Introducing Guide To Be - A Brand New Wedding Review Site

Regular readers will know I'm always going on about the importance of personally recommended wedding suppliers, but what if none of your friends have got married yet? Or if you're getting married in a different part of the country? How can you find out whether all those local vendors are really as good as they say they are? Well that's exactly the situation Eve faced when she was living in Sydney, but planning her wedding in Glasgow. It was nearly impossible for her to visit lots of venues, attend caterer tastings and arrange florist consultations, and she really needed the inside scoop on suppliers. Eve was astonished there were no independent sources or dedicated wedding review sites {like Trip Advisor for weddings}, and so after her big day, she teamed up with her sister and launched Guide To Be.

This brilliant BRAND NEW site is all about connecting brides with truly excellent wedding suppliers, and I'm delighted to be part of the very exciting launch! The idea is that newlyweds write reviews of all the suppliers who helped out at their wedding, and then other brides-to-be can make an informed choice. I've already written several of my own reviews, so if you know of excellent wedding photographers, videographers, caterers, florists, dressmakers, etc, etc, head straight over to Guide To Be and get your review up now! Just imagine - your own experience could help that desperate bride struggling to find the perfect wedding band!

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A Fun Rustic Wedding with a Divine Claire Pettibone Dress

There's nothing I like more than a backyard marquee wedding, with a relaxed happy bride {in Converse!}, and an OMG Claire Pettibone wedding gown. Add in pretty handmade, shabby-chic details, sage green Dessy bridesmaids dresses, and a traditional ice-cream bicycle seller, and you've got a quintessentially English wedding. All that was missing was the rain! I love Katy's DIY'd wildflower favours, her pretty baby's breath bouquet, and all the hand-decorated jam-jar wedding details. Huge thanks to Hannah from Written With Light Photography for sending over all the pictures - enjoy!

We got married on 21st September 2013 in St Michael's Church, in West Hill in Devon, followed by our wedding reception in Tom's parent's gorgeous garden. I always knew a rural view and beautiful outdoor location was going to be a non-negotiable part of our wedding day, and as we are fortunate enough to have this on Tom's parent's doorstep, hosting our reception in their garden was a bit of a no brainer! 

We couldn't risk it for a biscuit weather-wise, so we hired a traditional canvas marquee. As far as decorations go I wanted to keep things as natural as possible we had a stunning location and didn't plan on distracting from that.

In keeping with the relaxed atmosphere we wanted for the wedding, my and my bridesmaids all wore Converse trainers, which we personalised with pretty daisies.

The girls wore sage coloured Dessy dresses. We all loved them, and I liked the idea that they could all wear them differently, according to where they placed the wraps. 

My dress was the Queen Anne's Lace design by Claire Pettibone. I didn't fall in love with it straight away as I think I had tried on too many dresses by that point! Also, I never planned on wearing a gown with a low neck-line, but it really was a beautiful dress and perfect for the day.

Our wedding flowers were by Dilly's Florists in Ottery. They were really helpful as I don't really know much about flowers! I just knew I wanted a wildflower look, and natural colours {nothing too bright}, and they did a beautiful job. 

We used lots of baby's breath in our bouquets, and for the buttonholes, and massive bouquets to decorate the church. 

I didn't wear a veil, choosing instead a pretty daisy headband handmade by my talented maid of honour! She runs an Etsy boutique called Daisy's Creations.

Tom wore a traditional morning suit from Moss Bros, with a sage green tie and handkerchief to match the bridesmaids' dresses.

I walked down the aisle to 'Echo' by Incubus, then 'Eight Days a Week' by The Beatles to kick things off as husband and wife! Our first dance was 'Reet Petite' by Jackie Wilson - an impulse choice by Tom the day before as we didn't plan on having a first dance.

My advice to brides planning their wedding, is don't procrastinate, as things will always take longer then you expect!

Our wedding photographer was Written With Light Photography. Hannah was suggested by my brother and sister-in-law, and after seeing the photos taken of my brother's wedding I made my decision - her photos really capture the personality of her subject and the atmosphere, also she is such a warm friendly person that we felt really comfortable and we loved working with her.

One of my favourite wedding details was the ice cream bike. It was a huge success with the children and adults, looked great, and the ice cream was delicious. 

Our wedding band - The Jive Jacks - were also fantastic! They really know what they are doing - we said we wanted swing music that made everyone get up dace and have fun, and they delivered the perfect playlist. The dance floor was full all night and they really helped create a fantastic atmosphere. 

