A Long-Distance Balinese London Wedding with Hot Pink & Lush Green Details

This wedding was always going to be one of my favourites. The lovely Fleur helped me out with Before the Big Day correspondence, before she moved from London to Dubai, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be featuring her wedding to Will. Needless to say, Fleur read Before the Big Day in the run-up to her wedding, but like me, she'd always had secret ideas for her wedding theme. Having grown up in Indonesia, it made perfect sense to draw on the tropical colours and culture of Bali to decorate her wedding day, and the result is amazing and exotic. I love the vibrant colour pop of Fleur's bridesmaids' hot pink and bottle green Dessy gowns, and the extravagance of her massive peony and orchid bouquet. Will looks equally dapper in black tie - a trend I love for sophisticated London weddings. Throw in a pair of amazing gold Freya Rose shoes, a divine Elizabeth Fillmore wedding gown, a Javanese head-dress, and a self-designed gold lace bolero, and I'm in wedding heaven. More fabulous pictures by To Have & To Hold Photography coming soon in Part 2 - The Reception!

We married in London in August 2013. The service was held at St Mary The Boltons, and the reception at the Westminster Boating Base. 

For a long time I knew I wanted the theme of my wedding to be Balinese. I grew up in Indonesia and my parents still live there. I've always considered it a beautiful and very special place, ever since I was a child. We used predominantly greens {because of the tropical lush greens of Bali, and because it's my favourite colour} and bright pink for a vibrant contrast.

Wedding Trends for 2014 - Watercolour Wedding Theme

Ombre weddings have been massively fashionable this year. I'm a huge fan of swathes of colour, and the shading effect is simple stunning, particularly as a contrast against the lovely white background of a wedding marquee or wedding dress. For 2014, the trend has developed into a more subtle effect, where the colours gently blend into each other, just like a watercolour painting. As you can imagine, this style works best on wedding stationery, but it can also look fabulous on your wedding cake, or your bridesmaids' dresses. And it's surprisingly easy to DIY, with tonnes of bloggers posting tutorials {see the links below}. Take a look at these gorgeous ideas - many more on my Watercolour Wedding Theme Pinterest board.

{Photo Credit} 1. Watercolour Wedding Cake, picture by Onelove Photography | 2. DIY Watercolour Escort Cards, by Once Wed wedding blog

{Photo Credit} 1. Julia Mikos | 2. Watercolour Wedding Cake, picture by Harwell Photography

{Photo Credit} 1. DIY watercolour marshmallows by Idlewife blog | 2. Unknown

{Photo Credit} Dip-dye watercolour chandelier, pictured by Dallas Curow, more from this shoot

{Photo Credit} DIY Watercolour Lavender bags by 100 Layer Cake wedding blog

{Photo Credit} Unknown

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Cupid's Bow Wedding Cake Topper

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that one of my biggest regrets from my wedding, was not buying a cake topper! You'd think as a wedding blogger, that such an obvious wedding detail would have been on my To Do List, but it escaped my eagle eye. The consequence is that I'm obsessed with looking out for the wedding cake topper that could have been. This morning I spotted this fabulous contender by Icing 101 - isn't it fab!! P.S. This arrow is only £20, but if you're DIY-minded and want to make your own - check out this tutorial from the nesting blog Somewhere Splendid.

{Credits} Picture by NIKKI N Photography, Cake by Bakery On State

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A Pretty-as-a-Picture, Pastel-Themed, Vintage Wedding

As promised, it's time for the reception details from the heavenly summer wedding. With delicious vintage props and stunning DIY burlap details, it's a wedding blogger's delight! Kelly and Ren organised their own big day, and decided to rip up tradition, by opting out of having ushers and bridesmaids or speeches and cake, and instead chose to have a drinks and canapé reception before the ceremony, lawn games afterwards, and a cheese board selection in the evening. They even walked down the aisle together, along with their daughter, as a wonderful statement of family. Fabulous inspiration for any bride wanting a non-conventional wedding. More wedding ideas to snaffle include the lovely fingerprint guest book and Kelly's handmade burlap jamjar glasses with pretty pastel straws {LOVE striped straws}. Huge thanks to The Cole Portfolio for their fantastic photographs of the day - and enjoy Kelly's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire!

We got married at the beautiful Hill Place in Swanmore, Hampshire. I helped style a photo shoot at Hill Place in 2010, and fell in love with the homeliness and character of the elegant Georgian house, as well as the beautiful grounds. 

Hill Place has its own unique style, and we knew that it would fit perfectly with our vision of our day. To compliment the property, we opted for pastel tones and vintage props.

