Sophie and Adam’s Somerset wedding was a showcase of their personalities, creativity and love of colour. With a modest budget of £8,000, the couple transformed their village hall venue into a vivid wedding wonderland.
From the moment guests arrived, they were greeted with all the homemade touches. Almost everything was made by the couple themselves. Sophie, who runs a wedding stationery business with her sister, illustrated their cat, Wallace, on the welcome sign. “We didn’t have a set theme,” Sophie shared, “but we dubbed the look ‘neon woodland’ with neon lights and seasonal flowers.”
“We wanted it to look romantic but also fun! We were inspired by a visit to the God’s Own Junkyard in London and the pink and lilac sequins on my dress as the basis for the colour scheme. Although we had a small budget, we’re really proud of the colourful ‘glow up’ we achieved on a village hall and made all the streamer decorations ourselves.”
Sophie and Adam chose to walk down the aisle together, symbolising their partnership in marriage from the very start. The ring bearer was the bride’s late grandma’s dog, Toby. Their celebrant-led ceremony featured a toast to their marriage with a cup of tea after blending two teas together. “Our celebrant Jen was AMAZING,” Sophie exclaimed. “She made our ceremony so personal. We did rock, paper, scissors to decide who said their promises first – it was hilarious because we chose the same outcome three times in a row!”
The reception kicked off with an unplanned but epic entrance to the theme tune from Jurassic Park. Instead of a traditional sit-down meal, the couple opted for a buffet and a pizza truck, which was more affordable and arguably way more fun! There was also a park next to the hall and the slide and swings were free entertainment for lots of kids and ‘big kids’!
One of their reception highlights was the ‘Kerrang! Hour’ at the end of the night, where pop-punk, metal and emo anthems from the couple’s youth blasted through the speakers. “Loads of friends got up dancing and there was some epic head-banging going on!” Sophie said. They also had a game for everyone to play, which they’d made up at university. “It’s a very simple concept”, she explained. “Tons of loo rolls are set up on a step ladder which you shoot at with nerf-guns and try to knock down as many as you can! It was great fun, lots of people had a go.”
Planning a wedding with a tight budget came with its challenges, but in the end they were so happy with how everything turned out. “It was hard to do everything ourselves,” Sophie admitted. “Feeling ‘less than’ was tough sometimes, but we realigned our expectations and had the most wonderful day. If you can’t afford ‘all the things’, don’t feel disheartened, or like your day won’t be just as special. You have to look at your budget, prioritise what you care about most, book the suppliers you feel you can afford and you know will be key to making your day. Get creative with the other elements and you’ll still manage to have a wonderful wedding!!!
