Real Vintage Tea-Party Summer Wedding: Beki & Pete

If only English weddings were always like this one. Beautiful sunshine, a field of poppies, and a fairytale bride. In this freezing weather it's hard to remember June, but if you're planning a summer wedding, you'll love how these pictures to jog your memory. Britain can be sunny! The lovely Beki and Pete celebrated their big day in rustic Wilton Manor, a venue with fabulous memories for them, as they'd played there together as children! After their civil ceremony, they toasted their future with a fabulous vintage tea party, with tonnes of stealworthy ideas and more cake than you can shake a stick at! I'm loving the soft pink colour palette, reflected in the bridesmaids' dresses, bouquets, buttonholes and bunting. Tea-parties are a fantastic way to feed your guests without breaking the budget - you can even encourage your bridesmaids to help out with making the sandwiches and baking the cakes! Loving these pictures by Gitte from Kama Catch Me Photography, and really loving Pete's uniform.

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Real Hot Pink Scottish Wedding: Ann & Jamie

One way to make sure your wedding stands out from the crowd is to choose a seriously bright colour as your theme. Elegant bride, Ann, loves pink, and chose a super-hot shade for her wedding in the north of Scotland. With her bridesmaids in stunning full length gowns, and her husband-to-be in tartan, this was always going to be a striking wedding. I'm loving the little pageboys and the pretty table decorations, plus the simple tiered wedding cake, with pictures of their parents on their wedding days in silver frames. And check out the train on Ann's dress - devine! I'm also particularly keen on their venue - Dunrobin Castle looks pretty special, particularly in the dramatic final shot. Stunning pictures published with thanks to one of our favourite photographers, Ken Buist.

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Real Fairytale Welsh Wedding: Niki & Ceri

As we prepare ourselves for the extravaganza that is the Royal Wedding on Friday, I want to introduce you to another Princess of Wales, Ceri. This gorgeous bride wanted a fairy-tale castle wedding for her big day, and her dream came true. With a venue as gorgeous as Caerphilly Castle, a groom in top hat and tails and a bride in white gloves, a cathedral-length veils and red lipstick, this was a humdinger of a wedding. Don't miss all the gorgeous details, including a cake made of cheese {yum!}, the harpist {wow!}, the fabulous cake-toppers and the subtle nod to Niki's favourite football team. Gorgeous, dramatic pictures published with thanks to the team at Janda Photography.

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Ceri was kind enough to fill in our questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!

Where and when did you get married?
7th of August 2010 at Caerphilly Castle, South Wales.

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
We wanted a fairytale wedding with a touch of class. I have always wanted to get married in a castle and as I am from Wales it had to be a Welsh one. We both discovered Caerphilly Castle together and both fell in love with it the moment we walked into the Grand Hall.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
Yes, black and white with a touch of red. A classic Hollywood look.

Who made your wedding outfit, and how did you come to that decision?
My dress and veil came from a shop called All about Eve in Newport. I tried on a few dresses but once I had tried on the Hollywood Dreams Dress {called Nadine} I couldn’t stop smiling and I knew as soon as I saw myself in the mirror that it was the one for me!

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
It was hired from a Moss Bros suit hire.

And how about your bridesmaids’ outfits?
The brides maids dresses were from Coast. And the flower girls dresses were from Ebay.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
We brought a 3 tiered cake from M&S and decorated it with black and white flowers and then had two porcelain figures on one of the tiers. A footballer looking at his watch - clearly late for the wedding, and a bride with black hair waiting for the groom to arrive. Niki loved the black and white theme on the cake as he supports Newcastle United.

Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
Yes, we gave chocolates in little black organza bags with a little scroll that contained a message thanking our guest for sharing our special day. The children had chocolate money in their organza bags and the babies had a bodysuit in a larger bag with a personal message that read 'I attended the wedding of the year' with the date of the wedding. Our son Owain’s read 'I attended my Mummy and Daddy’s wedding'. I loved making all of our favours - the personal touches make a wedding your own!

Who was your florist, what flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
Our florist was recommended by my mum who lives near Abergavenny. The florest were called Powells in Abergavenny. The flowers were stunning - very striking!

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
Janda Photography! We saw their website and fell in love with their work straight away! I knew I had to have them and I was right. They are worth every penny and I am so proud of my wedding album. I didn't want traditional portraits, we both wanted something more contemporary and artistic. Out of all of the choices that we made we are the most happy with our choice of our photographers. They're absolutely stunning people too!

Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
Yes, we both planned the wedding together. I was very lucky because Niki wanted to be part of the planning process. Usually the men often leave much of the planning up to the ladies but my lovely Niki couldn't get enough of planning our special day together. It was touching to know that he cared so much and it made me feel more confident knowing that I was marrying the right person! We had a great deal of fun planning our wedding together!

Did you have any DIY projects?
We made the table plan ourselves. We chose 3 long tables rather than lots of round ones. We wanted it to be in keeping with the castle e.g. how people would have eaten at banquets. Each table represented a different country from the UK - the top table being Wales {because I am Welsh}. We had a hog roast and in the evening we had a cheese cake that looked just like a wedding cake but it was made from Caerphilly cheese.

