Real Spanish Flamenco-Style Wedding

Cherries and a flamenco-style wedding dress = me in heaven. This incredible Basque country wedding took place in San Sebastian, home of more Michelin starred restaurants per capita than Paris. So not only is it an incredibly beautiful town, but the food is amazing. The happy couple chose wedding dream-team Lisa Vorce {planner}, Mindy Rice {florist} and photographer {Aaron Delesie} to create their perfect wedding, and didn't they do a fabulous job! I'm loving the beautiful old-fashioned stationery in grey, the French lavender and kumquat tree table decorations, and the traditional dancers outside the church. It's always wonderful when you include local traditions in your wedding. And have you spotted the fantastic welcome bag in the last picture? It looks so tempting - and presents are a great way to welcome your guests, particularly if they've travelled a long way.

A Rustic French Wedding with a Flower Market Theme - The Reception

It's been a long wait, but here, at last, are the incroyable pictures from Kerry and Greg's amazing South of France wedding. As I've mentioned before, Kerry runs her own wedding planning company called Lavender & Rose Weddings, so my expectations were running high - but her wedding reception details have completely blown my mind! I love to see a wedding with tonnes and tonnes of flowers, and there's so many arrangements here, it looks like Kerry and her fiance Greg opened a flower shop for the day! Then there's the clever photo booth backdrop, created with real flowers to look like wallpaper, and the stunning ribbon banner decorations, and I've not even got started on the champagne cocktail bar with six different kinds of syrups to flavour the champagne {lavender, poppy, peach, raspberry, blackberry & blackcurrent}, as well as crystallised flower petals {rose, lavender and mimosa} to pop in the glasses. Every single wedding detail is intrinsically perfect, and brilliantly orchestrated, and yet the day itself was casual, fun and light-hearted - exactly what you want from a perfectly-planned wedding. Have a good read of Kerry's answers to the Before the Big Day Questionnaire - particularly if you're planning a wedding in the South of France, and Alban Pichon's beautiful wedding pictures. Don't miss Part 1 and Part 2 of this gorgeous wedding.

We celebrated our wedding on 13 September 2012, with two ceremonies - a civil ceremony in the town hall {the only legally recognised type of ceremony in France}, followed by a symbolic outdoor ceremony at the a Provencal villa called Bastide St Mathieu, in Grasse.

I wanted an outdoor celebration mixing French {Gregory is French} and British traditions. I really wanted our guests to feel relaxed and comfortable, so made sure not to include anything formal or formulaic. Theme-wise I wanted it to be a beautiful explosion of colour, life and flowers - a real feast for the eyes. Grasse is famous for being the perfume capital of the world, and I was keen to reflect that in our wedding details.

A Rustic French Wedding with a Flower Market Theme - The Second Ceremony

I can't tell you how excited I am to bring you the second part of this incredible wedding. The lovely Kerry Bracken runs her own wedding planning company called Lavender & Rose Weddings in the South of France, so her big day was always going to be pretty special, but in truth, it's slightly blown my mind! Kerry hosted her wedding in Grasse, famous for its history of making perfumes, so she chose a French flower market theme, featuring tonnes {and tonnes} of flowers, plus plenty of vintage perfume bottles. You wait till you see the abundance of flowers and vegetables, and the incredible ceremony venue - set in a French olive grove - it's amazing! I love so many of Kerry's wedding details, it's hard to pick, but I'd start with her pretty flower-accessorised up-do, her Dad's cool floral shirt, her bridesmaids' flower crowns, and the lovely vintage bench that Kerry and her groom, Gregory, sat on during their ceremony. Enjoy these stunning photographs by Alban Pichon, and be sure to click back later today for the fabulous reception details. Don't miss Part 1 and Part 3 of this gorgeous wedding.

We celebrated our wedding on 13 September 2012, with two ceremonies - a civil ceremony in the town hall {the only legally recognised type of ceremony in France}, followed by a symbolic outdoor ceremony at the a Provencal villa called Bastide St Mathieu, in Grasse.

