Real Rustic Autumn Wedding: Lindsey & Hayley

Succulents, lace and pink helium balloons are the recipe for a perfect wedding. Throw in an incredible South African venue and the autumnal turning of the leaves, and I'm in wedding heaven! Lindsey and Hayley celebrated their wedding in the South African countryside, saying their vows surrounded on all four sides by nature. I'm loving Hayley's exquisite feathered dress, fun Vivienne Westwood heart shoes {cheap but oh-so chic}, and the little fur stole to keep her cosy during her vows. Other fabulous wedding details include the pink table stationery {Eat, Drink and Be Married!} and mirrored table displays. I love how they covered succulents with bell vases, and put proteas in birdcages. Each table feels like a feminine dressing table - such a romantic theme for a wedding. If you'd like a similar ceramic ring-bearing bowl, you can buy them from Paloma's Nest, a US designer who's cornered the market on heirlooms of the future. Gorgeous pictures published with thanks to the team at We Love Pictures.

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Sparkly Wedding Dresses by Jenny Packham

Brides wanting to make a bit of an impact choose Jenny Packham wedding dresses. I'm deeply in love with her designs, and very nearly picked one for my own wedding gown, but she was slightly {okay, hugely} outside my budget. That didn't stop me going to a Jenny Packham evening dress sample sale, and looking longingly at a green sparkly number reduced to £999, and wondering if I had the guts to be a bride in green {I didn't!}. Feast your eyes on my favourites from her wedding collection, they're the perfect wedding dress inspiration, even if you can't afford the real thing. Remember Jenny Packham dresses have fabulous resale value, and you can find second-hand gowns on eBay and specialist bridal websites. Read my blog posting on Your Wedding Dress for Less for more helpful hints on buying a wedding dress on a budget.

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Real Red-Themed Countryside Wedding: Fiona & Will

If you're planning your wedding, and feeling slightly swamped by all the ideas you've got from wedding blogs like this one, focus on one thing first, namely your venue. Once you've chosen where you want to get married, and where you want to host your wedding reception, you can start to get a sense of the atmosphere of your wedding. For example, if you pick a castle, it'll probably feel more formal and elegant, while a teepee on your parents' farm would be boho and casual. Colour themes can also grow from your venue choice, like it did for this wedding at the gorgeous Compton Acres in Dorset. Just check out the gorgeous red flowers in the final picture, and you can see at least one reason why Fiona and Will chose red as their theme colour. I'm loving all the dresses in this wedding, including Fiona's divine lacy wedding gown, the bridesmaids' elegant red dresses, and even the little flower girls net skirts. Other details-to-steal include Fiona's 'I Do' stickers on the back of her wedding shoes {I had these too!}, and the ushers' matching suits and ties. Huge thanks to Tom Redman for his gorgeous wedding pictures {and extreme patience!}.

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Wedding Inspiration Boards on Pinterest

For me, this weekend has been all about Pinterest. After discovering it about a year ago, I've become mildly obsessed with creating wedding inspiration boards, and I'm thinking it might just be the new Twitter, Facebook and Wedding Blog bliss all rolled up into one! Check out my Before the Big Day Pinterest Boards for an instant overload of fabulous wedding inspiration. Plus sign up to Pinterest and start your own wedding boards. I'll be picking the best for the Before the Big Day each week.

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Wonderful Weekend Wedding Blog Links

Do you like skiing? I've never been much of a fan, but The Boy loves it, so I'm being a very dutiful wife, and blogging this week's Wonderful Weekend Wedding Blog Links from Switzerland! It's lovely and snowy outside, and wooden Swiss houses are so cute and romantic, I'm beginning to get into the groove. Tomorrow on the slopes, when I'm flat on my face in the snow, my mood may be a little different... This week has been an exciting one for Before the Big Day, as I've welcomed the first of my wedding gurus - the lovely personal trainer, Alice Cowen. I'll have more introductions to make over the next few weeks, as Before the Big Day celebrates turning two and a half years, with a big growth spurt! My ultimate aim is to blog four features a day, so you can have more, free, wonderful wedding inspiration. So let's get started with my pick of the best wedding blog links in the world!

♥ {Photo Credit} Carly Mitchell Photography

♥ It's my birthday today {yes really!}, and I'd like a cake like this....

♥ I love bold black & white stripes at a wedding {via wedding blog 100 Layer Cake}

♥ After my freezing trip to Venice for {non-blog related} work, this wedding shoot makes me love the city again {via wedding blog Green Wedding Shoes}

♥ My new flower crush is ranunculus {via A Little Sparkle on the Side}

♥ I love these star cocktail stirrers for a wedding {via Follow studio from Kiss My Tulle}

♥ This house in Croatia is where I want to go on my wedding anniversary holiday {do we get those?} via shabby-chic interiors blog Little Miss Homes

♥ And if I don't go there, I want to go here, and get fit for summer with our new wedding-fitness guru Alice Cowen.

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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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