make and have made so much of it just for me. The fabric was bought from Conscious Elegance on etsy after I fell in love with their organic hemp silk. The rest of the fabric was bought in my local fabric shop, except for one of the bits of lace which was an old curtain! I embroidered the bead heart and decorated the belt myself using an ammonite fossil because I love stones, fossils and nature in general.”
There was lots of DIY in this wedding including all the flowers and the catering. “My bouquet and the flowers in the reception were mostly all wildflowers and shrubs that we picked the day before the wedding. My bouquet also included about £5 worth of roses from the supermarket! I spray painted feathers to make them look gold dipped, and strung them all on string to be hung in the venue, along with 100 gold origami paper cranes.”
“I also made 80 little fimo clay monsters as the wedding favours, which was so much fun! They were all unique, and it was the most fun I’ve had crafting in ages. I had to contain myself from asking every single guest which monster they picked to see who their ‘match’ was.”
“To keep with the laid back feeling we were going for, we had a barbecue buffet. My dad is a chef, and helped plan the menu and prep lots of the side dishes the days before the wedding (along with Alex’s mum). On the day two of his old colleagues, who I’ve known since I was little, manned the barbecues. My dad spent a lot of time prepping and cooking, and the food was incredible; we kept getting compliments all night. Alex also made homebrewed beer for the entire wedding. ”
The day was held at Helgåleiren, in Ogna, rural South West Norway. “Our venue was surrounded by woods so we decided to hold a humanist ceremony behind the venue. Our backup plan in case of rain was a lovely conservatory with glass walls at the venue, but luckily it was fine! We decorated with bunting and a wooden arch made from driftwood from the island where we live. We added feathers and oregano that was in bloom from mum and dad’s garden. It was a lovely, casual ceremony with both laughter and tears. Our friend Dan played as me and dad walked up the aisle and when we walked out together afterwards my maid of honour, Vera, sang Songbird by Eva Cassidy a capella.”
“My advise for other couples would be to yourselves, it feels awesome! It’s YOUR day, so you can make it anything you want! If you want great photos, get a great photographer. You get what you pay for. Our photographer was our biggest expense and we don’t regret it. On the day, live in the moment (it goes SO fast), breathe and enjoy yourselves!”
The Gallery
Suppliers
- Photography: Eirik Halvorsen
- Video: Kristian Dale
- Officiant: Norwegian Humanist Association
- Venue: Helgåleiren, Ogna, Norway
- Bride's Dress: DIY
- Bride's Shoes: Miss L Fire
- Groom's Attire: Hugo Boss