Tuesday 14 May 2013

Real London Seaside Themed Wedding: Erin & Damon

Today's couple chose London and the seaside as themes for their relaxed, summer wedding, and the combination worked a treat. Just goes to show that if you like two wedding themes, don't feel you have to choose just one. There are so many stealworthy wedding details, I'm finding it hard to pick which ones to mention. I love the deck chairs, the modern venue {Devon House on St Katharine Docks}, the Routemaster Bus, the mini-picnic complete with glass, and the boat filled with booze. But a special mention has to go to Erin's dress, which is simply exquisite. Gorgeous photographs published with thanks to Urban Bridesmaid. Don't miss her description of the wedding, plus lots of the suppliers, below the pictures.


Message from the Photographer, Urban Bridesmaid
Dress code for the wedding was summer dresses and no ties. Hats were optional and left to the discretion of the guests. Guests all met at the bride and groom’s local pub – the Prince Albert and awaited the mode of transport to the church – a red London bus! The bride dispensed with the tradition of not seeing the groom until just before the wedding and joined the guests at the Prince Albert. The groom was overwhelmed at the first look at his bride in her Audrey Hepburn inspired wedding gown, and both were grinning all day!


A quick bus ride away to Christ Church in Mayfair for the marriage service. The bride and groom exchanged vows and signed the register, before boarding the bus to have a sight seeing tour of London, to the delight of both the bride and groom's London and Australian family. The guests didn't go hungry, thanks to a bento box of brie, cheese biscuits, parma ham and grapes sourced by the bride from Borough Market.

The reception was held at Devon House, St Katharine Docks near Tower Bridge with a seaside picnic theme – fake grass, deckchairs, cushions, candles, a boat full of drinks, and a BBQ.

Unfortunately the rain fell with a vengeance in the afternoon, but armed with white umbrellas the guests were determined to have fun, and it didn't stop the BBQ at all. They all enjoyed a sit down dinner followed by wedding cakes in teacups for dessert!

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Monday 13 May 2013

Real Midsummer Night's Dream Marrakech Wedding: Tami & Alan

Exotic and luxurious, this Moroccan destination wedding ticks every big day box! Tami and Alan chose a Midsummer Night's Dream theme for their wedding in the Marrakech oasis of Palmeraie. With the help of their wedding planners, Boutique Souk, they created a magical garden reception in a palm grove, lit by vintage French chandeliers - wow! Tami wore a stunning Temperley London wedding dress, overlaid with lace and sparkling embroidery, and teamed with gladiator-style heels by Camilla Skovgaard. I love the boho style of her veil and headdress, worn across her forehead in a Grecian-style. Alan also upped the glamour-stakes with his white tie suit from Start {just around the corner from where I live in Shoreditch!} and cummerband. Huge thanks to Andreas Holm for his stunning photographs - Morocco is the perfect setting for some seriously gorgeous wedding portraits!



We celebrated our wedding on 28th September in the Catholic Church in Marrakech in Morocco, followed by a private garden wedding reception in the Palmeraie area of Marrakech.



My wedding dress was from Temperley London, and my shoes were from Camilla Skovgaard. My bridesmaids also wore emerald green Temperley gowns, and Alan wore a suit from tailor in Shoreditch in London called Start.





My bouquet was made out of peach and cream atlas roses, and Boutique Souk arranged for the table flowers to match my bouquet. Their in-house florist also organised a dozen olive trees to decorate the church.







Our wedding ceremony was celebrated at the Catholic Church of Marrakech. Our wedding planners, Boutique Souk sourced twelve olive trees, with similar size and dimension, to decorate the church!



Our wedding photographer was Andreas Holm - he came recommended by our wedding planners Boutique Souk.











I had my heart set on a Midsummer Night's Dream styled wedding and chose magical Marrakech for its lush garden settings, and warm climate so the reception could take place under the stars. We chose an exotic palm and olive grove setting with a Moroccan tented after-party for the reception.










In keeping with our theme, our wedding reception took place in the middle of an exotic garden. Our wedding planners, Boutique Souk, created a special dining room with purpose-built frames over each table, so we could suspend a vintage French chandelier. 



