I am feeling daunted by writing about the wedding, since there are a fajillion photos and things to say. And at the same time I feel like I can’t write about anything else until I at least give you an overview of the wedding! This is stupid, I know, so I’m just going to make a start at some wedding details. I’ll probably circle around back to all of these in more detail, but I just wanted to get something out there so I can get back to popping into blog whenever I want to say something!
As a way of getting a bit of an overview of what the wedding was like, I thought I’d share a letter I received from one of my bridesmaids shortly after the wedding (with a curated selection of printed photos – note to wedding guests, this was SO nice to receive!)…
My bridesmaids are the first four on the left (we will talk about mismatched bridesmaids!
What an absolutely fantastic, wonderful, amazing weekend! Thank you so much for the honour of being your bridesmaid and for entrusting me with your eyebrows and nails! You looked completely gorgeous and completely YOU, and in fact, that description extends itself to the whole weekend. From the handmade bunting to the afternoon tea, and the flowers (real and on fabric!), and the gingham tablecloths, and the pot plants and all the homemade touches… it was just PERFECT and I truly enjoyed every second… helping to decorate the marquee the day before, getting ready with you in the morning, following you down the aisle, chatting up a storm with all your friends, dancing the ceilidh…. I take my hat off to you for being so organised, thinking everything through so carefully, and for remaining so calm and collected throughout the whole weekend! You looked like you thoroughly enjoyed yourself and that is what is important.
Here are some pictures illustrating some of the things LB mentioned….
I wore a pretty robe Mr V had bought me a few years ago to get ready – I liked that it was blue!
The only arrangements we ordered from a florist were my bouquet, the bouttonieres and a hanging ball thingy for the church lynchgate. The bridesmaid flowers were arranged by one of the bridesmaids – who went to Covent Garden flower market and then bought them all in a bucket on the train! (What a hero)
Pew end arrangements in the church – these were done by my Mum and her friends in the village with a few bought blooms but mainly flowers from everyone’s gardens. I’ll do more about the church flowers – there were plenty more!
Shooooooes. We didn’t have a theme but “swallows” emerged as a motif, and again, they were blue!
The tables all had different table cloths that I’d collected, a mixture of gingham and vintage floral embroidery.
My mum and I spent an enjoyable morning a few days before the wedding picking ten different pot plants, which we put into old terracota pots she had already. Total cost of ten centrepieces? £40. (Oh, and about £10 total for all the clippy on mini chalkboards.)
Tiny selection of the 50 metres of bunting I made!
Pom poms in the bar area (and blue mason jars!) I’d had a totally different vision for how these would look, but at 6 o’clock on the day of marquee set up, I delegated the whole job to a bridesmaid and I love how it turned out!
A friend made us this fymo figurine as part of the Homemade Secret Santa we do every year. I was going to make the cake bunting myself, but all my attempts looked awful so I drafted in a friend to finish it for me! (You can see the scones from our afternoon cream tea in the background)
Our dinner was hog roast served family style. So tasty.
The jam jar arrangements from the church got transferred to the farm and put on these hooks to form a pathway up to the marquee. My step dad MADE the hooks and my mum hand-sewed the lace onto the jars. When it got dark, these got replaced with little hanging lanterns (watching my new father-in-law hang the lanterns with his brother is one of my favourite memories of the wedding… I think just because it looked exactly as I imagined and everyone had said it would be too complicated to swap them, but I could tell the two of them were having a good chat!
I didn’t think you’d let me get away with another post where I didn’t show you my whole dress! Mr V didn’t tell me he was going to wear these shoes and he had no idea mine were the same colour! The mysterious Mr V wore a three piece tweed suit and a green tie. He looked so handsome.
YAY! Everything looks gorgeous and despite only ‘knowing’ you through your blog almost exactly what I imagined your day would look like. One of my bridesmaids has just got engaged an her pinterest page is beginning to look very similar so I’ll be forwarding on this and any other posts you do!! xoxox
Oh I also love your flowers 🙂
Aww, thanks Ashleigh! Whereabouts in the country is your friend?
Oh it looks fabulous! So glad it all went swimmingly and you should be really proud as you’ve done an amazing job with all the handmade goodies!
Aww thanks Sabs!
Looks amazing! Love the flowers and all the details. The ‘homemade’ aspect and getting the whole family/community involved is so special. Now it’s baby time 😉 love xxx
Thanks,Z! And, haha, I think we won’t get the whole family/community quite so involved in the baby time bit!
Everything was absolutely gorgeous!
And thank you for this post, as it reminded me that I need a guestbook pen holder!
Thanks Melanie! I can’t wait to see all your wedding details!
I love all of these details! The bunting turned out beautifully and your bouquet is amazing (I love the color palette). I especially that you two matched shoe color!
Thanks Kristen! I was really pleased with how the bunting came out (lots lots more, soon!) and I loved our florist (it was even better first thing in the morning!). She had the cutest little shop down a cobbled street and was lovely.
I love everything about your wedding! It’s absolutely beautiful!! I love your bouquet and the flowers down the church aisle. The jam jars on hooks are gorgeous and I love that you had matching shoes!!
Aww thank you Christine! I’m glad you liked everything!
What an awesome coincidence having matching shoes! Everything looks gorgeous and it looks like you had so much fun. And afternoon tea?! I’m jealous, I love scones!
Beautiful everything! I’m a little late but congrats!!!
Aww, thanks Amanda!
Love the jars of flowers! How did you hang them securely? A beautiful wedding!
Hi Denise! The jars had string tied around them (my mum did this, I can ask her how if need be) and then were attached to the pews using a hook my stepfather made. If you google “pew end hooks” then you should find something similar!
Is that what you meant? If you meant the hooks outside at the marquee let me know!
Hi Denise, just come across this tutorial on facebook in case you were looking for how to attach the sting to the jars… http://postroadvintage.com/2011/04/diy-hanging-mason-jar-lantern-or-vase-make-it-for-mom.html