Wednesday 30 April 2014

A Swedish Boat Club Wedding with a Simple White Theme - The Reception

This simply stunning wedding goes to show that you don't need tonnes of wedding details for the perfect wedding, just lots of love, good cheer, and fantastic friends, Johan and Maria celebrated their big day by the water, in a boat club decorated by their family and friends. I love the elegance of the single green-white carnations, white candles and pastel green table stationery. The views of the water are just spectacular, and it goes to show that you don't need tonnes of decoration if your venue stands out. Lucky Maria went to school with wedding photographer Annevi Petersson, who shot these beautiful wedding pictures. Don't you wish your going away transport was a boat!


We celebrated our wedding on 24 August 2013, in Åhus in Sweden. We got engaged in 2002, but it took another ten years, and two beautiful children later and a lot of encouragement from the bride until Johan proposed a second time!


He chose the very same spot that we got engaged 10 years earlier, in a park by the water. He went down on his knee and popped the question and I cried, because I'd almost given up on my dream wedding. But in fact, Johan had planned for the proposal over the last year.



Monday 28 April 2014

A Swedish Boat Club Wedding with a Simple White Theme

There's something incredibly romantic about a wedding by the water, and this beautiful wedding is a lesson in simple Swedish style. After ten years together and two beautiful children, Johan and Maria celebrated their big day with a church ceremony, wedding rings designed by the bride, and a fabulous wedding reception in a rustic boat club. I love Maria's stunning tiered wedding dress and her cute birdcage veil, teamed with an elegant pearl necklace. A super-chic look, and I love her carnation bouquet - regular readers will remember I flagged up carnations as a big wedding trend for 2014! Big love to Annevi Petersson of Annevi Weddings for her beautiful pictures - more coming soon in Part 2.


We celebrated our wedding on 24 August 2013, in Åhus in Sweden. We got engaged in 2002, but it took another ten years, and two beautiful children later and a lot of encouragement from the bride until Johan proposed a second time!


He chose the very same spot that we got engaged 10 years earlier, in a park by the water. He went down on his knee and popped the question and I cried, because I'd almost given up on my dream wedding. But in fact, Johan had planned for the proposal over the last year.



Friday 25 April 2014

Introducing Guide To Be - A Brand New Wedding Review Site

As a complete devotee of travel review site TripAdvisor, I was thrilled to hear about the launch of a brilliant new wedding review site. Guide To Be is fresh out the box, exciting new venture designed to help you find the very best vendors for your wedding day. Designed to be written by brides for brides, it's the brainchild of the lovely Eve, who set it up after she struggled to find good recommendations for her own wedding. Can you believe it's the first user review site for UK wedding suppliers? It's exactly what we need! To encourage brides to get involved and write reviews, Guide to Be are offering a brilliant competition to win a 5 star break at Turnberry Resort & Spa.


All you have to do is write two reviews or more, to be in with a chance of enjoying a luxury weekend, including two nights accommodation, a three course meal and a bottle of champers at one of the UK's most romantic 5 star resorts. It's the perfect prize for a mini-moon, pre-wedding R&R or even a baby moon! I've written a few reviews already - take a look at my personal recommendations, including this one {below} for my wedding photographer Caught the Light!


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Thursday 24 April 2014

Bunting & Bathing Huts Wedding Stationery

If you love the traditional British world of bunting, bathing huts and camper vans, you're going to love the wedding stationery shop I've just discovered on Etsy. Something New Stationery is the brainchild of Jenni Bryan, and she's clearly taken inspiration from the British seaside. Just take a look at her lovely designs below! Her shop also stocks a huge range of colourful baking twine, at a reasonable price of £5 per spool. What's not to love?


