Boho Wedding Dresses from Saja Wedding

One of my favourite wedding dress designers is Saja Wedding. Based in New York, they're renowned for their gorgeous ethereal gowns, and their cute flagship shop is in seriously cool NoLita. On my wedding dress trip to New York, I tried on all their gowns, and each one is more stunning than the next. So when I spotted this fabulous shoot by one of my favourite photographers, Jose Villa, it was a shoe-in for a Before the Big Day blog post. Which dress would you pick? Other details I'm loving include the simple oak-leaf bouquet {fab for autumn brides}, the bright red lipstick teamed with peonies, and the unusual thistle bouquet. Stunning!

Glamorous Ombre Wedding Dresses

Ombre is a huge wedding trend right now, with every wedding detail, from stationery to flowers featuring a graduated tint. Even long hair is getting the ombre treatment. But this is the first time I've seen an ombre wedding dress. Ideal for brides looking to stand out from the crowd, these wedding gowns by Ouma are guaranteed to wow your guests. The stunning skirt features layer upon layer of hand-dyed tulle to create a full and unique silhouette, gradually fading up from a vibrant pink, to coral, to peach and finally topped with a beautiful silk white. Pair it with a v-neck t-shirt for a fun casual wedding party or glam it up with a corset and glitter heels. Check out my Pinterest board for more ombre wedding theme ideas.

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DIY Luxury Wedding: Beaded Belts & Accessories

If you're a bride with eyes bigger than your budget, you're going to adore my latest wedding discovery. Take one simple, wallet-friendly wedding dress, and add one of these incredible beaded trims by Allyson James, and BOOM! you've got a luxury-looking wedding gown without the price tag. Allyson James' beaded trims are made out of exactly the same quality trims you see on designer gowns such as Vera Wang and Monique Lhuillier, they're hand-sewn with the finest crystals, pearls, beads and sequins. Trims arrive ready to be sewn into sashes, belts, headpieces, bouquet wraps...whatever your DIY dream desires. Time to let your wedding imagination run wild!

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A Pastels & Vintage Themed Wedding with a Mori Lee Gown - Part 2

It's wedding inspiration time for DIY brides. Gorgeous couple Hannah and Ben roped in the help of all their family and friends to create a stunning, personalised wedding day. By choosing to host their wedding reception in a marquee in the garden of stunning venue Hill Place, they could let their imagination run wild. Hannah chose a country garden wedding theme, and collected vintage floral fabric scraps, which her friend Polly sewed into over 60m of pretty bunting! Friends and family also helped with making their wedding cake, arranging their flowers, designing the table plan and personalising each and every place marker. I love the pretty pastel theme and the way the wedding favours and table names reflect Hannah and Ben's love of music. We named our wedding tables after vegetables - I wish we'd been more creative! Gorgeous pictures published with thanks to Greg Thurtle from TP Photography.

My husband Ben and I got married on 30th July 2011 at Hill Place in Swanmore, a beautiful Georgian Country Villa set in 20 acres of beautiful park land.  Our wedding photographer was Greg Thurtle from TP Photography, who was brilliant and captured some amazing candid shots. Looking through the photos, they are all so personal and encapsulate the day perfectly. 

I had five bridesmaids, they wore knee length, chiffon and halter neck dresses in dusky pink and sapphire blue. They were also from Brides of Southampton. I originally said that they could wear anything pink or blue, and took them to the shop to try on whatever they fancied...they all loved the same dress!

A Pastels & Vintage Themed Wedding with a Mori Lee Gown

Take one dramatic wedding venue, add a DIY bride bursting with wedding ideas, and a pretty village church, and you've created wedding blogger's heaven. Hannah and Ben celebrated their big day at the gorgeous Hill Place in Hampshire, and got seriously creative with their wedding day, adding more DIY details than you can shake a stick at! Just wait for the reception details in Part 2, it's a DIY bride's dream. Hannah chose a country garden wedding theme with pretty pastels as her colour palette, which she carried throughout her wedding details, including bridesmaids dresses, bouquet and bunting. Her pretty up-do is stunning, and I love her traditional Princess-cut wedding gown, complete with the train she thought she didn't want! Other fun wedding ideas include the vintage car and camper van, and the sweet-smelling dried lavender decorating the church. Stunning pictures published with thanks to Greg Thurtle from TP Photography. Don't miss the reception details, coming soon later today.

