A Fun-Loving Wedding featuring a Tractor & Space Hoppers

You can't help but fall for this fun-loving couple. Tasha and Niall DIY'd their wedding from the ceremony up, and their personalities shine through every brilliant detail. I love their handmade marquee decorations - the bunting, ribbon chandeliers and burlap table runners, and their genius idea to ask all their friends to make cupcakes for their wedding cake. They hosted their reception in Tasha's parent's orchard, and filled it with lawn games, giant jenga, a child-out area, and even a calypso bar. Amazing! Enjoy these pictures by Michael from My Beautiful Bride - he's really captured the spirit of the occasion.

It was an easy choice to have the wedding reception in the garden of my family home where I grew up, as it's so beautiful there. 

A Fabulous Festival-Style Marquee Wedding

This incredible boho wedding features a folly, a tractor, and a trio of Space Hoppers. It's pretty special!  Tasha chose her family home for her marquee reception, but took a chance on the weather, and picked an outdoor folly on the edge for a corn field for her wedding ceremony to Niall. Luckily the sun shone, and all the guests loved their personalised vows. Other DIY details include all the wedding flowers, which were arranged by the mothers of the bride and groom, the design of Tasha's wedding dress, and most of the marquee decorations. They even managed to persuade a local farmer to lend them a tractor and trailer for wedding transport. Love it! Don't miss the reception pictures in my second post of today - brilliant wedding photographer Michael, from My Beautiful Bride has done us proud!

It was an easy choice to have the wedding reception in the garden of my family home where I grew up, as it's so beautiful there. However it was harder to decided where to host our ceremony.

My husband's three-piece suit was by Duchamp London. He teamed it with a purple tie and simple white handkerchief and shirt.

A Castle Wedding with a Simple, Elegant Theme

If you want to feel like a princess on your big day, then you're going to need to hire a castle for your wedding venue. Luckily there are plenty of venues in the UK to tick your castle-box - not least the dramatic Hedingham Castle in Essex hired by gorgeous bride and groom, Liz and Mike. Liz wholeheartedly adopted the regal feel for her wedding style, wearing a beautiful, champagne gown from Allure Bridal, teamed with a divine, sparkly tiara by Andrew Prince. Sparkly emerald cut diamond earrings, plus an art deco design wedding ring completed her elegant look. Mike lived up to his bride's style, with a smart grey morning suit and dove-grey waistcoat. The whole ceremony was beautifully pictured by Kristian Leven, enjoy his shots - many more to come later today, including all the detail photographs from the elegant, ivory and platinum themed reception.

We got married on Friday 5 April, 2013 at Hedingham Castle in Essex. We had our ceremony in the castle itself before going over to the Georgian house and marquee for our reception.
 

The first part of my outfit I bought was my tiara. It was made by Andrew Prince in London who I went to see after seeing some of his pieces in a bridal magazine. His shop was being refurbished when we went, but he set me up with a Snow-White style mirror and a cabinet overflowing with tiaras and jewellery. The young girl in me who had dreamed of being a Disney princess was in her element!

I chose a tiara that had emerald cut accents that coordinated with my engagement ring {an emerald cut diamond solitaire}. It was more expensive than I had budgeted for, but I had to have it. It was as close to a real diamond tiara as you could get {Andrew makes the tiaras for Downton Abbey, that’s how good they are!}, and I couldn't get married in anything else. My mum bought it for me as a birthday present on the condition it became a family heirloom, and is now kept in a safe so that I don't wear it out. The moment my tiara went on was the moment I became a Bride and everything fell in to place for me. All the nerves disappeared and I just felt incredible.

A Fun Rustic Wedding with a Divine Claire Pettibone Dress

There's nothing I like more than a backyard marquee wedding, with a relaxed happy bride {in Converse!}, and an OMG Claire Pettibone wedding gown. Add in pretty handmade, shabby-chic details, sage green Dessy bridesmaids dresses, and a traditional ice-cream bicycle seller, and you've got a quintessentially English wedding. All that was missing was the rain! I love Katy's DIY'd wildflower favours, her pretty baby's breath bouquet, and all the hand-decorated jam-jar wedding details. Huge thanks to Hannah from Written With Light Photography for sending over all the pictures - enjoy!

