16.08.2012
Afternoon lovelies :-) I thought i’d treat you to another wedding today.. yay!!
Michelle and Darren were married in May of last year at the lovely Lillibrooke Manor, Maidenhead. Seeing as festivals are a big part of their lives, they wanted their wedding to reflect that. Calling their wedding ‘wedding fest 2011′, with their invitations looking like tickets, a festival line up table plan and of course wellies.
I love Michelle’s 1950s inspired dress, the pretty blooms, the scrumptious looking cake, and the beautiful barn decorated so wonderfully.
Thanks so much to Richard Jones Photography for sharing his brilliant imagery with us today.
Name… Michelle and Darren
Date… 14th May 2011
Proposal… We had just moved in to our new home that day, I pretended that I’d found something users in a drawer in the bedroom and asked Michelle to come and have a look. This allowed me to be on one knee when she walked towards me without raising any suspicions. I then opened the little heart shape box to show her the ring and asked if she would make me the happiest man on earth by marrying me. She was so shocked she forgot to answer.
Vision… We wanted the day to be relaxed, chilled out, filled with all our friends and family and above all a proper good party. We chose the theme of a festival as festivals have always been an integral part of our summers, before and after we met each other, so we called it ‘Wedding Fest 2011′. Our invitations were designed to look like festival tickets. Our seating plan was laid out like a festival line-up with tables named after different stages and the guests as the acts performing.
Planning… We decided that we didn’t want a long engagement so set ourselves the challenge of planning our wedding in 5 months. We really enjoyed planning our day, thinking of novel ideas to create a festival vibe and make sure our guests had as brilliant a time as we knew we would. We asked all our guests to choose a track to be played during the party and spent a long time pre mixing them into the perfect order to get the party started!
Venue… Lillibrooke Manor, Maidenhead
Dress and accessories… 50′s style strapless short dress with a lace bolero. The necklace and bracelet were my something old – both presents from the groom. The gorgeous pearl and diamond flower that I wore in my hair was borrowed from one of the bridesmaids from her wedding. I found the perfect shoes to compliment my dress at a bridal fair and I secretly placed a blue diamanté letter D on the bottom of one shoe to complete my four ‘something’s’
Finding the dress… the dress was from a little shop in Beaconsfield called Pure Couture, the only shop I went to. I knew I wanted something vintage looking but slightly more fun than the normal full length gowns. It was the first dress I tried on and I knew straight away it was the one! My bridesmaids tears confirmed it.
Grooms attire… the groom and two best men wore prince Edward style three piece, charcoal grey with pink waistcoat and ruffle, matching the brides bouquet
Readings and music… the ceremony was split into two, a civil service followed by a blessing from the grooms father, who is a lay preacher. The inclusion of the ‘religious bit’ made it very special and personal. We asked two very good friends to do a reading each and let them choose what they read. One was beautifully written especially for us and meant so much and the other was taken from a 1940′s how to be a perfect housewife book which raised a few laughs. The bride walked down the aisle to Teardrop – by Massive Attack and we walked out of the ceremony to Feeling Good – the Muse version.
The Bridesmaids… My 3 closest friends were my lovely bridesmaids. I wanted the girls to feel comfortable and beautiful – the dresses were dark grey and light pink in a floaty strapless style which flattered all their shapes. My godson was a very cheeky and handsome ring bearer in a mini version of the groom and best men’s outfits.
Flowers… The bridal flowers were vintage style dusky pink, cream and grey/purple roses.
The cake… A beautiful and yummy white chocolate 2 tier cake made by the mother of the groom, and some beautiful cupcakes made by the Bride’s best friend which were served in the garden whilst the photos were taking place.
Photographer… Richard Jones – who made us feel relaxed and captured our day perfectly.
Details and decor… The room where we had the ceremony, the ‘animal engine room’ was kept quite classic and vintage in decor. The flowers in here matched the bouquets and button holes and were displayed in cream tin buckets. We bought various whicker, tin and material hearts to hang from the beams to create a romantic look. The reception room was where we really implemented our festival theme. The flowers on the table were bright oranges, pinks and yellows, displayed in jugs and the brilliant florist that we used designed some wellingtons with flowers in which looked fabulous. We decorated the barn with brightly coloured lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a screen on the dance floor on which we projected our Wedding Fest logo and some other visuals during the disco. Our favours we put together ourselves, using heart shaped sweets in small paper bags, each sealed with a peg – they looked great. We also made vodka jelly shots for each of our guests which went down extremely well. We kept everything informal, having the speeches first so everyone could relax and a lovely BBQ as our wedding breakfast.
Honeymoon… 4 nights in Rio de Janiero followed by 7 nights on Isla Grande ending with 3 nights in Argentina just by the Iguaza Falls.
Memorable Moments… our first kiss as man and wife, everyone singing along to ‘Loving You’ by Minnie Riperton – our first dance, the smiles on everyone’s faces all day and seeing everyone getting on so well and having a great time. And finding out on our honeymoon that we were going to become parents!
Advice for other couples… Savour every single moment because time flies and before you know it the day is over. Don’t stress the small stuff – all that really matters is that your friends and family are there to share you special day.
Credit where credit is due…
Sonning flowers www.sonningflowers.com
Pure Couture www.purecouture.co.uk
Jolliffes www.jolliffes.co.uk
Ambassador Catering www.
Are you planning a festival style wedding? I just love a festival themed do, now i just need to get to my first festival ;-)
Thanks so very much to Michelle and Darren for sharing Wedding Fest 2011 with us XOXO Lou
8 Comments
Tags: Barn Wedding, Festival Wedding, Lillibrooke Manor, Pink Wedding Ideas, Real Weddings, Richard Jones Photography, Rose Bouquet
Tags: Barn Wedding, Festival Wedding, Lillibrooke Manor, Pink Wedding Ideas, Real Weddings, Richard Jones Photography, Rose Bouquet
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Monday, August 27th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
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Julie says:
THis looks so lovely! I totally want a festival themed wedding when I get married. Loving the colour of the bridesmaids dresses too. Looks like a really fun day! x
Sam B says:
Beautiful - they look so happy :-) Congrats! xxxx
Sarah says:
I love Michelle's bolero - super elegant!
Andrew Billington Photography says:
Great looking day and some beautiful images to support it. I always love a bouquet in a pair of wellies!
Wedding Hair Accessories says:
oh wow some amazing Hair Facinators and love the flowers in the wellies nice touch
Modern Weddings Hawaii says:
Aw this wedding looks fabulous! We just adore how this couple used heart-shaped items in their wedding decor -- and we just can't forget the use of different colors to bring life to the rustic location. Cute idea with the flowers in the boots!
Lou says:
thanks so much everyone :-) xx