Halloween may be a month away, but that isn’t stopping everyone getting VERY excited for it. I think I’ve witnessed more pre-Halloween excitement than ever this year. So I thought I’d add fuel to the fire by sharing Daley and Logan’s Transylvanian ceremony with you today!
Those eagle-eyed among you may recognise this pair from their EPIC vampire royalty wedding which we featured in May. However not be satisfied with pulling off one of the most popular (and expensive!) weddings we’ve ever published, the pair also wanted to confirm their marriage with a second ceremony in Romania. And what could be more fitting for a gothic, vampire and all-things-spooky loving couple than Dracula’s castle in Transylvania!?
“Before we got married we had decided we wanted to start a tradition of renewing our vows every year somewhere different around the world”, Daley said. “So that by the time we had grown old together, we would have vowed our love to each other all over the world. What better place to start then on our vampire honeymoon in Transylvania? Our travel agency was kind enough to set the whole thing up for us. Our tour guide even brought champagne with him for a toast.”
Faith and Matt’s summer wedding was full of handmade details and was inspired by their love of colour and Jurassic Park! They had lots of multi-coloured pom poms such as on the bride’s Crown & Glory veil and they had their guests throwing them instead of confetti!
“Our wedding had lots of handmade touches, modified outfits and dinosaurs… Oh and POM POMS!” said the bride. “The little touches really made the day and make the photos look amazing. However I wish we’d known before we started that all the little things will really add up! We should have remembered to budget for them and also allowed lots of time to make and source them!”
Danielle and R.J. wanted an outdoor wedding which was casual and fun for everyone involved. The day ended with the whole wedding party and most of their friends jumping into the creek! It was unplanned and a great ending to the perfect day.
“Having an outdoor wedding was important to us from the beginning as we are both much more comfortable being outside,” explained Danielle. “We took some inspiration from the black hole of Pinterest but honestly it’s nearly impossible to replicate something you see online and in the end why would you want to? Since the ceremony and reception were both outside, we wanted the lighting to be the main decoration. That is where the luminaries, lanterns and disco ball came in. Any excuse for a disco ball, really!”
Their ceremony was emotional and, of course, included their puppy. “My dad walked me down the aisle to George Harrison singing If Not For You. George is our favourite Beatle. R.J.’s best man was holding our pup, Tyson, through the whole ceremony. Our officiant, Steve, has known us both for years and after greeting everyone he talked a little bit about us and the natural progression of our love… There was much crying. Then he read two passages that R.J. and I picked out. The first being from The Velveteen Rabbit and the second a paragraph from The Amber Spyglass. R.J. and I have a hard time being the centre of attention, even on our wedding day, so we decided to save our vows for our honeymoon. Steve later sent me a transcript of the ceremony and at the end he had written, ‘By the power of Grayskull, I now pronounce you married.’ It was his own personal challenge not to say that out loud!”
Emma and Rayner’s wedding theme started out as ‘vintage sunflowers and hot air balloons’, which quickly expanded to include rainbows too. The whole wedding was DIY and was full of activities for their guests and little nods to all the different things they both love.
“We both love vintage styling,” began Emma, “and I particularly love vintage clothes and shoes. We both collect antique curios and oddities. The hot air balloon aspect is in reference to our late son, seeing them as a link to the skies. The rainbows developed naturally through the multi-colour of the air balloons and also linked into our rainbow baby, Eric. Almost every guest commented on the uniqueness of having it all DIY and what a showing of our personalities it was. We wanted to incorporate different aspects of our personalities everywhere so we had little glints of different things throughout the day. For instance, we are both really into history so the table names were historical characters.”
Their vast range of activities included outdoor games, leaving messages for the bride and groom, and an I Spy game with prizes. “The wedding was mainly outdoors and we had a range of outdoor games like quoits, basketball and giant connect four. We had two tables with activities on, including a thumbprint guestbook made to look like balloons floating a hot air basket, a teapot with notelets for people to write us messages for us to read on our first anniversary and advice cards with spaces for a little doodle of the writer. This proved to be hilarious when we read them back! We had ‘I Spy’ cards was a game with lists of things for people to photograph and prizes for the best entries.”
