October 11, 2012
Sarah & Dan wanted a blank canvas space that they could completely transform for their wedding. So after their ceremony at The Guildhall, the oldest building in Leicester, the wedding reception was held in tipis set up in The Cedar Field, Market Bosworth. "The Cedar Field was great venue, basically a blank canvas in a farmers field where you can tailor every aspect of the day", explained Sarah.Read more...
October 10, 2012
Getting engaged on the top of Toyko Tower in Japan in 2010, Emalie & Duncan's wedding was never going to be traditional. With a bride rocking mermaid green hair and a groom adding a much needed modern twist to the tweed suit, this couple wanted a wedding that screamed 'them'. A field in Cookhill, Evesham was chosen as the location and the pair were married outside, in front of a homemade giant heart shaped flower wreath.Read more...
October 9, 2012
You've probably seen one of Shirley & Waz' wedding photographs before, because it went kinda viral. Remember the wedding photograph that captured the actual milky way!? Yeah that one... (and if you didn't - and where have you been? - it's at the bottom of this post). Anyway after wedding photographer Lakshal Perera published that image and everyone calmed down and people stopped squealing "PhotoShop!" (it wasn't by the way) every single wedding blogger on the planet (probably) waited with baited breath to see the rest of the images. And jeez I nearly fell off my chair when Lakshal emailed me to ask if I'd like to be the blog to share it... erm... let me think about that for like 2 seconds... HELL YES PLEASE!Read more...
October 9, 2012
If someone was to ask me to list my favourite things tattooed brides, bright rainbow colours and cute, furry animals would all fare pretty high on my list. So needless to say I didn't hesitate when I was sent this bridal shoot by wedding photographer Martin Hobby!Read more...
October 8, 2012
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Felicia & Ariel wanted to plan a wedding with a nod to their heritage as well as the place they grew up. The wedding was held at The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, a non-profit education and research organisation, owned by the groom's parents. "As born and raised Austinites and the children of hippies, we knew from the get-go that we didn't want to have the 'usual' wedding," began Felicia. "Ariel and I both love being in nature and so it seemed like a easy choice to have the wedding at the site of his family's home and non-profit organization. We wanted the wedding to have a lot of color and reflect our passions and cultures. I'm Mexican-American and loved the idea of embroidered Mexican dresses for my bridesmaids, delicate papel picado banners, and bright paper flowers."Read more...
October 8, 2012
Recently I dubbed 2012 the year of the festival wedding. I've been seeing them all over (particularly on my own blog's pages!) and loving it. I used to be a huge festival kid. I live in Reading and we have a pretty famous rock festival every year, so I've always been a bit of a fangirl. I have fond memories of dancing til dawn, getting soaking wet in the rain and not giving a damn and waking up in stranger's tents ...(I'd like to point out this was before Gareth by the way!)Read more...
October 3, 2012
With a budget of just £5000, Sophie & Tom planned their perfect wedding for 1st September this year. Hosting it themselves on the farm where they live, they were able to save money and make things super personal by getting creative. Sophie wore a second hand Ian Stuart wedding dress and Tom wore a Vivienne Westwood suit which he bought on sale.Read more...
October 1, 2012
Ahh Big Sur. In the early part of my wedding blogging career I had no idea what this 'Big Sur' was... a magical sounding place that all the other wedding bloggers spoke of so often. And then finally I realised the obsession. These Californain mountains are picturesque. And overlooking the Pacific ocean. Is it any wonder they're such a popular spot for weddings? Come on English mountains... step it up a bit...Read more...
September 24, 2012
Throwing out as many wedding traditions as they could, Dano & Holly planned their wedding with one golden rule - to have nothing cookie cutter. "I have strong aversion to anything cookie cutter, so we threw out a lot of wedding traditions," the bride began. "We wanted our wedding to be a party that we would never forget. Our theme was something along the lines of 'vintage, woodsy & DIY'. I wore green. We cut the pie (no cake) with a machete. Our friends built the biggest bonfire that any of us had ever seen and we danced in the rain under the stars."Read more...
