I’m just gonna put it out there. I’m brave. I’m brave for wearing this (stunner of a) dress in what felt like minus fifty million degrees. But all in the name of love! Yes, I’m talking about VDAY! That annual, yearly day of the year that gets everyone in to that “marmite” type of conversation. You either love it or you hate it. Some feel it’s one big marketing ploy (which I think research shows it was!) or you get involved and enjoy this little love fest of day. Hey, it gives me the chance to wear this LRD (that’s short for Little Red Dress FYI) for the occasion.
13.10pm. I know the time specifically because only 5 minutes before our good friend and one of our ushers was trying to force a pint of Stella down my neck before we set off in the wedding car. I can’t say that this was my finest moment and not quite how I had expected it to all start. This post marks exactly 365 days of marriage & since I walked up the aisle to meet my future Husband. Funnily enough days before my heart was racing in the same spot whilst we did a rehearsal of the wedding. Strangely my heart wasn’t pumping in quite the same, scary way. It felt natural. The last 2 years of planning had been a momentous affair. From the venue, to the food, to the bridesmaid dresses. Everything was from scratch so everything took meticulous planning to make sure everything ran smoothly. Suffice to say, it did. Without a hiccup. I was ready to finally do it & I had been since the 26th October 2012 (the day he proposed.)
Boy oh boy, it’s been 7 years since my last visit to Disneyland, but with 4 visits to Disneyland Paris under my belt, along with a trip to Disney World Florida back when I was 15 – I can safely say that that place is where I recall some of my happiest memories. Now I’m not going to go all ”sobby sobby” on you, but it genuinely is a place that I felt like I was 100% safe, locked away from the outside world. No pain, no tears and no bullying. It is literally my happy place, hence why I want to do this tag.
The Ice Cream Van was a MUST! I argued this point to every Tom, Dick & Harry who thought it was a stupid idea as the desert. In the end, everyone handed it to me. It was a great touch! Alex from Sweet Scoops was absolutely adorable and possibly the cutest little bean I have ever met. The whole thing just suits her down to the ground.
She had decorated the van with our wedding date and our married ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ and even played music as she came down. Everything about it just made me a little giddy kipper (more than I am normally!)
The ice cream flavours were the delicous Yorvale brand and it was so tasty. We had sorbets and ice cream flavours so there was something for everyone!
Sadly Mr C could not manage an ice cream (despite telling me everyday before the wedding he was going to eat 100!) as he was busy being a little bit sick after eating too much blue cheese from the cheese platters! (This makes me really sad that he spent some of his wedding day with his head down the toilet!)
What did you do on your wedding day that made it a little different or did you have an ice cream van too?
It’s the little details that mean a lot to me at weddings. I want to feel like I am taking a glimpse in to the Bride & Grooms life. Our special day was no exception.
James family are die hard farmers, we rear chickens and love the outdoors. So what was more fitting than a ‘’Countryfied’’ Wedding. My family are very crafty and creative so it was even better that there was so many home spun features on our big day.
The old potato chitting trays welcomed our guests on arrival. Despite the rain we managed to get the ‘’Mr & Mrs Clayton’s Wedding This Way’’ Sign out so everyone knew where they were going.
I think everyone was shocked when they walked in to the hall and saw just how amazing it was and how much love had gone in to decking it out. I have always imagined what peoples faces would be like when they opened their invites & saw that we were having our wedding reception in a village hall.
We managed to get a lovely shot the day before of the venue before chaos ensued. I’m sure you will agree it look PRETTY amazing, if I don’t mind saying so myself.
My mum sewed plenty of bunting to wrap around a few of the tables, like the top table and the Cake/Photo/Post Box table. It gave it just that extra pizzazz (is that even a word, it hasn’t got a squiggly red line under it?!) of colour to compliment the ivory marquee lining.
The ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ on the top table was a Hobby Craft special & so was the red post box that Mr C and I painted at his work. My mum paper mache’d the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ too, she is so super clever!
The napkins are from the Cath Kidston sale that I picked up right when we got engaged so we have always known that this was the type of wedding we were going for
The centre pieces & flowers were very natural and country garden style. We didn’t want a huge centrepiece on the tables that people could not see one another! The ceramic jugs were an ebay find, we had lovely duck egg blue, blush pink and cream jugs. Each Table was different. We were a little boring with the table numbers and stuck to ‘’1, 2, 3’’ (you get the picture!) but we bought so cute chalk board table number stands which looked great!
I loved our little place settings, simple brown luggage labels that my mum decorated with doilies and the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ ribbon. It was so simple but so effective. And I love how ours said Mr & Mrs Clayton on them!
Because we didn’t have ‘’favours’’ as such we created buckets for the children at the wedding that had sweets, magazines, colouring pen and pencils. One even had a set of fake moustaches which went down a treat! It kept the children happy during the speeches and throughout the meal and it was something we were so happy that we did. Thanks to my super Aunty Kate!
Like I said, we didn’t have favours so instead we opted for a cute Kandy Kart that kept guests entertained all day/night, rather than taking something home that they were going to stuff in a cupboard to never see again or, throw in the bin and never see again. Plus, it was a nice talking point for people to have a laugh & a joke about how many sweets they were getting.
Donna was fabulous & even sourced some material that matched the bridesmaid dresses. How’s that for service?
We got to choose 10 different types of sweets and we also got to keep what was left. So, we are currently wading our way through LOTS of sweets!
Our beloved ‘’R & J’’. I had seen these all over pinterest and thought, ‘’I HAVE TO HAVE THEM’’ and so I did. My uncle is super talented as he is a joiner by trade. I asked him nicely if he would mind doing them for us and he made sure they were perfect! They looked amazing when the lights were turned off. Again, it just added that extra little sparkle to our wedding!
Now, let me bring you on to the food. It was to die for! When we decided on a DIY wedding the first people we thought of were our local pub, The Fox & Hounds. Their food is amazing, delicious and locally sourced. They did not disappoint with their fairings.
The Chicken Liver Parfait is my particular favourite starter, add that to the succulently warm olive bread you have a winning combination.
Now, with James’ family mainly all farmers, meat is something of a task to them when they aren’t eating their own field fodder. So it was a welcome surprise that they were all saying it was some of the best beef they have EVER tasted.
Food was so important to us, because most weddings you go to, the food is just ‘’okay’’ and you want to feel full. I hate to blow our own trumpet but I think we got it spot on, 100% with the caterers, so a MASSIVE thank you to Alan and his team.
What made your day feel special and set you apart from other weddings you’ve been to? I can’t wait to bring you our other instalments of the big day, it is keeping the memory alive for me.
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