Real Vintage-Themed Marquee Wedding: Lottie & Jake

This pretty vintage style wedding is proof that you can get married in London, and still have a countryside, shabby-chic feel to your big day. It's absolutely stunning, and I think I've fallen slightly in love with lovely couple, Lottie and Jake. Just take a look at Lottie's fabulous 1940s-style wedding dress and cute bolero, plus her bouquet of UK-grown flowers. I adore sweat peas and cornflowers, and the floral bunting sets off the traditional English feel to perfection. Any brides worrying about a registry office wedding not fitting with their wedding style, should take a look at Lottie's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire. Lottie came up with an ingenious marquee-shaped compromise - more details and pictures to follow in Part 2 later this afternoon. Beautiful pictures published with thanks to Fiona Kelly from Fiona's Wedding Photography and FO Photography, with a helping hand from Lisa at County Marquees.

I bought my wedding dress, bolero and sash from Zoe Lem. The dress is a customised copy of a vintage 1940's dress. It was literally the first and only dress I looked at – I didn’t step into a traditional wedding dress shop once! My hair clip was also from Zoe Lem, the earrings were a present from my mum. My shoes were from Pronovias, bought in a rush about three weeks before the wedding!

One of my very talented bridesmaids handmade all of the bridesmaids’ dresses and let them choose their own necklines according to their own sense of style. Amazing!

Our florist was Charlie Ryrie of The Real Cut Flower Garden. I wanted UK grown flowers and a relaxed, wildflowery look. I emailed Charlie pictures of my dress, the bridesmaids’ dresses and the bunting, and she made the decisions from there!

My husband, his best man and our officiant all hired suits from Moss Bros. Jake had a navy suit with a champagne waistcoat and tie to match my wedding dress. His best man had the same suit, but blue accessories, and our officiant was in grey and burgundy so that he stood out!

We got married in my grandmother’s garden in Highgate on the 6th August 2011, officiated by one of our close friends. The ceremony included rings, vows, readings: everything a 'proper' ceremony should. Afterwards, our legal ceremony took place at the Highgate Literary and Scientific Society. It took all of 5 minutes and after a few photos we returned to a confetti shower and our marquee reception.

We didn't really have a theme our wedding. We knew that we wanted it to be relaxed and fun and joyous, and a reflection of us, and we went from there.

Music was an incredibly important part of our day. My whole family are musicians and I work as a secondary school music teacher. Most people in my family play string and/or brass instruments so the 'family ensemble' has become a tradition. They play at birthdays and anniversaries, so it was essential they play at our wedding!

When we came back from our 'legal' ceremony the family brass ensemble played my Dad's version of Just the Way You Look Tonight, complete with opening fanfare (!), and after we had dinner the string ensemble played my Dad's version of the Glee's 'Don't Stop Believing'!

♥ Want more shabby-chic themed weddings? ♥ Or how about marquee wedding ideas? ♥

If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up for our free newsletter. 

Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Whimsical Vintage Wedding Paper Bunting

Loving this pretty upcycled paper bunting that I spotted on my online stroll around fab crafting site Folksy. Created by the online Scottish boutique, Peony and Thistle, they're made out of the pages of rescued vintage books, so every banner is unique. They'd be perfect for a shabby chic wedding.

 ♥ Want to see some shabby chic wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about wedding decoration ideas? ♥

If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up for our free newsletter. 

Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Real Yellow-Themed Autumn Wedding: Ashley & Jeff

Aaaah, yellow! The colour of the sunshine - something we're not getting a great deal of on these grey November days. I hope these pics of Ashley and Jeff's big day cheer you up out of the gloom - they certainly did the job for me earlier on today. My favourite ideas to steal? Ashley's fab flat shoes (sensible but oh-so-stylish), their cute tie-the-knot invitations and the vintage typewriter they used for messages on the day.  Huge thanks to the team at Simply Bloom for their gorgeous pictures.

If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up for our free newsletter and click for more yellow-themed wedding ideas. Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Real Homespun DIY Wedding: Sam & Wade

This wedding is packed to the brim with DIY ideas and shabby-chic inspiration. Gorgeous bride, Sam, is a style pro, so she was bound to put together a truly exceptional wedding, and this one is a wonderful combination of eclectic styles. I'm loving Wade's gingham shirt and red bow-tie look, and Sam's bridesmaids' individual plaited hairstyles. The guests all sat on fabric-covered straw bales for the ceremony, which took place under a tree, chalked with the bride and groom’s initials. Other fabulous wedding details include the flower girl holding a balloon and a butterfly jar instead of a usual basket, the photo-rosette boutonnieres, and the hanging bottle vases. Also the vintage quilt-style tablecloth and the typewriter guest book. Plus {yes there's more!}, Sam's sparkly pink Christian Louboutins, Badgley Mishka ruffled wedding dress and Wade's cool moustached socks. Wow! Literally every wedding detail was personalised. Fantastic pictures published with thanks to the ladies at Simply Bloom Photography.

If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up for our free newsletter and click for more shabby-chic themed wedding ideas. Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

My Wedding in Provence - Part 4 - The Evening

Another day, another set of pictures from my wedding. The last ones! We hosted dinner for our guests outside on the terrace in front of the Chateau, but we were worried everyone would be too cold for dancing. So instead, we ventured indoors into the basement, where we'd created a nightclub, with a bar and dance floor, and our incredible DJ, Sophie Callis. The large white helium balloons were originally intended to float above each table at dinner, but there was a bit of a breeze, and everyone was worried that they'd knock over glasses, so our wedding planner, Kerry from Lavender & Rose Weddings,, found a different home for them. They looked great against the ultraviolet light! We chose a traditional French wedding cake called a croquembouche, which was as delicious as it was dramatic. For more info about my wedding, do check out the Before the Big Day Questionnaire, which I've filled in below the pics! Gorgeous photographs published with thanks to the amazing Chloé from Caught the Light.