Holiday Beach Huts Wedding Seating Plan, £45

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Blackboard {Chalkboard} Signs For Your Wedding

Way back when, before I even got engaged{!), I fell in love with the humble blackboard {or chalkboard} as the perfect wedding decoration detail. I liked their versatility, their DIY fabulousness, and the fact I could use them to communicate with my guests before I'd even walked down the aisle. They're also a ideal for brides on a budget, saving you money on individual menus and expensive printed table plans. Plus, you can reuse them in a flash - just wipe off one message, and write another! I bought my blackboards super-cheaply on eBay, and my lovely friends Tom and Susie carefully chalked on our cocktail menu, and guest book instructions. Check out the pictures below for more wedding inspiration!



Tuesday 22 April 2014

Real White Elegant Wedding: Lauren and Joe

This is one of those divine weddings that make you want to jump right into it, and party with the bride and groom! Lauren and Joe chose to have their elegant white wedding in Napa, and the sun shone brightly over the palm trees all day. From Laura's gorgeous wedding gown, to the bridesmaids' dusky pink dresses, the flower girl's adorable crown and the page boy's bow-tie, the entire wedding party looked fabulous. I'm also loving the mixture of white table flowers in mismatched vases. I chose exactly the same style for my own wedding - by using cheaper blooms, you get a great effect for half the budget. I'm also enchanted by the romantic maharajah-style marquee with scalloped edges - hire one for your wedding from the Raj Tent Club. The wedding was planned by  Rosemary Events - gorgeous pictures published with thanks to the hugely talented Jose Villa.


Monday 21 April 2014

Hand-drawn Whimsical Wedding Invitations

It only took one look for me to fall in love with these gorgeous hand-drawn and hand-painted wedding invitations. Designed by illustrator Victoria Whincup, their whimsical charm perfectly suits a British summer wedding. Each picture is unique, although you can choose to personalise the designs in her Etsy online shop. For me they perfectly capture the homespun wedding trend that's so huge this year.

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Thursday 17 April 2014

Real Elegant White French Wedding with Vintage Details

Every now and then I come across a wedding where I wish I'd been a guest! Loan and Andrew's French wedding near Biarritz definitely falls into that category. I'm completely in love with Loan's gorgeous elegant wedding style - her ruffled dress, wavy strapped Jimmy Choos and super-cook fish-tail French plait wedding hairstyle. Throw in the fabulousness of her bridesmaids mismatching but matching dark blue dresses, and Andrew's chic suit, and you've got the best dressed wedding party I've seen in a while. I'm also loving the white peony and berry bouquets, the lace detailed vases {buy them from Ikea}, the vintage getaway car and the ornate gold-frame table plan. Guests were encouraged to write messages on cute tea-stained tags and hang them in a wishing tree, before enjoying a delicious French meal, with multiple wedding cakes. Heavenly pictures published with thanks to Jonny & Morgane from M&J Photography.


Wednesday 16 April 2014

A Lucky Wedding Sixpence

'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue' ...and you'll be needing one of these too! I'm a huge fan of the wedding traditions, and the lucky silver sixpence has been a traditional wedding symbol since the Victorian Era. Glue it to the sole of your shoe, and think of it as an anti-rain talisman! Love this card too - wouldn't it make a fantastic present from the groom to the bride - or equally, you could turn tradition on its head, and give one to your future husband. The silver sixpence is genuine!



{I want this!} Silver Sixpence Wedding Card, £8.00 by Clouds and Currents, who also stock a particularly gorgeous range of chevron straws!

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Tuesday 15 April 2014

A Pretty Vintage-Inspired Garden Wedding - The Reception

After a little bit of a delay {building up the anticipation}, I'm thrilled to bring you the amazing detail-filled reception photographs of Lucy and Jim's fantastic wedding. With tonnes of DIY extras, including a veritable fairground of activities for their guests, it looks a complete treat. There's so many stealworthy ideas, but my favourite picks have to be the watercolour-style wedding cake {created by Lucy's sister!}, the lovely teepee venues, Jim's enormous rose buttonhole, and Lucy's pretty-as-a-picture Ellis Bridals short wedding dress. I love how Jim and Lucy wrote their own wedding ceremony, personalising it with sing-alongs and their own special vows. The reception decorations are gorgeous as well, with prettified jam-jars and tin cans, plus fantastic tea-bag and shortcake DIY'd wedding favours. You can't fail to love it! Big love to Lily Sawyer for capturing every perfect detail, and to Lucy for filling in the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire.


