There was a timeless and classical element to the styling of Jade and Ben’s big day. They wanted their summer wedding to feel elegant with with an eclectic edge. The celebration absolutely still felt authentic to them and keeping the colour palette and theme quiet neutral meant they could focus on the things that they felt were most important (the ceremony and the food!)
They planned the day in just six months, which although was stressful at times, meant they made lots of decisions very quickly and just got stuff done! “I looked at advice for planning a wedding online, in terms of when everything should be completed by etc, and most of the deadlines had already passed by the time we started!” laughed the bride. “However whole wedding was achievable due the amount of friends and family who helped us out beforehand and on the day. During the ceremony we had our family members playing the flute and violin as people were waiting and as I entered. Sweet Love by Anita Baker was sung by close friends which was a favourite moment.”
“Nearly everything was a DIY project, you can probably tell but the lack of suppliers that we tried hard to work to a strict budget and get those we loved involved. The most creative thing we did was probably the photo booth area. We had the neon sign made by Bag & Bones. One project that we didn’t have time for was the dress. My husband is a pattern cutter and wanted to design and make my dress for me. Unfortunately as it was collection time at his work place it didn’t allow him to have time to do this.” Instead Jade wore the most stunning two-piece which she bought from Exquisite Bridal in Winchester. The top was by Stephanie Allin and her skirt and bodice were by Catherine Deane.”
Food was one of the biggest costs and considerations of the day. They had 200 guests and wanted to make sure no-one went hungry! Their wedding breakfast was steaming bowls of paella and in the evening they treated everyone to a vast array of tasty options including fish ‘n’ chips, crepes, waffles and ice cream!
“My advice for other couples would be to get the grooms involved!” Jade concluded. “Ben made quite a few of the bigger decisions and those were the things I enjoyed the most on the day. It was great to organise it together. I also think it is important to do things that represent you as a couple and what you like. You quickly learn that people have opinions and not everyone is going to be happy with your decisions, but as soon as you get over that you can work together to create something beautiful and meaningful to yourselves.”
