Butterfly Themed Wedding Cake

Butterfly-themed weddings must be amongst the most popular for brides looking for a simple but sweet wedding motif. It's a lovely symbol for your wedding day, as in Chinese culture, two butterflies flying together symbolises love. DIY your butterfly theme with these gorgeous colourful, edible, butterflies from incrEDIBLEtoppers. Add them to a simple white wedding cake, or add one to the napkin or glass of each table place at your wedding reception. For more easy DIY butterfly wedding ideas, don't miss my Pinterest page.

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Real Italian Destination Wedding: Suzanne & Lee

If you're worried about the English weather ruining your wedding day, consider a destination wedding. We celebrated our big day in France, and although going abroad is no guarantee for sunshine, it certainly paid off for us. Suzanne and Lee had a similarly wonderful wedding day in June in Italy! Surrounded by stunning Italian countryside, in a tiny medieval village, they created a romantic, rustic themed wedding day with the help of their wedding planners, Amoretti Weddings. With peach, blue and pink as their accent wedding colours, and adorable Italian wedding details {cute Fiats! a massive cake!}, I've fallen head-over-heels for their wedding. Don't miss Suzanne's helpful hints and tips -  Lee's suit, and the bridesmaids' dresses were all bought on the high street, saving money without stinting on style. Huge thanks to local photographer Andrea Calvano for his beautiful pictures, more from the reception coming soon!

We got married in a little medieval village called Citta'Sant'angelo, in the rural province of Abruzzo Italy on 4 June 2012 – the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We knew we didn’t want a packaged up cardboard cut out affair. We wanted something different, something genuinely Italian, something special that our guests would always remember {and, as Lee would remind me, something on budget!!).

Very early on in our engagement my friend leant me a wedding book which had a photograph of a gorgeous bouquet of light pink, peach, cream and hydrangea blue flowers – it was very 'me' – I fell in love with it there and then! I also found beautiful peach bridemaids dresses so we planned everything around those colours.

My dress was made by the brilliant Rita & Chenca Westenius at Ritva Westenius. The shoes were Freya Rose, and the veil was a simple long piece bought from Ritva Westenius.

We were inspired by the venue and the location for the theme and the fact the wedding was abroad. Our invitations had a vintage aeroplane motif and generally for the wedding we wanted something romantic, rustic and classic - but not too over the top. 

My headpiece was my great great grandma's first worn at her wedding in 1906 and passed down through the family – I was very anxious about taking it all the way over to Italy on the plane!!

My bridesmaids dress were silk maxis from Ted Baker, their necklaces and earrings were beautifully handcrafted by Lou Lou Belle Designs, and I bought them each a little hair comb from Glitzy Secrets.

We searched high and low for outfits for the groom, ushers and fathers as we wanted suits that wouldn't be too confined or too hot on the day. In the end, on a whim we went to Bicester Village and found beautiful fine wool grey/beige suits in Savoy Taylor's Guild.

We got married in a little known part of Italy where hardly anyone speaks English or recognises English tourists. That in itself was the first hurdle, though it was quickly overcome by the rugged beauty of the region and the excitement we felt when we visited and grasped the potential Abruzzo could offer 'wedding tourists'.

Lee and I met in 2006 at work, I was a temp secretary at the time and he was a solicitor! We got engaged in June 2010 at the top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest building.
 

We asked Andrea Calvano, a local photographer, to take out pics. We chose him because on viewing his portfolio he had a wonderful artistic flare.

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Alternative Wedding Buttonholes

*I just love these!*  I've already featured Kikichoo's badges as an idea for wedding favours, but these cupcake couples are perfect for the wedding party. At £1 each, they're a lot cheaper than floral buttonholes, and come in cute pairs and different colours, so you can match up your bridesmaids and ushers. It's one way to drop hints about who you think should get together on the dancefloor!

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Real Vintage-Themed Wedding Video: Jo & Phil

I'm fast becoming a huge fan of weddings videos as the ultimate source of wedding inspiration. It's all down to the wedding details to minutes ratio, and this fabulous wedding short by White Dress Films is chock-a-block! Jo and Phil chose the gorgeous Stowe School for their wedding ceremony and reception, and I'm blown away by it's stature and beauty. It's the perfect wedding venue for a rainy day, because the building is so gorgeous, you'd never notice the grey skies outside. Jo and Phil personalised their big day with tonnes of wedding details, including some seriously fabulous green grass table decorations, their candle-lit wedding ceremony, cricket ball cake {watch the video!}, vintage tea-cups and hilarious photo props. I'm also deeply in love with Jo's beautiful lace-edged veil - one of the prettiest I've ever seen. For more wedding hints and tips, don't miss Jo and Phil's wedding pictures on Rock My Wedding.