A Pretty-as-a-Picture, Pastel-Themed, Vintage Wedding

On a cold grey evening like this, when all you want to do is snuggle up in cashmere jumpers, it's hard to remember the halcyon days of summer, when we drank Pimm's on countryside lawns. But Kelly and Ren's big day will take you right back there, and you'll love all of Kelly's creative wedding ideas. As a stylist, she was always going to come up with something pretty special, but I've fallen for her unique wedding style. Stealworthy ideas include the gorgeous photo-prop bicycle {more pics in the second feature}, Kelly's sparkly brooch bouquet {DIY'd!!!} and stunning Maggie Sottero wedding gown, complete with Gone-with-the-Wind-style train. Other handmade details include all their wedding flowers, the butterfly and burlap decorations, and elegant wedding stationery. Huge thanks to The Cole Portfolio for their stunning photographs of the day - more to come in Part 2, and the reception details!

We got married at the beautiful Hill Place in Swanmore, Hampshire. I helped style a photo shoot at Hill Place in 2010, and fell in love with the homeliness and character of the elegant Georgian house, as well as the beautiful grounds. 

My wedding dress is by Maggie Sottero {my favourite designer} and I bought it from The Ivory Boutique in Winchester. I felt that finding my dress was a bit of a 'mission', but as soon as I tried it on, I knew this was the one.

Introducing Bloom & Wild Wedding Flower Subscription

My biggest extravagance is fresh flowers. There's nothing I love more than to come home to buckets of tulips or peonies. I used to buy my flowers from Colombia Flower Market in East London, but now I've got my little son, it's not as easy to get over there. So I was thrilled when a friend recommended Bloom & Wild. They're a flower subscription service, who send you a bunch of flowers in the post every week, or every fortnight. What's amazing about their service, is you don't have to be at home to receive the bouquets, because they come through the post, in an innovative letterbox size box! The flowers are super-fresh, and last forever - my bouquet is still going strong over a week later. Bloom & Wild bouquets would make a brilliant wedding present - just imagine if you bought a year's subscription - it would literally be the gift that kept on giving! If you'd like to try Bloom & Wild, check out their bouquets, or enter their competition to win a three month subscription. Enter before next Friday, and you'll be in with the chance to win a free bouquet through your letterbox every 2 weeks.

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An Exquisite English Country Garden Spring Wedding - The Reception

After all the excitement of the Wedding Blog Awards, I completely failed to publish the second half of Jo and Luke's incredible wedding. And you've got to see these amazing pictures, as they're chock-a-block with wedding inspiration. Jo chose a beautiful garden theme, which fitted perfectly with their Friars Court wedding venue. The owner is clearly some sort of wedding decoration genius, as he's created a wonderful romantic world of swinging lanterns and vintage props. There's so many stealworthy ideas, it's hard to pick my favourite, but....{deep breath}....I love the swinging white lanterns, the 14 real, blossoming cherry trees lining the marquee, the tables named after flowers, the mossy logs, the memory table {complete with budget-savvy Waitrose cake}, and the wooden LOVE hearts hanging off the water bottles. Don't miss Jo's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire, they're full of wedding inspiration, and take a look at their wedding photographer, Lily Sawyer's website - she's a serious talent!

We got married in Alvescot Church on 27th April 2013 near where I grew up. For the reception, we wanted something near to the church, and we were fortunate enough to find the most incredible venue available in the next village. Friars Court is an old country manor, and we held our reception in the gardens and the garden room. 

We also had a marquee on the old tennis courts. We wanted to make the most of being in the countryside - particularly for our friends from London. I wanted it to be an extension of my childhood - of which I have such happy memories. 

An Exquisite English Country Garden Spring Wedding

This incredible English country-garden wedding has been a long time coming! I've found it super-hard to edit - every one of Lily Sawyer's shots is incredible, and lovely Jo and Luke created such a beautiful wedding day, it's hard to choose which pictures to exclude! Jo's friends call her an English rose, so she themed her wedding loosely around the tea rose, with plenty of pretty blooms in her wedding bouquet, and rose wedding stationery. Jo and Luke followed tradition, and married in Jo's local village church, hosting their reception in the gorgeous gardens of Friars Court. You'll fall head-over-heels for all their country garden wedding details, but first, drink in Jo's stunning Essense of Australia wedding gown, her elegant vintage jewellery, and the amazing DIY'd church flowers. More amazing photographs of Jo and Luke's reception, coming soon! Huge thanks to Lily Sawyer and second shooter, Esther Bissessar.

We got married in Alvescot Church on 27th April 2013.. The church is over 900 years old and is situated in a small village in Oxfordshire on the edge of the Cotswolds, where I grew up. 

