Fruity vs Floral Wedding Cakes

Decorating your own wedding cake is a great way to keep costs down. Obviously there's nothing better than designer cake, but you don't want to be stuck with a thousand pound debt just because you went for an amazing confection from Choccywoccydoodah! Budget-savy brides buy their cake tiers from a high-street supermarket like M&S, and add their own decorations. Flowers have been in fashion for years, but recently I've seen a fabulous move towards fruity decor. Which do you prefer? Of course, you could go completely off-piste, and accessorise your wedding cake with macaroons {like this Before the Big Day bride}, or oreo biscuits! Don't miss my fabulous Wedding Cakes inspiration board on Pinterest.

{Photo Credits} 1. Jennifer Van Elk, more from this wedding on Budget Savvy Bride, 2. Sarah Falugo, more from this wedding on Style Me Pretty, 3. Unknown

{Photo Credits} 1. Aaron Delesie, more from this wedding on Snippet & Ink, 2. Unknown, 3. Annie McElwain, more from this wedding on Green Wedding Shoes

{Photo Credits} 1. Bret Cole Photography, more from this wedding on Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2. Unknown, 3. Unknown

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Whimsical Wishbone Bracelet for Your Bridesmaids

I'm always on the hunt for the perfect present for a girlfriend. One of my best friends is just amazing at gifts {for my birthday she gave me a stunning star necklace from Liberty}, and I'm always playing catch-up! So when I spotted these whimsical wishbone bracelets, I knew I had to share. Not only are they a great little birthday present, they'd work perfectly as bridesmaids gifts. Weddings are all about wishing for a fabulous future, and with your bridesmaids wearing these little charms, nothing could go wrong on your big day! I'd even tie one to my bouquet!

{I want this!} Wishbone bracelets, £12.45 by Sea and Cake

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Brides the Show - This Weekend

Super-glam, and a great day out, if you're free this weekend, you won't want to miss Brides the Show. Taking place in London's Battersea Park, it's a brilliant opportunity to immerse yourself in all things bridal - play with make-up looks, try on gorgeous wedding gowns and create your own wedding day details in our Imagination Room. There's live demonstrations, daily catwalk shows, and tonnes of brilliant vendors, all packed with wedding ideas and inspiration. I'm a huge fan of wedding fairs - they're best enjoyed with a couple of girlfriends and/or your mum. Just make sure you enjoy a cream tea {plus a glass of fizz} half-way through the day, to keep you sugar-levels up! Tickets are available on the door, and it runs until Sunday afternoon at 6pm

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A Summer Barn Wedding with a Music Theme - The Reception

With a music theme, several naked wedding cakes and a stunning barn wedding venue, this has got to be one of my favourite big days from last summer. Katy and Mark chose the stunning countryside of West Sussex for their wedding, and added tonnes of inspirational details to their reception. My faves have to be the personalised, CD wedding favours {entitled 'Do Me A Favour', the simple but sweet menu cards and the picture-perfect bunting. Even the wedding portraits are gorgeous - I love Katy's pretty parasol {buy similar here} - a great photo prop that could come in handy in a shower! Big love to Kelly from Lola Rose Photography for her beautiful wedding photographs.

We celebrated our wedding on 17th August with a ceremony at St Andrews Church in Steyning, followed by our reception at Bartholomew Barn, Kirdford, West Sussex.

A Summer Barn Wedding with a Music Theme

This beautiful church wedding has got me dreaming about summer! Lovely bride and groom, Katy and Mark celebrated their big day in August, with a music themed, barn reception. I love the put-together look of their wedding - Katy chose a stunning blue for her colour palette, and her bridesmaids look gorgeous in their House of Brides gowns, teamed with frothy lilac hydrangea bouquets. Hydrangeas may well be my favourite bouquet blooms of all time! They're so pretty, and they take up so much space, that they may well save your budget. The ushers all looked fab in their matching River Island suits, plus blue cravats to match the bridesmaids. Other stealworthy ideas include Katy's glam Bridget Bardot-style half-up do, her fabulous Alfred Sung wedding gown, and their brilliant vintage-style wedding invitations {designed by a very talented friend!}. Huge thanks to the lovely Kelly from Lola Rose Photography for capturing every detail - I've got more from their Bartholomew Barn coming soon!