My husband Ben and I got married on 30th July 2011 at Hill Place in Swanmore, a beautiful Georgian Country Villa set in 20 acres of beautiful park land.


We chose the venue because of the location and because it was so beautiful. Ben and I both grew up within a mile of Hill Place and the area has special significance to us both. We met at Swanmore Secondary School when we were 11, and we spent our teenage year s in the area. When we saw Hill Place, we immediately fell in love with it. It was so beautiful and Will and Rebecca Dobson (the owners) were two of the nicest people we have met! They were so laid back and accommodating, we knew that this was the venue for us.

Greek Goddess Bride Style

Choosing your 'look' for your wedding day can be difficult, particularly if you're anything like me, and your normal look is pretty thrown together. With two wedding days to plan, I was lucky enough to try two different bridal styles, although both ended up pretty similar {hair up, hair down!}. Whether you're thinking sleek and sexy, or boho and feminine, consider this gorgeous Grecian bride style. With a simple bouquet of olive branches, and an elegant leafy crown, plus a divine Samuelle Couture wedding gown, you're good to go - no need even for shoes! Fabulous styling by Kelly Oshiro, incredible pictures by the lovely Jose Villa.

 

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A Detail-Filled Londonl Little Venice Wedding: Part 3

It's time lovely ladies, it's time for the wedding details! I meant to post this last night be jetlag got the better of me. However it means I've been particularly {if accidentally} good at suspense-building. There are so many wedding details pictured in these fabulous Caught the Light wedding pictures, you're going to be slightly blown away. It's a DIY bride's fantasy wedding! Take a look at all the paper decorations, from the handmade origami swan chandeliers, to the striped straw flags and boat place markers. I'm loving the colourful bright theme, the wonderful array of different flower blooms in little vases and the wire table numbers. With blue-striped napkins, a Catch of the Day basket for wedding wishes, a net capturing Lynda and Blair's friends' pictures, and little messages in bottles as favours, every wedding detail is in keeping with the nautical theme. I think I'm in love! Huge thanks to Chloé Browne from Caught the Light for her fabulous pictures. Don't miss the fabulousness that was Part 2, and Part 1!

A Detail-Filled London Little Venice Wedding: Part 2

When it comes to wedding transport, it doesn't get much more original than a traditional London barge! But when gorgeous couple Lynda and Blair celebrated their wedding in Maida Vale, it made perfect sense to use the canals around Little Venice to transport their guests from the ceremony venue to the wedding reception at the waterside restaurant, The Summerhouse. I'm loving how Lynda decorated the barge with pompoms {tutorial here}, bunting and paper-hearts. All these wedding decorations are super-easy to DIY - why not get a group of your girlfriends together for a big crafting night before your big day? With personalised button badges and fans as favours, and nautical red and white ribbon decorating the vases, Lynda and Blair's wedding planner, Rebecca at Harlequin & Romance thought of every wedding detail! Huge thanks to Chloé Browne from Caught the Light for her fabulous pictures. Click back later today for the wedding detail-fest that is Part 3, and click here for Part 1!

A Detail-Filled London Little Venice Wedding: Part 1

London brides are going to love this inspirational Little Venice wedding. There are so many wedding details, I've had to split it into three posts - it's a Before the Big Day record! Gorgeous couple Lynda and Blair chose to get married in a local registry office, before taking a barge down the canal {how cool is that!}, to The Summerhouse in Maida Vale for their wedding reception. It's the first time I've seen a barge used as wedding transport, and I love the idea! Lynda carried the watery theme throughout her wedding day, with tonnes of cute nautical wedding details - pictures coming soon in Part 2 and 3 later today. In these shots I'm mostly loving Lynda's elegant Jenny Packham wedding dress, her gorgeous chignon with glittery jewel hair-piece, and her yellow arum lilies bouquet. Blair looks equally dapper in his red tie and matching auburn arum lily buttonhole. Don't miss Lynda's bridesmaids' pretty dresses - the subtle button details are another nod to the nautical theme. Huge thanks to Chloé Browne from Caught the Light for her fabulous pictures - Chloé was my wedding photographer as well, so she's my favourite! Click back later today for more!