We got married on 21st September 2013 in St Michael's Church, in West Hill in Devon, followed by our wedding reception in Tom's parent's gorgeous garden. I always knew a rural view and beautiful outdoor location was going to be a non-negotiable part of our wedding day, and as we are fortunate enough to have this on Tom's parent's doorstep, hosting our reception in their garden was a bit of a no brainer! 

We couldn't risk it for a biscuit weather-wise, so we hired a traditional canvas marquee. As far as decorations go I wanted to keep things as natural as possible we had a stunning location and didn't plan on distracting from that.

A Welsh Countryside Wedding with a Pretty Pink Theme - The Reception

Brides planning a marquee wedding are going to L-O-V-E the inspiration they get from this big day. Instead of a shabby chic or rustic look, Pippa and Martyn chose to go for glamour, and created the most fabulous look for their marquee. They didn't spend money on favours or an expensive wedding cake, saving their pennies instead for the most incredible flower displays, designed by The Bay Tree. I love the luxurious elegance of the pink and white table arrangements, and the gorgeous glass roofed reception-area of the marquee. Other stealworthy ideas include the chalk-board labels on the wine coolers, which doubled as table names, and the pink fizz cocktails, in keeping with the colour theme. A big thank you to Lucy Wallace Photography for her stunning pictures!

We got married in Ewenny in South Wales. The church was right next to my parents' house, so it had a special place in my heart {it was also where my husband proposed to me}. Our reception was in a marquee in a field behind my parents house.

We wanted our wedding to have a strong sense of family, so a marquee close to the church and my parents house was a natural choice. The idea of having a blank canvas was really exciting, I could let my imagination run wild!

A Welsh Countryside Wedding with a Pretty Pink Theme

Is there anything more romantic than a horse-drawn carriage? The wedding transport is just one of the things that makes this big day stand out, along with the pretty-as-a-picture flowers, stunning Pronovias wedding gown, and dramatic marquee reception. Pippa and Martyn chose to make their wedding flowers their biggest wedding detail, and called in the talents of Bryan Bird, the florist at The Bay Tree in Cowbridge in Wales. The end result is a stunning array of blooms, including lily-of-the-valley, sweat peas, and roses. The bouquets are beautiful, but wait until you see the reception flowers in Part 2 of this wedding - they'll blow your mind! Other details-to-steal include the bridesmaids black Dessy dresses - as Pippa says - everyone looks good in black, and she let her girls choose their style of dress -making it much more likely they'll wear them again. I also love Martyn's bespoke three-piece suit, and soft pink tie. Huge thanks to Lucy Wallace Photography for sending through her gorgeous pictures from Pippa and Martyn's big day. Stay tuned for Part 2 - the Reception - coming soon!

We got married in Ewenny in South Wales. The church was right next to my parents' house, so it had a special place in my heart {it was also where my husband proposed to me}. Our reception was in a marquee in a field behind my parents house.

To find a wedding gown, we went to Teokath, a fabulous bridal shop in Wimbledon in London, where I tried on lots of wedding dresses. I knew I wanted it to be lace, but when I tried on the Pronovias dress I loved that the grey belt made it a little different.

A Modern, Elegant Wedding with Quirky Vintage Details - The Reception

A little late-coming {I got horribly distracted with Christmas shopping}, but it's time for the delicious second half of this gorgeous wedding. Groom Adam set his bride the challenge of incorporating his football team, Manchester United, into their wedding. Laura managed it with aplomb, creating an incredible 3D table plan, complete with real grass. The red of their shirts proved a slight problem, as it didn't quite fit in with their cream, elegant wedding colour palette, but Adam compromised with cream shirts in the main dining room! There's plenty more stealworthy ideas to snaffle from the pictures - not least the personalised stamp made by BerinMade stationers. Laura used it to brand all their wedding stationery, and to create salt dough heart ornaments. Laura's mum even borrowed it to hand-stamp biscuits, in case any of the guests got peckish on the bus to the reception venue. I'm a huge fan of Laura's antique sapphire and diamond engagement ring as well! Huge thanks to Laura for filling in all her answers to the Before the Big Day Questionnaire, and to Lissa Alexandra Photography for her fantastic pictures. I've never seen such a fantastic array of wedding portrait shots!