Wedding planning may be stressful, but you should be able to rely on your chosen suppliers and wedding professionals. Asking the right questions will help you work out which suppliers are best for you. In this new series we’ll be talking you through the kind of things you might want to ask a potential vendor before you book. First up, wedding photographers.
Sophie Cass is both a bride-to-be and wedding photographer so she’s the perfect person to shed some light.
Choosing your perfect photographer can be a long and difficult process. As a bride-to-be and wedding photographer, I know this only too well. Before you book your photographer, take the time to sit down with them and ask them these questions either in person or via email. You don’t want to find out on the day or after the wedding that they weren’t right for you.
1. How far in advance should I book you? In general, you should start looking at potential photographers a year or more in advance. Many photographers, however, will accept last-minute bookings and may even offer a discount. Peak wedding season in the UK is May to September, and most photographers will get booked up very early on, but if you’re having a mid-week wedding or winter wedding you may be able to book just a few months beforehand. Make sure to ask your photographer about their availability, and ask them to pencil you in and inform you if anyone else inquires about your date.
2. How would you describe your style? There are several styles of wedding photography, from documentary and reportage to fine art and high-key, so it’s definitely worth researching which style you prefer before you book your photographer. Would you rather have informal, candid photographs or lots of posed pictures? The style of your photographer will massively impact the end result. Take a look at previous examples of their work before you decide to book, to ensure that they are shooting in the style you desire.
3. How will you interact with us on the day? Similar to a photographer’s photographic style, they will also have a style of shooting. Some photographers prefer to stay out of the way and capture images from a distance, only stepping in to pose their subjects, while others will be heavily involved in the action. Do you want someone who will be by your side all day long, or someone you will barely notice? There are advantages and disadvantages to both, so it’s entirely up to you what you would prefer.
4. What equipment do you use? The brand of camera doesn’t matter; nor does the amount of lenses. What does matter is how prepared they are. A good wedding photographer should have some form of external flash, such as a flashgun or off-camera light. It’s also worth asking whether their camera is full frame or cropped sensor. A full-frame camera is preferable as it will impact the amount of detail they can capture in a photograph and how well the camera will perform in low lighting.
5. What does your package include? This is an important question, because while some photographers will include everything in their package, others will have extras available as add-ons. Check whether you will have to pay extra for travel, how they will deliver their photographs (USB, CD, or download?), how many hours they will be at your wedding for, and if a pre-wedding engagement shoot is included or not. You will want to make sure you are clear on what is and isn’t included, to avoid spending extra money later on.
6. What doesn’t your package include? To prevent yourself from being caught out, make sure to follow up the previous question with clarification on what isn’t included. For example, what kind of editing will they do? Will they simply adjust levels and exposure, or will they retouch the images entirely? It’s also worth checking whether digital or print albums are part of the package, and whether you are paying for their time or for the photographs. Some photographers will present you with a digital album of photographs and charge for the download or print of individual images.
Imagine planning your whole wedding, only to have to RE-PLAN it all just four days before! Well that’s exactly what happened to Chantelle and Simon’s but luckily they kept their cool and still pulled off an amazing day. Less than a week to go and the couple found out their venue wasn’t ready to host them. They quickly jumped into action and managed to rearrange the whole thing. The one silver lining of the unfortunate last minute venue change was that the day, that was originally going to cost £17,000, only ended up costing them just £6000!
“Due to the original venue being cancelled we saved thousands by getting married at the town hall and having the reception at a local venue”, began Chantelle. “In the end it worked out absolutely perfect for us and we wouldn’t have changed a thing. Despite everything that happened we promised not to stress or turn something so special into something negative.”
Things have been moving very slowwwwwly for the past few weeks. I have a pathological need to always be doing something productive, so it’s been quite frustrating to not feel like we’ve made any progress. But I keep telling myself that a) we’re really, really busy with work stuff right now and b) there is literally no rush. We are perfectly happy with the house as it is (although it’s a little rough around the edges!) and we’re going to be here FOREVER. I also know that if we got everything done really quickly, in five years time I’d want to change it all again anyway!
