Rain on your wedding day, especially when your ceremony is planned to be outdoors with no back up, is a common pre-wedding anxiety. But for Helen and Joseph, it actually ended up making the experience even more magical. So take this as your inspiration that while you can control a lot of things around your wedding day, the weather is not one of them – and that’s OK!

They were married at St Lukes Bombed Out Church in Liverpool, a venue which sits open to the sky, its walls intact but roof long gone. Two days before the ceremony, Helen panic bought 42 umbrellas after looking at the forecast, and thank goodness she did!

Colour was their main inspiration. Helen was drawn early on to multicoloured paper confetti and picked everything else around having that – even her dress! “I didn’t really focus on one particular colour when picking out décor or outfits”, she said, “I just whatever we thought looked nice.”

Helen walked the aisle with her bridesmaid Rachael just behind her. Then, halfway down the aisle, she met her dad and they continued on together. At the altar, she handed him a sword which their guests did not see coming!

After the ceremony came 90s romcom tunes, brownies, bubble tea and a slow walk downhill to the reception at Duke Street Market. “We’re not dance floor people so it didn’t make sense to have a ‘party party’ with DJ or band”, Helen explained. “Instead, the vibe was very much a group of friends just getting together to celebrate. We had a private room in Duke Street Market which is a food hall in Liverpool. Guest had a choice of around 30 dishes including Korean, Italian, Japanese, Mexican and modern British, followed by I think 10 different desserts. The portions were unbelievable with sides to accompany them. We’re foodies, so when planning the wedding the food is what we placed emphasis on. We were defeated when the evening food came out and while we tried our best – we did encourage guests to box up food to take home if they wish!”

“We also had a drinks token system so people could get what they wanted. I’ve seen too many people suffer down a toast drink or wine because it was there. We wanted people to actually get what they wanted to drink throughout the day. So no pre-poured toast drink, but people were encouraged to get drinks when they arrived to the venue.”

They had fortune cookies as favours and board games for people to play – which many did alongside just having an opportunity to catch up. “We didn’t plan on a first dance or cake cutting”, she said. “We thought that if we felt like it on the day we would do it. We always live by the mantra of try to live with no regrets – so we did do both.”

They saved money where it mattered to them. Flowers were DIY’d from dried flowers and foliage and instead of a traditional bouquet, Helen carried a sword which she’s added flowers too! The cakes were also homemade. The venue choices also kept costs down. The fee for the church supports its preservation, something that really mattered to them.

Looking back, the only thing they’d change is to have their photographers for longer. “We booked six hours, and with not having a big party we thought any more would be overkill. But as we did end up doing a first dance and it did brighten up later in the afternoon, it would have been nice to have a few extra hours with our photographer.”