Romantic Laser-Cut Wedding Bunting

If you're a regular reader of Before the Big Day, you might have noticed my obsession with wedding bunting! That's why I'm loving this new range from bespoke wedding stationer, Hummingbird Cards. The pennants are laser cut from textured white card, and come in packs of six, with 2m of ivory organza ribbon to hang them. Definitely a step up from your average white bunting!

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Real English Rose-Themed Wedding: Hannah & Dominic

This quintessentially English rose wedding is making me fall in love with home-grown weddings all over again. I've had a bit of a destination wedding phase, but now I'm firmly back in Britain, and looking forward to a whole summer of gorgeous UK blushing brides. Hannah themed her gorgeous wedding along a fairytale pink theme, with her stunning Naomi Neoh gown as inspiration. Avalanche roses were a recurring motif, from the sash on Hannah's dress, to the table flowers, and incredible wedding cake. Can you believe that the cake was DIY'd by Hannah's aunt? Nope, me either! Other details to steal include Hannah's Rachel Simpson lacy shoes and the fabulous Stoke Place wedding venue. Stunning pictures published with thanks to Kelly Green at Lola Rose Photography. Don't miss Hannah's answers to the Before the Big Day Bridal Questionnaire. She's got lots of hints and tips for future brides like yourselves!

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Hannah was kind enough to fill in our bridal 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 1st May at Stoke Place in Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire.

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
Stoke Place was the very first venue I looked at and fell in love with it straight away, but my now husband said we needed to look at others before we made our minds up. After seeing another 4 or 5 venues, it become clear nothing would beat it. I just love its grandeur, and the fact it's still quite an intimate venue, with amazing grounds. Also the decoration is quite quirky.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
The style on my wedding was pretty pink, all very soft and with a real fairy tale feel to it. I designed the theme around my dress, as it had a very soft pink fabric under the layers of silk and a pink rose round the middle.

Who made your wedding outfit and how did you come to that decision?
My dress and veil were from Naomi Neoh and my shoes from Rachel Simpson. All my accessories were my own.

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
He wore a tailor-made suit from The Wedding Centre in Marlow.

And how about your bridesmaids’ outfits?
My three flower girls wore dresses from John Lewis.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
My aunt made the cake and it was truly amazing! It turned out even better than I imagined. It was a three-tier fruit cake, covered in ivory roses with diamante dotted around. She also made sponge cupcakes for the children that looked like ice creams with a flake.

Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
We bought scratchcards for adults, and presented them in pearl envelopes with personalised pink stickers saying 'Lucky in Love Hannah & Dominic 01/05/11'. The children were given activity and sticker books to keep them busy during the wedding.

Who was your florist, what flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
We chose Love Flowers {contact Ryan}. Our main blooms were pink avalanche roses with hydrangeas {green with pink fleck}, peonies, ivory roses, and other greenery. I love avalanche roses and wanted to keep the softness throughout the flowers, while including hydrangeas. Our florist suggested the rest.

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
We picked Lola Rose Photography, and Kelly Green. I found her by chance on the internet, and loved her website and the blogs. When we met up with her, we were completely confident that she would do a fantastic job and she did!

Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
I loved it! I'm feeling very lost now with the planning. At times it was stressful, as you want every detail to be perfect but it was definitely worth it.

Did you have any DIY projects?
Our table plan, place tags, and the very popular sweetie table!

Who designed your stationery? What did it look like and how did you come to that decision?
Our invitations were by Hummingbird Cards. They were ivory pearlised A5 cards with 'He asked, She said Yes' on the front. I DIY'd all other stationery myself.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Enjoy it! You'll miss it when it's over. Just make a To Do List and tackle one thing at a time, giving yourself enough time on each, so you get it right and can enjoy it. Make sure you work out what's important to you both about your big day and don't lose sight of that.

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Your New Married Name - After the Big Day

In case you're new to Before the Big Day, I got married on Saturday {woohoo!}. And that means I have a brand new name - Georgia Tolley. I've always planned to take my husband's name, but I never realised how time consuming and complex it would be to make the changes. In the real world, there's passports, drivers' licences and bank accounts {what do you do in-between bank cards?!}, and then in the online world there's email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, and the all important Before the Big Day Wedding Blog profile. Gargh!! As a quick reminder of why it's all worth it, here are a couple of sneaky-peak pictures from my wedding, taken by one of my best friend's Jemma Harding. My official wedding photographer is the fabulous Chloe from Caught the Light, but Jemma's a wedding photographer too, and she snapped a few {amazing} photographs for my wedding present. Official pictures from Chloe coming soon!!