We got married twice, the first time on Thursday 25th July 2013 at The Old Marylebone Town Hall in London. This was our legal registry office ceremony, and only our immediate family members were present. Our second wedding was on Saturday 27th July 2013 at North Hill Farm, Chorleywood. 


Our second wedding was a celebration for all our other guests, although we did have an informal ceremony led by our friend. This involved sitting on straw bales, sing-a-longs ('Eight Days a Week' by the Beatles and 'You Give A Little Love' from Bugsy Malone), readings and 'vows' from Jim and I.




Monday 14 April 2014

A Pretty Vintage-Inspired Garden Wedding with a Short Wedding Dress

Straw bales, a short wedding dress and tonnes of handmade bunting - this wedding is my type of big day! I'm completely in love with the venue, the details, and the gorgeous couple! It's all so English and eccentric and brilliant, with a massive dollop of pretty thrown in for luck! Lucy and Jim celebrated their big day twice {like me!}. Once for the legal ceremony at The Old Marylebone Town Hall in London, and then the second time in serious countryside style, in a field overlooking the Chiltern Hills at North Hill Farm in Chorleywood. I love how they made their wedding day their own - with plenty of activities for their guests, including a balloon race, DIY coconut shy, badminton, giant 'Pass the Pigs', space hoppers and a photo booth. Food came in the very trendy form of two vintage food trucks - one 'selling' vintage ice cream, the other fish and chips. Lucy and Jim wanted their wedding to be a big, informal party, exactly the type of wedding everyone wants to attend! Huge thanks to Lily Sawyer for her heavenly pictures - I've got tonnes more detail shots to come in Part 2 - The Reception.


We got married twice, the first time on Thursday 25th July 2013 at The Old Marylebone Town Hall in London. This was our legal registry office ceremony, and only our immediate family members were present. Our second wedding was on Saturday 27th July 2013 at North Hill Farm, Chorleywood. 



Our second wedding was a celebration for all our other guests, although we did have an informal ceremony led by our friend. This involved sitting on straw bales, sing-a-longs ('Eight Days a Week' by the Beatles and 'You Give A Little Love' from Bugsy Malone), readings and 'vows' from Jim and I.



Friday 11 April 2014

Wedding Cakes Suitable for a Queen

Do you remember Kate Middleton's wedding cake? It was an amazing EIGHT tier creation of delicious fruit cake, decorated with up to 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers. Fiona Cairns and her team spent five weeks making it perfect, before it was demolished by hundreds of VIP guests. I'd have saved my piece for posterity - wouldn't you? While you probably can't afford a cake as intricate as Kate and Will's, you could still choose a Fiona Cairns cake, either a bespoke design created by her team, or {would you believe it!} from Waitrose. They've started stocking Fiona Cairns' designs, and I'm really impressed with the selection - it's hard to tell the difference! What's more - you can choose the size and flavour of your cake, and have it delivered direct to your wedding venue.



Thursday 10 April 2014

Real Bohemian Tepee English Garden Wedding: Sarah & Andy

Tepee marquees are official the new trend of this summer season. With their vintage rustic charm, they add bohemian charm to an English countryside wedding, and they have much more personality than your bog-standard marquee. Hire them from Stunning Tents or World Inspired Tents. Gorgeous couple Sarah and Andy chose to host their wedding reception in a tepee marquee in a wildflower meadow next to Sarah's parents home in Suffolk. I'm loving all their personlised wedding details, from the peach giant balloons to the DIY wedding flowers {arranged by Sarah's friend Ruth}, Mexican style bunting and the sheep-skin covered benches. I've always been a fan of family-style dining - it adds a warmth to the wedding meal. Sarah and Andy wanted their wedding to feel like a relaxed summer garden party, and with Pimms on offer, and outdoor games for the children, it was the perfect English wedding. Stunning pictures, as ever, from the hugely talented Justine Ferrari Photography.