I live in Cannes in the South of France and most of my husband’s family do as well. My English and Irish family love the South of France and I knew they would jump at the chance of coming to a wedding in France. The South of France is just the most perfect location for a wedding with fantastic food, stunning scenery and beautiful weather. The French Riviera being THE place for parties and luxury entertaining has some of the finest wedding vendors in France.

A Rustic French Wedding with a Flower Market Theme & Three Wedding Dresses

I've been waiting and wanting to publish this incredible wedding for MONTHS!! I know when a wedding planner gets married, that it's going to be a pretty special affair - but when that wedding planner happens to have been MY wedding planner, my excitement level goes through the roof! Kerry Bracken started her fabulous business, Lavender & Rose Weddings in the South of France, just before I got married. I was one of her first clients, and it was clear from the start that she was going to be hugely successful. Creative and efficient, Kerry is the best in the industry, and I can't recommend her enough. As soon as I heard she'd got engaged, I shot over an email asking to feature her wedding on Before the Big Day, because I knew it would be incredible. In fact, it's so good, that I've had to divide it into not two, but three separate features - not least because Kerry wore three different wedding gowns. I'll let Kerry's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire speak for themselves, but suffice to say, my favourite details are Kerry's stylish birdcage veil, her brilliant coral nails {every detail matters!}, the cute 2CV wedding transport {so French, so vintage, so perfect!}, and Greg's super-smart outfit from The Kooples. Big love also to Alban Pichon for his AH-mazing wedding photographs. Don't miss Part 2 and Part 3 of this amazing wedding.

We celebrated our wedding on 13 September 2012, with two ceremonies - a civil ceremony in the town hall {the only legally recognised type of ceremony in France}, followed by a symbolic outdoor ceremony at the a Provencal villa called Bastide St Mathieu, in Grasse.

I had three wedding dresses - all from Minna. My first gown is called Nadine, and it's a cream, vintage-inspired, short lace dress with pink floral belt detail, short sleeved cream vintage inspired fitted lace dress with pink floral belt detail. I wanted a short dress to contrast with my official wedding dress, and also something I might wear again.

Real Lavender Barn Wedding: Alex & Paul - Reception Pictures

Before the Big Day brides are always super-creative and imaginative, when it comes to planning their weddings, so I'm thrilled to be featuring Alex and Paul's detail-filled wedding day! Alex read Before the Big Day while planning her wedding, so you'll spot lots of ideas from the blog - hello tissue pom-poms! I love how Alex planned her wedding around a central theme of lace and lavender, and a colour palette of soft grey. All the wedding details reflected the theme, creating a very put-together effect that you normally only get with a professional wedding planner. With DIY'd favours, wedding flowers, guest book thumb-print tree, candle votives wrapped with lace, confetti cones, and a blackboard table plan, Alex saved a fortune and added her own personalised touch to her big day - seriously inspirational stuff! Huge thanks to Dean Govier for his stunning wedding pictures of the day, and don't miss the video highlights from the day, in the wedding video by Family Creative. And thanks to Alex for getting in touch, and telling the story of her big day!

Paul and I actually went to university in Liverpool together, but got to know each other until we met at a party of a mutual friend in Putney nearly 7 years ago. We got engaged in Berlin in 2011, a week before my birthday; Paul had spent ages trying to find a place to propose and I thwarted every attempt,  so it was a hasty 'down-on-one-knee' on the train ride back to the airport! He'd already asked my Dad’s permission, so he didn’t want me going home 'empty-handed' so-to-speak!

Paul first gave me an Argos ring for me to wear until the real deal came along. He knew I’d want to pick my own ring as I’m very fussy! My actual engagement ring was bought a few weeks later from the oldest jeweller in Hatton Garden in London and is antique. I love that it has a story before it got to me - long may it continue!

