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!

I also had a ‘best man’, my dear friend Chris was also part of my bridal party, he walked down the aisle behind me with the other girls, and did a brilliant job of keeping everyone in check throughout the day. He wore a black suit and matching sapphire blue tie.

We had a marquee in the beautiful grounds of the house so we could enjoy the gardens. We decorated the marquee in homemade bunting, which one of my bridesmaids, Polly, made from scraps of fabric I had collected. She sewed 60 metres!

My friends and I made all the place names from wooden sticks embellished with raffia and jewels. We made each one of the 100 sticks different and tried to capture the person’s personality in them! 

We wanted our wedding to be relaxed and homemade. It resembled a country fete or garden with the bunting and various gazebos which housed the bar, the set up for the band {which was made up of our best friends} and the guest book tent {which had a digital camera on a stand and lots of fancy dress items for the guests to play around with- we had some VERY interesting photos as a result!}. 

We had tonnes of DIY projects. We made our table plan from a large piece of MDF which we wrapped in material then adorned with miniature pegs for the name tags. All our friends and family chipped in with everything, from decorating to making the cakes. It was wonderful to see so much love had gone in to creating our special day.

We decorated the tables with jugs that we had picked up from charity shops around the country. We filled them ourselves on the morning of the wedding with cornflowers, pinks and September daisies.

My friend Helene made the cakes; they were carrot cup cakes decorated with pink, white and blue icing and roses. They were delicious, and even more special that they were made by our friend.

We loved planning our wedding. We had a clear idea of how we wanted it to look and feel and it turned out perfectly. We loved that all our friends and family were involved in the whole process, from making the table plan, to playing in the band; it took lots of careful planning, but was definitely worth it!

My advice would be use your friends and family's talents to add a personal touch to your big day. For example, if you have someone who can make cakes, give them a chance to make yours, it will mean a lot to them. However, make sure that your guests get to enjoy the day....my brother is so talented, he ended up being an usher at the church, a witness, setting up the band, playing in the band, being the MC and being the DJ...He worked so hard, by the end of the day he was more exhausted then I was!

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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.

My dress was Mori Lee by Madeline Gardner. It was called 'Simone'. I was adamant that I wanted a plain, fitted dress, but the shop assistant at Brides of Southampton thought that this dress would look great and encourage me to try it on. As soon as I stepped into it, I fell in love with it. It was sparkly, with a huge train, and it was everything I had thought I didn't want from my wedding dress!

My veil was also from Brides, it was scalloped edged with drop AB crystals. My shoes were from Rainbow Club and my necklace was my Great Nan’s. My Granny gave it to me when I was 16, and it was my something old and my something blue!

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!

I also had a 'best man', my dear friend Chris was also part of my bridal party, he walked down the aisle behind me with the other girls, and did a brilliant job of keeping everyone in check throughout the day. He wore a black suit and matching sapphire blue tie.

Ben got his grey tail suit from Moss Bros. Again, he thought he wanted something vintage and non-traditional, so we spent many weekends in Brighton trying to find a brown waist coat and matching trousers. However, as soon as he tried on his traditional suit at Moss Bros, he knew it was the right decision.

We chose a country garden wedding theme, so I chose a bouquet of garden flowers such as stocks and daisies, plus a large ivory rose in the centre. My bridesmaids had similar bouquets without the rose. Our florist was Hazel's in Bishops Waltham. They were so friendly and creative, and it was lovely to use a local florist.

Our wedding photographer was Greg Thurtle from TP Photography. Ben is a photographer and knows Greg through a mutual friend. He was the perfect choice to capture our day. We had a great engagement shoot before the wedding to determine the style of photography we liked, and then Greg just got on with it!

Greg was brilliant and captured some amazing candid shots. Looking through the photos, they are all so personal and encapsulate the day perfectly. 