For the reception, we wanted something near to the church, and we were fortunate enough to find the most incredible venue available in the next village. Friars Court is an old country manor, and we held our reception in the gardens and the garden room. We also had a marquee on the old tennis courts. We wanted to make the most of being in the countryside - particularly for our friends from London. 

A Winner at The Wedding Blog Awards

So if you follow me on Twitter, you might have spotted a few excited tweets last night and this morning {like a million}! It's all thanks to one of the most amazing evenings of my entire life! Last night, I won Editor's Pick at Wedding Magazine's Wedding Blog Awards. It was the last prize to be announced, so I was ready to put the evening down to a fabulous experience, and then {as if in slow motion}, I heard my name being announced as the winner! I'm now the proud owner of a beautiful award, I got to kiss a very attractive man from Made in Chelsea, and I drank plenty of champagne at The Ritz - which has to be the dreamiest place to get married, and I got the best and biggest goodie bag ever! What's more, I even won a mini-break in Sicily thanks to the amazing Hotel Imperiale Taormina. HUGE thanks to everyone who voted for me - I'm so thrilled and flattered to have won the Editor's prize - but I'm sure Before the Big Day wouldn't have come to Ciara's attention, if it hadn't been for your votes. Take a look at a few of the pictures below...there's be much more to come later today on my Facebook page.

{Photo} Me & the Editor of Wedding & Wedding Flowers Magazine, Ciara Elliott.

A bit like the Oscar's I have a few thank you's...
♥ To Julia Bowden - the best hair and make-up artist in the world, who made me look and feel super-glam. Book her for your wedding now! More beauty posts from Julia coming soon on the blog!
♥ To Ciara and the whole team at Wedding Magazine
♥ To the Hotel Imperiale Taormina for my amazing prize
♥ To Intricate Creations for making my lovely trophy!
♥ All the fantastic companies who contributed to the goodie bag! I'm still working my way through it - more info coming soon.

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Five Easy Ways to Avoid Breaking Your Wedding Budget

I'm yet to meet a bride who doesn't have to work within some sort of budget. Even the luckiest of girls balk at spending tens of thousands on what is ultimately a one-day affair. Here on Before the Big Day, we're all about saving pennies, whether it's through DIY projects, or clever compromises, but it wasn't until my best friend started planning her wedding, that I realised just how many thrifty hints I had in my back pocket. Here are a few of my favourites - I hope they help you stick within your budget....

{Photo Credit} Tanya Lippert Photography

1. Go online for your wedding favours, stationery, decorations and general wedding supplies. There's a reason the high street is failing, and it's because savvy shoppers buy everything from Amazon or eBay. Before I buy anything, I compare the prices on Amazon and eBay, and any other relevant online shops. I've found giant white balloons priced at £5 each on some websites, while you can find them on eBay for less than a pound - particularly if you're buying in bulk. It's the same with paper lanterns.

2. Wedding cakes are another wedding detail where you can make massive savings. A designer cake can cost over a £1000, and although they'll be beautiful, and taste fantastic, not everyone can stretch to such a massive sum. If your mum's not up to baking a fashionable naked wedding cake {the icing is the hardest element to recreate}, then buy your tiers from M&S or Waitrose, and DIY your own decorations using fresh flowers or fruit, or even butterflies.

{Photo Credit} Anna Louise Crossley, more from this pink themed wedding

3. Look out for secret sales and voucher offers online. It's amazing how many big name boutiques offer discounts on their dresses and accessories on their websites. Find the bridesmaids dresses you want on the high street, and then go online to see if they're cheaper. You could even do a spot-check on your iPhone from the changing room! 

4. Wedding flowers are easy to DIY. I recommend spending money on professionally tied bouquets and buttonholes, but fabulous table flowers are easy to create on your own, using blooms bought from your local flower market, or online. If you're not artistic, then avoid fancy arrangements and fill lots of small vases or jam-jars with the same flower, and mix and match.

{Photo Credit} Paige Jones

5. One of the biggest expenses of a wedding is the reception meal. Three-course meals are pricey and often unnecessarily extravagant. Instead host a BBQ with a selection of table salads, a picnic {complete with baskets and blankets} or a vintage tea-party. With fun styling, no one will notice you're trying to save money. Offer wedding cake for pudding, or keep it cheap and very cheerful with a DIY ice-cream station, complete with cones, toppings and 99p flakes.