We didn't have a planned theme for our wedding, but it ended up being a tasty mix of vintage, rustic and dirty colour tones. Any time I saw something I really liked design-wise it always happened to be something that didn't look that impossible to make so had a go and in the end we made the invitations, wedding favours and Orders of Service.

For months before the wedding, we had friends and family collecting hundreds of glass jars for my mum and me to decorate and turn into candle holders. Even our table plan was handmade with help from my bridesmaids the morning of the wedding! Getting the whole garden ready for a wedding was a huge DIY project which neither Tom or I can take credit for - that was all thanks to Tom's parents, and a lot of borrowed help from the farm staff.

We had four wedding cakes handmade by a family friend! Devon apple, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and lemon drizzle - so a bit of something for everyone. I didn't want anything fancy, just seriously tasty, and the kind of cakes people can tuck into, and slice themselves.

I really enjoyed DIY-ing our wedding favours - they were really simple, but fun! We bought a huge bag of British wild flower seeds and divided them up into kraft envelopes. Then I wrote a silly poem to sick on the back, and made the envelope pretty with a couple of stamps. I thought the wild flower seeds tied in with the natural aspect of the wedding and it's nice to visit friends and family and see the flowers growing as a reminder of our wedding. 

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Real Pretty Pastel Wedding with a Lovely Lace & Peony Theme

This dreamy pastel-themed wedding will leave you longing for lazy summer days. It's an exquisite combination of pink, peonies and mercury glass vintage vases, and I love it! With a wedding dress by Marisa Bridals, bridesmaids' dresses by Priscilla of Boston and a gorgeous vineyard venue, you'll want to copy every wedding detail. Don't miss the brocaded wedding invitations and the beaded plates - every area of this wedding was perfectly planned by Yong Suk Willendrup, and pictured by Jen Huang Photography.

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Vail Family Photographer - Maxwell and Harrison in Vail, Colorado

I've officially reached 100 blog posts! As a way of saying thank you to all of my wonderful clients that have let me share their stories, I thought I would put myself in their shoes and share some photos of my little guys.

I don't often get a chance to capture Maxwell and Harrison, but I had some backdrops and props set up from a recent shoot, so I left them up and got the boys in front of them.  This is the style of portrait photography that I like the most.  Simple outfits, clean backdrops, a few props, natural light and minimal photo shop.  The poses aren't perfect because I was hoping to get something more candid.  I figure that Maxwell's funny faces (and his crazy bowl cut) will be things that will make me smile more when I look back on these in years to come.

Thank you to everyone that has been so generous in letting me share their photos.  Maybe I'll post some more of the boys once I hit 200 posts!

To see more head to the Vail Children's Photography Collection

Unique Embroidered Wedding Dress

This embroidered wedding dress has 2014 boho wedding trend written all over it! There's something deliciously fun and folky about it, and the fact it's handmade in Slovenia, by boutique designer Jarka of Atelier De Couture JK, makes it all the more unique and delicious. Jarka makes several I-want-this wedding gowns, not least this gorgeous slinky sparkling number, so be sure to take a look at her Etsy shop. L-O-V-E.

{I want this!} Embroidered Wedding Dress, £584 by Atelier De Couture JK

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Fun Embroidered Flag Wedding Cake Topper

Sometimes I spot things on Etsy that make me happy, and I can't wait to share them with you! These cute flag wedding cake toppers were yesterday's discovery, and it took extraordinary willpower for me to save this feature for today! Aren't they just the best? Picking up on the make-do-and-mend trend that's huge for 2014, and the ombre trend that's still taking the wedding world by storm, they're not just cake toppers, they're cutting-edge wedding style! Created by Betawife in Texas, you can personalise them with whatever slogan or names that you wish. L-O-V-E!

{I want this} Flag wedding cake toppers by Betawife - £27.63

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An Elegant Wedding with Giant Pink Balloons & Jimmy Choos - The Reception

It's pom pom time! Regular readers will know I've been a fan of DIY tissue pom poms ever since I made them for my own wedding. They were such a success, and so easy to make, that I've been recommending them as the cheap and chic wedding decoration. Fab couple Joe and Mimi chose pastels as their wedding colour palette, and I love their cheerful peach, pink and cerise poms. Throw in a Kate Moss-inspired wedding cake, a brilliant photo booth and hundreds of vases of avalanche roses, and I'm a very happy wedding blogger indeed. Enjoy Chris Giles Photography's brilliant wedding pictures, and Mimi's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire. There's tonnes of great tips and vendors there for you to steal!