September 22, 2012
Michael & Sheena were married in July on a shoestring budget. With just $5000 to spend they were able to pull together a truly personal and totally beautiful wedding. The day took place at Independence Lake Park by Whitmore Lake in Michigan.Read more...
September 18, 2012
"We really wanted a fun wedding which guests would enjoy", began Tam when I asked her about her vintage-inspired festival wedding. "Rob & I decided we would split the day into three, so we had the ceremony, the afternoon tea with games then an evening party. I think having three different venues with lots of entertainment was fun for the guests and us!" In fact after the afternoon tea part of the wedding, the couple had a second ceremony - a traditional Indian wedding ceremony. "My dad is Indian so after the wedding ceremony everyone had a glass of Pimms and then gathered round for a traditional Parsee ceremony called a 'Mado Soro'. The ceremony is a blessing for the couple to wish them good fertility and a fruitful marriage. My dad explained what was going on to all the guests and what the ceremony meant. We were presented with the most amazing fresh flower garlands that my cousins had bought over from Thailand. A fruit tree was planted by my brother while prayers were said by other relatives. An egg was passed round Rob's head three times then thrown to the ground and broken. A coconut was then smashed on the floor. Everyone then threw rice and confetti."Read more...
September 13, 2012
Nellie & Matt planned their Whistable wedding in just three short weeks. They wanted something small, something personal and something relaxed. They found the amazing Beacon House, right on the beach, for their ceremony and were able to use the back garden of the bride's brother's holiday cottage for the reception. "Serendipity and our amazingly supportive family and friends brought our wedding together in just 3 weeks," the bride began. "Matt and I had been engaged for 3 years, neither of us are planners but we had a clear idea of the kind of wedding we wanted, a relaxed, seaside celebration centred around our close friends, family, good food and drink. But every option we explored in Cambridge and Brighton, our two home cities, in one way or another tied us into expensive packages, so we put off the wedding and skipped to the baby."Read more...
September 10, 2012
"Our family and friends MADE this wedding happen," explained Natalie when I asked her about her wedding. "Brynn & I didn't want to have a wedding designer, but I think my mother now holds that title. She spent the eight months of our engagement collecting wine glasses and silverware from thrift stores. Her and my aunt accumulated all the décor and oversaw virtually every design detail. My grandmother sewed all of the napkins and a family friend arranged the flowers for the centerpieces. My father created and made the cocktails and roasted coffee beans for the wedding favors (Brynn’s mother sewed the favor bags). My super-talented friend, the visual manager of an Anthropologie in DC, built the ceremony backdrop & platform and made all the signs. We asked a family friend to bartend. My best friend’s father and my cousins hung all the lights for the reception. One of my friends recently started an event-planning business and she handled all of the insane day-of coordination. Our friend is in a band and graciously offered to DJ the entire wedding." The couple were married in Maryland in July. With a laid back approach, and as much help as their friends & family could muster, they planned the wedding of their dreams with little to no stress. "Our inspiration for the ceremony was a combination of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lord of The Rings", she continued. "Obviously having the ceremony in a forest was a must. I envisioned my bridesmaids looking like little wood nymphs or fairies. They all picked out a white dress of their choosing and everyone looked smashing. We wanted our reception to be like a party Jay Gatsby would throw. There were lights strung everywhere, non-stop music, endless drinks, and next-level dance moves. Brynn's brother and best man even secretly got a limo to take us away."Read more...
August 31, 2012
Lauren & Matt's started their wedding planning knowing exactly what they wanted: something relaxed, stress-free and fun. They were lucky enough to have a friend whose parents own a farm, so everything else really stemmed from that. Lauren told me all about it. "As soon as we got engaged we knew how we wanted our wedding to be, we just didn't know how to do it! The first and most important thing was to find a photographer. Being a enthusiastic photographer myself, I spent weeks searching for one that she liked, we finally came across Sassy of Assassynation and sent an excited email straight away. She immediately told us to phone her for a chat as we hadn't set a date yet, but when she told us she only had 2 Saturdays free in the 3 months that we were looking at we booked her there and then! Everything else was then planned around her."Read more...