** For more money saving tips - How to Buy Your Wedding Dress for Less **

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Wonderful Wedding Blog Web Links

So for me, this week has been all about planning what to wear to the Wedding Blog Awards at The Ritz. I've no idea what I'm going to wear, but our lovely Wedding Blog Beauty Expert, Julia Bowden is going to be doing my hair and make-up beforehand, so at the very least, I'll look great from the shoulders up! In the meantime, the weather's been turning, and so have my thoughts, towards autumn and winter weddings. There's some fabulous seasonal themes out there for autumn brides - take a look at my Pinterest boards for some sneak-peaks of next week's posts. This weekend I'm in Dorset, so expect some countryside inspiration....I'm thinking log fires, apple crumble, and handmade blackberry jam wedding favours! Enjoy your weekend - here's the best from the wedding blogs this week.

{Photo Credit} Unknown - buy a heart punch

♥ A sweet and easy autumn DIY - more on my Autumn Pinterest board
♥ An elephant at a wedding? And why not!
♥ Hot on the heels of the flower crown, comes the flower necklace....would you?
♥ The table flowers at this New York wedding look like they're growing out of the table - stunning!
♥ An elegant French chateau wedding - I'll be at The French Wedding Show if you want to come and chat!
♥ This is what happens when an American bride gets married in the UK
♥ Oh my - this Norwegian wedding is beyond stunning
♥ Another French wedding, this time flush with pink pom-poms....and did I mention The French Wedding Show {sorry!}?
♥ L-O-V-E polka-dots at a farmers-market inspired wedding
♥ A very stylish London elopement
♥ Spring brides will fall hook-line-and-sinker for these florals!

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Pretty Sage Green & Dusky Pink Shabby Chic Church Wedding - The Reception

With a dusky pink and sage green wedding colours, I was always going to love Daniella and Paul's wedding - after all, they're the same shades I picked for my own big day. Add in the stunning DIY wedding details and the shabby chic theme, and this wedding is something of a humdinger! I love all the pretty touches, from the handmade burlap menu folds, the pashmina favours, the table plan tree, the vintage tea-cups filled with sweeties for snacking, and the fingerprint guest-book. With two years to plan, Daniella thought of every single wedding extra, and it really shows in this lovely personal wedding. Don't miss her answers to the Before the Big Day Questionnaire - if you're thinking about hiring a wedding coordinator for the day, Daniella's answers will swing you towards asking your florist! Huge thanks to Dean Govier for his beautiful wedding photographs - he captured every perfect detail.



Paul and I got married on 1st June 2013. We had our ceremony at St. George's Church in Crowhurst, and hosted our reception at Coltsford Mill, a Watermill barn near Oxted in Surrey. The barn is a blank canvas and the grounds are simply stunning, with an abundance of lakes and lawns.

Our wedding photographer was Dean Govier. Originally we had someone else booked, but as time went on I felt I wasn't connecting with him, and had my doubts. Luckily we met Dean at our marriage prep classes {he got married 3 weeks before us} and we instantly felt drawn to his style and personality. We knew he would be a fab photographer, and someone we wanted there on our day, so we lost the deposit on our original booking and booked Dean, and we were so pleased with our decision!

A Pretty, Sage Green & Dusky Pink, Shabby Chic, DIY Church Wedding

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, there's nothing I like more than a Before the Big Day bride who gets in touch after her big day to submit her wedding. Daniella read BBD, and I'm thrilled to say she's a girl after my own heart - a DIY bride with an eye for wedding details, and a love for a sage green and pink colour palette. You'll find stacks of inspiration in her pretty designs - this is a bride who created everything from the bunting, the table plan, place name holders, hessian cone pew-ends, happy-tear tissue pouches, Orders of Service, hundreds of jam jar candles and even 100 tea-light candles! You'll love her advice and her enthusiasm for her wedding vendors - enjoy these beautiful photographs by Dean Govier...with much more from the wedding reception later today.

Paul and I got married on 1st June 2013. We had our ceremony at St. George's Church in Crowhurst. It's our local church and it means a lot to me, as I was christened there, and attended family services there all my life. The Vicar has known me since I was three years old, so it felt like the right place to get married.

I picked pale green and dusky pink as our wedding colours, and we incorporated birds and roses as our main theme, plus a monogram of our initials on our wedding stationery. I worked with my florist to get the colours just right, and her inspiration was invaluable. I recommend her 100% - she was more than just a florist.

Hot Air Balloon Wedding Theme

Have you ever been in a hot air balloon? I haven't, but there's something uniquely romantic about them. The idea that you could just float away together into the sunset, surrounded by billowing silk. It's all about new beginnings, and of course the film Up provides tonnes of inspiration. Just imagine a gorgeous wedding themed around the hot air balloon. You could include lots of stripes to mirror the fabric of the balloon, and lunch could be served in picnic baskets decorated with giant balloons. Take a look at these gorgeous ideas and products, and don't miss my Love is in the Air Pinterest page for tonnes more wedding inspiration.

