Charlotte and David tied the knot at the groom’s family home in East Sussex, which saved them a lot of money, but meant they had to do everything themselves. However, with a solid vision and a lot of hard work, they were able to bring their dream of a gothic garden party to life with their budget of £9,000. Inspired by the pages of Rock n Roll Bride magazine and various DIY wedding Facebook groups, they embraced an all-black colour palette and went all-out on the DIY.

Charlotte stunned in a black dress, and they opted to walk down the aisle together to I Wanna Be Yours by the Arctic Monkeys. Instead of bridesmaids, Charlotte’s son, Zach, was their ‘flower dude’ in the pink suit!

The couple live in the north west, whereas the wedding was down south, so planning a wedding from a distance did pose some challenges. From the flowers to the cake (doughnuts from the supermarket), the decorations to the confetti, this was a fully homemade wedding too! “It was difficult to not be able to meet with people and see things in real life, apart from on the weekend trips in the run-up to the wedding,” Charlotte said. “We also had many, many car journeys bringing all the decor and centrepieces down to David’s parents! However, I really enjoyed all the pre-wedding crafting and making my wedding vision come to life.”

Looking back, Charlotte and David only had a few minor regrets. “We would have hired a DJ,” the bride admitted. “We didn’t trust a DJ to cater to our tastes, but in the end, some guests put on cringe music anyway!” They also wished they had rented a microphone for the outdoor ceremony, as some guests at the back had difficulty hearing.

Charlotte loved wedding planning but did find that the industry was very overly focused on traditional white weddings. “Everything is white!” she exclaimed. “If you want anything slightly different from the norm, it is so hard to source wedding items in any other colour. Even down to the chairs we hired, we had to provide our own seat pad covers as they didn’t come in black! It’s no wonder so many weddings end up looking so similar.”

Charlotte and David’s advice for other couples? Just be yourself. “It’s the perfect day to express your love in the ways that are uniquely you”, they concluded. “Don’t let other people try to pressure you into doing things how they might prefer, do things exactly as you want!”