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!

Wedding Vendors
Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham // Venue: The Summerhouse, Maida Vale // Guitarist: The Amazing Adrian Benn // Planner: Rebecca at Harlequin & Romance // All the pretty little details: Little Paper Head.

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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!

Wedding Vendors
Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham // Venue: The Summerhouse, Maida Vale // Guitarist: The Amazing Adrian Benn // Planner: Rebecca at Harlequin & Romance // All the pretty little details: Little Paper Head.


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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!

Wedding Vendors
Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham // Venue: The Summerhouse, Maida Vale // Guitarist: The Amazing Adrian Benn // Planner: Rebecca at Harlequin & Romance // All the pretty little details: Little Paper Head.

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A Quirky Vintage London Wedding with a 'Super-Hero' Bride - The Reception

This eclectic vintage wedding is proof you can do pretty in London. With pastel lanterns, lace tissue bunting, and freshly picked flowers, you'd expect a marquee wedding venue, but Tasha and Niall decided to celebrate their wedding at their local - The Londesborough Pub. I've fallen for their relaxed wedding style and quirky details, from their Art Deco postcard guest book to their simple Victoria Sponge wedding cakes. Most of all, I love how happy they both look! Huge thanks to Michael from My Beautiful Bride, for his stunning pictures - hopefully more of his work coming soon on Before the Big Day.


We celebrated our wedding on 6th July 2013 in Stoke Newington in London. The ceremony was at Stoke Newington Town Hall, and we hosted our reception in the nearby Londesborough Pub. 

We’ve lived in Stoke Newington for the past few years, and love the area, so it seemed to make sense to get married here. We’ve been regulars in the Londesborough Pub for the while, too. It’s a gorgeous pub with lovely, friendly staff and the food is always amazing! The Town Hall then seemed the obvious option, as it is within walking distance of the pub!  

Our wedding photographs are by Michael, from My Beautiful Bride, who I also met at the wedding fair. We chose him because of his relaxed style of photography, and the effort he made to get to know us, and both our venues. 

Michael was the perfect choice; not only did he take beautiful photos, but he was a delight to work with. Neither Niall nor I enjoy having our photo taken, and we were both dreading it, but he made it so relaxing and enjoyable!


Much to my sister’s horror, there was no colour scheme! I’d say the theme, if you can call it that, was eclectic and vintage. We wanted the day to be as relaxed as possible, so the theme matched that. I was really keen to make sure that nothing looked too coordinated – it’s just not my style! 





Although we arranged for a wedding florist - Flowers by Kirsty - to make our bouquets, my best friend and I did all the flowers for the reception ourselves.
 

We got the flowers for the reception from a local florist in Stoke Newington (Evergreen and Outrageous). In keeping with my eclectic theme, I just chose flowers that I liked, without much regard for colour or style.

I had bought about 50 jars and bottles online {I briefly contemplated collecting them myself, but dismissed it as too much effort!}, and my friend and I then spent the night before the wedding arranging them in the jars. They were transported on the morning of the wedding in, amongst other things, a couple of old buckets and a saucepan!

For our wedding cake, we chose a simple Victoria Sponge, bought from Sponge. We didn't want to spend a huge amount of money on a cake most people would be too drunk to enjoy! So, we kept it simple, but displayed the cakes on vintage cake stands brought from eBay to make them look a bit more special. 

I loved planning my wedding - I'd do it all again! My main advice to other brides would be, don't focus on making everything perfect! Think instead about what will enable you and your husband-to-be to have fun on the day. We planned the day that was right for us, not what we were 'supposed' to do; the result was a day that everyone enjoyed. Oh, and make the wedding fit the budget, not the other way around ;)

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