I'm excited to share Marianne and Alex's stunning wedding with you. It was a day full of emotion and joy, games, dancing, DIY makes, mugs of water, a few mishaps and even a Stormzy rap in the church. Continue reading to discover who by...
THE SETTING
The ceremony took place at St Mary's Church, Whimple, followed by a reception at the Devon country estate - Rockbeare Manor.
THE VIBE
We wanted an industrial/minimal look for the day with splashes of copper and greenery.
STYLING & PLANNING
We didn't have a wedding planner but met with the events manager from the venue to help with the practical side/timings of things. We found loads of stuff on instagram and pinterest but we wanted to focus our budget on key items.
Alex's grandma made arranged all the flowers for the venues, including pedestals, table flowers and greenery around the church.
We spray painted jam jars copper, painted our signs and made our own wedding stationery using canva.
DECOR
We hired our signage, table numbers, lanterns and candlesticks from Rustic Love. Everyone commented on how cool and original they were and were amazed to hear that they were hired locally!
We also hired our cake ring from you, which was the perfect size for our cake!
HIRED ITEMS
Aside from the items from Rustic Love, our venue provided garden games. A family friend agreed to drive us around in his vintage car for the day - it was such a cool experience and saved us a fair amount of money!
MISHAPS
A few things went wrong - mainly to do with my family (classically) running late! When I arrived at the church I found out that a close family member was running an hour late travelling to the church! Alex made the call to wait for them so whilst he and everyone else were inside the church, I waited outside with my bridesmaids with mugs of water! It worked out well as it gave us more time to chill and take photos.
HIGHLIGHTS
I think I remember first stepping down the aisle the most and gripping my dads arm to death! It was so surreal and amazing to see everyone we loved smiling at us. I remember the look in Alex's eyes when I met him at the aisle just like 'we've done this, we've actually done this!'
Once the nerves subsided the day itself was actually amazing. Alex surprised me with a Stormzy rap in the church and everyone went crazy. Such a good day!
My dad's and Alex's dads speeches also made us ball out crying and there was just so much love. I think Holly (our photographer) also ended up crying too! My 7 year old sister was shredding up the dance floor and her dancing with my uni friends was the funniest thing.
ENTERTAINMENT
The venue provided garden games.
Wedding bingo sheets were used as an icebreaker.
In the evening guests danced the night away to a DJ - Bespoke disco
ATTIRE
Marianne looked just stunning in a dress from Angelica bridal
With gorgeous, handmade hair pins from Claire Austin
The bridal party looked perfectly autumnal in burnt orange dresses and coordinating ties.
ANY ADVICE?
Planning a wedding is a happy thing but it will be stressful - it doesn't mean that you're doing it wrong or that there's anything wrong with you or your partner - it's normal!
Make sure you pack a razor in your overnight bag lol and make a list of things to take with you if you are staying somewhere on your wedding night
Ask family members for help to set up AND pack down
Do whatever the hell you want, it's your day! It's about you and your partner!
Thanks for sharing your special day with us Marianne and some great advice there. I agree about the packing down aspect. People often overlook this bit and are left with a whole heap of stuff to sort out the next day - with no one to help as they've all left with their hangovers. Definitely worth planning ahead and delegating.
Marianne and Alex booked our Option 2 package - delivery to venue. We dropped all the hire items off a few days before and on the day, they set up the items themselves, with the help of friends and family and the venue staff.
Venue - Rockbeare Manor
Photographer - Holly Collings
Decor hire - Rustic Love
Dress - Angelica Bridal
Hair pins - Claire Austin
Bridesmaid dresses - Shein
Suits - Next
Ties - Red Herring
Make up - Nicola Redman MUA
and Sophie May MUA
Hair - Emily hair colourist
DJ - Bespoke disco