We celebrated our wedding on Saturday 10th August, with a ceremony at St Mary’s Church in Nun Monkton near York, followed by a reception at The Old Deanery, Ripon.

Our wedding photographer was Lissa Alexandra Photography. Shortly after our engagement, I went to a wedding fair, and I fell instantly in love with her photography style. I knew I had to have her from that moment. I think she was the first thing I booked once our date was confirmed.

A Modern, Elegant Wedding with Quirky Vintage Details

Ice-cream van? Check! Quirky character cars? Check! Fabulous vintage bus? Check! As you can tell, this gorgeous wedding has tonnes of simply fabulous details - many of them with four wheels, and a vintage personality! Laura and Adam were keen to host a classic, elegant wedding, which reflected them as a couple, without having too obvious a theme. Pinks and greens are the dominant colours, and there's definitely a vintage hint to many of the details. I've fallen for Laura's Audrey Hepburn inspired wedding outfit, and her stunning David Austin rose bouquet. Throw in the pretty-as-a-picture church, and historic venue near York, and I'm sold! Enjoy all the gorgeous pictures by Lissa Alexandra Photography - she captured every detail perfectly, and make sure you unashamedly steal Laura's wedding ideas from her answers to Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire! More from the reception published later today.

We celebrated our wedding on Saturday 10th August, with a ceremony at St Mary’s Church in Nun Monkton near York, followed by a reception at The Old Deanery, Ripon.

I wanted a venue which was a blank canvas and suited me. Bold green patterned carpets and massive drapes like you get in a traditional castle or stately home venue, just wouldn’t cut it. I chose The Old Deanery for its dark wooden floor boards and cream panelled walls.

A Traditional Countryside Wedding with a Fabric Inspired Theme - The Reception

It's taken me far too long to put up the second half of this amazing detail-filled wedding, {I've had horrible flu}, but believe me, it's worth the wait! Bride Amy read Before the Big Day while preparing for her wedding, and took her decor details to the next level. We're talking 250 meters of hand-sewn bunting, homemade fudge wedding favours, and carefully painted dog food tin can vases. The result is a perfectly rustic English country garden theme, with a pretty green and blue colour palette. I love all the Colefax and Fowler fabrics, and the DIY'd table flowers, picked from Blooming Green Flower Farm. Look carefully at every picture for the little extras, including the twine-tied jam jar lanterns, the blackboard paint table names, menu cork stands and burlap table runners. Huge thanks to Amy for submitting her wedding, and filling in the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire, and to Kate Murrell Weddings for her beautiful wedding pictures. Don't miss the two fantastic wedding videos at the end - one by 

We got married on the 27th July at St Michael and All Angels in Withyham, in Sussex, and we hosted our reception in my parent’s garden ten minutes away from the church.

As I work in interior design I was very into the visual side of the wedding planning, and I had a scrapbook full of sketches, pictures and fabrics! I wanted to go for a very traditional English country wedding look, with bunting, a pole marquee, trestle tables and country garden flowers. 

A Traditional English Countryside Wedding with a Floral Fabric Inspired Theme

This is one of those simply perfect weddings, where you just want to dive in and devour all the details. Lovely Amy read Before the Big Day in the run up to her wedding, and along with her husband Alex, they created the most amazing array of pretty DIY'd decorations. Amy works in interior design, so she was very keen on the visual side of the wedding planning, and started with a scrapbook full of sketches, pictures and fabrics. In fact the wedding colour palette was entirely themed on a tiny scrap of fabric - a pretty blue and green floral print on a cream background. The crafty projects are never-ending! Along with her mum, Amy made 250 meters of double sided bunting {now available to hire!}, dried all the confetti in their airing cupboard, and picked and arranged all the marquee flowers. Meanwhile Alex's mum made the fudge favours, and not to be outdone, Alex made the chalkboard table-plan. There's so many stealworthy ideas to choose, but my favourites have to be Amy's stunning self-designed wedding gown, her adorable traditional pageboys' outfits {in knickerbockers made by her mum!}, and Amy's family jewellery - some serious rocks!! Huge thanks to Kate Murrell Weddings for her stunning pictures of the day....more to come in Part 2.

