A Pretty-as-a-Picture, Pastel-Themed, Vintage Wedding

As promised, it's time for the reception details from the heavenly summer wedding. With delicious vintage props and stunning DIY burlap details, it's a wedding blogger's delight! Kelly and Ren organised their own big day, and decided to rip up tradition, by opting out of having ushers and bridesmaids or speeches and cake, and instead chose to have a drinks and canapé reception before the ceremony, lawn games afterwards, and a cheese board selection in the evening. They even walked down the aisle together, along with their daughter, as a wonderful statement of family. Fabulous inspiration for any bride wanting a non-conventional wedding. More wedding ideas to snaffle include the lovely fingerprint guest book and Kelly's handmade burlap jamjar glasses with pretty pastel straws {LOVE striped straws}. Huge thanks to The Cole Portfolio for their fantastic photographs of the day - and enjoy Kelly's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire!

We got married at the beautiful Hill Place in Swanmore, Hampshire. I helped style a photo shoot at Hill Place in 2010, and fell in love with the homeliness and character of the elegant Georgian house, as well as the beautiful grounds. 

Hill Place has its own unique style, and we knew that it would fit perfectly with our vision of our day. To compliment the property, we opted for pastel tones and vintage props.

When it came to my wedding photographer, how could I not choose The Cole Portfolio! They are not only two of my favourite people but are also very talented photographers.

Having worked with them over several years, I trusted them to capture my memories and I love Abi’s natural style of photography and how they both make you feel so comfortable.


We decided to rip up tradition, by opting out of having speeches and cake, and instead chose to have a drinks and canapé reception before the ceremony, lawn games afterwards and a cheese board selection in the evening.

We decided against lots of bridesmaids and ushers and instead, only had Ava, our daughter. She wore an ivory dress, with a sage green sash to compliment her red hair.

My advice for brides is to DIY! It is the best part of planning a wedding - there's such a great sense of achievement when it all comes together, and we had so many compliments on our personal touches - everyone though they were beautiful and thoughtful.

Nearly all of our wedding was handmade! The bouquet, flowers, button holes, table plan, table place cards, and the restoration of our vintage bike photo-prop.

We used hand-decorated heart photo frames with pastel ribbon decorations for place cards, and these were our favours too. We wanted something that could be a keepsake for our guests, and loved the idea that afterwards, they could hold a picture in memory of the day.

Ren and I created all of our floral decorations. We bought the flowers from Dutch Masters who are a wholesale florist in Twyford. We wanted a romantic, vintage garden look, so we opted for cream and pink roses, lilac freesias, lavender, and plenty of foliage. 

We chose the freesias as not only are they beautifully scented but they were also Ren's mother's favourite flower and we wanted to be reminded of her in some way.

We decided not to have a wedding cake. Instead, we had a choice of of three puddings at dinner, and in the evening we served a cheeseboard with locally sourced chutneys and pickles.

I loved planning my wedding but mostly planning it with Ren. He was very hands on and we definitely achieved our perfect day together.

{Wedding Vendors}
Venue - Hill Place in Hampshire
On the day coordination - Marie of Isabella Weddings
Catering - Vanilla Catering
Bride's Make-up - Sarah Keenan
Wedding Pianist - Gary Preston
DJ - Chris Noon Entertainments
Marquee - Quality Marquee Hire
Prop Hire - Debbie Blight

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