WWW readers Alexandra and Simon held their wedding on the 31 ^st May 2014 at the countryside setting of Ashley Wood Farm, Wiltshire. They had a vision of a relaxed day, with a BBQ, vintage china and afternoon tea. In fact their whole menu sounded so very delicious.

I love their personal approach to the planning of their day, with the wedding really reflecting their personality as a couple. There were pretty crafty touches, gorgeous blooms and some amazing portraits by their photographers.

Alexandra donned a romantic gown with her hair plaited with flowers running through it, while Simon opted for a dapper Ted Baker suit with fun converse. Be sure to read the whole wedding report in all it's glory too :-)

Thanks so much to the utterly brilliant Assassynation for sharing these photographs with us today.

Simon and I were officially married two and a half years ago but it was sudden and we weren't able to have all our family and friends with us! We spent two years keeping our 'elopement' to Torquay a secret from all except immediate family and our bridal party, then announced our blessing in our wedding invitations! It was a bit of a surprise to some but all understood and showed support helping create a really special wedding day for us and even the Vicar made allowances with protocol to make sure my Dad walked me down the aisle and the service was as close to a marriage ceremony as possible. We'd always promised each other we'd do it right, from Simon surprising me with the proposal to my white dress and me changing me name in May officially - to us this was our wedding day so it's amazing that you'll be sharing it with others! Whether you include those details, that's up to you as we don't mind either way! Original 'marriage' was 21 ^st April 2012.

THE PROPOSAL | Simon 'popped the question' on the 3 ^rd January 2013 in Hong Kong International Airport. I'd been talking about having real noodles in the airport for about a week and by the time we got to the restaurant Simon had decided he wasn't hungry... we had a little disagreement and I may have sulked... Then we were sat waiting at the gate and Simon just started saying ALL the right things. He actually started by saying "Well I didn't know when to do this but I guess it's now or never..." I didn't know what was happening until he remembered to dig out the ring! Very understated, private (even with us surrounded by people!) and personal! It was our fifth anniversary and half way between our two homes! We got to share it with Simon's family in New Zealand and mine a few weeks later back in the UK! It was a lovely way to do it as juggling two homes has always been tricky and this way it was just for us to share at first! I still think he's lucky I said yes after the noodle spat though...

THE VISION | We wanted it to simply reflect us and although I've always been a bit of a planner, over the years Simon's laid back attitude has rubbed off! So we wanted an smoothly run, yet relaxed day that didn't scream formal wedding but still emphasized all the main bits (cake, dress, suit, music, food and alcohol!) We originally imagined marquee but one of our bridesmaids put us onto the idea of a barn and it was too perfect to argue with so the barn search started! We pictured garden games, yummy outdoor styled food, (burgers were our salute to the NZ and UK barbecues we've enjoyed!) straw bales and fairy lights and candles giving it a brilliant look as it darkened. I pictured vintage china and afternoon tea, Simon imagined his friends coming over and dancing to their favourite duo all night long.

THE PLANNING PROCESS | We had a pretty amazing team behind us every step of the way! My bridesmaids, Sarah Taylor, Samantha McClure, Aimee Fookes, Claire Moore and Maisie Minett each brought so many different ideas to the table and helped with all the planning. My MoH Sarah was hugely involved with researching wines, florists, bridesmaids' dresses, etc. and also got involved with the decoupage for the table numbers despite telling me adamantly she isn't creative... They all got involved and made sure everything was on track, especially when my work got too busy to focus on the wedding!

The ushers were mostly overseas and busy planning the stag do but the week before they were there and involved with all the hard labour! They contributed when needed and helped 'borrow' things from my parent's pub and worked hard to get everything looking great!

My mum, Linda Stone, found us our barn! She stumbled across it in a jazz music email and we went straight round that day to find out someone else was pencilled in! She pushed the woman to contact them and they had changed their mind but not told her so we put a deposit down the following morning after we took Simon to view it. Simon is a crazy workaholic and being a farmer, some parts of the year we pass like ships, so my Mum stepped up and met florists, caterers, cake makers, and did multiple trips to the venue to measure or check or show DJs around. An absolute Godsend!

Simon chose the Church (we viewed together and I kept my lips sealed the entire afternoon! Luckily he chose the one I loved and where my parents live!). We planned together and then I'd go view and meet, take tons of pictures and if we liked we'd revisit together! It was a good system and worked well for us with his hours!

I had very a very creative bridesmaid, Maisie, who not only suggested burgers as our main but also came up with the idea for the table numbers, showed me how to make bunting and did our 'welcome' chalk board for the day! Maisie Make Home on facebook for chalk boards!