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A 

Where and when did you get married?
On 28th May 2011 in a tiny French village called Puyricard, just outside Aix-en-Provence. We hired a private château for three days.

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
We really wanted a garden wedding, where we spent most of the day outside. So a warm day was essential. I wanted the day to feel chic, but relaxed, with a touch of fun. Bunting and DIY'd tissue pompoms ensured the venue didn't feel too grand.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
Yes! As a wedding blogger, I spent many days agonising over which theme to choose. In the end I chose a Secret Garden theme, and a colour palette of soft grey, dusky pink and sage green. We had a key motif which appeared on all the invitations, place markers, programmes and pashmina tags. My sister gave me a Tiffany key charm, which I sewed onto my bouquet, and The Boy had a vintage key tied into his buttonhole. 

Who made your wedding outfit, and how did you come to that decision?
My dress and veil were by Delphine Manivet, and I felt gorgeous. Shortly after buying the dress, I had huge buyer's remorse. I'd never intended to spend that much, but after trying on dozens of cheaper dresses, and even travelling to New York in my quest, I kept coming back to the 'Anatole'.  My shoes were Halston Heritage, a bargain buy from The Outnet.

And how about your bridesmaids’ outfits?
I was determined not to turn into bridezilla, and I couldn't afford to buy my 5 bridesmaids dresses, so instead I asked them to pick a dress of their choosing in soft grey. This was a fatal decision! None of their dresses were the same shade of grey, so it didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. If I had my time again, I would have insisted on the same dress!

Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
Every person had a vintage key and a fortune teller at their table place. The fortune tellers contained fun facts about me and The Boy, and inside was the menu. Everyone also had an envelope containing an invitation to the drinks party the next day, and a fake stick-on moustache. The moustaches were a hilarious ice-breaker - we had everyone wearing them by the end of dinner. All the female guests were given grey pashminas at the start of dinner to ward off any chill.

Who was your florist, what flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
Our amazing wedding planner, Kerry Bracken, found our florist for us. His name is Stéphane Tévenin, and he's the local Puyricard florist. He's wasted there, we should ship him to London!

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
I can't even remember how I found Chloé from Caught the Light, but she was our best decision ever! It's scary when you book your wedding photographer, because it's often one of the first wedding things you do, and it's an expensive step. Chloé was worth every penny.

Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
Honestly? No, not all of the time. I got really stressed at times, and we had some very difficult times. The evil Icelandic ash cloud nearly ruined the wedding by stopping all flights out of London, but luckily stopped spouting ash just in time. Also we had problems with the owner of our venue. Make sure you get everything in writing when you book a venue, as things can go wrong, and you don't want to have to threaten to sue someone 3 days before your big day. That said, planning my wedding was also a fantastic experience. I discovered a creative side to myself which I didn't even know existed, and The Boy discovered he is very good at making pompoms!

Did you have any DIY projects?
Tonnes! We were on a budget, but I was determined to have as many wedding details as possible. The wedding stationery, the fortune teller menus, the white pompoms, the place cards, the programmes - everything! The Boy's brother made all our wooden signs, and our lovely wedding planner, Kerry, arranged the clouds of baby's breath for the chapel. My family and bridesmaids and their lovely boyfriends helped decorate the venue, and I'm eternally grateful for their pompom pouffing, candle placing and bunting hanging.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Read the wedding blogs! Scroll through tonnes and tonnes of real weddings and save pictures or make notes about your favourite wedding ideas and details. Then try to narrow them down to one unifying theme or colour palette. Then get creative! You'll be amazed at how much fun it is doing wedding DIY projects. Rope all your friends and family in to help you out, and try to stay organised. Finally, have a real think about how to make sure you enjoy our wedding day. You don't want to have a headache or a tummy-ache, or to be worrying about when the caterers are going to arrive, or to forget to eat. If necessary, hire someone to coordinate your wedding day. But make sure you enjoy yourself!

If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up for our free newsletter and click for more on my wedding. Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

My Wedding in Provence - Part 3 - Reception

Day 2! If I haven't exhausted you already, this is the second half of the pictures from my wedding in Provence. If you're into wedding details, this is going to be the posting for you, as you can see all the little extras that I added to personalise our big day. We chose a Secret Garden theme, as we hosted our reception in a walled garden. Our colour palette was soft grey, pink and sage green, and I chose a key motif, which appeared on all the stationery, place-markers and we gave each guest a vintage key as a wedding favour. The tables were named after vegetables {as a private joke}, and we used vintage postcards as labels. The menus were printed on fortune-tellers DIY'd by my husband, which also included facts about us as a couple. Our lovely wedding planner, Kerry from Lavender & Rose Weddings, handed out pashminas to all our female guests as the sun went down, and we encourage our friends and family to take pictures of themselves with a polaroid camera and sign our guest book. We decorated the garden with reams of white bunting {bought from eBay} and DIY'd white pompoms, plus florists' vases of baby's breath, which our planner Kerry bought wholesale the day before the wedding. Huge thanks to the fabulous Chloé from Caught the Light for our wonderful wedding pictures. More to come tomorrow!

If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up for our free newsletter and click for more on my wedding. Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.