So I don’t really have any proper updates or developments for you this week so instead I thought I’d focus on something fun – SHOPPING.
I am suddenly OBSESSED with all things interiors. Our old place was so small that even though I wanted to fill it with knick knacks, trinkets and about 76 pink chairs, it was an impossibility (which made my husband very happy – ha!) But, sorry Gareth, now we have space to spare I am on a mission to buy All. The. Pretty. Things.
And because sharing is caring, here are some things I’ve bought for the house recently.
I’ve been dreaming about owning copper pans forever and these were the best priced (for really good quality) that I found. We got the 16 and 20 inch saucepans and we also plan to get the frying pan and stockpot when funds allow. The only thing is, they do tarnish with heat. I quite like the patina of an over-used copper pot, but if anyone has any tips on how to polish them up to keep them looking their best please let me know!
I might not be her target audience, but I actually love watching Zoella’s videos, and when she launched her new lifestyle range these immediately spoke to me! I actually use mine as mini plant pots and I have them sat beside my desk. They are super cute and at only £6 each you really can’t go wrong.
My office is coming along really nicely (just a sofabed, big mirror, neon sign and rug to go!) but the walls are very WHITE. I needed something to brighten them up and so many of you recommended Society 6 that I went and checked them out. The prices are really affordable for unframed prints (I’ll buy some simple frames from IKEA) and I love the mix of different, independent artists.
This is one of the first things I picked up when we moved in. We currently don’t have any carpets and although they look lovely, I’m not a massive fan of the coldness of wooden floors. I bought this to put right by my side of the bed so my toes have something soft underfoot when I first get up in the morning.
Katinka and Andy met on Livejournal in 2008, and after finally meeting in person, it was love at first sight. They were married in May in Belgium and there wedding was themed around the things they love – Toy Story (check out the bride’s shoes!), summer gatherings with friends and cake!
“Whenever we have people over I bake cake and make lemonade”, began the bride. “We just sit and talk the afternoon away, enjoying our food and drinks and we play the occasional game of Kubb. It’s one of the things we love the most, so we just did that for the wedding, but instead of a small group of friends, there were about 70 people!”
“Our wedding was like an afternoon tea/ garden party, without the sandwiches and just more cake. Because cake makes everyone happy and that is exactly what we wanted. There were scones, cakes, homemade lemonades and hot beverages. We didn’t have any beer or wine, only some cider. I don’t drink any alcohol and Andy only ever drinks the occasional cider. We wanted it to be our day, our party. We would never have wine and beer at a party, so we thought, what the heck, why not just get rid of beer and wine for our wedding too?! This saved us a lot of money. The atmosphere was very relaxed. There were people playing lawn games, eating cake, talking, enjoying the sun. Just the kind of party we love.”
Holly and Robbie originally planned a big, vegan wedding for all their loved ones. They had nearly everything booked but as they were about to start IVF they decided the pressure was getting all too much and they cancelled. They then decided to elope instead and planned it all in less than a month!
“Getting married was something we always dreamed about but after the buzz of just getting engaged wore off wedding planning became very stressful”, they explained. “The barn we booked was absolutely beautiful and we are sad to see it go but we realised having a big wedding was not being true to ourselves. Along with all that, we were going through IVF which is a massive deal and we didn’t want either of us dealing with the stress of chair covers and if grandma will eat a meal without meat on it!”
Handley and Karl had a vintage wedding, and the details were perfectly authentic. From the bridesmaids vintage dresses, the stationery from the 1960s and all the retro knick knacks and props, they wanted to be crowned Prom King and Queen.
“Our wedding was a a 1950s prom, because tinsel and puffy dresses are what dreams are made of!” the bride began. “Plus, we got to fulfil our dream of being crowned Prom King and Prom Queen!”
“I’ve been a collector of all things vintage for most of my life, and as a fashion designer I’ve always loved the playfulness of the 1950s. Karl shares a passion for this era, as he is a furniture designer with a soft spot for mid-century aesthetics. I never grew up dreaming of a big wedding (or any wedding at all, to be honest!) so I think our 50s prom really is a decision that fell perfectly into place with us. It just felt right from the first casual mention.”