Our photographer was Dean Govier and was beyond amazing. He was recommended to us through one of my bridesmaids who had been at a wedding he had photographed in the same area. When I saw his photos I knew he was our guy. We loved his natural style and he was such a pleasure to have around on the day and just seamlessly blended into the background. I cannot recommend him enough.

We got married on Saturday 28th July 2012 in St Mary’s Church in Whitchurch-on-Thames, which is the village I grew up in in South Oxfordshire. Our reception was nearby at Ufton Court in Berkshire. 

We looked at a few places, but it was Ufton Court which stood out. Paul was sold on Ufton straight away, but I took a little longer to come round, and to this day I’m still not sure why! The staff there were incredibly supportive and helpful. We had our reception drinks on the back terrace over-looking the walled garden and then had food, drinking and dancing in the Tithe Barn. The back terrace is my favourite part of the venue as it felt so private, and that was something we were insistent upon; we didn't want to be at a venue where other people could be wandering around having a nosey! 



The barn itself is beautiful and there are fairy lights already in situ around the beams, so all it took were some tissue pom-poms, and other bits to put our stamp on it! The giant light up letters were one of my favourite things – I loved them so much! We also added a canopy marquee onto the courtyard of the barn so that we had extra space even if it rained. Our marquee company, Magnifitents, decorated it with fairy lights and tissue pom-poms for us, and we loved it!

The general theme was centred on lavender and lace, with accents of grey. The smell of lavender reminds me of my grandmother, plus I love the colour. I also had lace on my dress and wanted to reflect that in our wedding decorations. Paul also wanted to make sure he had a 'stamp' on the day and so we incorporated his love of Tottenham FC wherever we could without it being too tacky!

For our wedding favours, we had lavender tea for the ladies, to tie in with our wedding theme, and pin badges for the boys. Paul is a HUGE Tottenham fan and wanted his personality to show throughout the day and the badges were one of them! I had the badges printed by Awesome Merchandise with the Tottenham cockerel and the words 'today I support Spurs'. Paul was amazed by how many of the guys wore them considering the rivalry between teams!



All the favours were put in pillow boxes, tied with ribbon with a tag saying either ‘brew me’ for the ladies or ‘wear me’ for the boys. All these were put together with the help of my very patient mother and my eldest niece!



We had loads of DIY projects! Tissue pom-poms {lovingly crafted by my mum!}, the favours, stationery, table plan {I painted the blackboards on our kitchen table – not advised!}, guest book thumbprint tree, candle votives wrapped with lace, confetti cones… the list is quite long! These were the parts of the planning that I equally loved, and that stressed me out! I couldn’t bear the thought of spending three times the amount on paying for someone else to do things I could do, and actually take enjoyment from doing. 



I didn't want to spend much on a wedding cake, as for me it wasn't a huge part of the day that I had imagined. So I decided to order it from M&S. However, I left it too late and had my mum frantically ringing round cake makers in the local area about two weeks before the wedding! And it actually worked out for the best as we ended up with the most amazing cake we have ever tasted! It was a rustic Victoria sponge and was just superb. Rebecca at Streatley Village Cakes did a beautiful job and set it up on the day in the barn, with fresh fruit and flowers. There were many compliments on it! One of my bridesmaids and I were shoving it in our faces at about 11pm to refuel for the dance floor!

On the whole, I loved planning my wedding, however there were elements that stressed me out! I enjoyed ensuring all the details tied together, although probably no one noticed them apart from me! All the time I spent planning, and feeling daunted, came good in the end. 

My advice for brides? The old 'take a moment to take it all in on the day' cannot be stressed enough and also to remember why you’re doing it. My favourite moment of the whole day, amongst all the little touches we had made, was actually saying my vows and meeting Paul at the altar. I would also advise brides to delegate! My sister was A-mazing throughout the whole process and on the day her and my brother-in-law were up at the venue at 7.30am making sure everything was sorted for me, and I cannot thank her enough. Also, it’s easy to say in hindsight, but try to relax in the final few weeks; I didn’t and my back went two weeks before the wedding, and I was laid up in bed for the whole week. It was my body's way of telling me enough was enough and actually helped me to let go!

