A relaxed and rustic atmosphere was order of the day for Georgie and Dan's October wedding. There was of course buckets of style and incredible flowers too.

Georgie had the loveliest bridal look, donning a romantic lace dress with a fresh flower crown while Dan went for the bow tie and converse combo that I love so much. There were pretty maids in blue, sweet little ones with signs and fun transport.

A focus on a meaningful ceremony was important for Georgie and Dan which they personalised perfectly.

Thanks goes to Bloom Weddings for the gorgeous imagery.

The reception venue was more tricky, we needed somewhere not too far from the Church, but somewhere that met our needs for the amount of guests we had, keeping the vision we had for our day. Many venues we visited seemed very impersonal and 'business like', but The Mansion ticked all of our boxes. The staff were helpful and friendly, the food and décor were exquisite, and all set in the beautiful surroundings of Roundhay Park, we couldn't have asked for more.

Our 2 year old nephew was our only page boy, and we found him a suit similar to the best men, from Next. He wore navy Converse trainers, and a navy bow tie. He fitted right in with the rest of the boys, and was so pleased to match Uncle Dan!

For the reception we wanted lots of music to entertain and provide a relaxed and fun atmosphere. We had two bands; Swing Thing Duo played our drinks reception, and a band called The Thrillers played the evening reception. We had our first dance to Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat's 'Lucky', as we had never been a power ballad type couples, and this had always been a favourite of mine. The first line of the chorus summed it up completely for us, 'Lucky I'm in love with my best friend'.

Our two beautiful nieces, aged 5 and 5 months, served as flower girls, and wore dresses from Monsoon, with gold glitter shoes to match the adult bridesmaids. My older niece wore a gypsophila flower crown, and the younger wore an ivory headband from H&M.

We also bought some flowers of our own to add more interest to the Church. A lovely family friend with a card for an indoor floral market took me at 6am the morning before our wedding to get masses of gypsophila for the chair ends, and a mix of vintage purples, pinks and blues to place in mixed vases along the windowsills in Church.

For the reception, we created the table plan from an old suitcase belonging to my Grandparents, and hung cards with each table on like bunting, inside the case. To finish it off we placed inside small vases with a few flowers. We gave each guest a small card at their table place, and each table had its own post box (which coupled as a table name), so they would write us a message instead of a formal guest book. Our favours were small pots of jam handmade by Dan's Gran, finished with cloth and ribbon, a luggage tag with the flavour, and a stamp with our names and wedding date.

I, along with help from my sister in law and both Grandmas, pressed flower petals for the 16 months of our engagement to create masses of colourful confetti. They were petals from flowers that were given to us, flowers from the gardens, and ones that were reduced at supermarkets at the end of the working day. We then put them in small clear paper bags decorated with paper doilies and luggage tags, and kept them in a crate which we got from Plantabox. All day I just hoped that for the few moments following the service it would not rain so that we could have the confetti moment! Thankfully, the weather held off, and we got some gorgeous pictures, so all the hard work was not wasted.

The other that stands out in my mind was the car journey between the Church and The Mansion. I'd been given a lot of advice to take some time out in the day for the two of us, to take it all in, as it goes so quickly. That 25 mins, was our time, and it was so perfect to just be with my new husband, discuss the mornings events, and take in the fact that we just got married!

I feel my best piece of advice is something no one told me, but I quickly found out for myself during the planning process, and from attending other weddings. Most people skip over the ceremony a bit, and put more emphasis on the reception, but some of the best weddings I have been to have been the ones where much of the effort is put into the ceremony. After all, the ceremony is the part where you actually get married; the rest of the day is a celebration of that. We really tried to make our ceremony personal, intimate and make people feel included, and for me it was the best part of our day. We still have relatives and friends talking about it now! So make it as personal as you can, whether that is with the decorations, the songs that are played/sung, making the order of service a feature, having family members and friends get involved with singing or readings, or having significant people in your lives be witnesses as you sign the register.

Photographer | Bloom Weddings

Venue | The Mansion

Boutique | Wedding Belles of Otley

Florist | Flowerworks Florist

Cake | Daisy Bakes

Suits | Slaters

Afternoon band | Swing Thing Duo

Evening band | The Thrillers

Crate | Plantabox

Oh so pretty.

Thanks so so much to Georgie and Dan for sharing their gorgeous wedding with us here at WWW XOXO Lou