A Delphine Manivet Wedding Dress

Have you chosen your wedding dress yet? My gown was by Delphine Manivet, who back then, was a relatively new designer. Now she's stocked in Browns Brides and even dressed Sarah Jessica Parker for a recent awards show in Hollywood. Her dresses are exquisite, and although they're expensive, they're not crazy-money like Vera Wang. Still - it took me a while to get used to the idea of spending so much on a dress, and the only way I could square it in my mind, was to sell it after my wedding day. That way, it got worn more than once, and the cost was halved. Well now my nanny is doing exactly the same thing! She wore the stunning Hyppolite Delphine Manivet gown on her wedding day, and she's keen to sell it to another bride. It's marked Small, so perfect for a Size 6 or 8. Do get in touch with her if you're interested, and if you're a budget-conscious bride {who isn't!}, take a look at my article Five Tips to Get Your Designer Wedding Dress for Less.

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Stunning Seaside Wedding Shoot

This incredible shoot is fresh from an amazingly talented team over on the west coast of the US, where all the best wedding trends seem to start. With a divine wedding dress by Samuelle Couture and smart nautical stationery by Feast Art and Calligraphy, plus styling by Joy Proctor of Joy de Vivre, I'd be tempted to copy every detail for my wedding! I love the combination of white calligraphy on dark blue, the vintage stamps, and the rustic hessian table cloth. I predict coloured glasses will soon become a huge trend in wedding tablescapes, and I'm pleased to see giant bouquets are still on trend. Another fun idea is a mix-your-own-cocktail trolley - as previewed by my wedding planner Kerry Bracken in her Provence wedding. Photography by the incredible Jose Villa - check out his blog for more fabulous wedding inspiration.

A Pancake Wedding Theme?

Happy Shrove Tuesday everyone! Now you wouldn't have thought pancakes and weddings were natural bed partners, but you'd be wrong. It only takes a quick search on Pinterest, to discover a veritable plethora of fantastic ideas. From this divine pancake wedding cake, to cute mini-pancake canapé bites, and of course, salmon blini - there's tonnes of inspiration. My favourite idea is the self-service choose-your-toppings stand. Perfect for the couple who love to brunch. It's almost enough to make it worth getting married on a Tuesday.....

{Photo Credit} Ruffled wedding blog

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Delicious Decorations for Your Wedding Cocktails

This is a blog post for the bride who {just like me} wants to leave no detail untouched. Who believes everything can be prettified that little bit more. And who likes sugary cocktails. I've recently rediscovered passion fruit caipirinhas, after a year of enforced absence due to pregnancy and breastfeeding, and they're making my world a better place. What would make them even better are these incredible flavoured cocktail sugar rims. Handmade by a husband and wife team in Chicago, they come in every colour and flavour you can imagine, and they make me happy! Buy some for your wedding day, and make your guests happy too! P.S. They also do heart popcorn seasoning....I'm thinking wedding favours?

{I want this!} Cocktail Glass Rimming Sugar, £2.83 by Dell Cove Spice Company {enough to do 15-18 glasses}

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Rustic Watercolour Wedding Stationery

What is it that's so romantic about watercolours? There's something about the sweep of subtle colour, that gets me thinking about sunsets and sorbets and Monet's water lily paintings. It's the perfect theme for a summer wedding, and this gorgeous, rustic, watercolour invitation suite from La Pomme et La Pipe would be the perfect introduction of your big day to your guests. I'm a huge fan of this little boutique - do take a look at their whole collection!

{I want this!} Watercolour wedding invitation suite, approx. £5 per invitation set {one invitation, one rsvp postcard, one accommodation card, one envelope} from La Pomme et La Pipe.