{Photo Credit} Jose Villa - more on Before the Big Day here

{Photo Credit} Jessmyn Harris, see more from this wedding | 2. Unknown

{Photo Credit} Jade and Matthew Take Pictures

{Photo Credit} Logan Cole, see more from this hot air balloon wedding

{Credit} Hot Air Balloon Wedding Invitations by Hootsie

{Credit} 1. Hot Air Balloon Fingerprint Guest Book by Bleu de Toi | 2. Hot Air Balloon Wedding Invitations by InkPad Design

{Photo Credit} Caroline Tran, more from this wedding on Style Me Pretty

{Credit} Hot Air Balloon Wedding Invitation by Eden Craft Project

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An Enchanting Vintage Fairy-Tale Wedding Shoot

Take a dreamy summer's day, a gaggle of pretty bridesmaids and a stunning wedding venue, and you're talking some serious wedding-shoot excellence. I've fallen for the fairy-tale orangery at St Clere as the perfect location for your vintage-style wedding reception. There's something about the beautiful garden setting that invokes a dreamy fairy-tale theme, and I love the styling of this Snow White-style wedding shoot. Inspirational ideas to steal include the lace-themed wedding stationery and favour cards, the gauze-wrapped bridesmaids' balloons and the silver-burnished wedding cake. Other loves include the mix of mercury glass and clear crystal vases, and the pretty pastel bouquet by Florist in the Forest. Huge thanks to Jennifer Sue Weddings for her expert styling, and Kay Young Photography for her beautiful pictures. P.S. The private estate and house of St Clere are being offered for weddings in 2014 for the month of July only.

Amazing Boutonniere Button-Holes for your Hubby

As I was writing up my recent {and fabulous} feature - 100 Ideas to Personalise Your Wedding, I realised that Before the Big Day neglects grooms. It's true, they're often not as interested in weddings as future brides, but I figure the more attention we pay them, the more likely they're going to get infected with our wedding enthusiasm! So when I discovered these incredible buttonholes or boutonniere {the French term now also used by Americans}, I had to feature them on the wedding blog! They're made by Tim Fritts & Erin Rosenow {aka Fritts Rosenow} in San Fransicso, and they're completely handmade and bespoke. So if you visit their shop, and you don't see a boutonniere that will work, then contact them, and they'll mock up something spectacular!

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A Natural Homemade Sunshine Yellow Wedding - The Reception

With wedding details galore, I've fallen hook, line, and sinker for this beautiful farm wedding. There's nothing more stunning than the British countryside on a summer's day, and Abi and Simon got seriously lucky with their wedding weather. With a barn wedding venue and a rustic theme based around DIY details, I love the coherence of their blue and yellow colour scheme. More stealworthy ideas include the naked wedding cake, the raffia ties around the napkins, the mum-made bunting and the home-grown table flowers and wedding favours. Stunning pictures published with thanks to Jo Richards Photography - just take a look at that view!

Our wedding photographer was Jo Richards Photography. We originally had a friend doing our photography, but she pulled out with four months to go, and I did some research to find someone local. 

I had three interviews with wedding photographers in one morning, but Jo won hands down. She totally 'got' my family and our ideas, and also her photos were amazing. Our formal wedding photographs were a breeze, and I am loving looking through them all now.

A Natural Homemade Sunshine Yellow Wedding

There's nothing I like more than a lovely sunshiny yellow-themed wedding to brighten up my Friday - particularly when it's teamed with a Grand Designs-style barn venue, and royal blue bridesmaids. Abi and Simon chose the traditional route of getting married in Abi's home town...or in this case, village. A family friend offered them a barn for their wedding reception, and they completely transformed it from a fertiliser store into the perfect, pretty venue. Talk about inspirational stuff! Simon proposed to Abi with a yellow diamond, to represent her bright personality, so it was a natural theme colour for their wedding. Teamed with all their DIY wedding details, including miles of mum-made bunting and handmade wedding cakes, it's up there with one of my favourite DIY weddings. Huge thanks to Jo Richards Photography for her stunning pictures - more to come from their reception tomorrow!

We celebrated our wedding on 10th August 2013 in Aldbourne in Wiltshire.

I grew up in the area, so I wanted everything in the same village. We both wanted somewhere that we could make 'us' and our family friend said I could have any barn on his property for our reception, so we picked one as our wedding venue.