August 27, 2012
Sarah & Mike were married on the weekend after Independence Day. They wanted a relaxed wedding that was a celebration, and one that all their family and friends would enjoy. "I would describe our wedding theme as a 'rural, homemade, Independence Day picnic'," began the bride. "We first looked at historic mansions in the area but quickly realized they would be out of our price range and we wouldn’t have much flexibility customizing our wedding. They would pick the DJ, and we’d have to select a meal from their menu for example. Then, when driving home from Baltimore one night, we drove past a park in Carroll County that was covered with beautiful flowers and several 18th century buildings, including a working gristmill. We stopped and walked around and discussed how perfect this place would be to get married and we decided to look into it. Luckily, they did allow weddings and after all the quotes we had from the mansions we were shocked at how affordable this place was!"Read more...
August 24, 2012
"Jon & I were married on a scorching hot day (temperatures just shy of 100F!) in September of last year in Columbus, Ohio", wrote Ashley. "This was the culmination of a year and a half of UK to USA long distance relationshipping! We met while living and teaching ESL in South Korea 3 years ago, and after 8 months of dating while there decided to keep trying even as we returned to our respective continents. After Korea, I started a master's degree course in Ohio while Jon returned to Brighton and found a job. The year and a half apart was tough but we kept the love alive with lots and lots of Skyping and daily gchats. We got engaged when Jon surprised me by secretly flying to Ohio (an impressive collaboration between himself and one of my best friends/roommate) on February 13th, 2011 with a vintage ring he'd bought at an antique shop in the Brighton Lanes. I was absolutely shocked, believe me!"Read more...
August 17, 2012
Fiona & Andrew's DIY wedding in Victoria, Australia was themed around the things they love - vintage items, 1950s styling, cherries, hearts and flowers. They took these ideas as the starting point and built their wedding around them. "We wanted the guests to be able to feel as much a part of the day as possible, hence the small guest list of only 45 and the extended weekend long celebration", began the bride. "We made a lot ourselves. I made a ring cushion from the same fabric as my sash/bolero and a piece of fabric from my mum's wedding dress. We had a ring warming ceremony before I arrived where the cushion was brought around my my 5 year old nephew, Oliver, and guests where asked to send a blessing our way."Read more...
August 16, 2012
Natalie & Mike met on the side of a road, whilst travelling to Mozambique. His car was broken down and she rescued him! After 9 months of a long distance relationship he moved to Johannesburg to be with her. They now live in the North Coast of KZN with their 2 year old son.Read more...
August 10, 2012
Matt & Kellyann had a homemade wedding in the historic Colonial Dame, a mansion in Philadelphia. The DIY details included the escort table, some decorative pinwheels made from origami paper, the chalkboards, the ring bearer's book (an actual book instead of a cushion - inspired by The Clash's Combat Rock album art, and as a nod to Kellyann's bookish nature), the printed napkins and the invitations.Read more...
July 27, 2012
After dating for four and a half years, Matt proposed to Alice on the long drive home from Glastonbury Festival in 2011. So needless to say, the couple decided they wanted a festival themed wedding... or more specifically a homage to their favourite festival. "It had been an amazing weekend of music, love and cider-fuelled reveling," began the bride. "It was pretty much an unspoken agreement from the off that our wedding would be an homage to Glastonbury. The festival has played a massive part in both our lives and running around in the mud, dressed like loons, dancing until dawn is high on our favourite things to do list. As soon as we'd verbalised the words 'festival', 'camping' and 'fancy dress' the thought occurred that it might be worth a punt asking the Eavis family (who own the land Glastonbury Festival is held on) if they would consider letting us use Worthy Farm. The family are great friends of my parents and scrumptious people. Amazingly they were really excited about the idea and more than happy to help (although they have since decided they don't want to host further weddings - we might have put them off for life...eek!! - that's not their bag). Glastonbury was having a year off so we chose to wed on Saturday 23rd June, a date which anyone who knows anything about Glastonbury will know understand to be highly significant!"Read more...