Hey Lovely! I’m having the busiest day with calligraphy orders in my little studio today, so apologies for the slightly later-than-usual blog post! I’m excited to share this pretty folk festival styled wedding which was done on a tight budget, believe it or not! The personal touches make this day ever so special: both Lauren & Stefan are involved with the morris dancing & folk music scene, which adds a wonderful traditional, old English flavour to their day! The gorgeous couple had a friend play Lauren down the aisle and were given a morris guard of honour as they left the church before having a dance. They used Lauren’s fathers old American Camaro for the transport and had two different bands in the evening, one of which was Stefan’s dad’s band!

“Our venue didn’t need much decoration at all, we just did the usual table decorations and gift table, that was all. I put together our wedding favours. They were hangover kits for a giggle so we included paracetemol, plasters, a tea bag, chewing gum, a berocca sachet and a couple of other extras. I also bought fake flowers from The Range to put into bunches and decorated the aisle in the church with them.

I am a BIG lover of cake so the wedding cake was important to me! We chose a 4 tier cake, bottom layer was Salted Caramel, then vanilla, then raspberry and white chocolate and then lemon as the top. we still have some in the freezer!

Wedding photographer’s website:

https://johnnydent.co.uk/

Johnny was recommended to us by Stefan’s Dad. As soon as we saw his portfolio we new Johnny was who we wanted to choose. His candid photography skills are brilliant, capturing terrific moments!

We were over the moon with our wedding photographer! We love every single one of our photos! We have the task of choosing our favourites for an album which is not going to be an easy task. We met Johnny a few times beforehand and he instantly put us at ease. We hardly knew he was there on the day!

We sat down the same evening we received the photos with some snacks and scrolled through them on our TV. We were that excited we then went round to Stefan’s Dad’s house to go through them again with a few family members! We loved being there when our close family saw them for the first time so we arranged to meet up with the various family groups which included going down to Devon to go through them in person! It was a wonderful feeling being able to relive it all again!

 

Wedding venue:

Moulton Parish Church, Northampton – Ceremony
Shearsby Bath – Reception

Can you describe your wedding in fewer than 10 words?

Totally incredible and unforgettable

Your wedding style or theme:

Traditional with a hint of folk festivals

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

Mainly through the venue or recommendations

What’s your top tip for saving money?

Do your research!

… and which elements of your wedding are you glad you spent more on?

The photographer, flowers, beverages

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

Luckily my mum works at a printing firm. A colleague helped design and then my mum was able to print it all at work.

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

Yes! I tried on a few within the same appointment but just had to get back in the one i then ended up buying!

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

Stella York
Bridal Boutique – Verona Couture in Olney, Northamptonshire

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

Bridal Shoes were Rainbow club – extremely comfy! Found brand new on ebay for a fraction of the price!
Earrings were diamonds, a gift from my Mum the night before the wedding.
My tiara was a whole £6! It was beautiful, just as nice as the ones £100+, ordered from ebay to just try on with the dress when going for fittings and then stuck with it as it worked perfectly.

And what did the groom wear?

Navy suit from Next with braces and a floral bow tie.
TM Lewin white shirt and brown shoes from Next.

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

Beautiful navy dresses from Debenhams.
They were originally going to be coral but this navy dress was the first dress they tried on (for style purposes) and it just looked stunning on them all. Thankfully navy worked well with coral so we didn’t have to change the colour scheme too much!

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

Hired a professional, Katie Louise from Katie Louise Hair Salon.
Brilliant stylist, lovely lady and great prices!

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

Helen Hagger was our florist. My mum used to work with her, she is brilliant.
We met prior to the wedding to discuss styles, she made the process so easy.
Our centrepieces were done in wellies to fit with the festival theme which she had not done before, she did a fantastic job!

 

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

We were lucky to be able to have 2 bands that we know well, Edward II who are a folk reggae band that Stef’s dad plays in. We did our first dance to them and they then played for the first part. We then had a covers band called Helta Skelta to finish the night off!

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

Take in and enjoy every minute of the day because it really will fly by!
Also, do what you two want, not what you think other people want!

What’s the best thing about being married?

Knowing that you now have an even bigger family!