We also chose to have a videographer and found a company, Family Creative, who were just starting out in the business. We were delighted with the final version, and I think I must have watched the DVD about a million times! Getting a wedding video definitely brings your day to life, and having the footage to look back on adds another dimension.




More posts like this one:

✽ Amazing Rustic Barn Wedding

✽ Luxury Barn Wedding

♥ Want to see more summer weddings? ♥ Or how about grey-themed wedding ideas? ♥

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Real Lavender Barn Wedding: Alex & Paul

Every time a Before the Big Day bride gets in touch to tell me about her wedding, I do a happy dance! The lovely Alex regularly read this blog for wedding inspiration, before her big day, so it gives me HUGE pleasure to feature the pictures from her gorgeous wedding! As you'd expect, it's packed to the brim with fabulous wedding ideas you'll want to steal - from the subtle lavender theme, the perfectly toned bridesmaids' dresses, Alex's exquisite bouquet including David Austin roses, and her Jimmy Choo look-a-like shoes from Next! Alex DIY'd lots of her wedding decorations, so don't miss the upcoming pictures of her and Paul's traditional barn reception {later this afternoon}. Huge thanks to Alex for filling in my Bride's Questionnaire with all her helpful hints, and to Dean Govier for his beautiful wedding pictures.

We got married on Saturday 28th July 2012 in St Mary’s Church in Whitchurch-on-Thames, which is the village I grew up in in South Oxfordshire. Our reception was at Ufton Court in Berkshire.

I hated wedding dress shopping!  My mum and sister took me to a wedding shop in Marlow which was full of horrible synthetic dresses, all strapless and not at all what I wanted.  The type that make you sweat as soon as you put them on!  I don't think they quite realised how awful the shop would be, but it did provide some entertainment!  I then decided to go-it-alone and went and tried about 15 dresses at different places, but none of them were right, and I actually came away from the experience rather downhearted.

 It was my sister who suggested I get my dress made, as she had done, and she found me a dress maker in Henley-on-Thames.  From the moment I met Hannah I could tell that she was the lady for me, and I trusted her implicitly to make me the dress of my dreams!  My dress was a mish-mash of styles I had seen and liked, and Hannah pulled them together beautifully. As we were getting married in the summer, I wanted something lightweight and easy to move around in, so I had several layers of tulle, georgette and chiffon built up to give the dress a 'floaty' feel.  I felt so comfortable in it all day, and I could breathe!

Hannah also made my cathedral length veil, with lace along the bottom so it gave an illusion of a train. My shoes were a steal from Next of all places and were actually pretty comfy.  They reminded me of some Jimmy Choo ones that I loved, but simply couldn’t afford.

I had a hair comb made by Poppy from Connie and Dolly, who I met at a wedding fair in Chiswick.  She used vintage brooches and earrings, and incorporated a bow, to tie in with the lace pattern on my dress.  My earrings were ordered as a last week panic the week of the wedding from Olivier Laudus, and only arrived the day before! They were perfect and well worth the wait!

It was important for Paul to get married in church, and the only church I would have ever got married in was the one we did. I grew up in the village of Whitchurch-on-Thames and anywhere else wouldn’t have felt right, as I wanted to get ready at home.

Paul, his two bestmen and our usher, my brother-in-law, wore the 'Royal Ascot' morning suit from Moss Bros. As we were having a traditional English country church wedding, we thought it would be nice for him to wear tails. Paul wears a suit to work every day, so he wanted something different. 

We bought Paul's lilac tie from Thomas Pink to compliment the bridesmaids dresses. As a wedding gift I bought him some original 'lucky' sixpence cufflinks, which was the first thing he proudly showed to me when I met him at the alter!