It took a while to build and install the dining frames, and even longer to source the chandeliers from antique markets, as we wanted them all to be approximately the same size and style – but the effect was magical, and very glamorous.





Our wedding favours were Moroccan-style flip-flops for ladies, personalised cigars for the boys and personalised M&M's for everyone!





Our wedding cake had three luxury layers – red fruits, chocolate and vanilla. It was decorated with the same fresh roses as I had in my bouquet, in between the layers. We also had a desert buffet for our guests!








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Thursday 9 May 2013

Fabulous Wedding Marquee Inspiration

When it comes to wedding venues the marquee is king. They're the perfect blank canvas for your wildest dreams, and as long as you've got a field, or a decent sized garden, they can be thrown up pretty much anywhere. I'm a huge fan, particularly because a marquee hire wedding usually means the bride and groom get to choose their own wedding vendors - so you can pick a caterer and not pay a corkage charge, saving you money in the long run. But the most exciting element is the endless decorating options! With a little bit of cash and a lot of dash, you can DIY almost any wedding theme, from vintage, to carnival or shabby chic. Just add lanterns, swags, linings, bunting, chandeliers, ribbons, and my favourite, DIY tissue pom poms!  Last summer was all about the rustic tipi, and they're still on trend for this year's weddings, but if you're looking for a more modern look, Bees Marquees supplies marquees with transparent roofs. These 'crystal' tents are hugely popular, as you can recreate the feeling of dancing under the stars, even if it rains! Here are a few of my favourite marquee looks - many more on my Pinterest board!


{Photo Credit} Matt Miller of Our Labour of Love - see the full wedding on Ruffled Blog


{Photo Credit} Unknown

{Photo Credit} 1. Red Floral |  2. Blooming Photography - see the whole wedding on Rock n' Roll Bride



{Photo Credit} Fiona's Wedding Photography and FO Photography - see the full wedding on Before the Big Day

{Photo Credit} 1. Unknown | 2. Paul J Andrews Photography - see the full wedding on Boho Weddings


{Photo Credit} We Love Pictures - see the full wedding on Before the Big Day



{Photo Credit} 1. Unknown | 2. Toast of Leeds - see the full wedding on Boho Weddings


{Photo Credit} 1. Victoria Phipps Photography - see the full wedding on Before the Big Day

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Wednesday 8 May 2013

Real Lavender Barn Wedding: Alex & Paul - Reception Pictures

Before the Big Day brides are always super-creative and imaginative, when it comes to planning their weddings, so I'm thrilled to be featuring Alex and Paul's detail-filled wedding day! Alex read Before the Big Day while planning her wedding, so you'll spot lots of ideas from the blog - hello tissue pom-poms! I love how Alex planned her wedding around a central theme of lace and lavender, and a colour palette of soft grey. All the wedding details reflected the theme, creating a very put-together effect that you normally only get with a professional wedding planner. With DIY'd favours, wedding flowers, guest book thumb-print tree, candle votives wrapped with lace, confetti cones, and a blackboard table plan, Alex saved a fortune and added her own personalised touch to her big day - seriously inspirational stuff! Huge thanks to Dean Govier for his stunning wedding pictures of the day, and don't miss the video highlights from the day, in the wedding video by Family Creative. And thanks to Alex for getting in touch, and telling the story of her big day!

Paul and I actually went to university in Liverpool together, but got to know each other until we met at a party of a mutual friend in Putney nearly 7 years ago. We got engaged in Berlin in 2011, a week before my birthday; Paul had spent ages trying to find a place to propose and I thwarted every attempt,  so it was a hasty 'down-on-one-knee' on the train ride back to the airport! He'd already asked my Dad’s permission, so he didn’t want me going home 'empty-handed' so-to-speak!

Paul first gave me an Argos ring for me to wear until the real deal came along. He knew I’d want to pick my own ring as I’m very fussy! My actual engagement ring was bought a few weeks later from the oldest jeweller in Hatton Garden in London and is antique. I love that it has a story before it got to me - long may it continue!

Our photographer was Dean Govier and was beyond amazing. He was recommended to us through one of my bridesmaids who had been at a wedding he had photographed in the same area. When I saw his photos I knew he was our guy. We loved his natural style and he was such a pleasure to have around on the day and just seamlessly blended into the background. I cannot recommend him enough.