We got married on the 27th July at St Michael and All Angels in Withyham, in Sussex, and we hosted our reception in my parent’s garden ten minutes away from the church.

As I work in interior design I was very into the visual side of the wedding planning, and I had a scrapbook full of sketches, pictures and fabrics! I wanted to go for a very traditional English country wedding look, with bunting, a pole marquee, trestle tables and country garden flowers. 

A Balinese London Wedding with Hot Pink & Lush Green Details

It's super-rare for me to see anything truly original in the wedding world - I spend too much time scanning wedding photographers websites and Pinterest. But this fabulous wedding rocked my world. Fleur and Will chose a Balinese wedding theme, and added tonnes of brilliant wedding details. The food was Pan-Asian, the cocktails a signature drink called Pantai Punch {Pantai is Indonesian for Beach, the couple's surname}, and the decorations bought in from Bali. Even the waiters wore traditional batik sarongs bought by the bride's father in a market in Bali. Everything was so carefully thought out, and creative - to brilliant effect! There's so many stealworthy ideas, but here are a few of my favourites - the leaf place names {an easy & effective DIY}, the beautiful orchid table flowers {which could also work as favours}, and Fleur's amazing colour palette of hot-pink and lush green. Special mention must go to wedding planners Palette Events, who Fleur recommends wholeheartedly, along with Simon from To Have & To Hold Photography who took these amazing wedding pictures! Have a good read of Fleur's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire - there's tonnes of great vendors to check out!

We married in London in August 2013. The service was held at St Mary The Boltons, and the reception at the Westminster Boating Base. We had attended a wedding at the Westminster Boating Base not long before, and after some searching decided it had the best of everything. It's hard to find a London venue that allows for some outdoor space, some views and more-or-less a blank canvas. Our wedding photographer was Simon at To Have & To Hold Photography. 

We organised our wedding from Dubai where we now live which threw up many challenges! We knew that we wanted it to be in London - due to the outrageously international nature of our own lives and those of our family and friends, it seemed the most convenient for the greatest number of people! 

A Long-Distance Balinese London Wedding with Hot Pink & Lush Green Details

This wedding was always going to be one of my favourites. The lovely Fleur helped me out with Before the Big Day correspondence, before she moved from London to Dubai, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be featuring her wedding to Will. Needless to say, Fleur read Before the Big Day in the run-up to her wedding, but like me, she'd always had secret ideas for her wedding theme. Having grown up in Indonesia, it made perfect sense to draw on the tropical colours and culture of Bali to decorate her wedding day, and the result is amazing and exotic. I love the vibrant colour pop of Fleur's bridesmaids' hot pink and bottle green Dessy gowns, and the extravagance of her massive peony and orchid bouquet. Will looks equally dapper in black tie - a trend I love for sophisticated London weddings. Throw in a pair of amazing gold Freya Rose shoes, a divine Elizabeth Fillmore wedding gown, a Javanese head-dress, and a self-designed gold lace bolero, and I'm in wedding heaven. More fabulous pictures by To Have & To Hold Photography coming soon in Part 2 - The Reception!

We married in London in August 2013. The service was held at St Mary The Boltons, and the reception at the Westminster Boating Base. 

For a long time I knew I wanted the theme of my wedding to be Balinese. I grew up in Indonesia and my parents still live there. I've always considered it a beautiful and very special place, ever since I was a child. We used predominantly greens {because of the tropical lush greens of Bali, and because it's my favourite colour} and bright pink for a vibrant contrast.