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Enchanting South African Garden Wedding with DIY Details

Celebrating your wedding in your parents' garden has got to be one of the best ways to say I do. Personal, meaningful and a lot less pricey than a hired venue, you can start your preparations months before your big day. And when your parents' garden happens to be a gorgeous jungly South African affair, like Louis and Nadine's, then you'd be crazy to do it anywhere else! I'm loving all their sweet wedding details, including the simple gingham ribbon decorations and napkins, the ceramic hanging altar-area, and the speech bubble table plans. We need more speech bubbles at weddings! Also loving the tulip garden decorations, streamer confetti and cool safari-style tent marquee. Most of all I love how happy Louis and Nadine look to be a Mr and Mrs. Fabulous photographs published with thanks to the hugely talented We Love Pictures - our favourite South African photographers.

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A Castle Wedding with a Simple, Elegant Theme

If you want to feel like a princess on your big day, then you're going to need to hire a castle for your wedding venue. Luckily there are plenty of venues in the UK to tick your castle-box - not least the dramatic Hedingham Castle in Essex hired by gorgeous bride and groom, Liz and Mike. Liz wholeheartedly adopted the regal feel for her wedding style, wearing a beautiful, champagne gown from Allure Bridal, teamed with a divine, sparkly tiara by Andrew Prince. Sparkly emerald cut diamond earrings, plus an art deco design wedding ring completed her elegant look. Mike lived up to his bride's style, with a smart grey morning suit and dove-grey waistcoat. The whole ceremony was beautifully pictured by Kristian Leven, enjoy his shots - many more to come later today, including all the detail photographs from the elegant, ivory and platinum themed reception.

We got married on Friday 5 April, 2013 at Hedingham Castle in Essex. We had our ceremony in the castle itself before going over to the Georgian house and marquee for our reception.
 

The first part of my outfit I bought was my tiara. It was made by Andrew Prince in London who I went to see after seeing some of his pieces in a bridal magazine. His shop was being refurbished when we went, but he set me up with a Snow-White style mirror and a cabinet overflowing with tiaras and jewellery. The young girl in me who had dreamed of being a Disney princess was in her element!

I chose a tiara that had emerald cut accents that coordinated with my engagement ring {an emerald cut diamond solitaire}. It was more expensive than I had budgeted for, but I had to have it. It was as close to a real diamond tiara as you could get {Andrew makes the tiaras for Downton Abbey, that’s how good they are!}, and I couldn't get married in anything else. My mum bought it for me as a birthday present on the condition it became a family heirloom, and is now kept in a safe so that I don't wear it out. The moment my tiara went on was the moment I became a Bride and everything fell in to place for me. All the nerves disappeared and I just felt incredible.

My dress was by Allure Bridal and I bought it and my veil {which happened to be called 'Monaco' which is where my husband proposed!} from The Tailor's Cat in Cambridge. I had been to shops in London initially, and thought I found a dress in Pronovias but as we left my mum said 'you looked so sweet', at which point we stopped and stared at each other - I did not want to look sweet on my wedding day. So we started looking closer to home and tried The Tailor's Cat as I had always admired their window displays.

I didn’t think I would like it as it was a champagne colour, but fell in love. I had a sparkly applique removed as I was not into the glitzy dresses, but my mum persuaded me to keep the diamante buttons that went down the back and I am glad I did. I had originally wanted a very long veil but this didn’t really work with my dress so settled on a fingertip, very fine veil, with a scalloped lace edged that mirrored the edging on my dress beautifully.

I also bought myself a pair of emerald cut diamond earrings. They are the most frivolous thing I have ever bought and they took me six months to pay off but I am so glad I did. They went perfectly with my engagement ring and tiara, and they are something I can wear again for future special occasions and remember my wedding day. They were sourced for me by Preston and Duckworth in Bury St Edmunds. 

I found the Hedingham Castle online quite some time before I was even engaged. Neither my husband or I are religious, and while we did not want to get married in a church we still wanted a venue that had a certain kind of atmosphere and grandeur. The castle was perfect; not only beautiful but filled with history. Queen Elizabeth I once banqueted there, and being an Elizabeth myself I rather liked this. When we went to visit we stood alone in the castle and looked at each other. We knew it was where we would say our vows.

