Our Wedding - homemade signs, the flowers & floral bunting

Wedding photography by Katherine Ashdown

So the next instalment in my wedding series is all about bouquets and bunting! From the very beginning we knew we wanted to create a very personal, homemade wedding and try and do as much of the creative graft as possible between ourselves and our amazingly helpful family. When my mum and I started discussing the flowers for the day we didn't think twice about doing them ourselves - I wanted to be able to look around on the day and see all our own little touches and details. The day before our wedding I headed to our local flower market where I had pre-ordered what felt like a field of gypsophila and stocks to pick up a car-full of country flowers. For my bridesmaids I made a simple bouquet of gypsophila tied together with a cream lace ribbon and for my own bouquet I grouped together three purple and pink hydrangea heads interspersed with a few sprigs of gypsophila for a pretty country feel.

For our church decorations we filled large, pastel-coloured enamel jugs with handfuls of stocks, wild daisies, gypsophila and gladioli to add height and fill the large stain glass window arches. We had a lovely friend in the village who offered to grow us practically a meadow of sweet peas which we picked the day before and placed in jam jars to line the aisle pews and dot around the church and marquee. We left them in the church the day before so during the service the church smelt beautiful and the scent of sweet peas will now forever remind me of our wedding. I wanted a feature for outside the church so my mum offered to make a heart to hang over the arched doorway which would be a lovely touch for the we're-just-married photos as we exited the church. I was blown away by her lavender heart that she seemingly just 'whipped' up the few days before and it was a beautiful focal point for all the guests as they arrived. For the flowers in our marquee we filled mismatched jugs, which we collected over the past year from antique stores, with stocks, gypsophila, lysantheum, nigella and daisies for a freshly picked look. I never wanted a colour scheme for our wedding but much preferred a floral country theme, light pastels and pretty hues set against a clean fresh palette. Rob's dad grew and nurtured apple boxes of country flowers which we dotted around the marquee to frame our venue and add a splash of colour.

For our confetti we bought dried natural petals from Shropshire Petals Confetti and used it to fill some musical sheet confetti cones we found on eBay. We loved the idea of having lots of chalkboard signs dotted around our church and marquee reception to convey little messages and menus to our guests. We bought a host of shabby chic looking frames from The Range and then painted them in a rainbow of pastel shades before painting the board inside with chalkboard paint. Over the few months leading up to the wedding I laboured over our signs whilst Rob's dad constructed some amazing signposts for our field which made a really fun feature for our guests as they arrived. As our church service and wedding reception was literally 30 seconds walk away from each other we decided to have a procession from the church to the marquee down the lane led my our two favourite little boys bearing some homemade signs which Rob constructed and painted and I wrote a few days before. I loved this photo of us all walking down and it was such a joyous moment right after becoming husband and wife.

I had always had a vision in my head of how I wished our marquee to look and I think we definitely achieved my Pinterest dream. We hired our traditional marquee from Cambridge Marquees and then we dressed and decorated it all ourselves. Our mums were absolute angels and made over 100 metres of gorgeous floral and gingham bunting which we proudly hung in the marquee and outside the church. It was really so beautiful and it was the best wedding gift they could have ever given us and will be something we will use again and cherish forever. The paper lanterns came from eBay and we bought some helium tassel tail giant balloons from Bubblegum Balloons which looked so sweet swaying in the breeze and were the perfect prop for one of our couple shoots later in the afternoon, as were our LOVE and R&M light up letters which we hired from Doris Loves. So dreamy against the pink sunset at the end of a truly perfect day.

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Our Wedding - makeup, the halo braid & my special perfume

Wedding photography by Katherine Ashdown

Once my dress was decided upon my thoughts turned to the next most important thing in any bride's wedding checklist - the hair, the makeup and those other crucial aspects in the beautifying regime. I have to be honest here and say that I was far too laid back about my hair and makeup and due to the sheer amount of preparation work we were doing for our big day in the final couple of weeks, the beauty side of things which should have been such a big part of my planning, were seriously put on the back burner.