How to Beat the Bridal Blues

Planning a wedding can be downright painful ... and all the people pleasing it often requires can zap the spirit and joy out of being a bride. Bridal stress is also pretty unique. It is essentially temporary, yet is connected to much deeper family issues and emotional challenges. It can easily be triggered by practical issues and is exacerbated by family dynamics . There is often a decision to make, or challenge to resolve, at every turn of that journey to the altar. Every little nuance -- and nuisance -- can put you in a momentary tizzy. It is no wonder some women get the bridal blues. Check out this fab guest posting from Tamarisk over at Getting Fluent with Your Feelings. She's full of advice for the stressed out bride....



Here are some of the challenges, and the tips, for brides-to-be:

1. Bridezillas are made, not born. It’s supposed to be the happiest time of your life – and you want it to be – yet planning a wedding is like working a second job as a project manager. You have to find the time to tend to a multitude of details as part of an already busy schedule while managing a plethora of people, family anxieties and demands, your groom, your emotions and an array of tricky wedding dynamics.

A bride has to include stress management, self-nurturing and time to chill out as an integral part of her wedding planning process. When you feel the stress building, take time out, go for a walk, slip into a movie, get a massage, go for a manicure, write in a journal, do something un-wedding. You have to love, honour and cherish yourself if you want to be loved, honoured and cherished by someone else!

2. Everyone has something to say about your wedding – and you are not alone in feeling you can’t win! You may be showered with congratulations and gifts, but you are simultaneously bombarded with unsolicited advice, wedding horror stories you don’t want to hear, and negative vibes from well-meaning friends and relatives.

People tend to see your wedding as a chance to fulfil their own needs and family dynamics erupt in every which direction because as the clan prepares to gather they begin to act out what it’s all about for them – not you! The issues are classic – mum wants it to be the wedding she never had, sister or best friend wishes it were her, your groom is afraid to stand up to his family.

A Bride has to clarify the wedding she truly wants, be assertive and set clear boundaries that no one can penetrate with words or attitudes. Learn the power of saying NO!

3. Getting married can stir up a lot of emotions. The process itself sets forth a period of growth and change that can be very confusing and nerve -wracking. Once you decide to marry you will begin the process of getting ready for marriage, and unresolved emotions about parents and family, past loves and concerns about the person you have chosen will come to the surface to be explored.

A bride can embrace the awareness that she is embarking on a journey of evolution from one part of life to another, and recognise and address the emotions and fears that arise. Trust they are natural and pay attention to any issues that might require support or counselling.

It is important to stay on top of your emotions and be honest with yourself during this time. Don't sweep things under the rug.

 Tamarisk Saunders-Davies runs a successful online counselling service for women, focusing on career-orientated women who are struggling with issues of self-confidence and self-esteem. She's also my best friend!

For more information and to read her blog, click here.

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Wednesday 9 April 2014

Introducing Occa Home Wedding Gift List

Where are you going to host your wedding list? The afternoon my husband and I spent choosing all the items for our list is one of my favourite pre-wedding memories. We squabbled a bit over the mugs {I wanted pastel, he wanted bold}, but it felt like such a 'married couple' argument, that it was almost a romantic moment! Now, there's no need to traipse around the shops with a notepad - it's all gone online. My favourite website is the Occa Home Wedding Gift List. It's packed to the brim with over 20,000 stylish products, including 200 designer brands like Vera Wang for Wedgewood, Christian Lacroix Maison and Sophie Conran. I love the clean lines of the site - it's simple and easy to use, both for you and your guests. Here's my fantasy list {wish I could get married again!}, but be sure to take a look at Occa Home and pick your own favourites.



