Pretty Pink Floral DIY Farmhouse Wedding

Pretty Pink Floral DIY Farmhouse Wedding

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WWW readers Anton and Carrie tied the knot on the 14 th June 2014 holding their reception at Heathy Lea, Derbyshire. With a vision of a personal DIY wedding, they got crafting and creating their dream day.

There were home made1950s style bridesmaid dresses, the prettiest florals and delightful décor in the marquee.

Carrie looked beautiful in her romantic wedding gown which she wore with heart shoes and tousled hair, while Anton donned a dashing Paul Smith suit. There is just so much to adore about their day.

Thanks so very much to Shoot Photography for providing these divine images today.

THE PROPOSAL | The proposal, is still one of my favourite ever days! Anton surprised me for my 21 st birthday with a trip to New York. Unfortunately our flight was cancelled because of the snow - but luckily we got put up in a lovely hotel and flew the next day. The proposal itself was quite low key (well as low as you can get in New York!). It was my birthday and we had been shopping in the morning, we headed back to the hotel room to warm up! I went into the bathroom and came out to find Anton on one knee in the middle of the room. We both started crying before he event started the question! Of course, I said yes, and he told me that we would be heading to the Diamond District that very afternoon to buy my ring (he had proposed with his Mum's ring) - well, the boy did good!

THE VISION | When we started talking about what kind of wedding we wanted, the first thing that we both agreed on was that we only wanted to invite our very close friends and family and make sure it was quite personal (despite this, we still ended up with around 81 guests!). We also wanted fantastic food, so we chose our favourite restaurant in Sheffield and a Jamaican buffet for the evening. I also knew that I wanted to do a lot of DIY for the wedding, to help make the day more personal and unique.

THE PLANNING PROCESS | I think I secretly started the planning process straight after the proposal, but reassured Anton that we didn't need to rush. We officially started planning the year after our engagement, 2012, by choosing our venue (Heathy Lea in Derbyshire), and visiting our church (St Peter's, Edensor). For the next two years our lives were filled with hessian, lace, ribbon, card, twine and pompoms (I think we both went slightly mad) - but it was worth it, as our day was truly special and personal to us!

BUDGET | We didn't have a specific budget, only a ball park figure - and actually we managed to stick to it quite well. I think this was helped by using friends and family to assist in things like cake making and bridesmaid dress making (by my lovely Mum). Also, I really took the DIY to heart and decided that EVERYTHING should be handmade! This meant that instead of buying £20 cake toppers I would make them myself for around £2.

THE VENUE | Our reception venue, Heathy Lea, is a gorgeous little farmhouse on Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire. One of the main reasons we chose it is because you get the whole place to yourselves for the entire weekend - a big excuse to have another party on the Sunday! But also because the owners, Clive and Christine, are bloomin' fantastic - nothing is ever too much trouble and they do everything in their power to make your day go smoothly. The church we chose, St Peter's, is just around the corner in Edensor village - a quaint little hamlet on the Chatsworth Estate. We had been going to the church for around 2 years before we got married there, so felt really at home and comfortable - although I was still very nervous to walk up the aisle!

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | My dress was an Ellis 11264 and my shoes were Vivienne Westwood. My hair comb came from a fantastic little boutique called Lou Lou Puchalka in the Corn Exchange in Leeds.

FINDING THE DRESS | I actually bought my dress 18 months before our wedding, risky I know! I saw it in a sample sale in our local bridal shop and said to my mum 'That's the one'. Unfortunately, another lady was about to try it on, so I as tried to make myself look at other dresses I kept my fingers crossed that she wouldn't choose it! And low and behold, a shop assistant brought it to my dressing room. As I put it on, I turned to my mum and said 'Oh dear, I love it!', and she agreed that I had found her!

GROOM'S ATTIRE | My husband (still strange saying that) loves Paul Smith. If everything he owned could be Paul Smith he would be a happy man. So obviously, there was no other choice for a suit! We looked for months for the perfect one, but couldn't find it anywhere - until, one evening I saw the one in the House of Fraser sale. As I went to order his size the page reloaded and, 'Out of Stock' appeared before my eyes! I rang head office, but none were left - so I set about searching again. Luckily I came across the same suit, a little cheaper, in a boutique shop in Huddersfield! We drove up that same weekend to get it straight away! Anton's shoes, tie and shirt were also Paul Smith - no surprises there!

