Diana and Sean brought their version of retro Vegas to Preston Court in Kent, mixing casino references and motel room keys with an English country setting. Their supplier brief was “Las Vegas, quirky, Sure Thing Chapel and retro.”

Having attended plenty of weddings in their 30s, they knew the familiar sequence of events and wanted to give their guests plenty to get involved in. There would be dancing, candyfloss, a carousel and glamping tents to stumble back to afterwards. “We kept the traditions that meant something to us and felt very relaxed about the rest,” they said. “Our main question throughout planning was always, ‘Will this make the day more fun or more us?’”

That question led them towards hot pink, orange and red flowers, velvet tablecloths, table lamps and a growing collection of kitsch. Over several months, they gathered pink swan vases, dice, rubber ducks and a second-hand light-up Elvis ornament from Vinted for their stylist to work into the day. At the entrance, a pink sign with red hearts stood against the green hedges, with flowers clustered around its easel. Inside the timber barn, colour spread along the tables beneath the venue’s ornate fairground organ.

A giant hot-pink paddling pool filled with drinks is a pretty good indication of where a party is heading. Diana had become fixated on a pink drinks tub she’d spotted on Pinterest. When she couldn’t find one to hire, she bought the pool, made a “Booze Pool” sign and stocked it with beers, wine and soft drinks.

Guests found their seats using a motel-inspired seating plan, taking away room-key keyrings as keepsakes. The kissing booth became a gathering point for couples, friends and whole groups piling in for photographs.

But getting to that point involved a less photogenic stretch of emails, guest lists and decisions. The couple found the sheer number of options exhausting, particularly when choosing suppliers. Diana’s dress search brought the indecision to a head, and she eventually chose two: a Justin Alexander gown for the ceremony and main photographs, followed by Easy Tiger’s The Lovers Dress for the party. The short dress, covered in sequinned hearts and motifs, brought the Vegas reference into her evening outfit.

Diana arrived at the venue in a VW Beetle and walked down the aisle with her grandmother, who has always been like a second mother to her. The bridesmaids and groomsmen entered to a string version of Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles, one of Diana’s favourite songs. “Sean’s youngest sister also read a Kafka poem during the ceremony, which several guests told us afterwards they had never heard at a wedding before”, Diana explained, “We loved that it felt a little unusual and very us.”

The couple had encountered the occasional raised eyebrow while explaining their plans to people. A booze-filled paddling pool and motel seating chart took a little explaining. But they carried on with the ideas that excited them, choosing suppliers who understood their personalities and shared their enthusiasm. “We were genuinely incredibly lucky with all of our suppliers”, they continued. “So many of them understood exactly what we were trying to create and really embraced the slightly unconventional brief.”

“Do things on your own timeline,” they advise. “It’s okay if you don’t book everything immediately, if your engagement is longer than other people’s, or if you simply don’t care about something everyone tells you is ‘essential’.”