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Tuesday 8 April 2014

Jenny Packham Wedding Dress Sample Sale

News just in! Jenny Packham is hosting a Bridal End of Line Sale in London this month! With a beautiful selection of gowns, lingerie and accessories with up to 70% off this is definitely an opportunity not to be missed! This amazing sale is on Thursday 24th April at the Westbury Hotel from 8am to 6pm. If you're keen to buy a wedding dress on a budget, sample sales are your best bet, so be sure to sign up for my free newsletter or follow me on Twitter, so you don't miss a single one!


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Monday 7 April 2014

Fabulous Pastel Pinwheel Wedding Decorations

It's official, the pompom is passed it! Much as it pains me to say au revoir to my favourite wedding decoration of all time, there's no doubt - 2014 is all about the pinwheel. Just take a look at this exquisite mint and peach combo from Etsy seller PomTree. With pinwheels of every size, they'd make for the perfect desert buffet display, or even the focal point for a civil ceremony altar. They're pretty easy to DIY as well. Take a look at my Pinterest board for more wedding altar ideas.

{I want these} Party Decor Pack, £31 by PomTree

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Friday 4 April 2014

A Quirky Vintage London Wedding with a 'Super-Hero' Bride - The Reception

This eclectic vintage wedding is proof you can do pretty in London. With pastel lanterns, lace tissue bunting, and freshly picked flowers, you'd expect a marquee wedding venue, but Tasha and Niall decided to celebrate their wedding at their local - The Londesborough Pub. I've fallen for their relaxed wedding style and quirky details, from their Art Deco postcard guest book to their simple Victoria Sponge wedding cakes. Most of all, I love how happy they both look! Huge thanks to Michael from My Beautiful Bride, for his stunning pictures - hopefully more of his work coming soon on Before the Big Day. Don't miss Part 1 of this wedding.



A Quirky Vintage London Wedding with a 'Super-Hero' Bride

You can't fail to fall in love with this beautiful quirky wedding, with its gorgeous bride and groom. Tasha and Niall decided to celebrate their wedding close to home - hosting their reception in their local - a great gastropub called The Londesborough Pub, and their ceremony at the nearby Stoke Newington Town Hall. I'm slightly obsessed with Tasha's amazing wedding gown - it's a 1970s original, and would you believe, she found it on Etsy for only £80! The dress needed only the tiniest of alterations, and even came with a little lace cape - super hero bride-style! So many other stunning details to steal - starting with the pretty 'just-picked' bouquets, the forget-me-knots in Tasha's hair, and the elegant, Art Nouveau-style wedding invitations by Ellie Weehuizen. Big love to Michael from My Beautiful Bride, for his stunning pictures. I'm in love with all the portrait shots, and there's more to come in Part 2.



Wednesday 2 April 2014

Real Daffodil Easter Wedding with a Tiffany Blue Theme

With Easter only a few weeks away, I wanted to treat you with this gorgeous daffodil-filled spring wedding. Millie and Nico celebrated their big day in April {Happy Anniversary!}, and their gorgeous, quintessentially English wedding is full of inspirational ideas to copy. I'm particularly loving the eggshell blue theme colour, the leather luggage-tag place markers, and the cute pageboys outfits. The stunning countryside-style flowers are simple gorgeous too. Don't miss Millie's lovely answers to the Before the Big Day Brides Questionnaire - she's got lots of advice for up-and-coming brides. Huge thanks to the lovely Hester Marriott for these gorgeous pictures.

We celebrated our wedding with a church ceremony, followed by a reception at my family home on 17th April 2010. 

My shoes came from Christian Louboutin, and it was great to have a cheeky flash of red under the my ivory dress!


Tuesday 1 April 2014

Amazing Paper Cut Wedding Invitations

I can't tell you how hard I've fallen for these gorgeous paper cuts. Before I discovered London-based Julene Harrison's site Made By Julene, I'd never even heard of the art, but it's been a quick conversion from ignorance to passion!  Just imagine how heavenly these personalised pictures would look as table labels - you could then hang them in your home as a permanent reminder of your big day. Amazing! Take a look at Julene's shop, or request a special commission.

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