Becca and Andy wedding theme was 1950s Rock’n Roll and Rockabilly. They were inspired by their love for anything retro, quirky and just a little bit different!
“The day before the wedding was a total disaster.” began Becca. “Problems with the hooks in the wall at the village hall meant that the marquee lining didn’t finish being put up until 9:30pm (although those guys worked like troopers!) so we didn’t start setting anything up until after that. We got home at gone midnight absolutely exhausted praying we hadn’t forgotten something! Luckily we didn’t have any disasters on the actual wedding day.”
“Our ceremony was at Lyme Regis Guildhall, right next to the sea. It was quite small and personal and only our family and close friends attended. Then we got to have some photos next to the sea, even if it was raining with high winds in the middle of August!”
“Nearly all of our guests embraced our 1950s theme, it was like walking into a 50s dance with the music playing and everyone in their awesome frocks and victory rolls, and men with their hair slicked back!”
“Our favourite part of the wedding was a tie between the food (an American BBQ with loads of lush sides) and the Band The ZZ Tops. They didn’t quite fit our theme but they were totally amazing! We both love Texas (it’s where we are spending our honeymoon) so it was nice to chuck a couple of things in that were related. Even our wedding car was registered in Texas and we didn’t realise until the day – it was obviously meant to be!”
They did a lot of DIY projects including the invitations, confetti, table decorations and bunting. “We made our own beer for the welcome drinks with our friend Charlie who is a brewer at The Maldon Brewing company in Essex”, she said. “We even had custom labels made especially, incorporating subtle tributes to members of our family who are no longer with us.”
“We saved lots of money with the DIY projects and we did as much as we could ourselves. We did hire props like the ‘LOVE’ light boxes and dance floor, but we collected as much of it as we could, and we set everything up ourselves, including putting on all the chair overs and bows (it was a real team effort!) It meant that everything was done our way, rather than paying a company to do things the way they do it every time.”
“Our biggest expense was the marquee lining inside the hall. We wanted to have our wedding reception in a village hall so we could have a stage, a kitchen, a bar, decent parking and so it was easy to get to for our guests, but we didn’t want the inside to look like we were in a village hall. The marquee lining completely transformed the venue, and the addition of the fairy lights hung above the lining made it look totally magical in the evening.”
“The best thing about planning our wedding was having a dream about something and making it a reality! Normally these things just stay as ideas, but actually making things, planning things and seeing it all come together on the day is just the best feeling ever! Being part of the Rock n Roll Bride Facebook page and sharing that buzz with all the other brides-to-be and getting and sharing inspiration is also something I’m really gonna miss about wedding planning!”
“We actually wouldn’t change one single thing, not even the weather”, she concluded. “We were so upset when we saw the forecast but it made for some gorgeous photos and in the end it really didn’t make any difference to our day.”
“Our advice for future brides and grooms is that if you have a vision for how you want your wedding to be, make it your aim to bring it to reality. People might question your ideas, and will probably try to persuade you to do things traditionally, but it’s your day, so do it your way.”
The Gallery
Suppliers
- Photography: Jason Perkins Photography
- Video: Horizon:51
- Ceremony Venue: Lyme Regis Guildhall
- Reception Venue: Uplyme Village Hall
- Bride's Dress: Milly Couture
- Bride's Shoes: Attitude Clothing
- Bride's Headpiece: Rock n Roll Bride x Crown and Glory
- Make Up: Daisy, Sanctuary Hair & Beauty
- Groom's Attire: Matalan
- Bridesmaid Dresses: Lindy Bop
- Cake: Fancy That Cakes
- Catering: Dans American Kitchen
- Band: The ZZ Tops
- Giant Letters Hire: The Prop Factory
- Photo Booth: Booth Party
- Marquee Lining & Fairy Lights: The Devon Marquee Company