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A DIY Everything Wedding (Including The Dress!)
Talk about making your wedding personal! Nat and Ryan decided to DIY as much as their wedding as they possible could, even the dress was a DIY! So were the shoes, the invitations, the decorations, I could go on, but I feel it’s better for you to see for yourself! Then enjoy this wonderful couple’s story at the bottom as they tell you all about how they (quite literally) created the wedding of their dreams…
What made you decide to get married where you did?
We got married at my parents home and I grew up there …It’s an amazing farm B&B. It was personal to us and it also helped keep costs down. Family stayed in all the B&B rooms and we had camping on the farmland for guests as well.
How would you describe your wedding day in 2 sentences?
A rustic, farm, woodland wedding with homemade recycled décor and the best bunch of people to party with! An Amazing wonderful day of laughs and love we will always remember.
How did you spend / allocate your budget?
We knew we were going to get married at the farm so after that it was the dress and food & booze that took priority then I just spent as I bought things across the year –we had a very DIY wedding so costs were low for a lot of things.
How/Why did you choose your photographer?
Becky joiner of My Fabulous life was actually a friend of Ryan’s. Ryan had previously worked with Becky on Filming jobs and Filmed for Becky’s business as well. We also love her style of photography –just amazing and what beautiful moments she has captured of the day.
Who was your dress by? And your accessories and shoes?
I’ll be honest –I didn’t really like dress shopping that much….I didn’t like the fact you had to order your dress months in advance and the whole scenario of trying on dresses just wasn’t me – many dresses I just found were puffy and strapless. So I began to put this off however in Barnstaple I found a small shop at the bottom of the high street with sale wedding dresses. This was actually Julie Drapers of Frilly frocks (of which she sold a couple years before) but still had some stock to buy off the rail. I ended up trying on a few things but fell in love with a long chiffon skirt (which had a bodice top with it that I wasn’t too keen on) I stood there and just thought I love the fall of this skirt and how I feel elegant yet comfortable in it. So ended up buying the skirt reduced from £350 to £120! I wasn’t sure at this point what I was to do with the top but after some thought I managed to get a lace top (actually from Topshop – £25) which myself and a colleague from work customised together with my skirt …adding lace and changing the neckline. I loved that my dress was created this way and glad I took a DIY approach to it.
I had shoes which actually where black court shoes with a chunky heel which I painted these ivory and added lace detail. I had to do it this way as finding chucky heeled wedding shoes was a nightmare this also made them cheap at £20!
I also had a fantastic pair of weddingtons, heeled ivory wedding wellies–I wore these most of the day and all night!
What sort of flowers did you have?
A lot of the flowers were picked from the farm and a quick trip to Tesco the day before was where we picked up loads of reduced bunches of flowers for only £20! This together did all the bridesmaids bouquets, my bouquet and table flowers…all the bouquets were put together by 3 of my bridesmaids the night before…they really enjoyed making their own!
What sort of decoration did you have?
Recycled newspaper bunting which I had been making all year whenever I had a moment, log stumps, recycled net curtain and hessian bunting, fairy lights, wooden chairs and old wooden trestle tables (hired from local village halls for low cost) log plate mats, vintage crockery part my own collection part collected form charity shops, greenery from the farm, recycled slates with text Art, old photo frames with photographs from of pre-wed shoot with Becky Joiner and photographs of moments together during the past 8 years, jars, hand crafted paper flowers, straw bales and a log feature wall where people left messages on with chalk –basically everything recycled so the décor was practically free!
What did you have as entertainment?
We had the wonderful fabulous beaver brothers playing for us in the evening –which was an absolute blast! Playing amazing covers of contemporary and classic songs, we also made a wedding spotify playlist that we played through a PA system so the disco part was free! Oh and my husbands dancing was part of the entertainment.
Did you buy or DIY your Stationery?
DIY – My brother is a very talented graphic designer working in London so his wedding gift to us was to do all of our stationary and signage for the day! Nigel designed the save the day card but I then hand screen printed these myself and sent them out asap. The invite and website was then designed by Nigel, the invite we kept simple – venue, time and all other details and RSVP were on the website. This saved on paper printing and having a large invite. The invites themselves were then hand printed by Nigel and myself and Ryan then hand tied, enveloped and sealed them with a stamped sticker one by one! Please do not hesitate to contact my brother for your wedding website/stationary!
Did you have any more personal touches?
Transport –Dad’s tractor –with a fresh lick of red spray paint, my parents themselves had the same tractor as their wedding vehicle back in 1984! My maid of honour (Charlotte) and I have been friends for life and on the day we recreated a photograph of us both standing in the same barn holding hands when we were about 4. This was great fun as we even put on red wellies to recreate the photograph. The log wall was fantastic and great to look at the day after –so many messages some very random! my favourite.
What were your special moments or highlights of the day?
The first dance as my husbands a bit of a mover –so that just made me laugh, arriving to the ceremony barn on the tractor with my best friend and my dad driving us. Seeing everyone special to us there – some friends and family we hadn’t seen in a long time. The first dance and the rest that kept us going until 4am!
What advice would you give any other couples about planning your big day, or any tips for the day itself?
Just enjoy it! Don’t let the ‘you must do it this way’approach get to you. Do it your way –we did and it was great! Who cares if your flowers don’t match your ribbon colour!
Super Suppliers:
Photographer: My Fabulous Life //Venue: Huxtable Farm Bed & Breakfast, North Devon // Hog Roast: North Devon Hog roast: Do a Pig // Stationery: Nigel Payne // Band: The Fabulous Beaver Brothers // Bridesmaids Dresses: House Of Fraser // Flower Girl Dresses: Monsoon //
Nice DIY wedding. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this inspirational wedding! So pleased to be part of Ryan and Nats epic wedding.
Thank you Becky! The pleasure was ours 🙂
xxx
Such a beautiful farm. I love the signs. Lovely decoration!!
Love the setting, and the paper flowers – what a good idea! Nat looks so gorgeous! Have fallen in love with the order of service too – love the illustration and the layout. Thanks for sharing Emily! Congrats Nat and Ryan x