Oh my, have we got one of the most spectacularly cool weddings for you today! Samantha and Nathan, who were marred in May, had one of those celebrations that you’re really going to wish you were invited too. From all the incredibly thoughtful details, to the bride’s killer personal style – yep this wedding just screams awesome from every side. The best part is they spend less than £5000 – including their honeymoon to the Dominican Republic!
“Our wedding theme was a combination of traditional and individual”, the bride explained. “We had a church ceremony and hymns and kept some very important traditional elements, but then we had a lot of things that were very unique. For example, all my bridesmaids wore their own boots and I asked them to do their hair and make up however they would want to wear it so they all had their own styles. The main themes running through were peacock feathers (for royalty and nobility) as well as cream, champagne and gold to keep it classy.”
The reception, held at St Davids Parish Hall in Holmbridge, was a completely DIY affair. All the decor was bought from eBay. “I used banquet rolls for table covers, scatter gems, flowers and feathers”. she explained. “The wishing well came from a hobbyist carpenter in Wales and the table runners were from the Poundshop Christmas range!”
“Everything else was made by me and my bridesmaids. The cake was made by a bridesmaid and we arrange all the (faux) flowers ourselves (which we bought from eBay!) Two close friends made the amazing food for 150 people and I am still in awe at what they achieved. I cannot thank Gary and Samuel enough for how hard they worked on our big day.”
“I put a lot of emphasis on the wedding reception being very informal, we had no seating plan and the majority of the day was filled with various entertainment and we wanted to ensure there was music to suit everyone’s tastes. Things didn’t happen on time as we initially planned but it was better to let it flow how it did and rather than getting stressed just embraced the flow of the day instead.”
Samantha’s favourite part of the wedding was right when they were pronounced husband and wife. “The hundred or so people behind us made so much noise it sounded like we were in a football stadium and the home team had just scored a goal! That, along with being driven to the church and walking down the aisle to Nathan with my dad, was such a highlight. It was so special to be able to do those things with my dad who could have quite easily not been able to. He has been in bad health for a while. So many people who were sharing our day know of my dad’s health problems and he absolutely nailed his speech and there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd. It is very hard to pick just one of these moments as my favourite as the whole day was just perfect for us.”
The bride wore a secondhand dress which cost her just £80 and Dr Marten’s which she picked up for £15! He veil was also only £20 from eBay. “The biggest expense was actually our honeymoon. Yes that’s right the £5000 budget included our honeymoon! We went straight off from our reception to the airport for two weeks in the Dominican Republic. That was just over £2000 and completely worth it. We couldn’t have done that had we not had so much input from friends and family who did everything they could to help us. We are very lucky to have such amazing people surrounding us.”
“Other than that probably the church fees and reception venue were the biggest costs. We paid £1000 for the ceremony and the reception venue. Never underestimate the cost of a wedding! We looked into a marquee wedding and it was going to cost £5000 just for the marquee and field hire. The church venue became our saving grace as it was nowhere near as expensive as I thought it would be. Modern wedding venues are considered trendy and with that comes a massive price tag. I am so happy it went this way because I ended up getting the church wedding I really wanted but thought I couldn’t have.”
“The best thing about planning our wedding was seeing how excited everybody around us was for our big day”, she concluded. “Having people offer to help in any way they could it made us feel very loved and we are humbled by how much was given to us in time money and support.
The worst thing about planning the wedding was being told we had a limit on guests due to fire regulations and getting that guest list cut down was just awful. I would have loved to have been able to invite another 150 people. I don’t think I would change a thing to be honest as I feel our day went as perfectly as it could. It was amazing and I have no regrets.”
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- Photography & Videography: Photography by Charli
- Venue: St Davids Church & Hall, Holmbridge
- Bride's Dress: Margaret Lee
- Bride's Shoes: Dr Martens
- Groom's Attire: Jean Junction & eBay
- Bridesmaid Dresses: eBay
- Band: The Cheats
- DJ: Gary Duncan
- Singer: Reece Wilson Swing Soul Singer