Dreamy Rustic Green Tomatoes & Lace Wedding Shoot

When I stumbled across this stunning wedding shoot on photographer Stephanie Williams' site, This Modern Romance, I begged her to let me feature it on my wedding blog. Luckily she acquiesed, meaning you too can enjoy the combination of two of my favourite wedding vendors in the world; Temperley London and MaeMae Paperie. Throw in the fabulous US stylists Jen Campbell and Carissa Jones plus hair pieces from Lo Boheme and you've got some seriously dreamy wedding inspiration. My favourite stealworthy wedding ideas include the ribbon alter (seriously easy to DIY), the combination of white linen and rustic wood, the cotton balls in the table arrangements and the cool grey striped straws. Plenty more inspiration from Stephanie Williams here.

♥ Want to see wedding theme ideas? ♥ Or how about more rustic wedding ideas? ♥

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

Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Glitter Ball Wedding Decoration Idea

One glitter ball is reminiscent of bad school discos, but take dozens of disco balls, and you have my favourite wedding decoration idea. Just imagine buying as many glitter balls that you can afford, and crowding them all together. They'd need to be different sizes, and you could cluster them above the spot where you say your vows, or just pile them up in the corner of your reception venue. If your budget doesn't stretch to multi-balls, then just buy one giant, oversized ball, and give your guests an Alice in Wonderland perspective twist. Get your glitter on here.

♥ Want to see wedding decoration ideas? ♥ Or how about more glamorous wedding ideas? ♥

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

Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Real Purple-Themed Barn Wedding: Chloe & Gareth

Time for a momentary mega-gush - I l-o-v-e this wedding. I love the blue, I love the bridesmaids, I love the bride's gorgeous Ian Stuart wedding dress, and I love the atmosphere of fun and joy. It look like the type of wedding where you'd have an amazing time, and dance until late into the night. Chloe and Gareth chose blue, pink and purple for their wedding colours, and The Prioy Barn in rural Hertfordshire, where they had a civil ceremony followed by the reception. Chloe had decked out the barn with lots of candles, bright flowers and a yummy cup cake tower - truly personalising the whole affair. There are so many wedding ideas to snaffle, it's hard to count. My favourite is bluey-purple hydrangeas in the bridemaids' pomanders - they have a lovely vintage look about them. Stunning pictures from the very talented Binky Nixon Photography.

♥ Want to see purple-themed weddings? ♥ Or how about more barn wedding ideas? ♥

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

Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Before the Big Day Wedding Trends of 2013 - Bunchy Bridal Bouquets

There's a new trend for bridal bouquets for 2013, and the great news is they're super-easy to DIY! If you're not careful flowers can take a big chunk out of your wedding budget, particularly if you're planning to give your bridesmaids a bunch each.

{Photo Credits} 1. Baby's Breath Bridesmaid Bouquet Photo by Kristin Vining Photography, 2. Lavender Bridesmaid Bouquet Photo by Samm Blake via Style Me Pretty, 3. Michael's

One way to avoid this is to choose a single bloom for their bouquets, leaving more bang in your budget for your arrangement. But rather than pick a hand-tied bouquet, where every flower is carefully placed next to a different variety, 2013 is all about bunching blooms together {see the four pictures below}. Don't they look gorgeous, and seriously easy to DIY via this tutorial on wedding blog 100 Layer Cake.

{Photo Credits} 1. Bunched Bouquet Photo by Jose Villa, 2.  Bunched bouquet by Brown Paper Design | Photo by Scott Clark


{Photo Credits} 1. Photo by CJ Williams, 2. Ombre bridal bouquet by Lauryl Lane | Photo by Sara Hasstedt

Of course, you might prefer to go with 2012's big bridal bouquet trend, which still looks super-fresh this year, particularly for summer weddings. It's a more natural look with blooms pulled together in wild profusion. I'm particularly loving the bouquet on the left - how about you? More amazing bridal bouquet inspiration on my Pinterest board.

{Photo Credits} 1. Bridal bouquet by Bows and Arrows | Photo by nbarrett photography via Ruffled Blog 2. Bridal Bouquet by Amy Osaba  | Photo by Gina Zeilder, full wedding here

♥ Want to see wedding flower ideas? ♥ Or how about more wedding trend ideas? ♥

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

Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Introducing Wentbridge House Hotel Wedding Venue

Out of all the decisions you'll be making as you plan your wedding, the biggest is bound to be your wedding venue. Not only will it be the largest chunk of your budget, it'll set the mood for your big day, and could even inspire your wedding theme. That's why I'm thrilled to introduce the Wentbridge House Hotel. This gorgeous four-star country house hotel is set in the beautiful Went Valley in West Yorkshire. Set in stunning {and super-photogenic} gardens, the Georgian-designed, historic hotel, has grandly decorated dining rooms, making it the perfect venue for your wedding. I've fallen for the gorgeous snowy picture - imagine a cosy winter wedding! The hotel is independently owned, and the managers only allow one wedding a day, so you can be sure to have exclusive use of the venue, whatever your wedding size. Celebrate your ceremony in the hotel, or choose the pretty Wentbridge Church, which is only a five minute walk away. For more information, take a look at their wedding brochure and website.

