My DIY Wedding

Hello my lovelies! It's been nearly six months since my wedding, so I think it's high time I dedicated a blog post to it now that I'm finding my feet with Little L!

True to form, this wedding was massively DIY-oriented, not only because we were on a budget but also and mostly because, as you may have gathered, I love handmade stuff. I am hugely indebted to many of my amazing friends and relatives who helped in various ways, and so I'll take advantage of this post to renew my thanks to them for their invaluable contributions.

Let's have a gander...

I had a great time with the "Paris Girls" whipping up those end-of-row decorations the day before the ceremony:

"Super Nurse", "Kingston Maman" and I had a blast making over 80 candle holders out of empty jam jars, decorating them with lace, ribbon and other trinkets:

They doubled up as favours, as we told guests to take some home if they wished. The whole effect in the venue - a 16th century barn converted into a village hall - was simply amazing!

As part of the French tradition, we gave guests little bags filled with sugar-coated almonds (or dragées). My lovely Mum sewed all of those bags herself (over 100!) out of scrumptious scraps of fabric. Look at those beauties:

You may remember the little flowers I crocheted for weeks on end before the big day. I managed 130 before I couldn't stand the sight of them anymore :-D We scattered them strategically on the tables, along with ready-made lace flowers...

...and the "Paris Girls" came up with the genius idea of sticking the rest up on the wall above the glasses, which cleverly made it look as if colourful bubbles were floating in the air!

My lovely MIL made cupcakes and Viennese fingers, which went so quickly I never got round to having any :-D The guests raved about them, though, so I know they were good!

"Super Nurse" got this gorgeous handmade bunting from a friend of hers, and I am so glad she did, as it quite perfectly completed the country touch of the whole thing:

"Mum-in-Love" made the wedding cake, giving it a naked look which I loved, and the cake topper was made by a friend of hers who also gifted us the cup and saucers as a wedding present. Just look how gorgeous:

I also made my own bridal bouquet, as we decided not to have flowers. I ordered floral butterflies and bunched them together following this tutorial. It's really quite simple and I love the result :)

Which brings me nicely to my pièce de résistance, my wedding dress! I crocheted it over many weeks from this vintage pattern, although I had to adapt it to the thread I was using, and most importantly, to my then-6-month-old bump (I found out I was pregnant 2 weeks after starting the dress!). I also altered the neckline as I found the one from the pattern did not particularly flatter me. This is what I came up with:

I finished the look with a handmade choker, a little lace bolero (not handmade, boo!), a ribbon tied at the waist, this crochet clutch and a pair of killer pink shoes generously gifted by "Sister-in-Love". Oh, and a husband in blue waistcoat and tie, of course! ;-)

So much has happened since then (ie. the arrival of our little man!) that I can hardly believe it was only 5.5 months ago, but I will forever cherish the memories of this fabulous day. Thank you so much for reading! :)


Note: all photos by Debbie Simister of Momentous Photography.