We celebrated our wedding on 17th August with a ceremony at St Andrews Church in Steyning, followed by our reception at Bartholomew Barn, Kirdford, West Sussex.

My sister's friend Becky designed our brilliant wedding invitations, which were in the style of a vintage theatre poster.

Wear a Crown on Your Wedding Day - and why not!

It's time to come clean. Most of us want to feel like a princess on our wedding day, and there's no shame in it. After all, it's only for one day! On all the other days of your life, you can be powerful, forthright, successful women, but on your wedding day, why not give into the fairytale romance of childhood stories. So why not go the whole hog, and wear a little crown? I've fallen for this lovely creation by Erica Elizabeth Designs. Created out of filigree ornaments, freshwater pearls and brilliant rhinestones, it glitters like it's made out of diamonds. Heaven! Erica has dozens of stunning bridal accessories in her Etsy shop - take a look and see which you'd choose - this bridal cap is divine!

{I want this!} Bridal Wedding Crown, £324 by Erica Elizabeth Designs

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A Rustic Garden Wedding with a Festival Feel & Tonnes of DIY Details

Everything about this wedding is enchanting - it's like something from a traditional Welsh faery story! Loveday and Nathan celebrated their big day with a church service, followed by their wedding reception in Loveday's parent's garden. From the handmade yurts {created by the bride's brother!}, to the traditional wedding cake, pretty floral favours and jam jar vases, everything was DIY'd by Loveday and Nathan's friends and family. It just goes to show what an amazing effect you can create yourself! The wedding had a festival vibe, with a warming fire-pit, boho decorations {by Verdigris Venue Dressing}, deckchairs, and floral arches. I'm also super-impressed that Loveday bought her wedding dress from a charity shop, and had it re-modelled with the help of a local dressmaker. No detail was too small - she even changed the buttons to pastel pretties, to fit in with their colour scheme. Enjoy these lovely pictures by Adam Cove, and Loveday's inspirational answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire!

We celebrated our wedding on Saturday 31st August 2013 in the chapel of St David at the University of Wales in Lampeter, where Nathan and I first met as students.Our reception was lovingly created at my parent's home, on a hill above the town. My brother, Morgan, made us two beautiful yurts, and all our friends and family worked hard helping to get the place ready, from mowing the lawns and tending the flower garden. We even spent our wedding night in another little yurt, tucked away amongst some willows near the stream. 

I wanted a simple quite classic wedding dress, but with a personal touch. After a lot of looking I finally bought my dress second hand from a charity shop in Cardiff. It was then re-modelled by a local dress maker called Rhiannon J Limited. We worked together on the design and I was able to add unique buttons and decorations. It was a simple silk gown with a modest puddle train, individual colourful buttons down the back, ruching across the waste and a small flower decoration on the left hip. Rhiannon also made my veil for me.

Boho-Style Wallet Friendly Wedding Dresses from Minna

I need to start this article with something of a disclaimer. Despite all my {strong} feelings against the necessity of spending a fortune on your wedding dress, I ended up buying my gown from Delphine Manivet for over £2k. I loved it, and I felt beyond amazing on my wedding day, but I felt sooooo guilty about the cost. It just seemed such a crazy sum to spend on one dress and one day. To make up for it, I'm always on the hunt for beautiful wedding gowns, and one of my favourite designers is Minna. Her stunning boho gowns feature intricate lace, pretty florals, cute pom-pom edging and even bunting {!}, but most of them come in at under £600. Her headpieces and veils are super-reasonable, and they even stock adorable flower girls dress, like this stunning Alexa dress. When I recommended Minna to my wedding planner, Kerry Bracken of Lavender & Rose Weddings, she bought three - one for each stage of her wedding! Take a look at them in action in my features on her wedding. ** P.S. I just checked out Minna's Facebook page, and discovered details for their up-coming Trunk Sale. Save even more from 11th April until 3rd May! **