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A rustic English country wedding: Chris + Emilia

January 24, 2014
Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

In addition to describing their wedding as a rustic, English country fete, Chris + Emilia told us that their wedding was “the DIY-est of DIY’s”. There’s no denying that. They wanted to enjoy the preparation as much as the day itself, so they had the most loving of friends and family, with a huge array of skills & talents involved so that every detail of the wedding had a personal touch. Wait until you see how they transformed the hall, and the rest of their beautiful wedding, captured so perfectly by James Frost Photography.

Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

One of Emilia’s friends painted those flowers on her shoes. Too cute, right?

Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

Bouquet recipe: Ivory Freesia, White/Ivory Hydrangea, Cream Lizzianthus, White Lizzianthus edged with pink, soft pink Roses, Ruscus and Ivy.

Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

Such a sweet photo of the littles.

Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

They dried out 100s of petals for confetti that were scavenged from loads of old bouquets given to Emilia’s fellow cast members.

Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

Inside these cute little paper bags was Chris’s homemade granola!

Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

Chris’ brother Tom and his girlfriend Beth work in stage management so they used their expertise to rig the hall and patio with lights, lanterns and drapes. They made the entire place look like a magical fairytale.

Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

Those drapes really transform the space, don’t they. We’ll have to save that idea in our pocket for later… or just pin it!

Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289 Rustic vintage wedding | Photo by James Frost Photography | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67289

Some great advice… We really saved money by sending most of the invites by email. All of our friends are more contactable by email and it also saved on postage and printing. We also saved tremendously on the reception venue. We wanted to retain a lot of control and we wanted to make a wedding unique so I called around a few schools in my area to see if they would hire out a big enough space for us. Chafyn Grove school was fantastic! The staff there was so accommodating and so relaxed about how we could decorate and use the space. Our entire family all worked together over two days before the wedding to transform a school hall and patio into the most magical place we had ever seen.

We had a lot of guests at our wedding and in order to prevent large queues for food (the english love to queue) we set up different food stations in the hall. The desserts were displayed right down the centre of the hall which looked fantastic. It made a great talking point and it was exciting to visit the different food stations to see what delights were to be eaten.

If you are going to DIY make sure you research and plan early so that you have enough time to collect and make all the things you want. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We pulled in so many favours from friends and family and friends of friends and friends of friends of friends and even strangers: we’ll be writing thanks you letters for weeks! Don’t worry too much about not having this little thing or that little thing from such and such wedding magazine. You’ll be too busy being happy and your guest certainly won’t worry about how low the table cloths go around the table or if you have to queue an extra 2 minutes for the hog roast. The only thing that matters is that you and your intended are happy. Everyone around you will have a great time.

Such a lucky couple to have such talented people around them, no? Congratulations Chris + Emilia!

For more inspiration check out our Wedding Ideas section + Pinterest boards

Photographer: James Frost Photography / Ceremony Venue: St Andrews Church, Laverstock, Salisbury, England for the ceremony / Reception Venue: Chafyn Grove School, Salisbury / Event Coordinator + Designer: Couple and family / Invitation Designer: Groomsman, Henry Davis / Hair & Makeup: Bride’s friend Ceri White / Florist: Rachel Sheppard for bouquets and Chrystabel for the church / Cake: Bride’s Aunt, Lizzie / Catering: Couple and family and friends, plus a DIY hog roast. A cracking cheese board supplied by I.J Melis of Edinburgh and also our friends farm Lyburn Cheese / Wine: Naked Wines / Bespoke Reading: Written by Nick Walker @theweddingpoet / Bar hire: Refresh / Band: Derek White / Wedding dress: Stephanie Allin purchased at Exquisite Bridal Couture in Lymington / Wedding shoes: Rainbow, and bride’s friend Lucie Whitmore painted the flowers / Flower hairpiece: Rachel Sheppard / Necklace: Michael Michaud / Groom’s Suit: Reiss, Oliver People, Penguin, Miri Birch, TopMan / Shoes: Barker / Bridesmaid dresses: Miri Birch / Ring bearers: John Lewis / Flower girls: Bought at Debenhams, then altered by Miri Birch