The menu was mostly inspired by me (one of the many Chef's in my family!)! I originally called the starters my 'French market buffet' but it eventually turned into a 'picnic explosion' that was enjoyed instead of canapés or a three course sit down meal and our guests grazed on it whilst they played croquet or lounged on straw bales! Exactly how we pictured it and we were soooo glad people received it well and didn't feel put out to miss a three course meal!!! Burgers originally came from my bridesmaid, Maisie, we'd been leaning towards BBQ but they just weren't done as nicely as we wanted and a 'build your own burger' event meant guests could have fun but also have something different! We found our caterers through online research and once we met and discussed the two ideas they came together perfectly! They were VERY understanding to our wants and needs and we were so grateful that they let us supply our own cakes rather than have dessert and they helped us in so many different ways!

I'd imagined English afternoon tea, so we visited a yummy local bakery that we've had a few too many treats from in the past and she was fantastic! She bakes everything and does gluten free, we got a variety, picked them up the day before and stored them until the day! The caterers kindly put them out on our many, many cake stand my Mum and I have collected and it was the perfect way to end the meal! It was relaxed and informal and the cake was too good to try one slice!

The last few weeks we had some kiwis here to help! They were fantastic alongside my family with the last bits! Collecting cakes, stringing fairy lights around very high beams, putting up marquees, taking down marquees, washing over 80 teacups and saucers the day after the wedding! Everyone pulled together whether they were family, bridal party or just friends who'd arrived early!

BUDGET | We went a *little* over with the last minute threat of rain and hired a small marquee! It was worth it to keep Simon and I from feeling panicked but I'd say that took us to around £18,000. We decided a decent caterer, photographer and flowers weren't worth cutting corners and spent a little bit more than originally planned, but those three components actually made our day so decided only to 'save' where it was actually worth it! We had help from our families as well so our total spend was around £14,000.

THE VENUE | Ashley Wood Farm, Tisbury.

A beautiful barn that overlooks the lake from the movie 'Chocolat'! The view was a huge hit with the guests - they all wandered out with drinks and nibbles and took it in and we got some fantastic shots as the sun was lowering with the reflections! The barn itself has stone walls and wooden beams it was spectacular and had so much character without any added décor! Duck egg blue doors add colour to the outside and it worked very well with our relaxed style. It has a lovely courtyard out front, a large, L-shaped barn with a bar and basic kitchen installed and a formal garden at the back. We set up the emergency marquee and straw bales out the back with croquet and giant jenga to amuse everyone! We did forget to light the firepit in the evening but we survived without it! Clare, the lady who owns it, takes really good care of it and you can smell her massive lavender pots and herb garden as you drive in. My favourite spot is the benches surrounding the firepit with massive rope hung up, covered in creeping roses and fairy lights! Simon and I escaped for five minutes before dinner to watch our guests chat and enjoy taking it all in! It was incredible and we both said we could've lived in the farm house and been happy for all our days but sadly we had to give it back on the Monday...

As I said above, my Mum stumbled across it on a Jazz Music email and we snapped it up ASAP!

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | My dress came from Brides of Winchester and was by Chanticleer Brides. It had beautiful Beaufort lace bodice and sleeves, a satin band around the waist and a tulle skirt that I loved because it swished! I decided against hoops or veils because I didn't want the skirt any bigger and I wanted to keep my hair and face as natural as possible.

FINDING THE DRESS | I went in quite early on in the engagement with my MoH Sarah and tried on a few but kept going back to Chanticleer and all the pretty lace! I loved three different ones but for different reasons... the skirt from one, the lace from another and the top from a third! Laura, the owner, suggested we got in touch with Tracy, the designer and see if she'd combine them as she's done it in the past! I was obviously thrilled and when she said yes 'we' got to work! I got the sketch and it was as I imagined so we went ahead and created my very own, unique dress! We added the little sleeves later on with the same lace, they were detachable which was perfect as I wanted my shoulders covered for the Church and photos but wanted to dance and eat like a human!

My Mum, Sarah and my sister Samantha all attended fittings, went over photos and sketches and helped me get my perfect dress. It had the tiniest satin buttons on the back that the woman in the shop did in maybe five seconds but on the day Sarah had to get help as they were so fiddly I was nearly having a panic attack about having to go naked! Well worth it for the final result!

I teamed it a very glamorous pair of grey converse all-stars and kept everything else simple, a matching grey pashmina for when it cooled off, a charm bracelet made by the lovely Charlotte, Lottylou, that matched the ones I gave my bridesmaids and flower girls. The day before the wedding I realised I'd forgotten earrings and whizzed to the nearest jewellery shop to find the prettiest drop blue Pandora ones that I now love more than Simon!!! I decided against a veil and went with gypsophilia and daisies in my hair instead. Maisie, my bridesmaid, styled my hair and did a wonderful job of making me look like a bride but also look like me! I wear braids a lot and decided to stop for a few months before hand so it wouldn't look like my 'everyday' hair but even if I hadn't done that it would've still wowed me as I could never braid like that!!!