We got married on Saturday 28th July 2012 in St Mary’s Church in Whitchurch-on-Thames, which is the village I grew up in in South Oxfordshire. Our reception was nearby at Ufton Court in Berkshire. 



We looked at a few places, but it was Ufton Court which stood out. Paul was sold on Ufton straight away, but I took a little longer to come round, and to this day I’m still not sure why! The staff there were incredibly supportive and helpful. We had our reception drinks on the back terrace over-looking the walled garden and then had food, drinking and dancing in the Tithe Barn. The back terrace is my favourite part of the venue as it felt so private, and that was something we were insistent upon; we didn't want to be at a venue where other people could be wandering around having a nosey! 



The barn itself is beautiful and there are fairy lights already in situ around the beams, so all it took were some tissue pom-poms, and other bits to put our stamp on it! The giant light up letters were one of my favourite things – I loved them so much! We also added a canopy marquee onto the courtyard of the barn so that we had extra space even if it rained. Our marquee company, Magnifitents, decorated it with fairy lights and tissue pom-poms for us, and we loved it!




The general theme was centred on lavender and lace, with accents of grey. The smell of lavender reminds me of my grandmother, plus I love the colour. I also had lace on my dress and wanted to reflect that in our wedding decorations. Paul also wanted to make sure he had a 'stamp' on the day and so we incorporated his love of Tottenham FC wherever we could without it being too tacky!


For our wedding favours, we had lavender tea for the ladies, to tie in with our wedding theme, and pin badges for the boys. Paul is a HUGE Tottenham fan and wanted his personality to show throughout the day and the badges were one of them! I had the badges printed by Awesome Merchandise with the Tottenham cockerel and the words 'today I support Spurs'. Paul was amazed by how many of the guys wore them considering the rivalry between teams!



All the favours were put in pillow boxes, tied with ribbon with a tag saying either ‘brew me’ for the ladies or ‘wear me’ for the boys. All these were put together with the help of my very patient mother and my eldest niece!



We had loads of DIY projects! Tissue pom-poms {lovingly crafted by my mum!}, the favours, stationery, table plan {I painted the blackboards on our kitchen table – not advised!}, guest book thumbprint tree, candle votives wrapped with lace, confetti cones… the list is quite long! These were the parts of the planning that I equally loved, and that stressed me out! I couldn’t bear the thought of spending three times the amount on paying for someone else to do things I could do, and actually take enjoyment from doing. 



I didn't want to spend much on a wedding cake, as for me it wasn't a huge part of the day that I had imagined. So I decided to order it from M&S. However, I left it too late and had my mum frantically ringing round cake makers in the local area about two weeks before the wedding! And it actually worked out for the best as we ended up with the most amazing cake we have ever tasted! It was a rustic Victoria sponge and was just superb. Rebecca at Streatley Village Cakes did a beautiful job and set it up on the day in the barn, with fresh fruit and flowers. There were many compliments on it! One of my bridesmaids and I were shoving it in our faces at about 11pm to refuel for the dance floor!

On the whole, I loved planning my wedding, however there were elements that stressed me out! I enjoyed ensuring all the details tied together, although probably no one noticed them apart from me! All the time I spent planning, and feeling daunted, came good in the end. 

My advice for brides? The old 'take a moment to take it all in on the day' cannot be stressed enough and also to remember why you’re doing it. My favourite moment of the whole day, amongst all the little touches we had made, was actually saying my vows and meeting Paul at the altar. I would also advise brides to delegate! My sister was A-mazing throughout the whole process and on the day her and my brother-in-law were up at the venue at 7.30am making sure everything was sorted for me, and I cannot thank her enough. Also, it’s easy to say in hindsight, but try to relax in the final few weeks; I didn’t and my back went two weeks before the wedding, and I was laid up in bed for the whole week. It was my body's way of telling me enough was enough and actually helped me to let go!



We also chose to have a videographer and found a company, Family Creative, who were just starting out in the business. We were delighted with the final version, and I think I must have watched the DVD about a million times! Getting a wedding video definitely brings your day to life, and having the footage to look back on adds another dimension.




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