Joe and I got married on July 27th 2013. The service was held at St. Margaret's Church, Fernhurst in West Sussex, and then the reception was at The Duke Of Cumberland Arms, a beautiful 15th Century pub. 

I didn't have any bridesmaids - instead my daughter Evie and my niece, Holly were my flower girls. They wore beautiful silk chiffon dresses from I Love Gorgeous, which had a dusky pink satin ribbon tie and hand embroidered roses. 

The Duke Of Cumberland Arms was the perfect location for our wedding breakfast and reception - we fell in love with its magnificent views and glorious gardens. Also, Joe has known the award-winning head chef and owner, Simon Goodman, for many years, so we knew the food would be exceptional!

Our wedding photographer, Chris Giles Photography, was a recommended to me, and I have to say Chris and his partner Laura were amazing on every level and worked so hard for us on the day. We met Chris and Laura several times before the wedding, and on the day they certainly exceeded our expectations, right through to the delivery of our photos - which we simply love.  

Chris and Laura made us feel suitably relaxed throughout the day, and we are thrilled to be able to look back through our amazing pictures, with such fond memories, which we will now keep forever. We honestly couldn't recommend Chris enough. 

We had four pageboys - our son Harry, and my nephews, Tom, Charlie and Zak. They wore Ralph Lauren chino's and white linen shirts and tank tops from Little Linens and little white Converse!

As an added wedding detail, we decided to get perfectly round, pink balloons filled with helium for the children. They were a huge success, and gave us some amazing photos.

I wanted our wedding to be romantic, simple and elegant, with beautiful flowers, scented Jo Malone candles and large vases. Pale apricot and cream flowers mixed with pink avalanche roses decorated our reception tabletops, and beautiful glass candlesticks with tall candles lit the marquees.

We had a fantastic wedding florist - The Floral Emporium at Secretts, Milford. My flowers had a 'hand-picked' vintage and country feel about them. We chose soft and pastel colours, and florists Karen and Vicky were absolutely incredible.

Karen and Vicky filled hundreds of vases for me, as well as doing large displays, and they made our amazing day beautiful and full of love!

I absolutely loved planning our wedding, however I wouldn't advise doing it whilst working, and trying to bring up a young family, especially during the latter few weeks. I was exhausted by the time the day actually arrived, as I am sure most brides are!!! 

Luckily my parents, friends and family were so generous with their time, and always went out of their way to help as best as they could. 

My advice for other brides would be to enjoy it - blink on the day, and it has gone.....Everyone said to me to 'make sure you stand back and take a deep breath to enjoy it all'. I felt like I didn't have time to follow the advice I was given, so I advise any future bride and groom to do exactly that! 

Also because we weren't going on honeymoon straight away, we met up with our friends the following day for lunch, which was a great way to already start reminiscing. It was fantastic to see the pictures everyone had taken on their iPhones! A nice way to spend the day before the wedding blues kicked in!!

We decided not to have any wedding favours. We'd already over-spent on our budget, and we believed that our friends would probably prefer an extra glass of Prosecco! I reckon we made a good call, with no complaints made!

My husband is an excellent chef for his sins, and he specialises in cakes and cake decorating! He replicated a Peggy Porschen Cake which Kate Moss had at her wedding. 

It was a pyramid of five cakes, very simple and elegant, with each tier a different depth. Joe crusted with droplets of icing sugar blossoms, and the cake sat on a bed of beautiful fresh roses. 



As an added wedding detail, Chris Giles set up a Photo Booth for us in the evening, which was a huge success, and gave us some amazing photos!

To end our perfect day, we chose an amazing band called Alex and Phil Extravaganza, who absolutely got the party started for us. The four boys completed our day, along with my amazing daddy who played his clarinet with the band as a last minute surprise for us both {which was incredible}. They were great entertainment, and all of our friends had lots of fun. The musicians were truly impressive.



We hired giant light letters showing off our LOVE to each other!!! They were supposed to be in the beautiful garden, but because we got married on the only Saturday in July this year where it rained, we used the letters inside the pub. They were a great way to decorate, and added some mood lighting for when the band played.

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