Junk and Glitter Themed Farm Wedding: Ellie & Ed

Emma Case Photography

September 6, 2013

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Ellie and Ed wanted their June wedding to not only reflect them – their likes and loves – but to be a fun day for everyone, full of DIY details. The day started with an emotional ceremony at Aldenham School, Elstree and the reception was in tipis on Buckettsland Farm, Well End. “We said the whole way through the planning process that we didn’t have a theme but looking back it was essentially junk and glitter”, began the bride. “If you ever saw our flat, you would know that we’re not matchy-matchy people in the slightest. I love tack and have a big collection of oddities, plus I have an obsession with the stars and the moon and anything glittery, so I always knew they would end up making an appearance.”

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“I wanted everything to have a life after the day itself, whether that meant being re-purposed, sold on or given away”, she continued. “Some things were donated and I collected second-hand vases, old bottles, candelabras, blankets, books, tablecloths, favours and all six of the bridesmaid dresses in the run-up. It wasn’t necessarily about saving money but about taking away the anonymous and disposable aspect of the day.”

“I love Le Voyage Dans La Lune, a very early silent film by George Melies, so that inspired our paper moon prop and the hundreds of stars we scattered about the tipis and garden. Pastel lace for the bridesmaids was the first decision I made when we originally got engaged and it took a while to find each dress in the right shade. Seeing the girls together in them for the first time was one of my proudest moments.”

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“The whole day was a tribute to doing it ourselves!”  she replied when I asked about their DIY projects. “We didn’t hire any of the props on the day – everything was handmade by us. Or more specifically, by my amazing Dad who took time off from his job to become a full-on DIY superhero. He bought hundreds of battery powered LED lights and spent hours cutting out and painting the foam board shapes and letters needed for the bar and love heart signage above the stage. He then spent the day before the wedding inventing a system of pulleys to make sure they didn’t fall onto the band’s heads half way through the night! The love he put into them was overwhelming.”

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“We saved money on the flowers which were bought wholesale from Triangle Nursery. The ladies in the family spent the day before, quietly and skilfully arranging them into all of the cut-glass vases and swan planters I had collected. I cried when I first saw them; I was so overcome that they looked just as I had imagined. For the invites we used a photo booth to capture the message and then our friend designed and printed them for us. We were so pleased with them. I made the menus from doilies which cost under a fiver all in and the favours were hand-stamped floral hankies for the women and chutney for the men which went down really well.”

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“The time spent with our families in the months leading up to the wedding will always be incredibly special. I moved out of home when I was 17, so to spend nearly every weekend back there making decorations, tasting wine, driving about the countryside was so much fun. Even when it was stressful (our original venue cancelled on us) it was so rewarding to spend time with them all.”

Ellie wore a beautiful vintage wedding dress from Abigail’s Vintage and shoes that she designed herself through Upper Street. “My dress was a William Cahill Chantilly lace design from 1949”, she explained. “the label said ‘Made in Hollywood’. It was perfect. I never thought I’d be able to find an original vintage dress in a larger size, but Abigail altered it to fit. It felt amazing to wear something that had it’s own history and be able to add to it.”

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“The photography and music were both hugely important to us”, she said when I asked about the budget. “Choosing Emma to be our photographer was the best decision we made during the whole process. I emailed her when we first got engaged to enquire and she was so warm and welcoming but during the planning process I ended up being overwhelmed by the amount of photographers out there plus difference in pricing, the packages available etc. I sat down one day, went back to basics and came back to Emma. It instantly felt like coming home. Her style and understanding were incredible! I paid for the photography myself, as I didn’t want to compromise. Some more traditional family members were apprehensive, but these photos will be with us for our whole lives, for generations to come. To me, that is priceless.”

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“We’re both big music people so when we heard that Emma’s husband Pete had started playing weddings with his band, The Rebel Party Band, we instantly felt they would be a great choice. Their set list was already amazing (think everything from Bowie’s Let’s Dance to Black Rebel’s Spread Your Love and OutKast’s Hey Ya) but they also learnt The Stooges for us, which was incredible. Seeing my 75 year Auntie dancing to Iggy will always be a highlight of the day for me!”

“Every bride says not to waste time on the little things that you won’t notice on the day, but I’m so glad that we did!” Ellie concluded. “Seeing everything come together on the day made me so proud and justified all the effort we had put in. We had wanted a party of love, laughter and dancing and as we stood alone together, holding hands under the stars and sobbing with happiness as everyone departed, we knew we had achieved just that.”

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