I love finding out I’m not the only one who loves our old English traditions – and seeing morris dancers at Katy and James’s wedding made me very happy! You see, my dad was a morris dancer and I spent many sunny days as a baby sat outside a pub in my pram while men danced around with bells on their legs. I still enjoy sunshine and pubs, but it’s harder to find morris dancers these days! There are many things I love about today’s wedding – the cake table with the proud ‘vegan’ sign in the centre gets a big thumbs up; the tipis look amazing and the flowers are little rays of sunshine! Katy and James make the loveliest couple, absolutely gorgeous in their wedding finery and beaming with happiness – this wedding just yells summer to me and I love every little bit of it!

Wedding photographer’s website:

https://www.damianburcher.com/

We chose Damian mainly because we really liked the candid pictures he had on his site, we wanted our wedding to be fun and informal so we felt his style would fit in with our theme.

We were so happy we chose Damian, from the moment he stuck his head into the Emperor tent where I was getting ready he put everyone at ease. We didn’t have a rigid timetable we stuck to throughout the day and Damian just rolled with it, most of the time we hardly noticed he was there, he just blended in and because of this he got some great shots.

Tell us about the moment you saw your wedding photos for the first time?

It was about 4am (Australia time) we were battling jet lag, it was awesome to be able to relive our special day so soon after we’d landed, it cheered us up and the photos captured the vibe of the day perfectly so we were really pleased.

The venue is a wonderful discovery, and new to the English Wedding Blog. The Hidden Hive Tipis, Derbyshire is just the most beautiful setting and the Tipis are incredible. “We booked the venue without seeing it but we’re so glad we took the chance, Dani was fantastic to deal with and was there to offer support on the day. The Tipis just got more magical as the sun went down.”

 

Wedding month:

July

Can you describe your wedding in fewer than 10 words?

A once in a lifetime magical day, absolutely perfect.

Your wedding style or theme:

Kind of festival, village fete, rustic.

Where did you find your suppliers? (Blogs, magazines, recommendations?)

Organising the wedding from Australia, I mostly found my suppliers on the internet apart from the toastie guys, The Foodbox, they came via a recommendation from a friend. I found Evelyn Silver our celebrant on thecelebrantdirectory.com

What’s your top tip for saving money?

I think that we certainly saved money by not having a formal sit down 3 course dinner and also getting friends and family involved. We had a cake table for dessert, a friend organised for people to make and bring cakes, we decorated the venue ourselves with some brilliant friends and family, using flowers and origami.

Where did you buy or source your wedding stationery – or was making it a labour of love?

We were very lucky, James’s best man is a graphic designer and he designed some amazing invites for us in the style of festival flyers.

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

It was the fourth dress I tried on and as soon as I put it on I knew it was perfect. I didn’t want a big dress and I also knew that I’d need to transport it to England. It fitted in well with the country village fete vibe.

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

Fern dress from Allure Bridal
Bridal boutique- Brides of Sydney

Tell us about your accessories: jewellery, shoes and anything else!

I wore blue Boden shoes and kept my jewellery fairly simple, I wore 2 necklaces, a small horseshoe from Alex Monroe and a small blue sapphire, both were presents from my sister and parents. In my hair I wore a delicate rose gold and crystal headband.

And what did the groom wear?

James wore a dark and light blue check suite from Paul Smith, burgundy leather shoes, white shirt with horseshoe cuff links and braces.

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

I didn’t have any bridesmaids as such, I had a few flower girls instead who were daughters of my very close friends, they wore flower crowns which we made ourselves using gypsophilia and white ribbon. They handed out petal confetti at the end of the ceremony.

Hair and make-up – did you DIY or hire a professional?

I did my own hair and my friends Jo and Amy helped me clip in my headband. My make up was done by Amy Laney, who was amazing, she also did my sister and my mum, we all looked glam all day.

Describe your wedding flowers. Who arranged them for you? (florist details would be lovely please)

Our flowers were beautiful, we wanted wild flowers to compliment the rustic venue. We used an online service called The Great British Florist, they were really helpful in deciding what types of flowers to order. As well as the bouquet and buttonholes we ordered 2 big buckets of blooms which myself and my team of friends and family styled into jam jars, teapots etc for the tables.

General styling – did your venue need much decoration?

The Tipis didn’t need heaps of styling as they’re pretty spectacular on their own. We added touches of both the uk and Australia with flag bunting and also origami koalas and kangaroos as place settings.

Crafts and makes – tell us about any homemade elements of your wedding… did you enjoy them?

We had plenty of homemade elements, everyone was so generous with their time. We had homemade cakes for dessert, origami koalas and kangaroos along with hand written labels for place settings, origami doves hanging from the beams, we had lawn games outside and my dad made a Splat The Rat. My flowers were all hand cut and arranged into jars, teapots, vases and any other vessels we could borrow. All of these elements and the friends and family helping out really added a personal touch to the whole day.

The wedding cake: what kind of cake did you choose and why?

One of my best friends Amy made a triple layer sponge and decorated it with fresh flowers, it was delicious and fit the theme perfectly.

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

We saved money on a Dj by just hiring the equipment and my friends Jim and Amy dj’d for us and we made playlists for in between sets. My dad organised a troup of Morris dancers as a complete surprise for us, they were awesome!

Words of wisdom: share your best piece of advice for other couples:

Stick to your guns, you can’t please everyone. Your vows are the most important part of the whole day but also cake…cake is important too.

What’s the best thing about being married?

Reminding my husband about his vow to share his desserts with me.

Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:

https://www.peaktipis.co.uk/meet-the-team/about-peaktipis/the-hidden-hive/
http://www.amylaney.com/
https://m.facebook.com/theporksociety/
http://www.thefoodbox.catering/
https://www.greatbritishflorist.co.uk
http://www.thevintagetablewarecompany.co.uk
https://www.tinkersbells.co.uk