Regarding my makeup I knew that I wanted a very soft, natural look - I wanted Rob to recognise me as the girl he sees and loves everyday so there was no point heavily lining my eyes, slicking on a red lipstick or trialling out a smoky eyeshadow. I wanted to look like me and I certainly knew I had accumulated enough products throughout my years of beauty blogging to know that I didn't need to buy any last minute purchases, bar Illamasqua's skin base foundation which is amazing. I wanted to do my makeup myself on the day (the control freak within me would not have felt comfortable having anyone else doing it) and I personally find the whole process quite calming. My main concerns for my makeup on my day was the fact that it was a hot, hot day so it needed to last, photograph nicely and fit with my dress and hair. I wanted to focus on peachy-gold tones with highlighted, radiant skin and peachy-pink lips. So here are the products I used...

Face - Benefit POREfessional primer, Illamasqua skin base foundation, NARS creamy radiant concealer, YSL Touche Eclat, MAC mineralise skin finish natural powder, Benefit Hoola bronzer, Benefit gimme brow gel, MAC Soft & Gentle highlighter, Benefit Coralista blush, MAC Well Dressed blush, Bobbi Brown Pink Quartz Shimmer Brick

Eyes - MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot to prime, Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, Clarins taupe crayon kohl, YSL Babydoll mascara, Rimmel Scandaleyes nude eye liner

Lips - Maybelline baby lips to prep, MAC Fleur d'coral (also used MAC Creme Cup throughout the day) Bobbi Brown Bare Sparkle lip gloss

I was going to wear MAC's false lashes as I was so scared of crying all my mascara off and looking like a panda for the rest of the day but I was having a bit of a mare on the morning with trying to put them on so opted for waterproof mascara and hoped for the best. As it happened I didn't shed one tear all day despite being the girl that sobs at Don't Tell the Bride every week! I think I was just so happy all day my emotions were overcome with beaming smiles rather than happy tears.

For my hair I had toyed with many ideas in the run up to my wedding. I thought I was going to be the boho bride in a floral crown from the very start but once I had picked my dress and thought more about it, I realised that it wasn't really the look I wanted for our day. I knew I had to have my hair up a) because I wanted to accentuate the low back of my dress and b) my hair can suffer quite a lot from any sign of rain or humidity (hello Monica in Barbados) so with thunderstorms and humidity predicted on our wedding day, I didn't want to risk a frizzy disaster. In actual fact we had bright sunshine and clear skies all day which was the most wonderful blessing but I still was so thankful to have all my hair off my face. I enlisted my friend and freelance wedding hair specialist Emily to do my and the bridesmaids' hair on the morning and she was a superstar. After softly waving the bridesmaids' hair and pinning it to the side she neatly plaited my hair into a halo braid, pulling a few strands loose around my face to soften the look. I always love the fun, relaxed look of braids and plaits and knew that style would fit in perfectly with our wedding theme. I really just need to learn to do this style on myself now!

For my wedding perfume I was treated to a special wedding consultation with Jo Malone at their boutique store on Sloane Street where I was taken through their scents and given the chance to experience how you can develop a bespoke fragrance by layering two or more of your favourites together. I fell in love with the sparkling floral scent of Orange Blossom layered with the prettiness of Peony & Blush Suede. It was lovely to have a unique scent to wear on my day and one that will always provoke the happy memories from our wedding every time I spritz it. As a sweet gesture I also gifted my bridesmaids with the Jo Malone Orange Blossom cologne so they too could have a scent to remember the occasion by and it also meant they could mirror my perfume throughout the day. It will forever be my wedding scent now and it makes me so happy every time I go to use Orange Blossom or Peony & Blush Suede and automatically transports me back to the morning of our wedding.

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Our Wedding - my dress and those pretty petticoats

All photographs from Katherine Ashdown, our incredible wedding photographer (more on her in another post!)

So...I'm married! If you are a keen follower of my instagram or twitter (pinkpixiedoll) then this is old news to you but five weeks ago to the day I married my sweetheart in the heart of the English countryside surrounded by our favourite people and an abundance of bunting, sweet peas and vintage tea cups that really made our day more than we ever had hoped for. I have been so excited to blog about our perfect day and share with you all the details, the tales, the dress and those shoes but think there is far too much to say in one long post. So I have decided to start a wedding series and depict our day throughout a succession of blog posts focussing on different aspects of the day. I have had lots of questions and interest in certain aspects from our wedding so I hope these posts will really capture the happiness and love from our day and will also give me the chance to share with you all my various suppliers along with some tips and advice on planning your dream wedding.