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All The Latest Wedding Sample Sales

Wedding dresses can be a huge part of your budget if you pay full price. Luckily there are lots of sample sales each year. in London and around the UK. Do a good search on google, and keep an eye out on the wedding blogs. If you sign up for my free newsletter, you won't miss a single one - hint hint!

♥ One of my favourite high-street shops of all time, French Connection, hosts their massive summer sample sale this weekend, starting today!! It's the perfect place to pick up your bridesmaids' dresses, plus pieces for your honeymoon. With prices from £5, you can't go wrong. Hot foot it down to Centro One, 39 Camden Street from 9.30am this morning, and 10am on Saturday and Sunday.

♥ Don't forget about your groom! This weekend is your last chance to catch the huge Hugo Boss sample sale at Hugo Boss HQ in Camden. Mensware and womensware available at amazing prices! From 9am today {Friday} and 10am on Saturday and Sunday at 19 Mandela Street.

♥ Fashion-favourite Erdem is holding his first ever sample sale today. Renowned for his gorgeous printed silks, his dresses would make perfect wedding gowns for brides eschewing classic for bright and bold. With 75% off ready-to-wear and shoes, you're bound to be tempted. From 10am at The Future Gallery, 5 Newport Street, until a work-friendly 7pm.

♥ Have you checked out the Before the Big Day Wedding Themes for more wedding inspiration?

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Real Bright Summer Wedding: Kaelie & Drew

There's no doubt an all-white wedding is supremely elegant, but the bolder bride and groom should use colour to stamp their personality on their big day. Gorgeous couple Kaelie and Drew did just this at their fabulous wedding in September. Huge thanks to Simply Bloom Photography for these truly inspirational photographs. Loving the orange waistcoats!

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Cool New Wedding Stationery Design

If I look back at my own wedding planning, choosing the wedding stationery was where it all started. It's surprising how quickly you need to get the Save the Dates out to your guests, and then before you know it, you're three months before your wedding day, and spending a hundred pounds on stamps! For me, our wedding stationery was very representative of the atmosphere I wanted to create on our big day. So it's a good idea to create a few mood boards, and get a real sense of your wedding style, before plumping for a particular stationery or invitation design. I think I agonised more over our wedding stationery than anything else! Anyway, if I was to have my time again, I'd definitely take a look at Brownpaper Designs. They're a brand new, bespoke wedding stationery designer, and I'm loving their work. Just check out the cute vintage picnic set below.

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Real Summer Garden Wedding: Jennifer & Ramsey

While I'm sunning myself in the south of France on my honeymoon, I thought it only suitable to post his gorgeous Provence-inspired wedding. Jennifer and Ramsey celebrated their big day under the olive trees with the scent of lavender in the air - what's not to like? I'm particularly loving their simple stationery and home-made jam adorned with olive motifs. Personalised caps are a brilliant idea for hot day favours, and check out the oyster bar and berry cocktails - yum! I'm also a huge fan of how Jennifer toned the tomato dishes with her bouquet and flower arrangements, all those beautiful oranges and yellows are the essence of summer. Huge thanks to Jessamyn Harris for her stunning pictures, and praise has to go to Molli and Denise of Green Girl Events, for their stylish ideas.

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My Wedding - Three Days to Go!!

You might have noticed that the blog postings have been slightly erratic over the last two weeks. That's because my French wedding is now in three days - eeeeeeeeek! We're already in France, and the weather is beautiful - I'm just praying it holds out for Saturday and Sunday. I'm carrying around my Delphine Manivet dress in its protective bag, plus the veil in another bag, and I'm worrying about creases, almost as much as I'm worrying about rain. Then there's the ash cloud....which right now is due to hit London on Friday, just as most of my guests are hoping to leave for France. This bridal business is just one long anxiety attack! The good news is that we visited the venue again yesterday, and it looks gorgeous. Plus my fabulous French hairdresser made me look super-chic in our practice run. All I can hope is that my stress is making me burn up more calories - a week in France is not conducive to dieting before your wedding! I'm reposting my wedding mood boards here, partly as a fond memory of how it all started.....

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