I’m just going to start off this post by telling you to read the darling bride’s description of the day, because she and her dapper hubby? Seriously awesome. The kind of awesome that plans a budget-friendly English garden-inspired wedding, complete with crazy gorgeous DIY details, vintage stylings and a TARDIS. Yep, you heard me. They had a TARDIS. And every ounce of my being wants to be their bestie just for that very reason. Oh, and the gallery captured by Michelle Landreau? Simply amazing. Join me there for all of the pretty.
From the Bride… My husband and I dated for 10 years before finally tying the knot. When planning our wedding, my main goal was to create an event that represented both of our personalities. I wanted something that would be timeless; vintage simplicity with a touch of geek chic.
We decided on a small, intimate wedding that would include our closest family and friends. With a guest list of just 60 people and a tight budget of $10,000, we decided on a Sunday morning wedding. This is a great option for a budget conscious bride since most venues have lower costs on Sundays. In addition, it helped accommodate our many out of town guests since they could travel on Saturday.
Our theme was a traditional English garden wedding. Our ceremony took place at 10:30 am in the garden followed by a High Tea reception, complete with scones, clotted cream, and finger sandwiches. My splurge was the china for our table settings which I rented from Vintage English Teacup china rentals. I wanted mismatched vintage china on all the tables in keeping with the vintage English theme. All the china was so beautiful and was set off by simple white lace tablecloths.
Since I am crafty and we were on a budget, I chose to do a lot of DIY projects for the wedding. In place of dancing, we decided on lawn games in the garden. We purchased unpainted cornhole boards, ring toss, and giant Jenga. My husband and I painted all the games in our wedding colors. I also made yards and yards (probably 50 yards total!) of bunting, to decorate the staircase in the garden and many of the tables. This was time consuming but really tied the inside and outside spaces together.
The guestbook table was also a lot of fun to create. Since our wedding was so small, I was able to get wedding photos of all the married guests attending. I printed these out in black and white and used them to decorate the guestbook table by attaching them to ribbons in our wedding colors. I loved seeing everyone looking for their own wedding photo and reminiscing.
One of my favorite touches was the use of fresh lavender throughout the wedding in different details. The florist tied bushels of fresh lavender to the chairs down the aisle. I made a lavender simple syrup to be used in our signature cocktail, a lavender champagne. And my mother put together small pots of lavender for our thank-you gifts, tied with the same fabric I used to create the bunting.
To top it all off, we had the most amazing photo booth! My husband and I are both huge fans of Dr. Who, a classic British TV show that has been around since the 1960’s. I was able, thorough a network of fans, to find and rent a TARDIS to be used as the photo booth. I personally made small chalk boards and other photo booth props and I am in love with the pictures from our photo booth. It was definitely one of the quirky highlights that made our wedding uniquely ours.
In the end, our wedding really represented both our personalities and I was so happy how everything came together to create a cohesive and enjoyable event. I wouldn’t change a thing and although it went by fast, it truly was a happy, perfect day.
Photography: Morning Light by Michelle Landreau | Floral Design: Stylish Stems | Wedding Dress: Alfred Angelo | Cake: Confection Perfection | Shoes: J.Crew | Hair & Makeup: Raney O'Keefe | Ceremony Music: The Vauxhall Garden Variety Players | Wedding Venue: The Whitlock Inn | Groom's Tie: Burberry | Groom\'s Attire: J.Crew