Four of the bridesmaids dresses, the lavender ones, were from Dessy, but I had them shipped over from America for half the price – a definite tip for future brides {watch the import tax though!}. I had a very particular colour that I wanted, a heathery purple colour, which I couldn’t find anywhere and the closest I found were the dresses from Dessy. It’s the old adage of when you’re looking for something you can never find it, and I didn't help myself by being so fixated on this colour - with hindsight, I wish that I had been a bit more relaxed about it! My bridesmaids' shoes were from Dune, and I bought them a brooch and earrings as a thank you gift, which they wore on the day.

My flower girls, my beautiful nieces, wore dresses from Boden and sandals from M&S. I wanted them to have dresses they could wear for the rest of the summer, and that were also comfortable and lightweight. I also bought them a hairband each from Etsy. They still wear them for dressing up! My eldest niece actually wore pretty much her whole outfit the day after the wedding as well!

I wanted my sister, who was my maid of honour, to stand out from the other girls and chose grey to compliment the morning suits of the boys. I wanted everything to be very tonal. Her dress was a nightmare to find as it had to be just the right tone of grey. In the end she ordered a dress from a Spanish website {all very international!} and then Hannah, my dressmaker, added the sleeves and trim to the bottom.

Luckily my mother-in-law does floristry in her spare time and kindly offered to do our wedding flowers for us. I was very particular, in that I wanted to include lavender in my bouquet as it is a scent that reminds me of my grandmother. I also wanted the flowers to be pale colours in a soft palette – pinks, peaches, creams - with pale green leaves. The bridesmaids had the same, but with no pink, and the flower girls had just lavender. All were hand-tied with lace. Paul’s buttonhole tied in with my bouquet and also featured lavender sprigs.



I also wanted the flowers to be pale colours in a soft palette – pinks, peaches, creams - with pale green leaves. The bridesmaids had the same, but with no pink, and the flower girls had just lavender. All were hand-tied with lace. Paul’s buttonhole tied in with my bouquet and also featured lavender sprigs.



My bouquet was made up of David Austin roses {they came on the Thursday before the wedding and half of them were dead! I was so upset having spent quite a considerable amount on them, but my mother-in-law replaced them and I didn’t even notice the difference!}, carnations {which I truly believe are underrated!}, hydrangeas, gypsophilia, a lavender collar and seneicio leaves.

Our wedding photographer was Dean Govier and he was beyond amazing. He was recommended to us through one of my bridesmaids, who had been at a wedding he had photographed in the same area.

When I saw his photos I knew Dean was our guy. We loved his natural style, and he was such a pleasure to have around on the day. He just seamlessly blended into the background. I cannot recommend him enough.

We also chose to have a videographer and found a company, Family Creative, who were just starting out in the business. We were delighted with the final version, and I think I must have watched the DVD about a million times! Getting a wedding video definitely brings your day to life, and having the footage to look back on adds another dimension.

Our general wedding theme was centred on lavender and lace with accents of grey. The smell of lavender reminds me of my grandmother, plus I love the colour. I also had lace on my dress and wanted to reflect that throughout our wedding. Paul also wanted to make sure he had a 'stamp' on the day, so we incorporated his love of Tottenham FC wherever we could, without it being too tacky!

More posts like this one:

✽ DIY Signature Wedding Cocktail Bar

✽ DIY Drinks Flags

♥ Want to see lavender-themed weddings? ♥ Or how about more church wedding ideas? ♥

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Real Rustic Bliss Wedding: Alee & Ben

Lavender, cotton and burlap make for wedding blogger heaven in this gorgeous big day, set on the groom's family farm. Beautiful Alee and Ben celebrated their wedding day with peacocks among the wedding guests, and a sunlit outdoor ceremony. I love the boho rustic feel of Alee's twine-tied wedding bouquet, the cute flower crowns worn by the bridesmaids, and the simple cotton-bole decorations. Vintage bottles tied with twine and rosemary and simple palm fan favours added to the elegant simplicity of the day. Stunning wedding pictures published with thanks to the team at Simply Bloom Photography.

♥ Want more lavender wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more rustic weddings? ♥

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Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.