A Real Casual South African Wedding: Liebe & Arnold

If you're a barefoot kind of bride, you're going to love this casual South African wedding. Lovely couple Liebe and Arnold celebrated their big day in the middle of nowhere - a properly rural oasis in the heart of the Overberg. I love the opulent, vintage feel of their wedding venue, a ranch called Halfaampieskraal. The exotic mirrors, chandeliers, urn-filled flower arrangements and blue chairs work perfectly with their carnival theme, and red star motif. I love Liebe's short wedding dress, and Arnold's shorts and braces combo - I think it's the first time I've seen a groom in shorts, and doesn't it work perfectly for a casual wedding! Other amazing stealworthy ideas include the celebratory ribbon wands, the bridesmaids ditsy-floral dresses and Liebe's wild tumbleweed wedding bouquet. Enjoy these gorgeous photographs by We Love Pictures - they're our favourite South African wedding photographers.

Wonderful Wedding Blog Links

Waaaay to much time has passed since I last wrote up my favourite wedding blog links from the week, which means I have a huge backlog of fabulousness to draw from! Expect some seriously chunky posts in the future. If you were wondering how I gathered my favourite links, I'd like to recommend Blog Lovin'. I've been using it ever since the demise of Google Reader, and it's a great way to collect all your favourite blogs into one easy read. You can also 'Like' particular articles, and look up popular blog posts. I've found some fantastic new blogs thanks to that feature, including lifestyle blogs Little Miss Homes and The Londoner.

♥ Save ££ by DIYing your wedding flowers with the help of Paper to Petal by bloggers Married To Craft

♥ How about a botanical themed wedding?

♥ A pretty perfect twist on a wedding guest book

♥ New Save the Date stamps from one of my favourite wedding stationers

♥ Everything about this rainbow polka-dot wedding makes me happy

♥ Everything about this wedding is gorgeous

♥ Amazing mason jar themed wedding with lots of DIY-able ideas

♥ Peace and love - a wildflower themed wedding shoot

♥ Make these cool geometric garlands for your stylish big day

♥ Use these amazing free fonts to personalise your wedding stationery

♥ Love the comedy bridesmaid shot in this fun South African wedding

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We ♥ Charlie Brier Vintage Wedding Dress Sample Sales

Have you heard? Massively exciting news! Charlie Brear from The Vintage Wedding Dress Company has just announced her annual trunk sale. Taking place from 19th-21st September, viewing is by appointment only at their central London showroom. This gorgeous boutique is renowned for its heavenly gowns, both vintage and vintage-style, and this is your opportunity to get your hands on them at discounted prices! For full information and to book an appointment, call 0207 907 7719.

♥ Want to see wedding dress ideas? ♥ Or how about more vintage wedding ideas? ♥

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Real Quirky Comic-Book Themed Wedding: Verity & Russell - The Reception

Regular readers of the blog might have spotted my giant balloon obsession. It all started back when I was planning my own wedding - I saw this picture, and decided I had to have giant white balloons at my big day. Fast forward two years and Before the Big Day bride, Verity, got in touch to tell me about her love of red balloons, and to find out the details of my supplier. Fast forward another year, and here are the amazing pictures of Verity and Russell's big day! They didn't just use balloons in their wedding decoration - they had a veritable plethora of wedding details, all themed around a vintage comic book and board game wedding theme. You'll find buckets of DIY wedding inspiration, from their Monopoly board table plan, the favour boxes wrapped in comic book pages, their mum-made wedding cake and jam-jar Pimm's glasses. I love the Scrabble tile wedding favours, the vintage cameras and the pop of the homemade red bunting against the white of the marquee. Huge thanks to Verity for submitting her wedding, and to her fantastic wedding photographer, Rebecca L Weddings for capturing all the details. Why not submit your wedding?

We got married on 18 May 2013 at Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire with a reception in Rosliston Forestry Centre. 