If you’ve been following the blog for a while you’ll know that for the last couple of years we’ve done a LOT of wedding fairs. They’re super fun (I will ALWAYS love meeting you guys!) but also super exhausting. So this year we’ve decided to just do ONE and that one is, in my humble opinion, the best one out there – the Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza in Birmingham!
So why is it so great? We’ll I’m glad you asked…
All the exhibitors are genuinely alternative
Organised by Jo of The Couture Company, Sassy of Assassynation Photography and Yasmin of Curious Coco Designs. this is Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza’s 5th year. They they are returning with an impeccable array of everything that is different, creative and unique in the world of weddings. For half a decade the show has brought together unique exhibitors and couples alike, showcasing the most diverse wedding talent in the country.
This season they’ll be welcoming 70 incredible suppliers including Crown and Glory, Working Clasp, Jamball, Black Cherry Cake Company, Conjurer’s Kitchen, Alternative Ceremonies UK, DiscoWed, The Couture Company, Wish Upon a Sparkle, Gaming4Weddings, Doris Loves, Hardfelt and MANY, MANY MORE!
No teeth whitening/ weight loss/ plastic surgery companies
I’m not gonna lie, I’ve always been intensely unconformable with the presence of companies peddling ways to permanently alter your body in the run up to your wedding at some of the larger shows. Luckily there is NOTHING LIKE THAT at the Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza. Praise the lord!
No pushy sales people
Similarly, the show has a no pushiness policy meaning the exhibitors are encouraged to be chatty, helpful and charming, but not to push offers on you, thrust leaflets in your hand or generally be obnoxious arseholes. I know a lot of you can feel quite anxious about going to wedding fairs, but everyone at this one is lovely, warm, friendly and genuinely interested in hearing what YOU have to say (and not the other way around!) Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza is like a weird little family and I love that about it so much!
They met in 2012 and after chasing her for 6 months, Abel finally convinced Kayde to go out with him! Five years later they were planning their October wedding. With the time of year they got married they wanted their wedding to have a dark, slightly gothic vibe, but nothing too scary. So they complimented this idea with pops of colour (very Kate Spade) and comic book details for the groom!
“I would describe our wedding as a ‘Dark Kate Spade'”, said the bride. ” I basically took all our home decor and brought it to the wedding. My husband wanted something comic book related so I found wedding comic book covers to use as table numbers.”
Seb and Liam’s Easter weekend wedding was inspired by music, fashion, the 1980s and their love of performing. They wanted the opportunity show off and dress up. “Wen feel like the bride often gets all the fun at straight wedding and we wanted to be in the spotlight!” they laughed, “We thought it would be great for our guests to be dressed in an unusual way so that they felt special and different.”
“The theme was ‘come dressed in the iconic vintage fashions of the decade you were born’. We had people ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s. People were encouraged to go vintage (and not fancy dress shop style). Everything that we love was encompassed in the theme – dressing up, our taste for retro music, and an opportunity to show off.”
Deirdre has been a mother of the bride twice, most recently last summer for her youngest daughter, Rachel, but the first time for me! Yes, this article is written by my very own mother and she has something she wants to discuss…
As a past a present mother of the bride, I have noticed that there are a lot of negative stereotypes around us. The assumption that all MOBs are overbearing, “mumzillas” who are just out of touch and “don’t get it” is not only hurtful, but incorrect. As a mother I only ever want what’s best for my daughters, so I thought I’d try to explain why some of us might act the way they do when it comes to their weddings!
Traditionally mothers of the bride would have done the lion’s share of the wedding planning. Way back in 1982 my mother did everything from deciding on the venue, the catering, and the guests (who were mostly relatives and their friends). They also paid for everything. I didn’t even choose a new dress as I wanted to wear the one she wore in the 50s. My one contribution was managing to squeeze into it on the day! I simply turned up a few days before, did everything that was expected and left Mum to clear up after the event. Not an ideal way to do things perhaps but for me it was almost totally stress-free!