GROOM'S ATTIRE | Simon wore a dark grey, Ted Baker suit and also donned a pair of grey converse all-stars! He didn't want to wear traditional tails so we went for something that set him apart but kept him comfy! The waistcoat and smart fit stopped the trainers from making him look scruffy! We got the ushers rented suits but kept them in the same waistcoats, they had mismatched ties and cufflinks related to either their work or something that reminded Simon of them! Race car and hammer cufflinks were hard to find but we got there!

THE READINGS & MUSIC | We chose readings and hymns that reflected us, my love of literature, my history in the Church choir, Simon's love for the outdoors and things that make us appreciate our love; Songs of Solomon, An extract from His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman, A Poem of Love, written and read by my sister! Morning has broken, Jerusalem, Love Divine.

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | Sarah Taylor, Maid of Honour and best friend in the entire World. Also a very good planner and organiser! Sarah would ask me on a Monday what needed to be done and by Wednesday have emailed me a list of websites, telephone numbers, reviews or photos. Sarah also fought for what we wanted when we were pushed into things we weren't keen on as we tend to 'go with the flow'! She is adamant she lacks in the creative department but also stepped up to make sure the venue looked beautiful! Without her, Simon and I would be floundering fish.

Samantha McClure, my older sister and having recently got married had tons of advice and wedding bits to nab! Even 7 months pregnant she spent the day making sure I was taken care of and had a blast and even let me play one last song after we were told we needed to leave...

Claire Moore, one of those friends who's more family, especially as she tells it as it is, holds nothing back and will always give me the truth even when I don't want to hear it. Also came up with the idea of a barn so she's pretty much a genius!

Maisie Minett, lovely, creative Maisie made time for me and my décor whims and helped show me how to be nearly as skilled at bunting as her... Nearly! She also volunteered to do my hair and insisted we had burgers for dinner as your wedding is about you, not other people!

Aimee Fookes, my now little sister-in-law arrived two weeks before to support us and be the right kind of bossy, got excited about everything and kept the party going when everyone else was getting a little tired!

Flower girls were Sophie Norsworthy, a close family friend, and Gracie Roigard, Simon's sweet little cousin! Both girls were brilliant and did so well with all the stuff going on around them! They looked beautiful in their mini-me dresses and danced all night long!

Our beautiful bridesmaids wore different styled dresses in three different shades of green. We mixed Dessy dresses with Alfred Angelo and Kelsey Rose to create a slightly unique look and they got to wear something they felt comfortable in on the day. The flower girls were in simple, ivory dresses from Monsoon with matching cardigans and pink converse styled trainers! Their dresses matched mine in style and we wanted them to be country and pretty but also cool and comfy!

They all did their own hair and makeup and wore individual Lotty Lou Charm Bracelets that I ordered to be made, including the little ones.

THE FLOWERS | Flowers came from a local florist who had supplied my original bouquet for our 'marriage' in Torquay. My mum had surprised me with it and insisted two years later my bouquet came from the same shop. I was intent on doing our flowers myself but after chatting to her she offered us such a reasonable deal and knowing we'd probably run out of time and stress about it, we went ahead with her. Best decision I made! Not only were the flowers beautiful we realised that our guests didn't care or expect us to put together our own flowers to make the wedding feel personal! We made or created so many of the little things and they all noticed those but would they have even known if I'd spent the night before rushing to carefully arrange flowers that would inevitably not look as nice as a florist?!

THE CAKE | Simon and I had researched wedding cakes and come across a beautiful cupcake tower we decided to try and replicate! We got in contact with a local woman who runs her business from home and trusted her to recreate from the picture! She went above and beyond, was so reasonable and the cake didn't just look beautiful, it tasted heavenly! We decided against a cake topper so fresh baby's breath went on top just before I left for the church!

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Sassy - Assassynation! She was absolutely fantastic! You might've read my review on her page so I will try not to gush too much but in all honesty we wouldn't have had the same day without her and Jo, the second shooter! Not only do we have the most beautiful wedding photos I've ever seen, (I know I'm biased but did you see that lake reflection?!) she also guided us through the day, advised us, gave us confidence in front of the camera, had a laugh with us, danced with us and hopefully took home a cupcake for the road as I did insist!!! Couldn't recommend her more - best photographer in the World!