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Real Pretty Countryside Wedding: Claire & Tom

There's nothing better than a lovely English countryside wedding, particularly one with an elegant colour palette and a giant chocolate cake. The lovely couple, Claire and Tom, clearly have fabulous taste, as every detail fits perfectly, creating a truly chic affair brimming with stealworthy ideas. My favourite spots are Claire's bouquet of long-stemmed Avalanche roses, her bridesmaids' hair accessories and the simple-but-oh-so-special orchid blooms for the table displays. Plus the extravagent train on Claire's Rosa Clara dress is to die for! Copy their style by choosing just two colours for your big day, rather than a whole selection - it makes it easier to make everything match. Gorgeous photographs as ever from Nikole Ramsay, and scroll on down for Claire's helpful hints, plus all her suppliers.

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Claire 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?
26th June 2010 at South Lodge Hotel, Lower Beeding, West Sussex

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
We chose the venue because it was beautiful, and somewhere that no one we knew had got married. Which was something I wanted.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
All white with a touch of silver.

Who made your wedding outfit, and how did you come to that decision?
My dress was from Rosa Clara at Liberty. It was the 3rd dress I tried on and it was perfect. My shoes were Christian Loubotin. I love them! I wore a diamond braclet which Tom brought me especially for the day and my dad brought me a Tiffany key necklace, but the chain was too long so I attached the pendant to my bracelet.

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
Tom’s outfit was from Lapels Mens Hire in Maidstone Kent. Mark was very helpful in dressing the groom, 2 best men, 5 ushers, 2 fathers and 2 page boys.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
We went for a chocolate cake, from Purita Hyam. We chose it as i don’t like fruit cake or jam, and I am a chocolate lover. Purita sent us a sample and it was delicious.

Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
We had lottery tickets, unfortunately nobody won, but a couple of £10’s were.

What flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
We had white avalanche roses and orchids.

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
Nikole Ramsay. We chose her as she photographed my dad’s wedding and they were amazing pictures (as are ours). She was recommended by my auntie who is also a photographer.

Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
I loved planning my wedding, albeit a bit stressful at times. I want to do it again.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Keep calm and carry on and go with your instincts, don’t do things just to make others happy.

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Real Yellow Themed Simple Wedding: Jordan & Adam

Sometimes it's not about the details. Sometimes it's just about you and your boy getting married, in a gorgeous location, with a fantastic photographer to record the details. So if you're not the type of bride who's going to obsess about whether your bridesmaids' dresses match the napkins, then this wedding will rock your world. Jordan and Adam celebrated their big day in the green of the countryside, and Jordan wore an exquisite strapless dress with a simple tiara and no veil. Simply fabulous. I'm also seriously in love with her choice of flat yellow shoes for her big day - no one was going to stop this lady dancing! Adam also kept with the theme with yellow Pringle socks and a lovely orchid buttonhole. The other brilliant element about this wedding is that Adam's surname is Jordan, and Jordan has indeed decided to change her last name, so her newly married name is Jordan Jordan - seriously cool! Huge thanks to Our Labour of Love for their gorgeous pictures.

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Chic & Sleek Wedding Dresses

Stop the press! Just take a look at these amazing 1920's-style glamorous wedding dresses by boutique fashionista Johanna Johnson. Inspired by the heady nights of the 20′s and 30′s where the evening shone with cresol beads and the heady scent of violets and jasmine. The Swarovski crystals, Parisian bead-work and deep-drop backs have stolen my heart, but there is a fly in the ointment.... Johanna's shop is in Sydney. The good news is you can buy a selection of her gowns from Luella's Boudoir in Wimbledon, and she has a beautiful selection of bridal accessories available online.

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Real Beachside Destination Wedding: Jiwon & Inki

Pure elegance are the two words I'd use to sum up this destination big day. Jiwon and Inki let the location do the talking and kept their wedding style simple and chic, with white as the dominant colour. I'm loving Jiwon's understated gown, which she glammed up with some serious diamonds, not least her huge engagement ring. Another favourite spot is the bridesmaids neutral dresses, which are so this season it hurts. The girls clearly share a love for shoes, because every pair is a work of art, and there was no compromising on heel-height, despite this being a beach wedding! The stationery fans, the all-white table-settings, the sculptural lily bouquets; we're talking a seriously classy affair all round. Huge thanks to Punam Bean for these gorgeous photographs.

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