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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Welcome Before the Big Day's Wedding Personal Trainer

Exciting news! Now that Before the Big Day is over 5 years old {my baby, so big!}, it's time for this boutique wedding blog to get growing! I'm all about roping in as much wedding expertise as possible, because I want you to be able to plan an exquisite wedding, with tonnes of beautiful details to make it stand out from the crowd. But I also want you to feel your very best! So.....{drum roll}....I'd like to welcome Alice Cowen of Fitness DNA to my wedding blog team. Alice is a personal trainer to the stars {actual proper famous people you see in Hello!}, and she's also a nutrition expert. She specialises in weight loss, body sculpting and toning, and she's agreed to be Before the Big Day's Personal Trainer - woohoo! I reckon nearly every bride and groom wants to drop a few pounds before their big day, and Alice is going to help us on our way to body-beautiful. She'll be posting diet tips, fat-free recipes, fabulous toning exercises, and inspirational features that will make getting wedding-fit easier.

{Photo Credit} Butler-Madden Weddings

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Real Scottish Romantic Wedding: Kirsty & James

If you loved the snowy gorgeousness of yesterday's wedding shoot, but you weren't sure about hot pink colour palette, you're sure to love this more traditional, Scottish wedding. With warm red as a key colour, and a bride with a clear sense of style, it's absolutely stunning, with tonnes of wedding inspiration. Wedding details I'm loving are the bridesmaids' rich red sashes, Kirsty's exuberant, feminine, tulle wedding dress and her vintage-style veil, and the Scottish piper who led the bridal procession. Kirsty and James picked Eilean Donan Castle as their wedding venue, and I think it's among the most romantic I've ever seen. Huge thanks to the team at Contemporary Wedding Photography for their fantastic, atmospheric wedding pictures of the day.

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Weddings for All - Gay Wedding Inspiration

Here on Before the Big Day we're huge supporters of gay marriage, and we hope that couples of every combination enjoy our wedding blog. Marriage is about celebrating love, and everyone should have the chance to plan the wedding of their dreams. But it wasn't until one of my gay guy friends started planning their wedding, that I realised just how girly we are here at Before the Big Day. Let's be honest, there's quite a lot of pink and vintage shabby-chic on this wedding blog. What if you're two guys getting married, and you want more masculine wedding ideas - where should you go for inspiration? Here are just a couple of wedding blogs that I found online, that are packed full of gay wedding inspiration. I've also thrown in a lovely picture of the wedding photographer Jose Villa on his wedding day, because I couldn't resist!

{Photo Credit: Elizabeth Messina}

Two Men on a Cake {UK wedding blog}

So You're EnGAYged {tonnes of Real Wedding inspiration}

A Bicycle Built for Two {wedding inspiration for lesbian couples and everyone else}

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Wonderful Weekend Wedding {WWW} Blog Links

How was your week? Mine's been a bit of a write-off, after I caught mega evil flu last weekend, I've spent most of the week in bed, feeling sorry for myself. There definitely seem to be some serious bugs going round, but as an added benefit, I lost my appetite, so I've finally dropped those last, stubborn, Christmas pounds. I feel like I'm ready for spring now! The one good thing about this week, was that I had plenty of time to ramble around my favourite wedding blogs, and to discover a few brand new finds. That means that this week's Wonderful Weekend Wedding Blog Links is something of a bonanza. So don't bother with going outside in the cold, just jump right in, for some serious wedding inspiration!

{Photo Credit} Jose Villa

♥ Imagine eloping to Paris in a blush-pink Vera Wang wedding dress {via wedding blog Snippet & Ink}

♥ A stunning pastel-themed Byron Bay wedding fresh from Australia {via wedding blog Style Me Pretty}

♥ Adorable wedding stationery and a short wedding dress, it doesn't get better than this wedding {via wedding blog 100 Layer Cake}

♥ Loving the pastel-coloured cake

♥ Who wouldn't want a baby giraffe at their wedding? {via wedding blog Snippet & Ink}

♥ It doesn't get much more adorable than a vintage pink caravan serving cake {via wedding blog Style Me Pretty}

♥ Imagine eloping to Paris in a blush-pink Vera Wang wedding dress {via wedding blog Snippet & Ink}

♥ Did you celebrate Valentine's Day? If not, celebrate love with a fabulous DIY bridal shower themed around V Day {via wedding blog 100 Layer Cake}

♥ And the bride wore....a cardigan?

♥ DIY your own watercolour wedding invitations {a huge wedding trend this season}

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Unusual Wedding Cake Toppers

On my wedding day, the cake topper is the one detail I completely forgot, and instead of something lovely, the wedding caterer added a hilarious plastic bride and groom. Don't do the same! Pick up a cute wedding cake topper from Potter & Butler. From teeny-weeny baubles, to mini-pom-poms, they make even the simplest of wedding cakes look gorgeous. {Secret hint! Buy your white wedding cake tiers from M&S, for a super-cheap, super-chic, cake on a budget. They even do cake-tasting packs for £6}

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Real Pastel Summer Wedding: Denise & Bobby

I'm hugely impressed by all the stealworthy ideas from this fabulous Florida wedding. Denise and Bobby got married in the sunshine, surrounded by palm trees - what a way to tie the knot! I'm loving the neutral colour Denise chose for her bridesmaids' dresses, totally flattering, and the wedding colour palette chimes exactly with her pink pearl necklace and the pastel bouquets. Don't miss the scrolling on cake and the stationery - teamed together they create an element of vintage whimsy - perfect wedding details to catch the eye. Big love to the team at Simply Bloom for their simply gorgeous pictures!

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Vintage Romantic Wedding Dresses by Claire Pettibone

Choosing your wedding dress is one of the hardest decisions in the run-up to your wedding {unless you're like my friend Erin, who's first dress was The One!}. It took me months, and by the time I'd finally picked my divine Delphine Manivet gown, much of the fun had gone out of the experience. I'd just let myself get too worried about price and style, and then it all got a bit late! So, with the aim of making wedding dress shopping a happier experience for Before the Big Day wedding blog readers, every week I'm going to feature my favourite wedding dress designers. All the best wedding inspiration, at the tips of your laptop tapping fingers! First up, UK wedding dress designer Claire Pettibone.

{Credits: Photography by Elizabeth Messina; Gowns & Styling by Claire Pettibone; Make up by Stephanie Lawrence; Model – Ciara Christensen; Venue at Sunstone Winery}

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Stunning Wedding Dress Separates

Anthropologie-inspired wedding boutique BHLDN has struck on a fabulous wedding trend for 2012. Wedding dress separates. You buy a top and two bottoms, or a bottom and two tops, and you can mix and match them as your wedding day progresses. It means you can swap your swingy skirt after the reception for a pair of sexy shorts for dancing. Or add a silky camisole instead of a corset for guilt-free cake-guzzling. It's a genius idea, as it keeps your guests guessing, and guarantees a longer life for your wedding day outfits. What do you think? Would you wear separates on your wedding day? P.S. Net-a-Porter's Wedding Boutique also has a fabulous selection of wedding dress separates.

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Honeymoon Underwear

Personally I go through underwear fazes. I'll not buy any for ages, and then I'll suddenly despair of my greying knickers and unstructured bras, and go on a shopping frenzy. On your wedding day your knickers will be more about function than fun, but for your honeymoon, you'll want to treat your husband! One of my recent secret discoveries is Ann Summers. Have you checked out their new ranges recently {AnnSummers.com for lingerie}? There's something for every taste, including a gorgeous selection of white, every-day lingerie sets, alongside the {gulp!} adult toys. And the price will suit even the most wedding-busted budget!

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