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | We didn't read wedding magazines other than in the first few weeks... Simon brought one home about six months prior and after looking through we realised it was pointless as what we were creating was completely unique to us and if we, or a friend, hadn't thought of it, we didn't need it! That meant on the day it was very reflective of our personalities and not what's in fashion... Someone asked me about a year before if I was going to have vintage china as it was getting quite fashionable but it seemed silly to avoid trends with something I've collected since I was 19 and love! Have the décor that you will love when you're 90, not what's 'hot' this summer and definitely don't avoid things you love because they're 'fashionable!'.

The décor involved home-made bunting, handmade chalk boards, strung fairy lights everywhere, candles in massive jars, candles in lanterns hanging from shepherd's hooks, more fairy lights, and a dresser covered in china, photos, chalk quotation frames and pretty mr and mrs signs! We kept it minimal but what we had we made look fantastic!

I designed and created the chalkboard art, it suited my pub background and I was so pleased with the result and glad I took the time to do them! I'd research fonts, find images to copy, sketch them with pencil, start with a liquid chalk pen and change my mind and start again... We're going to frame a couple though as we love them so much! I also made the flower 'vases' out of empty baked bean cans, hessian and tiny buttons and hearts! Fiddly job but total worth it! I got all our photo frames from home and filled them with little chalk boards with some of our favourite quotations on them! We filled a beautiful wooden dresser with them and photos of our parent's and grandparent's wedding day pictures! It looked exactly as we'd imagined it and we've had such lovely reactions to it from relatives!

I also 'borrowed' a large signpost from my sister's wedding the previous year! She'd had the fantastic idea to put all the places that meant something to them on it with distance in miles, we took her pretty white signpost and me and my Dad varnished it a dark wood colour and the day of the wedding we finished writing the distances to Honk Kong, New Zealand and Chichester!

The Church was decked out with beautiful flowers (from Tescos...) arranged by the lovely ladies from the village! We stopped in on the Friday before with cake and coffee to keep them going and I knew at that point it was going to look incredible! They did a fantastic job and it was lovely to have them involved in our special day!

THE HONEYMOON | Simon and I decided with our overseas guests it would be unfair to up and leave after the wedding and we'd taken time off work beforehand as well! We postponed the honeymoon and are boarding a plane to America on September 1 ^st where we will spend a full month visiting NY, Chicago, New Orleans, Vegas and the West Coast followed by a quick trip to Honolulu (thank you Mum and Dad!!!) before we head home. We are beyond excited as you can imagine!!!

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | Sassy and Jo heading off with my dress to go find somewhere with better lighting to photograph it. I told them they could hang it from a tree for all I care, as long as it came back... The photos were a fantastic treat and the girls and I were in hysterics watching them walk it off into a field!!!

Simon and I finding a bottle of Prosecco, leftover quiche and wedding cupcakes and winding down after midnight on the patio overlooking the lake!

Being caught on camera downing champagne from the bottle when I sneaked off to our rented cottage (next to the venue) for five minutes!

Gracie, our flower girl, chasing the chickens outside all day long! She was so fascinated!

The bridesmaids taking one for the team and hiking their dresses up and following me into a field where we had to stand very, very still as the boys drove sheep behind us. Wasn't sure whether we'd be laughing or crying by the end!

The couple shots with Sassy - it was really intimate and we both felt lucky to have that time to be with each other and have a little quiet!

Simon's memorable moments include;

Seeing me walk down the aisle in my dress!

Arriving at the venue, getting out of our beautiful car and seeing all our family and friends.

My Dad's speech! It was very funny and emotional for both of us.

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Set a realistic budget - you don't want to find yourself owing afterwards! Try to save a little bit more just in case! It's hard, I know, but it's worth it as things can always crop up in the last few days!

Everyone has their own priorities but a really decent, flexible catering team made our day! They did 110% to make sure we were happy on the day and really did things they didn't have to which we were grateful for, but you wouldn't get that from just anyone!

Go for what you'll love in twenty years' time, not what is fashionable this year or your friends did last year and don't think you have to do anything a certain way! Make it about you as a couple, be considerate to your guests but don't forget to make it fun for you!

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Venue | Ashley Wood Farm

Caterers | ForkingOut

Photography | Assassynation

Cake | LilyLou's Cakes

Afternoon Tea | Indulge Bakery

Flowers | Bright Blooms Florist

Dress | Brides of Winchester

Bridesmaids | J C Brides

Jewellery | Lotty Lou Jewellery

Such a wonderful wedding, definitely one of those days I'd love to be a guest at :-)

Thanks so much to Alexandra and Simon for sharing their wonderful story with us here at WWW XOXO Lou