{Photo Credit} Allan Scott Photography

{Photo Credit} Alex & Janet Durasow

♥ Want to see real wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more wedding theme ideas? ♥

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

This is a Sponsored Post for Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

DIY Printable Wedding Favours & Stationery

DIY projects are a sure-fire way to personalise your wedding, without breaking the bank. Fresh from my semi-do-it-yourself stationery success, I'm super-keen on any DIY wedding projects. But what if you're not exactly a dab hand at graphic design? Well a whole bunch of Etsy shops have come to your rescue, with cheap printable template, which you can buy, personalise and....well print! Here's a selection of ideas from one of my favourites - Print Your Party. Loving the sparkler cases and cocktail umbrellas - do you reckon they're easy to make?

♥ Want to see DIY wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more wedding stationery ideas? ♥

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

Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Real Cornish Coastal Wedding: Julie & Ben - Part 2

Time for the beautiful reception pictures from this lovely Cornish coastal wedding. Julie and Ben created many of the wedding details themselves, as {like most of us}, they had to keep to a tight wedding budget. Julie DIY'd her wedding stationery, table plan, and her wedding favours, adding the personal touch that makes a wedding stand out from the crowd. I love the hedgerow themed wedding flowers, the simply billowing marquee, and the traditional English deckchairs. Don't miss Julie's fantastic advice for future brides, or Part 1 of this gorgeous wedding! Huge thanks to Alan Law Photography for these beautiful wedding pictures.

We tied the knot on the 30th of June 2012 at an amazing venue in Cornwall called Fentafriddle. We picked this date as it was my Dad’s birthday {who sadly passed away}, and we thought this would be a great way to keep celebrating the date.

We didn’t have a wedding colour theme as such. The bridesmaid dresses were gold and cream, and our bouquets were based around the hedgerow. Daisies featured throughout. We both just wanted it to feel natural and bright.

Choosing our wedding venue wasn’t about location, as we looked all around the UK. Our most important request was that it had to be relaxed and child friendly, and we wanted our close friends and family to be able to stay with us before and after the big day. Wedding days can pass so fast and you just want to cherish the moment for as long as you can. 

When we saw Fentafriddle we both immediately knew it was the venue for us. The view over the sea just takes your breath away.

Because the landscape of the venue was so stunning we hardly had to do any decorating. Flowers required were minimal and I wanted to make the table plan and centre pieces myself for that personal touch.

Each table was named after a place that meant a lot to us, so we had Canterbury as we both attended university there, Kentish Town which is where we first lived together, and the head table was of course Trebarwith Strand where Fentafriddle sits proudly. and will always be in our hearts.

A local florist in Delabole called Bruallen did our wedding flowers. The ladies there are just amazing. Neither of us knew anything about flowers and they immediately understood our requirements. All I knew was that I wanted an antique rose to feature in my bouquet and I wanted the flowers on the table to be loose, natural and bright. Our wedding flowers were just lovely and most of them came from various local Cornish farmers that very morning.

At first we weren’t going to have a wedding cake and planned just going to have a desert that could be cut in front of our guests. Our caterer came up with the idea of a giant pavlova with fresh berries, and not only did it look stunning, but the flavours were immense. 

I really do recommend our caterer. The quality of the food was superb and she was so laid back about the day which rubbed off on us, and the people she employed on the day were great fun. Her name was Fee Turner. But in the end close friends of ours had a cake made for us as a gift, and it was beautiful and was cream and gold. So you could call us greedy as we ended up having two cakes!

Our wedding favours were stones inscribed with paraphrases from the readings included in the ceremony. Quite often we’ll go around someone’s house and the stone will be used as a doorstop or sitting on the side and it always makes me smile. We also placed a small card at each table-place, including a poem by Dr Seus and a brief thank you on the back. The main reason for both was to add a personal touch, but I won't lie, keeping costs down was also a factor. 

In the beginning I really enjoyed planning our wedding. But nearer the time I did start to feel the pressure, and even though I don't regret it now, I did start to regret having to do some of my DIY projects - the table plan and favours!

My advice to brides would be....let others help when they ask, don’t panic if things go wrong on the day. Our generator packed up at around 11pm and when I walked back in the marquee on the verge of feeling emotional and stressed all I could see were lighters in the air and my guests singing Wonderwall {by Oasis}. This turned out to be an amazing way to end the evening. You just have to not let anything ruin your day, and remember it’s probably only a problem to you, and not to your guests.

If you're having a marquee always request to see your order up and in working order long before your wedding. We were unfortunately disappointed with the quality of ours as it wasn't what we had ordered. But again only Ben and I noticed, guests were none the wiser. Don’t place too much emphasis on your wedding shoes if you're wearing a long wedding dress. No-one really notices details like this! Enjoy your day, as it’s one of the only times in your life you are surrounded by everyone you love! I don’t think I stopped smiling from the beginning to the end. 

Our wedding photographer was Alan Law. Both his profile and gallery attracted me to his work as we wanted someone that would be able to take natural photos, which is exactly what he did for us on the day. He also stayed late past the first dance, and fair play to him, as the drink had been flowing all day and at points the dance floor was quite intense. The result was we loved our pictures and we couldn’t have asked for anything more!

More Posts Like This One
✽ Real Summer Countryside Wedding
✽ Real Pretty Marquee Wedding

♥ Want to see seaside weddings ideas? ♥ Or how about more summer wedding ideas? ♥

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

Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.