Real Pearl-Themed Glamorous Barn Wedding: Emma & Alistair

There's something glamorous about a cream and gold palette at a wedding. Add a Justin Alexander wedding dress, hundreds of orchid blooms and pretty pearl detailing, and you've got a truly stunning big day. Emma and Alistair chose Lains Barn in Oxfordshire as their wedding venue, and I love the warm intimacy of space, and the romantic drapes and fairy lights. My other loves include Alistair's fantastic modern suit and waistcoat combo from Jack Bunneys, Emma's side ponytail hair-style and Kate Gray's, lovely wedding photography! Plus, I'll let you into Emma's money-saving secret - all the orchids were silk flowers from Silk Blooms rather than fresh blooms. No one could tell, and it means her wedding bouquet will last forever! Stay tuned for Emma and Alistair's wedding reception details, you won't want to miss the pretty birdcage details.

My wedding dress and veil were made by Justin Alexander, my shoes by Karen Millen and my accessories were from Swarovski. 

My decision over my wedding dress and veil were based on wanting something elegant, with great attention to small details, but without being over the top.

DIY Wedding Chalkboard Fabulousness

Regular readers of Before the Big Day might have spotted my love of chalkboards at weddings. Whether you DIY with blackboard paint, or buy school-style boards for your menus {like I did}, I think they're a great way to communicate with your guests. So when I spotted these amazing chalkboard vinyl stickers by Charlie Chalk Designs, you can imagine my excitement. Super-cheap, and super-effective, they're a hugely creative way to decorate your jam-jar glasses or vases, and would make for great table numbers. My favourites? The Vespa labels. I had a silver Vespa when I met my husband, and we buzzed around town all summer. Happy memories!

{I want these!} 12 Vespa Motorcycle Chalkboard Labels, £4.58



{I want these!} 12 Curly Mustache Wedding Chalkboard Labels, £3.92

{I want these!} 25 Sets Love Bird Mason Jar Chalkboard Labels, £13.08

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Real Feather-Themed Teepee Wedding: Zegnia & Matthew - The Reception

Take a teepee, a rustic wedding theme, and a feather motif, and you've got one very happy wedding blogger! I couldn't be more excited about showing you the reception pictures from Zegnia and Matthew's creative big day. Zegnia got really into the planning process, and read lots of wedding blogs like Before the Big Day - coming up with some truly original DIY ideas. From her self-designed feather wedding stationery, the framed table plans and the birch themed table displays and wedding favours, everything fits together beautifully. I'd forgotten how much I love teepee tents - they look stunning festooned with fairy lights, and have you spotted the cute old-fashioned street-lamp at the entrance? Also, don't miss the amazing white chocolate wedding cake by Vanilla Patisserie. It's seriously glamorous! Huge thanks to Lucy Wallace Photography her stunning pictures, and to Zegnia for submitting her wedding - why not do the same? Click for Part 1 - Getting Ready & The Ceremony.

We got married on Sunday 26th May, at St. James’ Church in Nayland, Suffolk followed by a reception at Bear House, my parent's garden. I had always wanted to have our wedding reception where I'd grown up, and it was lovely to be able to walk to and from the church. 

Real Feather-Themed Teepee Wedding: Zegnia & Matthew

Before the Big Day bride submissions are coming thick and fast! Lovely bride, Zegnia, read Before the Big Day in the run up to her wedding, and I'm thrilled to feature her wedding photographs. Her and Matthew chose a feather theme for their wedding day, and I love how it subtly runs through all their wedding details. There are feathers in the bouquets, buttonholes and flower arrangements, and a feather motif on their DIY designed wedding stationary {which looks seriously professional!}. For colours, they chose raspberry, antique silver and champagne, a palette that worked perfectly with their tipi tent. More pictures of their wedding reception coming soon, but for the moment, feast your eyes on the Zegnia's incredible taupe Ian Stuart wedding gown, the bridesmaids individual Coast dresses and Matthew in his made-to-measure suit from A Suit That Fits. Tonnes of wedding inspiration! Huge thanks to Lucy Wallace Photography for capturing every detail with such talent. Click for Part 2 - the reception details.

Matthew and I got married on Sunday 26th May 2013 (the Bank Holiday weekend), at St. James’ Church in Nayland, Suffolk, followed by a reception at Bear House, my parents' garden, also in the village of Nayland.