Who designed your stationery? What did it look like and how did you come to that decision?
My mother-in-law made all of the invitations and place settings. The invites had pearls on them and a stunning picture of Caerphilly Castle. They were classy, elegant and fitted in perfectly with the black, white and red colour scheme.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Always stick with what you want - it is your wedding day and you will never get to do it again (hopefully!). Make your wedding personal to you - it is the personal touches that make a wedding unique and interesting. Spend generously on a decent photographer as this is what you will have to remember your wedding by for the rest of your life. Ensure you see the work of the photographer before you pay a deposit - make sure you like to work first. Prepare a speech - all brides should say a speech even if just a short one! Let's break the tradition that the bride just sits there whilst all the men talk around her! Have your say - I did and I loved having the last word.

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Real Royal Windsor Wedding: Laura & Stephan

With the Royal Wedding only weeks away, I thought I'd kick off the celebrations with a wedding set in Royal Windsor. Gorgeous bride, Laura, chose a classic monochrome theme, and looked like a modern-day Audrey Hepburn with her elegant dress and up-do. I'm serious loving how 'together' the wedding party look in their black and white outfits. Little black dresses are definitely the chicest way to achieve this look - after all, everyone has their favourite LBD! My favourite wedding blogger stealworthy ideas? The monogrammed menus, and the cute cupcakes, plus cutting cake decorated with green-tinted flowers {and made by Laura's mum!}. Gorgeous pictures published with thanks to Kelly from Lola Rose Photography. Don't miss Laura's answers to the Before the Big Day Bridal Questionnaire below. She's included all her top tips for future brides-to-be, plus a fair few wedding DIY ideas.

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Laura was kind enough to fill in our questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!

Where and when did you get married?
25th September 2010 at St Peter’s Church in Iver.

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
We held the reception in Windsor at the Hart and Garter Hotel. The hotel is directly overlooking Windsor Castle and the décor fitted our classic ivory and black theme beautifully. We kept our tables very simple with a central low floral arrangement, matching the bridal party flowers, and lots of tea lights. We designed and printed our own menus and place cards to fit in with our black and ivory theme and had everything delivered to the hotel the night before for them to put out. My mum had special permission granted for us to have some photographs taken right outside the castle so we sneaked off for 10 minutes with the bridal party and Kelly got some lovely pictures.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
We went for a very classic black and ivory theme with all ivory, white and cream flowers with green foliage and ivy.

Who made your wedding outfit (dress, veil, shoes and accessories), and how did you come to that decision?
I was very lucky because my godmother owns Airs & Graces Bridal Wear in Berkhamsted and organized all the dresses for us. I had seen the dress I wanted before we even got engaged and despite trying 'everything' on as you inevitably do, I stuck with my original choice in the end. The dress was beautiful; it was simple, elegant, and comfortable and worked perfectly with our theme and style. I picked a strapless empire-line dress by Eternity Bride and a full length veil with hand sewn Swarovski crystals. I replaced the veil later in the evening with a beautiful ivory, crystal and pearl flower comb.

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
Stephan wore a classic black dinner suite with a white shirt, Tiffany cufflinks {a wedding present from the bride}, an ivory silk waistcoat with an ivory ruche and black Barker shoes. He wore a simple ivory rose button hole with a sprig of purple Scottish thistle. Perfect!

And how about your bridesmaids’ outfits?
My maids of honors wore chiffon, empire-line, strapless gowns by D'Zage, a perfect echo of the bridal gown in black with a black overlay band around waist. My younger bridesmaid wore the same style but all ivory with straps. The girls looked absolutely stunning and the dresses are timeless, classic black evening dresses that they will be able to wear again which is great.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
Mum made the cakes for us which was lovely. We had the most beautiful 'muffin' sized fairy cakes and a 6" square top cake to cut. All were individually decorated with ivory butter cream and a mix of sugar flowers and pearls to decorate. They were a real talking point and looked so beautiful.

Who was your florist, what flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
We had our flowers made through Iain Fowles from The Green Room in Berkhamsted (C/o Airs & Graces Bridalwear) arranged our flowers for us. We wanted to keep the flowers all ivory and white so Iain used a mix of Avalanche Roses, Ivory Spray Roses, Ivory Freesias, Green Lysianthus, Thistle & Snow Berry and mixed Greenery. The effect was beautiful and so simple to do. The flowers were simply stunning.

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
Choosing the right photographer was very important to us as we were having an intimate wedding later in the day with just our closest family and friends; we wanted the atmosphere of the day to be captured without the photography imposing too much on the time we had to spend with our guests. We found Lola Rose Photography on the internet and were immediately taken with the style of Kelly’s photos. Kelly understood exactly what we wanted and was an absolute pleasure to work with. She captured our day perfectly. Her attention to detail, the service we received from her and the presentation of our photos was amazing. We couldn’t have asked for more.

