Saturday 12 July 2014

An Outdoor DIY Wedding with a Cream Tea Reception

Any bride looking to keep her wedding within a sensible budget is going to L-O-V-E this inspirational big day. Kelly and Gavin flashed their cash where it mattered - i.e. venue and wedding photographer, but kept everything else wallet friendly, by searching for bargains and DIY-ing many of their wedding details. You'll love their handmade stationery, bunting, decorations and hand-picked wedding flowers. And I'm slightly obsessed with their chocolate wedding cake, with its personalised bunting. More fabulous details on how Kelly and Gavin saved money on their wedding outfits in Part 1 - in the meantime, enjoy these stunning shots by Linus Moran Photography.


My husband got down on one knee in Venice to pop the question. Two years to the day, we tied the knot at Kingston Maurward stately home, in Dorset, on March the 16th 2014.



After seeing several different venues Kingston Maurward ticked all the boxes, with the chance of an outdoor wedding I've always dreamed of having. Both being artistic, we enjoyed making as many things as possible. 




Everything that could be DIY'd for the wedding was handmade, from the stationery and decor to the flowers and bunting. As with most weddings we had a budget to stick to. Even with the smallest weddings, finances / expenditure can get out of control. 



The wedding wouldn't have been such a success without such wonderful staff at Kingston Maurward. I couldn't thank them enough, the house looked absolutely beautiful. It was decorated just the way I had dreamed.



Our wedding flowers were hand picked and I chose a mix of hydrangeas, roses, freesias and baby's breath and we arranged them in cream milk jugs. 


My husband and I are very lucky to have such amazing friends and family who helped out on the day. My lovely mum made fabulous sweet trees.



One of my friends made delicious Dorset cream teas. Another good friend Lauren Bannon was very kind to sing for us. My mum surprised us with a harpist and a lovely vintage ice cream cart. It was the best day of our lives!


Our fairy tale wedding was a dream come true. Just goes to show D.I.Y weddings on a budget can work! The tissue-paper pom poms hanging from the trees looked fabulous.








Mark from Pegasus Disco did a great job with the music and mood lighting the room for the evening. Mark played some of our favourite songs from 70's disco to everyone on the dance floor doing the conga. For our first dance my friend Lauren Bannon sang 'At last' by Etta James. My husband and I love this song.



Last but not least, our wedding photographer. The one thing I didn't want to scrimp on, a lifetime of beautiful memories. I had followed Linus Moran's blogs for some time, and loved the natural beauty of his work. I knew I wanted this very talented photographer to take our photos for our wedding day.



We had a lovely photo frame signing board, all the guests have signed it along with putting a special message. Linus also puts together a photofilm, combining the pictures with audio recordings from the ceremony and speeches. He carefully edits the highlights of the day, capturing the tender moments, and all the emotion. I was truly blown away.


We had a lovely photo frame signing board, all the guests have signed it along with putting a special message. Linus also puts together a photofilm, combining the pictures with audio recordings from the ceremony and speeches. He carefully edits the highlights of the day, capturing the tender moments, and all the emotion. I was truly blown away.


Linus is not just a photographer, he's a photo artist who is very passionate and proud of his work. My husband and I are over the moon with the photographs, they are absolutely stunning. It's a wonderful moment, sitting back and watching your own wedding day! Linus gave us a gorgeous personalised leather case, with a USB card inside containing all our wedding day memories.



Make the most out of your wedding budget and stick to it, don't get carried away. Who knows if your wedding dress cost £15,000 or £100? Enjoy your wedding, it's your big day. Hope you too have the time time of your lives! Love Mr and Mrs Relph x


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