I so love it when WWW readers get in touch with me, especially readers who submit their super duper beautiful weddings :-)

Vivienne  and Peter were married in July of last year in Brighton, followed by a village hall reception full of fab DIY and crafty elements they put together themselves. I especially love the LOVE sign in lights, totally fun and funky.

Vivienne looks amazing in her stylish gown and accessories, as does groom Peter. I am head over heels for the blue hydrangeas in this wedding, it reminds me why they are one of my favourite blooms. Their day was brought together on a budget of just £5000, which was totally family friendly. Its great to see the children having as good of a time as their parents.

Thanks so much to Hugh Fox for sharing his images with us today…

Names…. Vivienne and Peter

Wedding Date…. 9th July 2011

The Proposal…. Under a starlit sky on the stroke of midnight, New Year’s Eve, Brighton. After 13 years together!

The Vision for the day…. Family and friends together, sunshine, music and laughter our children being part of a very special day.

The Planning process…. We loved the planning process, I spent hours researching budget ways to make it beautiful. We looked at what we wanted then what we could afford and then found some middle ground. The music we had was really important to us and it was a truly lovely time spending hours choosing the right things, drinking wine and singing along!

Budget…. £5000

The Venue… a non religious ceremony at Brighton Unitarian Church followed by a party at the village hall in Alfriston.

The Dress + Accessories… A long cream dress with pleated silk train  by Brighton designer Sarah Arnett, gold and cream suede Italian t-strap sandals, a feather shrug, an ebay find, a vintage beaded bag leant to me by a close friend, my late Nanna’s gold watch and a necklace by Ridley and Dowse (I am the Ridley in Ridley and Dowse!) and a single silk flower hairclip.…..

Finding the dress…. I went to a sample sale of Sarah Arnett’s work in Brighton, I love her print dresses and bought one that evening then as we were leaving my friend pointed out that she had a selection of sample wedding dresses for sale I tried on a couple in a busy makeshift fitting room and it was decision made. I couldn’t believe I had a beautiful designer dress and it was reduced from £1500 to £100. Sarah’s work is amazing she has recently launched her latest collection in Liberty. Through work I have recently met Sarah a few times; she is so talented and lovely that somehow it added even more magic to my purchase. A lovely woman in Lewes did some minor alterations and stitched a blue ribbon in the seam for my something blue

Groom’s attire… A beautiful dark blue suit with a grey trim from Jaeger grey shirt from Next, a matching tie, Jaeger and Ben Sherman tan brogues

The Readings + Music… Our talented neighbour and friend played the piano for us in church, music by Yann Tierson (from the film Amelie) amongst others as guest arrived. Dream a Little Dream of Me (Mammas and the Pappas) as we walked together down the aisle and Here Comes the Sun (TheBeatles) as we left. Peter’s Auntie read The Invitaion by Oriah and Peter’s mum read Anne Morrow Lindbergh Gift from the Seas

Another talented friend sang a song called Stars for us accompanied by a friend of hers on guitar,she was amazing.

At the reception we played CDs of carefully selected tracks followed by a set by the band The Morning Orchestra and then our good friend Ben took over dj duties

Beautiful bridesmaids….. My little girl Kitty looked beautiful in a cream silk dress with ribbon trim by I Love Gorgeous, some lovely friends bought it as a gift for her, After the wedding I sent in a photograph of her at the wedding for their gallery and she won another beautiful dress. Cream leather shoes from Verbaudet which I added flowers to and she wore simple flower hairclips and carried a mini version of my bouquet.

My sister Caroline was my best woman, looking amazing in a blue silk dress from Hobbs, Vivienne Westwood shoes in pink and a cocktail hat from John Lewis.The florist made her a wrist corsage on blue ribbon.

And I need to mention my handsome boy Ellis who look so good in a suit from Next, and blue converse high tops.

The Flowers… Lots of blue hydrangeas with peachy pink roses and mixed green foliage by the inspirational florist Kate Langdale.

The Cake… A very simple but beautiful 3 tier cake topped with a tiny handmade vase with blue hydrangeas. The largest tier was carrot cake especially for Peter.

Your Photographer…. Hugh Fox, I met Hugh at a photo shoot through work and so I felt relaxed about him being there. We asked him for a non intrusive record of our day except for a picture of all guest together outside the church. He did just that, perfectly.

The Details + Decor…. The church looks beautiful as it is so we just added some jars of the blue hydrangeas and tied small posies of the same on the aisle seats with thick blue ribbon.

The Hall was a blank canvas, we made paper pom poms, hung metres of fairy lights, made a bar area with string curtains and a sign I made from polystyrene letters covered in sequins  I had Perspex and wood laser cut to make love signs designed by my business partner that I incorporated berry lights, we covered paper shades with tissue paper petals and hung them in the trees outside. My collection of vintage cake stands came into play on the cake table along with cake decorations( again made by the business I am a partner in) We decorated trestle tables with plain Ikea fabric and brown paper and filled jam jars with more blue hydrangeas and hired simple wooden chairs and finally set up a little photo booth with wigs and props that kept adults and children alike entertained. The very funny Mr Pineapple Head also came along to entertain the children too.

A local caterer provide table picnic style food, a way of sitting down together to eat which we really wanted to do  but without the cost of a traditional sit down meal. Claire from The Buttercup café and her staff  really did work hr magic for us
My sister who lives in Italy organised a shipment of Prosecco with friends who visited her and friends and family pulled together to make a show stopping dessert table.

The Honeymoon…. Not in the budget but my lovely sisters arranged a collection of a honeymoon fund from guests as we had requested no gifts. So still to be taken but a trip to New York or Paris is now  being planned.

Memorable moments… Getting in the MG we had hired and feeling no fear at all just excitement which carried on all day. My son giving the rings to us during the service, saying  the vows we wrote together, my little girl throwing confetti and above all the happiness of all good friends and family together just having fun and finally my little boy telling me I looked beautiful.

Advice for other couples… A friend commented the next day,” Pete and Viv now that’s what I call a wedding, love laughter, groovy people and  great dance floor tunes. We had achieved what we set out to do have amazing fun getting there too. Do it your way.

Credit where credit’s due…

Ceremony http://www.brightonunitarian.org.uk/index2.html
Reception venue http://www.alfriston-village.co.uk/awmh/
Photographer http://hughfox.co.uk/
Brighton stockist of Sarah Arnett Bridal collectionhttp://hopeandharlequin.com/
Bridesmaid dress http://www.ilovegorgeous.co.uk/
Grooms suit http://www.jaeger.co.uk/?gclid=CNyVzc2niK8CFQkRfAodgjua9g
Florist http://www.katelangdale.com/
Catering http://thebuttercupcafe.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/can-can-lewes/
Cake http://www.cakelife.co.uk/
Band http://www.myspace.com/themorningorchestra
Car http://www.vanillaclassics.com/
Vintage bus http://www.buses.co.uk/trips/wedding_hire.aspx

Thanks so much to Vivienne and Peter for sharing their super fun wedding :-) XOXO Lou

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