Today most couples live together before they marry and they have their own views and want to be in charge of the event from start to finish. Rock n Roll Bride champions this element of weddings and the phrase ‘your day, your way’ has long been the mantra of the age. You can see that this can cause a ‘perfect storm’ scenario – especially if the parents are paying. Of course you want to have the wedding you want, but most likely your parents still want some input too. Any relationship needs to put communication and compromise to the forefront, and this situation is no different. So rather than stamping your feet or assuming your mother is just being difficult or “doesn’t get it” why not think of ways you can both win?
If you follow me on Instagram you will already know that my babe Sophie married her Gareth this weekend and I was one of her maids of honour (I shared the role with Ronnie). It was such a wonderful weekend – THE BEST in fact! We laughed, we cried, we did shots, we ate pizza and the spiciest hot dogs, we drunk danced (and some of us drunk fell over), we abused the photo booth, we stole the skull shaped candles from the centrepieces, we got covered in glitter…
It rained really heavily the night before and the whole morning while we were getting ready. We were all trying to think positively and hoping the clouds would clear for just long enough for their outdoor ceremony. Well not only did they clear in the nick of time (literally 10 minutes before we were all due to start walking out!) but the most spectacular rainbow appeared when they were doing their photos. Talk about the wedding gods shining down on them!
Natalie and Edward got engaged in Ibiza so decided to also have their wedding there! Their day was held in a nature reserve and was bohemian in style and super creative. As they were having a destination wedding they decided to throw the rule book out and ignore tradition.
“We knew the venue well and wanted to keep the day as simple as possible,” began Natalie. “As it was in nature reserve there was a lot of wildlife and flowers around. The venue itself was very minimal and white so it just looked gorgeous as it was. We took pastel coloured paper streamers and tie dye balloons with us but that was it. Neither myself nor Edward wanted a traditional outfit. He wore a gold and black camouflage suit and the bottom half of my dress was rose gold sequins!”
When it came to their wedding day, Twyla and Gary knew they wanted to do it somewhere beautiful to celebrate their nine years of being together. They also want want the day to be about timelines and details. They had no cake, no bridesmaids and only used wild flowers collected from the local area. They just wanted to enjoy the day together and be present in the moment, so thatʼs exactly what they focused on.
“As a photographer myself I have attended enough traditional weddings to know that I didnʼt want this day to be traditional,” began Twyla. “The details didn’t matter to us and we didn’t want to have to follow a timeline on the day. We just wanted to enjoy our day and be in the moment. Being together was the most important part and Azores in Portugal provided more than any flowers and mason jars ever could. Our wedding was about adventure, happiness and love.”
It’s unusual for me to start a real wedding feature by sharing the video, but Maliya and Dimitris’ film, made by BeingThere Videography, is such a beauty that I can’t help myself. Put this full screen, turn it up loud and enjoy!
Any wedding where the bride rocks pastel pink hair, they have a unicorn wedding cake and they party in a nightclub is all good in my book. Doesn’t this look like the most fun EVER? They were legally married on Christmas Day and had their party on New Year’s Day!
Kat and Dean began working together four years ago (she was his tattoo apprentice) and ended up falling in love after just a couple of months. They have worked and lived together ever since, and now own their own tattoo studio in Belfast. Their wedding theme, 1920s vaudeville glamour, was based on their love of the 20’s and on Kat’s dream wedding dress.
“We love the 20s, vaudeville era,” the bride began, “and wanted that style and glamour to the day and the party atmosphere a 1920s nightclub! My dress had a huge influence on the day as it was so decadent and heavily embellished and just felt so glamorous; we wanted the reception to feel that way too.”
Yes you read that right, I really am publishing a wedding shoot with dogs as the stars today. Why not hey!? Not only are there real life dog models but their human counterparts are rocking all manner of puppy themed clobber and the table is covered in doggie plates, kitsch ornaments and the stationery is all puppy themed. I approve!
“The inspiration for this shoot was pretty simple”, explained photographer Ellie Grace, “DOGS! I am a crazy dog lady and I know that if I got married, I would want as much inclusion of dogs as possible. For this shoot I decided that instead of going down a colour theme or specific style, I just thought, dogs and lots of dogs!”