Nominate Before the Big Day for The Wedding Blog Awards

So I have a favour to ask.... I'm not normally one for asking, but these wedding blog awards are pretty important in the wedding world, and I'm really keen to raise the profile of Before the Big Day. So if you enjoy your daily dose of free wedding inspiration, would you consider a quick click and a keyboard tap on my behalf? I'm going for Best Big Day Inspiration, as I rather think it suits Before the Big Day. All you need to do is visit Wedding magazine's blog awards page and fill in the deets. Literally a one minute affair, and everyoner who nominates will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win a fabulous beauty hamper. Worth more than £250, it's crammed with goodies from Xen Tan, Dr Ceuticals, Pur Minerals and Filorga - perfect for some serious pampering. Plus it would make me a very happy lady....almost as happy as this bride!

{Photo Credit} the very talented We Resolve

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Five Ways To Get Your Wedding Guests Dancing

We went to a wedding a few years ago, where no one danced. I don't know why - they had a fantastic band and the alcohol was flowing freely, but the party never really got started. I really felt for the bride and groom, because you want your wedding to be a fantastic, memorable evening, {you've spent all that money}, and for me, a party isn't a party without a good dance. So here are five ways to persuade your guest to kick off their wedding shoes and get down and boogie.

{Wedding Photographer Credit} Matt Edge Photography

1. Don't leave it to chance. Don't think, 'oh I'll just let people put on their iPods'. Either hire a DJ and discuss what you want before your big day, or sit down and create your own song list. If you're DIY-ing, I really recommend joining Spotify. For £9.99 a month you can stream and download as many songs as you want. I'm not even that into music, and I create Playlists all the time. They seem to have every song you can imagine, including your guilty secrets {Grease anyone?}.

2. Ask your guests to send back two song suggestions with their RSVP slip. A couple of our friends did just this, and everyone danced like crazy. In fact, we had such a good night, we asked them for their song list, and gave it to our DJ as a guide. And then everyone danced like crazy at our wedding. You can take a look at our wedding playlist, but remember, it is three years old!

3. Encourage your girlfriends to kick of their heels, by providing free flip-flop wedding favours. They're super-cheap if bought in bulk {approx £2 per pair}, and if the girls are dancing, you can be sure the boys will follow.

4. Far me it for me to tell you what to choose as your First Dance. After all, I don't know all the heartfelt meaning behind 'Your Song'. But if at all possible, don't pick a slow one! The First Dance sets the tone for the evening, and if you want to party, don't pick something sway-able, you want a beat!

5. Tell your ushers and bridesmaids that one of their key tasks is to join you on the dance-floor after your First Dance, and to stay there for at least three songs. There's a tipping point at a party, where the shyer guests feel there's enough people dancing, for them to join in. You want your wedding party to create that tipping point.

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British Etsy Wedding Seller of the Week #1

Big news! We're starting a new series of features here on Before the Big Day. We're all about original wedding ideas, and we're all about supporting British boutique businesses and individual creativity, and where better to find that than Etsy? If you haven't stumbled upon this amazing website, be warned, once you start clicking, you may never stop. It's addictive - there are so many incredible wedding ideas and products, your brain may well implode from wedding inspiration. To keep things under control, I'm going to drip-feed you the best of British Etsy wedding suppliers, one a week, every Wednesday. First up is La Pomme et La Pipe. Contrary to its French name, it's run by Amanda who lives in Oxford, and it's a fabulous hodgepodge of rustic handmade wedding supplies, paper goods, textiles and unique french-inspired supplies. Here are just a few of my favourites, but be sure to check it out yourself.

{I want this!} 50 Gold Glitter Mini Pegs, £9.81

{I want this!} 50 Burlap Heart Wedding place setting/name tags, £65.41

{I want this!} 50 Rustic Wedding Seed Packet Envelopes, £65.41

{I want this!} Lace Sampler Set, £6.54

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Whimsical Print-Your-Own Vintage Wedding Invitations

Wedding stationery still gets me ridiculously excited, and I love discovering brand new designers. Everything about these invitation suites by Splash of Silver is perfect. It's the combination of two of my favourite wedding motifs {bunting and old-fashioned Mason jars}, added to rustic Kraft paper, with a mix of fun fonts. The best things is they're digital designs, so you can personalise them, buy them, and DIY print them as many times as you want, saving you serious ££. They even include Thank You cards! There are three ways to get them printed - at home, at your local printer, or at an online printer like VistaPrint. There's tonnes of printable wedding invitations on Etsy, and check out my wedding stationery board on Pinterest for more inspiration.

{Where can I buy this?} Bunting Wedding Invitation Suite, £66

{Where can I buy this?} Flowers & Mason Jars Wedding Invitation Suite, £66

{Where can I buy this?} Bunting & Mason Jars Suite, £56

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