Laura and Simon wanted a wedding that felt like them. They didn’t pick one particular theme. “We didn’t really have a set ‘theme’,” explained the bride. “With so many fantastic sources of inspiration we simply couldn’t decide and commit to one thing. At the beginning, we felt overwhelmed, but soon realised that we needed to focus less on the best bits of other people’s weddings, and more on what we actually wanted for our own. It was important that whatever we chose reflected our relationship, interests and personalities and this is exactly what helped us to bring it all together.”
“We knew we didn’t want the wedding to be traditional or stuffy, but we wanted it to be quite classic with some eccentric touches. We wanted to incorporate a nautical element too as it linked back to our engagement which happened on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. We also introduced the vintage element with pastel colours as we’re both inspired by alternative fashion and trends, and it suited the décor of the venue.”
The ceremony was one of the main areas where they did things their own way. “I had my dad walk me up the aisle, but then my mum gave me away”, Laura said. “I wanted both parents to be involved in the ceremony and I knew how much it would have meant for my mum. We wrote our own promises to each other to be read which was was really important to us. The ceremony was very intimate so we wanted to the words to have sentimental value. Music was also a huge part for us. We spent hours listening to tracks that would represent our relationship and the way we feel about each other on our wedding day.”
Unlike a lot of weddings, Laura and Simon wanted to handle everything themselves, and keep most of their wedding a surprise from their friends and family. “We planned the majority of the wedding ourselves as we wanted the details to be a surprise for our guests. Ultimately, this meant that we were busy most weekends and if we knew how time consuming it was going to be, we might have felt inclined to ask friends and family to help out. However, we’re both glad that we managed to handle everything as it helped to make the most amazing day which was definitely worth all the hard work. In hindsight, my husband did say that he wished he had foreseen how long it would’ve taken to make the personalised invites and stationary. If he knew, he would of started the process a lot sooner as he was running out of time towards the end and the pressure was on to get everything sent out in due time.”