Love Before the Big Day? Why not sign up to our free RSS feed on BlogLovin! For more Watercolour Wedding Theme ideas, check out my page on Pinterest. 

Real Luxury Lace-Themed Wedding: Jennifer & Kirt

Exquisite summer wedding alert! I've got a complete humdinger for your delectation. It's another Jose Villa wedding, and they're always exquisitely pictured, and chock-a-block with stealworthy ideas. From the elegant candy-striped stationery, to the vintage car and cute dog pageboy, I'm wanting to copy every detail. Recreate the tablescape with a selection of different-sized vases, scraps of lace wrapped round linen napkins, and a sage green table cloth. Add in some antique silver borrowed from a local shop, and you'll be well on the way to extreme elegance.

A Kite Wedding Theme

Last year DIY pinwheels and pom-poms were very much the 'in-thing' for weddings. They're still huge this season, but I'm on the search for a new fresh idea for 2015! And I think I've spotted a wedding trend in the making.....kites! They're cute and colourful, and easy to DIY, and they'd add just the right lovely of fun and whimsy to your wedding day. They'd also make for fantastic photo props for your wedding photographs and engagement session. Plus I can just imagine your flower girl and page boys flying holding little kites as they walk down the aisle. For more kite wedding inspiration, take a look at my Pinterest board.

Not-Too-Pricey French Lace Wedding Dresses

This morning I am mostly loving these beautiful boutique dress by Australian designer Grace Loves Lace. At Grace, they personally create stunning ready-to-wear wedding dresses from the French laces and silks, to create a fabulous boho, vintage gowns you'll love. The dresses all have a pretty nostalgic charm and rather wonderful price tags, starting from only £500! Amazing! P.S. Don't you just love the bougainvillea flower crown, and flapper-style sparkly head-scarf?

♥ Want more wedding dress ideas? ♥ Or how about boho wedding ideas? ♥

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Amazing Boho DIY Vintage Wedding Part 2

It's Part 2 time for this incredible DIY-fest of a wedding. There is so much wedding inspiration in this fabulous big day, that I've had to split it in two for risk of blowing your minds! If you've missed Part 1, check it out here. From the wedding stationery to the wedding cakes {yes that's cakes plural}, no details was too small to DIY. I'm loving the recurring owl motif, the hankies '4 tears of joy' the incredible Wedding Land hand-drawn map, the burlap runners, the sweetie favour bar and the vintage camera on each table {to reflect Marissa's love of photography}. I don't think I've ever seen such a personalised wedding, and you can tell it must have been one amazing loved-up party! Huge thanks to the team at W Scott Chester Photography for their incredible pictures, and a heartfelt congratulations to Marissa and Caleb! P.S. If you want to see more pictures from this lovely wedding {plus extra wedding inspiration ideas}, do check out Before the Big Day's Facebook page.

Amazing Boho DIY Vintage Wedding

If you're a boho bride, a vintage bride, or an obsessed-with-details DIY bride, this wedding is going to knock your socks off! It's an enchanting festival-style affair, with magical wedding details, and a big dollop of homespun fabulousness. I've taken the divide and conquer approach, so instead of flooding your eyeballs with too much wedding inspiration in one go, I'll be publishing the next half of the wedding at lunchtime, so you can enjoy it with your sandwiches. But there's tonnes to feast on in this batch of pictures, so let's get started. Marissa and Caleb celebrated their wedding on a Wednesday since they wanted to say 'I do' on their five year dating anniversary {love this idea!}. They DIY'd tonnes of their wedding details, including the incredible wood ceremony entrance, with its vintage screen doors AND the lovely altar area, with its Anthropologie-style letters and owls. I'm loving Caleb's laid-back style, Marissa's cute DIY broach bouquet {buy a similar one from Etsy}, her handmade floral bunting, her bridesmaids' colour-pop pink dresses plus yellow bouquets, and the personalised fingerprint tree guestbook at the entrance. If you want to create a similar wedding style, but don't have time to do all the wedding details yourself, then I must recommend Etsy weddings, for beautiful homespun products. Huge thanks to the wonderful team at W Scott Chester Photography for capturing every golden moment in such style.