We also wanted a venue where we could do everything all in one place and we loved the house and marquee. I always felt I would rather spend money on a place that was already beautiful, and not have to do much to it. My track history with DIY projects meant that the kinds of beautiful things you see on Pinterest and Martha Stewart Weddings would have been a disaster in my hands. Hedingham was a place where we felt relaxed and new we could enjoy having a wonderful day with all our friends and family.

My Maid of Honor had a dress from Dessy. I wanted to use Dessy as they use Pantone colours and you can order other accessories to match {like the men's ties}. I found a style I liked online but we had to travel all the way to Colchester to try it on. 

Thankfully my Maid of Honour, Bekkie loved the gown {and looked incredible in it} so we ordered it right away. I also bought Bekkie a pearl and diamante comb from Glitzy Secrets, and a silver and pearl friendship necklace by Dogeared Jewellery, which came with a lovely poem.

I walked up the aisle to English Rose by the Jam {Mike's choice} and we walked back down to How Sweet it is to be Loved by You - a song that reminds us of one particularly happy date night when I was at Uni.

Our wedding rings were from Cellini Jewellers in Cambridge. Mine was a bespoke design by Paula Andrews to fit around my engagement ring. It's an art deco, fan design and I love having something unique and a little bit different.

All the suits were hired from Golding of Newmarket. Mike knew he wanted a grey morning suit which wasn’t hard to find, but we had our hearts set on dove grey double-breasted waist coats and these were a bit trickier. Golding were so friendly and helpful, and they got us the waistcoats we wanted from their other shop, and advised us on what would suit the two dads better.

We got the ties from Dessy {the best men and dads wore platinum, and Mike had ivory to coordinate with me). Mike bought his best men jazzy socks and pants as gifts from Ralph Lauren, so he could secretly wear something a bit less traditional.

During our wedding ceremony, we lit a unity candle ceremony - something I have always wanted to do, as I love the symbolism, and it allowed us to get both our mums involved in part of the ceremony. I wrote the words myself and a close friend of ours read them while we lit the candles. Finally, we were very lucky to have a relative conduct our wedding ceremony. This meant we got to meet her to discuss our ceremony in more detail a few weeks ahead of time. She also gave us some more suggestions for our vows, so we could really tailor our ceremony to us.

My hair was done by the incredible Kia White, an independent hairdresser who stood in last minute when my hairdresser had to pull out. We had the trial only a few days before the wedding, and I gave her a bunch of photographs that she managed to translate into the perfect hairstyle, that made me feel like a queen.
 

My makeup was done by Grace of Grace Lola Makeup. Grace is a very close friend of mine, who just happens to have studied makeup artistry at the University of the Arts London. It was lovely to have someone I knew so well with me on the day, but even if I hadn't been lucky enough to know a talented lady like Grace, a professional makeup artist would still have been a must, to make sure I felt my best all day.

We were very lucky to discover our photographer Kristian Leven through a very good friend of ours. I had been struggling to find a photographer that took the sort of photographs that we were after. Neither Mike or I are naturals in front of the camera, and knew we would look ridiculous in lots of posed shots. We also wanted our photos to be unique and not just the same as a lot of other people's weddings but with different faces. My friend Grace, who did my makeup, told me her sister was dating a photographer and I should look at his website; it was perfect.

Kristian really captures the love and happiness that is individual to each wedding he goes to and his photos tell a story just as it happens, not how it was engineered. We made an appointment to see him in London, and I took my cheque-book to pay the deposit, I was not going to miss out on booking this guy! 

On the day Kristian was lovely to have around and really put me at ease while he took the 'getting ready' shots. I have no idea how Kristian got some of the photos he did as it didn't even seem like he was there most of the time, he was so inconspicuous! Our package included all our gorgeous images on a USB and I now have as many of them as I can get away with around the house.

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