We actually had a rough ride with our reception. We booked a nearby barn but got told with eight months to go that they were no longer doing weddings due to noise and neighbour problems. We were gutted! Thankfully Saffron Caterers put forward Rosliston Forestry Centre as an alternative. It was in the middle of the National Forest, and has accommodation for all our guests, so it was the perfect alternative, and better than our original choice. 

Real Quirky Comic-Book Themed Wedding: Verity & Russell

Brighten up your day with this imaginative, comic-book themed wedding! It's packed full of stealworthy ideas, and I'm thrilled that the lovely Verity drew inspiration from Before the Big Day. We share a love of giant round balloons, along with a good wedding theme. Verity and Russell chose an old-school vibe of comic books and vintage board games to decorate their reception, and I reckon it's the first time I've seen a Monopoly board at a wedding! You'll have to wait for this afternoon's feature to see those details, but first, feast your eyes on Verity's fabulous Sophia Tolli wedding gown, her dramatic bouquet of red gerbera and Russell's fantastic red bow-tie. I also love her little bridemaids' dresses - their luxurious red sashes, and little ribbon wands. Verity has tonnes of great wedding advice on how to keep to your wedding budget - from DIY projects to winning competitions! Enjoy reading her answers to Before the Big Day's Bride's Questionnaire, and why not submit your wedding? Huge thanks to Rebecca L Weddings for her gorgeous pictures of this big day.

We got married on 18 May 2013 at Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire with a reception in Rosliston Forestry Centre. I won a competition by Wedding In A TeaCup so our wedding invitations were free. We went for a vintage look and used stamps to create the name tags.

Wedding Table Settings & Buffet Bags

Striped Paper Bags must be among my favourite things in the whole world. I have a huge selection in my craft cupboard, and you'd be amazed how often they come in useful, from present wrapping to colourful storage. When it comes to weddings, they're the perfect cheap and chic solution to favours, children's activity packs, and now as buffet bags! Aren't they just the cutest way to store your cutlery? I love these designs from Cherished Blessings. Their whole shop is packed full of fabulous wedding inspiration - with ideas you can copy or buy. And now I'm going to need to purchase a whole bunch of chevron bags - they're clearly the new stripes! P.S. For more budget-friendly paper bag ideas, check out my Pinterest board {I told you I was obsessed!}.

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Introducing Hen Party Superstore

Last weekend my best friend hosted her sister's hen weekend. Like all the best hens, the bride-to-be ended up dressed as a cow, wearing wild sunglasses and drinking cocktails out of a willie straw in Brighton. There's a lesson in this! It's doesn't matter how sophisticated and professional you are in your daily life, or how glamorous you're going to look on your wedding day, you need to let loose on your hen do, and embrace the cheese. It's a rite of passage, and if you miss it, you miss out. That's why I'm delighted to introduce Hen Party Superstore for all your hen weekend accessories. Browse by colour or theme, and pick up costumes, personalised t-shirts and sashes, and even gift bag fillers. And don't forget the Learner badge.....

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Real Boho Barn Wedding Video: Vicky & Richard

It's been a weekend of strong emotions here at the Before the Big Day studios. First there was the excitement of being featured in Wedding magazine, and then this wedding video trailer by White Dress Films had me in tears! Vicky and Richard celebrated their big day with a traditional church ceremony, followed by a gorgeous reception at South Farm in Cambridgeshire. There's tonnes of gorgeous reception details {pom-poms - yippee!}, but it's the Vicky's wedding outfit that's really got me excited. Her gorgeous fishtail gown has stunning lace straps, and she teamed it with a lovely cosy fur shrug - the perfect accessory for any spring bride. I also love her pageboys' outfits - their cute matching waistcoats and converse trainers. With pretty blue and red flowers arranged in lace jam-jars {the easiest and most effective DIY project ever}, stunning patterned wedding stationery {spot the programme at the start}, and even white peacocks, it's a treat from start to finish. Enjoy it with your morning coffee!

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