So here they are, finally, our wedding photos, not all of them but just a snapshot of the day, all taken by the talented Sarah Bunting of styling & events company, What Peggy Did Next. Sarah was once upon a time my Editor in Chief at the fashion & trends forecasting company I used to work for so it was lovely having someone I know being our photographer, although it made it all the more emotional! I’ve also included some lovely photos that my Dad took, as being another super talented photographer, he just couldn’t resist snapping away, as much as my Mum was trying to stop him!
We knew quite early on how we wanted our big day; relaxed, summery, rustic and outdoorsy with a lot of DIY. We really wanted the day to be individual to us, not just an off the shelf style wedding and it really was that as we had to source literally everything ourselves, from the flowers and decorations to the cutlery and placemats, EVERYTHING. And this was no mean feat I can tell you! Our venue, The Great Barn was literally a shell that was being renovated, to be completed by the time of our wedding, so there was a lot to do.
As my friends and family know quite well, I’m a worrier. I get anxious and tied up inside with just the thought of being late for a train or forgetting something when going away, so when deciding to go down this route of sourcing everything myself, I don’t think I realised how much pressure I was putting on myself. But everything seemed to come together quite coincidentally which was quite freaky at times but I kept taking it as a sign that everything would work out, and it really did. For example, we were just about to put a deposit down on a venue in the New Forest, which we loved but weren’t 100% on for a number of reasons, when Dan suggested we enquire about a local barn he knew of and used to go fishing near. It was a bit derelict but he had read in the paper that it was being taken over by a local theatre company. So, I called on the off chance, and it just so happened that they were just discussing the possibility of holding weddings there and we were the first to enquire – so we arranged a meeting. The barn is just 5 minutes from our house, was under half the price of the other venue and was 10 times as beautiful, we found a winner!
There were a lot of DIY elements of the day which included all the stationery, designed by myself, reflecting the high summer wild flower theme of the day – stay tuned for pictures! The flowers were all grown by my mother-in-law and she even arranged them all too – all the bouquets/button holes, head dresses, ceremony archway, the strawberry plant table plan and strawberry hanging baskets! The strawberry idea came from my now husband as our local area was once known as a big strawberry growing community. The pom pom decorations were made by my bridesmaids, the ornate glassware and jam jars were collected by my friends, family and I and the blackboard signs were made by my Dad & written by me. My Mum made and decorated the delicious fruit wedding cake and the dessert table was made possible by my friends & family. We even put the bar together ourselves – we sourced some old wine barrels and a reclaimed table top for our second bar. All of these things were really important as it meant everything was unique to our wedding.
Now to talk about the dress. This was another strange coincidence as I had always imagined the kind of dress I wanted and even considered getting it made as I had sketched my dream dress shortly after Dan proposed – why wait eh! But then by some magical intervention, I didn’t need to as I found it, already brought to life by Spanish wedding dress label Pronovias. It was quite scary how accurate it was to my drawing; the graduating lace with illusion neckline, subtle fishtail silhouette and open lace back – it was clearly meant to be! And the fact it was by Pronovias was also quite funny. One of my bridesmaids had worked in a bridal shop since school and with me studying fashion at college, she had given me a bag of scrap fabric from the shop to use in one of my projects, along with a massive Pronovias catalogue she thought I might like, which I LOVED and still have to this day, so to find my dream dress and then to realise it was a Pronovias was another meant to be moment!
My shoes, had to be blue (I was often called smurfette by my friends when I was younger) and I found a gorgeous pair (after much searching) with asymmetric straps in suede at Next for just £30 and they were soooo comfortable. I went for minimal accessories and initially even dismissed the idea of a veil, until my sister found the most gorgeous elbow length design with lace trim that perfectly matched the dress. I was having one of my dress fittings when she just plonked it on my head, and that was that. I always knew I wanted a floral headdress as well so I decided to have both a day and an evening look. For jewellery, I chose to wear the first pair of earrings Dan ever bought me, I borrowed my Nan’s engagement ring (something borrowed) from my Mum. stacked on my heart ring I have worn since I was 10 (something old) and my parents bought me a beautiful gold bracelet for the occasion (something new) too.
The day itself was incredible and went just far too quickly. It was the hottest day of the year, and as our best man said in his speech, “a great day for a wedding but not for suits”. Considering my rep for being a worrier, I still can’t believe how relaxed I was the whole day, especially in the morning, even my hairdresser said how I was the most relaxed bride she has ever worked with! But I guess I saw no point in stressing, there was nothing more I could do, all the planning and set up had been done, and it was finally time to enjoy it and marry my best friend on our 11 year anniversary!
There are just too many special moments throughout the day to mention but some that stick firmly in my mind include:
– Holding my Dad’s hand as he walked me down the isle.
– Dan holding my hand with the biggest smile on his face throughout the ceremony.
– My bridesmaid Rosie’s beautiful ceremony reading that she wrote herself.
– The FOOD (of course) – we had a sit down hog roast, with homemade apple sauce, coleslaw, corn on the cob, Mediterranean veg and roast potatoes with a help yourself dessert table made by our friends and family.
– My Dad’s and my husband’s speeches which were so heart warming. They were both so nervous but did so well.
– Dan & I playing table football with our little cousins, and me being a little bit too competitive.
– My sister/Maid of Honour performing ‘I’d rather be’ by Clean Bandit at our evening reception.
– My Bridesmaid Kelly performing a song she had wrote just for the occasion, which made me cry, a lot.
– Our first dance to Ed Sheeran’s ‘Kiss Me’ and coming home with a mountain of wedding cake and sitting up with my husband eating cake, absolutely buzzing, reliving the whole day. It was perfect.
My advice for any brides to-be out there, which I was given myself, is to take the time to step back and take it in throughout the day, these are moments that you will really remember. Also, it may sound like a given, but at so many weddings, you barley see the bride and groom actually enjoying the day together, so make the effort to spend as much time greeting and chatting to guests together. Dan and I made a little pact to stick together and am so glad that we did.
Clockwise from top left:
Food | Fashion | Salvage 