Who designed your stationery? What did it look like and how did you come to that decision?
We designed and made all the stationery ourselves as we couldn't find anything that we both liked. We followed the black and ivory theme and designed a monogram with our initials. We printed on to a lovely pearlescent ivory card and mounted this onto to a textured black card. The invites were sent out in black, tissue lined envelopes. My sister hand wrote the names and addresses with a white pen. We followed the same design with the menus and order of service. For the order of service we printed onto the same ivory paper and rolled and tied these with black ribbon.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Time! It really doesn't have to take a year or 2 to organize a wedding. With most people nowadays leading such busy lives, it’s easy to wait and push the date back. The best thing we did was to just 'get on with it'. We organized our wedding in 6 months and that was a really nice time frame to work to.
Relax! Everyone tells you this all the time and I thought I was doing quite well on the day but I did spend most of the day waiting for that 'something' that inevitably goes wrong {which didn't thankfully} and subconsciously checking that the day was going smoothly. Remember…'don’t sweat the small stuff'! You’ve done your bit in the planning and as long as the main things are in place, the day is your time to relax, enjoy and not worry about a thing.
Hair & make-up: I always knew I would do my own make-up but also planned to do my own hair and my bridesmaids hair. Fortunately I have a wonderful hairdresser {Sam Bifolco of Bifolco & Mattey in Langley} who was a bit worried about this idea and said she would pop over in the morning 'just in case' I needed help. By the time Sam got to me in the morning nerves has completely taken over so I was just thankful to sit back and let someone else take control.

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Real Wedding: Tomi & Jules

A Spring wedding in a castle - who could ask for anything more? Tomi and Jules actually had two weddings - one bright and loud and Nigerian, and one English with a traditional church ceremony. As a contrast, Tomi chose green and black as her key colours, and a stunning princess-style white wedding dress, with a black sash. After the church ceremony the reception was held at the amazing Hazelwood Castle, which is my new favourite venue. My stealworthy details? I'm loving the little black dresses and green pashminas for the bridesmaids - such a cheap and chic way to create a 'together' look. Also the stunning but simple orchid button-holes and the pretty gauze bows on the menus. Best of all is the vintage car - I'm not usually a car person, but there's something about the pictures of Tomi and Jules drinking champagne with the top down that made me fall in love! Gorgeous photographs published with thanks to the hugely talented Anushe Low. Don't miss her website for more inspiration.

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Tomi was kind enough to fill in our questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!

Where and when did you get married?
On 16th May at Birkenshaw Methodist Church and then Bradford & Hazlewood Castle in Tadcaster.

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue?
Hazelwood Castle stole our hearts from the moment we saw it. Beautiful gardens, stunning architecture and fabulous décor. It was here or nowhere!

Did you have a theme in mind?
We decided on a black tie affair. The main colours were black, white and peppermint green.

Who made your wedding outfit and how did you come to that decision?
My dress was by Caroline Castigliano, and I bought it in her shop in Leeds. It was by appointment only and the shop was lush. The ladies in the store where lovely and all the dresses where beautiful. I had an idea in my head what my dress would look like and but when I got to the appointment that style did not really suit me. I wanted something simple and elegant. I tried on a few dresses which I thought I would like but unfortunately I didn’t. My mum suggested I try on a ‘Princess dress’ which I thought I would hate, and I fell in love with it immediately. The dress was called Beauty and it was a Beauty! I have never seen so much lace and silk.

My shoes where Kurt Geiger, white, leather, sling backs. I also had some gold LK Bennett pumps because I not great in heels. My veil, and lace bolero where also Caroline Castigliano. My jewellery was from my mum’s collection.

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
My husband wore a tailored suit from Michels Berg, which was the ultimate suit. He looked fantastic in it. The usher's suits were hired from Moss Bros.

And how about your bridesmaids’ outfits?
I asked my bridesmaids to wear their own black dress, and then I added peppermint green shawls. I felt it would be better if everyone could add their own style. My chief bridesmaid wore a peppermint green dress from the Dessy Collection.

Who was your florist, what flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
The flowers where by Bethan Tillotson. She did all the flowers for the church, the reception and the bouquet and button holes.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
Three tiered cake made by Cake Craft in 3 flavours, 6inc lemon, 9inc Chocolate, and 12inc vanilla with white chocolate ganache… we didn’t have any!

How about your stationery?
We did the stationery ourselves, and we named our tables after places we stayed in South Africa.

Did you have any favours? What were they?
Lavender plants in white pots, 2011 diaries (in 3 styles) and personalised pens with names and dates, plus a mix CD with special track choices of favourites songs.

Did you have any DIY projects?
Jules created the Mix CD himself. As a big fan of music we thought it was perfect reflection on both of us to create a list of tracks we both adore. He printed all the labels and the sleeve notes himself too. Working for a greeting card company, I had a friend help design the invites and Jules’ cousin printed them (as he owns a printing company). We then tied ribbon around them to finish. We source the lavender plants via our florist and potted them in Ikea pots.

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
Anushe Low, and she was fantastic!

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