Morning! Hope you all had a great weekend. I arrived home on Friday after an amazing month away with my family in Australia so been feeling a little jet lagged for most of the weekend. Yes I've been tanning myself in 30+ degree heat for the whole of February (sorry not sorry) and been LOVING it! We based ourselves in Melbourne but travelled to Perth and Sydney and it was just fantastic to be back there again after 6 years. I have also been left even more inspired by the Australian bridal scene and the INCREDIBLE talent that is emerging from this sunny island. From fashion to the coolest suppliers you can imagine - Australia is really putting itself firmly on the wedding map and my little black wedding book is bursting with new ideas and suppliers that I can't wait to share with you. We will be doing a week long feature on the Australian bridal scene over the next month so keep your eyes peeled for it!

If you have the Monday blues this morning then today's gorgeous wedding will certainly perk you up. Held on a fishing farm in Essex and put together with a modest budget of just £10,000, Lisa and Luke's day was a wonderful combination of relaxed festival vibes and rustic inspired decor. Their main focus was to keep their day relaxed, fun and stress free...

We just knew what we wanted. We love the outside, we hate being stressed AND others being stressed and just love to have fun and a good dance!

They kept things chilled by having a very relaxed order of the day, no seating plan and lots of entertainment for their guests including football zorbing which is an awesome idea and looked like a lot of fun! Like most of the outdoor weddings we featured, Luke and Lisa also did most of the decor themselves or called on the help of family and friends to do things such as the cake and flowers. If you are looking for ways to save money then this wedding will be right up your street!

Lisa and Luke talk us through how is all began...

We love camping, but for our 'anniversary' for being a couple for 10 years we stayed at Kingfisher Cabin at Newbourne Woodland Campsite with our dog, Lilly. In our PJs and me still in bed, Luke asked me to marry him at around 6am in the morning as he said he couldn't wait any longer. He did get down on one knee! I had hinted with a ring I liked 2 years before. He had saved it on his phone all that time, and they still done it, so it was a lovely surprise.

Our ceremony was held in the Summer room at Baddow Park in Chelmsford. It was stunning. It looked out onto beautiful surroundings and had a beautiful plant growing over the ceiling. It was so beautiful as it was so needed no decorating.

Our reception was held in a marquee at Chigboro Fisheries, a 53 acre complex of fishing lakes. We found them through a family friend who was providing yurts to a wedding there the weekend before ours. We wanted our dog at the reception and the option for people to stay for free as some come from quite a way away so this helped with narrowing down our venue. Chigboro Fisheries do not advertise as a wedding venue, but they let us have it there. They have night time fishing there so we had camping and we stayed in their safari tent which we booked through Canopy and Stars. It had its own private area with bathroom and hot tub!

We had a log cabin which held the free help yourself bar. Had fairy lights decorating this. Had a marquee provided by Wedding Marquees which had a dance floor, fairy lights and lanterns decorating it. A friends Mum made a huge amount of purple and yellow bunting for me to decorate with. Bought an old suitcase, lined it with sunflower fabric and hung a 'cards' sign, which we closed up and took away with us after the wedding. Collected glass jars which I covered with purple lace and hessian which had sunflowers and purple lizzies or tea lights on top of tables and hanging from shepherd hooks. Chunky wooden tables and benches provided by
Wooden Bench Hire. We built four pallet chairs and made orange cushions for them (which we now use around our fire pit in the garden) and used wooden cable drums for tables and for the cake stand. A Silver Sixpense provided a huge fire bowl, a large tin bath for the beers, and a croquet set. We also had use of the rowing boats and pedalos on the lake, football zorbing and a water roller for a bit of fun.

Olympic Catering supply an amazing menu of Greek food. We had Greek salad, lemon couscous, pittas,
hummus, taramaslata, tzatziki, pork and chicken souvlaki, Greek potatoes and halloumi. A couple of hours later we had Jazzy Scrumptious Parties serve up unlimited sweet and savoury crepes and Belgian waffles.

We both think it was one of the best days of our lives. I (Luke) couldn't stop smiling from the ceremony onwards it was a magical day. It had to be the fireworks for me (Lisa). It was a complete surprise from my Grandads partner,
Dee. I LOVE fireworks, and after managing not to cry all day, was blubbering like crazy after that!

Try not to stress, the little things will not matter on the day. Do what YOU want! Do not worry what others will think. Our wedding cost just over £10,000 including every little thing! It is amazing how expensive weddings are, and you do not realise just how much things cost! And the little things you forget. I had a specific note pad to put
all my quotes and details in. We also had a chart to help with who to pay, when, deposits and how much left to pay and when etc. It is really difficult to keep track otherwise. Also, do not be afraid to ask for help! I struggled to give jobs to people when they offered, but you should!!

Photography: Greg Coltman Photography
Ceremony Venue: Baddow Park
Reception Venue: Chigboro Fisheries
Marquee: Wedding Marquees
Bride's Dress: Essense of Australia
Bride's Sandals: BarefootShop on Etsy
Bride's Make-Up: Emma Salisbury
Groom: Suit - Next; Waist coat - Hammond and Co; Tie - Frederick Thomas
Bridesmaid Dresses: Wallis
Cake: Handmade by Mother of the Groom & Bride
Flowers: Jenny Black
Tables & Benches: Wooden Bench Hire
Catering: Greek Style BBQ by Olympic Catering
Crepes & Belgian Waffles: Jazzy Scrumptious Parties
Fire Bowl, Tin Bath & Croquet Set: Silver Sixpense
Campervan: Camperbug