Real Before the Big Day Bride: Katie & Michael - Reception Details

Time for the wedding reception details! With inspiration from wedding blogs like Before the Big Day, Katie and Michael spent two years preparing their wedding, so you can be sure of some stunning details. My favourites? I've fallen for Katie's incredible David Tutera for Mon Cheri wedding gown, her hand-tied peony and rose bouquet, and her bold bridesmaids' dresses. Nothing like a shot of pink to brighten up a big day! Other fav-picks include the elegant going away car {a Rolls Royce?}, and the super-cute personalised cake topper made by Artlocke Designs. I love how all the wedding details reflect the lace and pearl theme, it creates a really elegant effect you normally only get from a professionally planned wedding. Gorgeous wedding pictures published with thanks to Andrew Billington - don't miss more of his work on his website.

When we were looking around for wedding venues we wanted somewhere with a wow factor, and Waterton Park Hotel fitted the bill. We needed somewhere that would accommodate all 80 of our guests, and have a nice big room with the dance floor in the middle, and plenty of space for all of our DIY ideas. We wanted the decoration to be light and bright to reflect our summery wedding.

Our wedding photographer, Andrew Billington was also a recommendation - I think it's the best way to find a photographer because there are so many out there, which is a bit daunting at first. 

Real Before the Big Day Bride: Katie & Michael

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's nothing I like more than a Before the Big Day bride! Lovely Katie read Before the Big Day on a regular basis and even signed up for our newsletter as she prepared for her wedding, so it's so exciting for me to feature her gorgeous wedding pictures. A girl after my own heart, she researched her wedding on Pinterest, Etsy and of course Before the Big Day.   As a couple, Katie and Michael DIY'd tonnes of their wedding details, including all the stationery, from Save the Dates, table numbers, the table plan, and a fabulous photo booth. Katie's wedding theme gradually developed once she'd bought her wedding gown - a gorgeous lacy dress by David Tutera for Mon Cheri. This led to lots of lace and pearl wedding details, teamed with a deep raspberry pink and ivory colour palette. Tonnes more wedding details to come in the reception post later today, in the meantime enjoy these gorgeous wedding pictures by Andrew Billington.

We got married on the 22nd June 2013 at St Michael’s Church in East Ardsley and hosted our reception at the stunning Waterton Park Hotel in Walton, Wakefield.

Real Sheer Romance Wedding: Sabrina & Alex - Reception Pictures

There's so many gorgeous details in this dreamy luxury wedding, you're going to want to add every picture to your wedding Pinterest board. As you know, I'm a huge fan of marquee weddings, and I've fallen for the pretty-in-pink style of Sabrina and Alex's wedding reception. With stunning flowers by Jane Campsie at the Garden Inn, a traditional tiered wedding cake {chosen by Alex}, and elegant table stationery by Emma Jo {love the romantic calligraphy}, every element is exquisite. Enjoy these fabulous pictures by Maria de Faci, and be sure to look out for the fishy details - Alex is a keen fisherman, so Sabrina made sure to reflect that in a subtle way, including a cute wedding cake topper!

We celebrated our wedding on 30th June, at Alex’s family home. We wanted to keep the decor natural, romantic and stylish, with a colour palette of neutrals and pinks. 

Monique L’Huillier made my wedding dress, our florist was Jane Campsie at the Garden Inn in Stockbridge. She was an absolute dream to work with.

Alex's suit was made by Hackett.

My bridesmaids wore the Lela Rose dress from Dessy.

Maria de Faci was our wedding photographer. We liked the style of her photography and her portfolio.

Emma Jo Stationery designed our wedding stationery, including the table stationery. We wanted something elegant and simple. I love stationery and am a bit obsessed with paper, so for me it was all about the choice of paper and letterpress.

Alex chose the cake with no input from me. He wanted a patisserie style cake that basically tasted amazing! Each tier had a different filling – chocolate, Victoria sponge and carrot. Flowers from our florist were used to decorate it. 

Alex is a serious fisherman so we had a fishing motif running through the wedding {on all the stationery, names of tables, cake topper, etc}.

My advice for brides.....there’s a lot of choice out there so try and narrow everything down to three as quickly as possible to help with decision making. 

My other tip would be, film the day {either a friend or professional}. We used a professional {Super8 Wedding Films} and at the time I wasn’t sure whether it was a bit of an extravagance, but I was so happy we did once we watched it.

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