Faye and Daniel tied the knot in June, they brought forward their day due to Faye’s pregnancy which gave them less time to plan their day. They opted for a church ceremony followed by a marquee reception in Essex.

Faye and Daniel wanted to hand make much of their day, with family and friends contributing their talents. There were the sweetest flower girls and page boys, an ice cream stand and elegant rose bouquets. Too gorgeous!

Thanks so much to the fantastic Gemma Lawrence for sharing her images with us today.

 

The Proposal… It was early on Christmas morning. Dan was randomly dressed as Father Christmas and woke me up earlier than I liked. Wearily I staggered into the lounge, as blind as a bat as he didn’t give me time to put my contact lenses in, and opened my presents which were a onsie and a something else! I was secretly disappointed by acted like they were the best presents ever. Eventually he asked me to look at my pyjamas again and i found a box in the pocket. Before i knew it he was on one knee and i was crying and the rest is a blur.

The Vision for the Day… A small, relaxed,  family wedding with a vintage feel.

The Planning Process… We were due to get married at the end of August but in mid January we unexpectedly discovered that we were having a baby so decided to bring the wedding forward by three months to early June. I was extremely unwell with morning sickness and Dan was on tour with the RAF in the middle East so we planned and communicated through email and Skype but to be honest lots of our organisation was last minute and homemade.

Budget… Under £12,000. Not sure of the exact figure

The Venue… Dan is from Mersea Island in Essex and we felt that the island provided the perfect backdrop for the relaxed, family wedding that we wanted. We were married in East Mersea’s local village church(St Edmund King and Martyr)and I fell in love with the church from the moment I first walked in there. The reception was held in the marquee in the grounds of East Mersea Brewery and Vineyard which we transformed and decorated ourselves.

The Dress + Accessories… Tiffany Rose, Georgia Vintage maternity gown  http://www.tiffanyrose.com/maternity/clothing/GGGI/Georgia-Maternity-Gown-(Vintage-Ivory).html with beaded sash.

Simple veil with pearls around the edge, earrings and bracelet from Debenhams and bag from an online shop called Etsy. Hair pieces were created by Charlotte Rose in Essex. Hair by Anna Rose and Makeup by Kelly Hollands.

Finding the Dress… I searched online for maternity gowns as i wasn’t sure how my bump would grow and if a normal dress would fit on the wedding day. I found a shop that stocked Tiffany Rose dresses in Surrey and I went for fittings the week before the wedding.

Groom’s Attire… RAF officer’s uniform (I think they’re called number ones- prob best not to quote me on that!)

The Readings + Music… Bride’s entrance: Pachelbel’s canon in D major. Hymns: Give me joy in my heart, Make me a channel of your peace, one more step along the world i go.

Readings: Never Marry but for love by William Penn (read by Dan’s sisters)An extract from the House at Pooh corner by A A Milne (read by Dan’s niece) and 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 (read by my close family friend and her daughter who was also a flower girl).

Beautiful Bridesmaids… My best friend of 22 years Angela  and my sister Janine. We had 4 flower girls (Ellen, 6- family friend) Grace, 4 (best man’s daughter), Christy 6 (Niece) and Elsie 2 (Niece) as well as 4 paige boys (Louis, 2, Sidney 5, Ronnie, 7 (the ring bearer ) and Sam, 6 (again nephews and god sons)

The Flowers… Dan’s mum’s friend Lesley. She was fantastic. I took a few photos of vintage inspired flower displays and she did the rest. I loved the flowers they looked so beautiful on the table and the sweet peas smelled gorgeous.

The Cake… our family friend (who has been friends with our family for a very long time), Rose made the cake from a photograph i found online. The cake was more beautiful than i could have imagined and tasted amazing. The fairy cakes were lovingly made by Dan’s sister Laura and were delicious. I think even Laura was surprised by her master baking skills.

Your Photographer… Gemma Lawrence photography. I fell in love with Gemma’s photos as soon as i saw them online.

The Details + Decor… All of the pom poms were handmade by myself and my sister. Children’s boxes were made Dan’s sister Laura. The chair covers by ‘Got it Covered’ in essex, simple white linen table cloths and vintage napkins. Candle holders and medicine bottles sources locally from shops in the leigh on sea area.

The Honeymoon… we went away for the wedding night and following night at the Satlhouse harbour hotel in Ipswich but didn’t have a proper honey moon as Dan went back on operations in the Middle East 3 days after the wedding. We spent the Sunday in Dedham and had a local pub lunch and went rowing on the river there. We may try to have an English cottage get away (somewhere like Southwold, Suffolk) at the end of August when Dan is back and before the baby comes!

Memorable Moments… SO many… Walking out of the church and through the sword party was a novel and fun experience. The amazing car that Dan organised. Playing uno with my mum, sister and Angela (and Gemma) before the wedding as we had so much spare time and were pretty relaxed and bored! The terrible, terrible(and highly inappropriate and long winded) joke my dad told as part of his speech. Cutting the cake with the sword. The vintage ice cream cart- parry’s ice cream, essex Seeing all of the children balloon sword fighting after the children’s entertainer had finished with them! Not being able to get Dan’s ring on during the wedding ceremony and the congregation erupting into laughter. Our first dance when we finally relaxed and realised that we were married and what a wonderful feeling it was. (And for me the baby karate kicking me during the hymns in the church.) The video that his cousin secretly made and posted online for us to discover on the Monday morning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4_bBw3mwFI

Advice for Other Couples… A DIY wedding is as stressful as you make it. It can be difficult to relax on the day as there isn’t anyone else overseeing the finer details but try to go with the flow, relax and enjoy it as much as you can. As much prior preparation and organisation before the day (think the smaller finer details of how things will run) will all help.

Credit Where Credit is Due…

Photography:  Gemma Lawrence Photography

Dress:  Tiffany Rose

 

Such an elegant and meaningful day. Thanks so much to Faye and Daniel for sharing their beautiful wedding with us today XOXO Lou