Luke and Aida’s June 2019 wedding was held at George Meehan House in London, followed by barbecue reception at Aida’s parents house – thankfully, the weather was on their side! They opted for a small wedding, as they never wanted to spend a fortune on their wedding day. In fact, they think they spent about £1400 in total!
With a whole lotta help from family and friends, they put together an intimate day with personal touches where important to them, and lost whatever from a traditional wedding that didn’t sit right!
Emelya and Alistair’s August wedding had a very specific inspiration – Lost Village Festival in Lincoln. They wanted to recreate a surrealism and intimacy of the yearly dance festival, holding their day in their own abandoned forest in Devon.
With a £13,000 budget, they also focused heavily on recycling and collaboration to create their day – all the props were upcycled by the groom, and friends and family stepped in to help out everything from officiating the ceremony to running the bar! It made for a personal, cooperative day full of community spirit – exactly what the couple wanted.
Liz and Marcus wanted their spring wedding to represent them so they went for a tropical and fun theme. They wanted their guests to walk in and be met with bright, colourful decor and for them to feel like they were in their tropical-themed house, so they knew they were in for a good party!
With a £10,000 budget, they opted for a mix of handmade elements to let their personalities shine-through and used the opportunity to employ independent, creative sellers to help bring their dreams to life. “I buy from independent sellers a lot,” explained Liz, “so as well as the help of our friends and family, it was amazing to be able to support some of our favourite creatives to make things for our big day.”
Stacey and Jason were married in Vegas in secret. They eloped a month after Jason returned from a record breaking seven month deployment in the Gulf. They wanted to celebrate with their loved ones too though, so had a second wedding back in the UK, at The Lucky 7 Club, in Paignton in August.
“We didn’t want a traditional wedding”, began the bride. “We had no cake, no first dance, no photo booth. I had a custom made seaside cut out of us – a ginger bee-hived lady (me) and a sailor (my husband) and people had their pictures taken with their faces on our bodies! We did away with table plans and three-course-meals. Everyone was encouraged to sit where they wished and simply have fun! It was a celebration of seven months apart with our nearest and dearest, and when we eloped for the first wedding, it was such a special time to be together and marry each other alone first – this was so important to us.”
Lauren and Carl didn’t have a set theme for their June 2019 wedding; it was simply a big mix of stuff they liked and a case of putting it together to make it work! “I spent every lunch break on Pinterest and Instagram creating mood boards,” said Lauren. “I was inspired by a few things; notably the large, colourful flowers, lighting and animals from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Nights Dream, the aesthetic of Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette with the antique gold frames, mixed pastels and lavish regal vibes.”
With a £20,000 budget they were able to use it creatively to make their dream come to life. “Never again will we be able to spend money like that on creating an aesthetic/ambience and I loved every minute of it!” Lauren extensively researched all their suppliers, going on recommendations from friends or stalking their social media for months to ensure they had the perfect team to create the vision for their big day.
Armed with a £10,000 budget and a mutual love of anything a little bit vintage, a little bit rock ‘n roll, Toni and Andy planned their February wedding over two iconic Belfast locations – Queen’s Film Theatre and Empire Music Hall.
“It was just so ‘us’”, Toni writes. “We picked what we liked and it all came together. In the end it was a little bit vintage, a little bit rock ‘n roll. True Romance, Elvis, beehives and mohawks! We were also inspired by old fashioned wedding photos; Dolly Parton’s wedding, Elvis and Priscilla’s, our grandparent’s…. in their photos I think you can see the love in and they’re just timeless.”
They really made the most of their cinema ceremony space by having popcorn for the guests and then screenings of True Romance and Grease afterwards! “Getting married in a film theatre was definitely the right choice for us”, she continued. “and it was so cosy, as well as a little bit offbeat. It was also nice to have a choice of two films. After the ceremony as we all got the chance to relax. It’s easy to have a unique wedding in Belfast as there’s so many special places to get married and brilliant vendors.”
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