THE READINGS & MUSIC | We asked my Mum and Anton's godmother, Aunty Pat, to do readings at the church. They chose their own, but they both echoed each other and related very much to Anton and me. My mum read 'On Marriage' by Kahlil Gibran and Aunty Pat read a section from the bible. Anton's sister, Tara also did a reading at the reception - it was a beautiful poem that she had adapted to fit with our relationship.

We chose a string quartet to play at the drinks reception; they were beautiful and really set the mood. For the evening, we made our own playlist - it took hours to cross fade everything but it was worth it because it was totally personal to us!

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | I had five bridesmaids, a lot I know - but my girls are all so special to me so I couldn't choose between them! They were all fantastic, but my maid of honour, my cousin, Emmy, was a dream come true! She looked after everyone at the hen do, at the wedding and during the night - it's no surprise that she's a bloomin' good nurse! My mum made the dresses, she's a genius! We bought the material from Barnsley market for next to nothing, and she used an original Vogue 1950′s pattern - I made sure that her practice one fitted me perfectly!

THE FLOWERS | The flowers were from a beautiful shop called Swallows and Damsons in Sheffield. We had peonies, roses, gyp, delphiniums and hydrangeas - I wanted a kind of wild, vintage look - and that's exactly what I got!

THE CAKE | Now, don't think of us as greedy, but we had 8 cakes! It's our lucky number, and people had it as dessert - that's our excuse anyway! We asked Fancie in Sheffield to make us one of their famous Naked Cakes (3 tiered, no icing and lots of flowers), a traditional fruit cake and some macaroons and mini cupcakes - they were all delicious! Anton's mum also got us a Jamaican Rum Cake, and me and my mum made a heart shaped Victoria Sponge. One of my bridesmaids mums made us a lemon drizzle, and the wife of one of Anton's groomsmen made us a chocolate orange cake - happy days!

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Well, what can I say about our photographers?! They were bloomin' fantastic. Jo and Si from Shoot Photography in Sheffield were a dream - they made us feel so comfortable, and all of our guests commented on how nice and friendly they were. We absolutely adore our photos, and feel that they really bring the joy and laughter of the day to life. I couldn't recommend them enough!

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | As I have said, I went DIY crazy. I also collected many things over the two years of planning to decorate the marquee. This included tea cups and saucers, cake stands, a milk churn for umbrellas, and jam jars for candles and flowers. We had pompoms and lanterns to decorate the ceiling and sides of the marquee. I also created a photowall for guests to look at while they signed our guest poster! For the tables, we had teacups with tea lights in, hand glittered table numbers and jam jars full of sweets for favours!

THE HONEYMOON | I was so lucky that Anton decided he wanted to plan the honeymoon as a surprise; it really took some pressure off me! Up until we reached the airport, I had no idea where we were going - I loved it! We ended up going to a gorgeous little town called Biarritz, in the South of France - somewhere I had always wanted to go! It was perfect, relaxing, great food and we saw wild horses - my one mission!

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | One of the most memorable moments for me was Anton's speech. He couldn't actually get through the whole thing because of all the emotions, so he took me aside later on in the evening and read the whole thing just to me - it was a very special and romantic moment that I don't think I will ever forget!

I also remember the moment I got to take my shoes off - that was good!

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | I know everyone says it, but the day goes very fast so enjoy it, don't panic and smile lots! Also, make sure your day is about you, and reflects your love for one another, it isn't about pleasing anyone else!

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Venue | Heathy Lea

Car | Dennisson Classic Cars (we used Charlotte)

Photographers | Shoot Photography

Caterers | The Milestone

Cakes | Fancie

Flowers | Swallows and Damsons

String Quartet | Silver Strings

Wow, so many gorgeous thoughtful touches throughout. LOVE.

Thanks so much to Anton and Carrie for sharing their wedding with us XOXO Lou

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