So here is my first post all about our wedding outfits. The dress, those floral bow ties and the prettiest, twirliest bridesmaids dresses I have ever seen! (I know I biased...). My dress is the Felda dress from Enzoani. Naturally, being a girl who loves clothes a little too much, I was really excited to go wedding dress shopping with my mum in tow late last year and could not have had a more lovely experience after visiting Bellissima Weddings in Essex. The shop exudes a feeling of calm and elegance and the moment I stepped in and saw the rows of lace and tulle, the ivory satin and pretty embellishment, I knew I wanted to get my dress from there. Luckily I pretty much knew the style I wanted - lace fishtail with a vintage flair, straps or sleeves, nothing big or princess-y, no sparkles just classic...timeless. That said, it still took a good 30-40 dresses until I found the one but it was definitely worth the two visits and numerous try ons. A beaming Mum as I exited the dressing room and a few butterflies in my tummy convinced me that this was my dress. Laura, the owner and my assistant throughout the process, was incredible at offering quiet guidance and her professional opinion whilst being my fellow shoe admirer throughout my visits. I think I arrived with a different pair of Vivienne Westwood Melissas in hand every time I went but finally settled on the Vivienne Westwood Gold Bow Melissa heels on the day. I had the dress taken in a little at the back to create an even more fishtail silhouette and had some some cups sewn in so I could go bra-less but still keep a feminine profile and then I sourced and added the silk ribbon myself. I did feel pretty wonderful in my dress on the day and will cherish it, and the memories of my shopping experience, for a long time to come.

My handsome husband wore a bespoke suit from Gresham Blake in Brighton which we designed ourselves together and chose everything from the colour, cut and lining to the finer details like the button eyelet stitch colour and having our wedding date stitched to the inside jacket pocket. They did such a fine job creating his dream suit and I have to say I think he looked very dapper as I saw him for the first time standing at the end of the aisle. His shoes were from Jasper Conran and shirt was Ralph Lauren. From the very moment I began wedding planning I had the vision of having all the boys in floral bow ties and luckily Rob and his fellow best man and ushers were more than happy with my idea. We bought the bow ties from Folksy and Rob's mum then rustled up some pocket squares to compliment their outfits.

For the best man and ushers we wanted to keep the attire in keeping with our relaxed, English country style wedding and didn't want them feeling uncomfortable and stuffy in formal suits so decided chinos and blazers were the way to go. The sand-coloured chinos from River Island complimented the soft pastel blue blazers from H&M perfectly, whilst the best man sported a pink pin-striped jacket from ASOS. Seeing the boys all dressed up in their floral bow ties looking so smart and happy really was one of the most amazing moments from the day.

And now to my girls, the gorgeous bridesmaids who looked incredible in their Vivien of Holloway 50s circle dresses and dusky rose petticoats, meaning they could twirl and twirl all night long (and that they did!) From the very beginning I had a definite idea of what sort of dress I wanted my bridesmaids to wear and of course it would feature a floral print! We visited Vivien of Holloway on Holloway Road in London as I have always admired the 50s dress style with the nipped waist and flared skirt and knew the fit would suit all my lovely ladies. After we decided on the Cream Bouquet dresses I knew that there was only was thing that would make these dresses picture perfect and that was the additional of a dusky rose petticoat. And what fun we had spinning and twirling in the shop, testing them all out. The girls looked so fantastic in their new dresses and fluffy underskirts that I couldn't resist treating myself to one myself which I wore for my engagement shoot here. Their pink slingback kitten heels were from Dune and were the perfect shade and heel height to compliment the dresses and withstand a day of bridesmaids duties and an evening of dancing and twirling in fields around our wedding. Our goddaughter was our beautiful flower girl for the day and wore a ditsy print dress from Cath Kidston and a gypsophila crown we made on the morning for her. She looked suitably adorable!

Coming up next...new posts all about our wedding decorations, the flowers, the food and my wedding hair and makeup so stay tuned!

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