DIY Country Picnic Wedding :: Holly & Laurie

"This wedding is SOOO Holly!!" I must have heard that sentence at least 50 times that day. According to Laurie, his beautiful bride-to-be was a "craft wizard" and the minute I walked into their reception venue I instantly agreed. The cheese was individually wrapped, each table had a beautiful theme, the bouquets were made from wildflowers (handpicked the day before), the marquee was strewn with garland after garland of hand-sewn bunting and of course, there was a cake-baking competition & a game of tug-a-war! It wasn't hard to see how much of herself Holly had poured into their wedding and Laurie by her side could not have been more proud of his bride. Holly & Laurie won my 2012 Valentines Day Wedding Photography Competition and from that first phone call I knew we'd awarded to prize to an immensely deserving couple and I couldn't wait to tell their wedding story for them! 

So down into the green countryside of Shropshire I adventured and found the ladies getting ready at a quaint B&B — flowers' stems being wrapped into bouquets at the last minute, Holly being zipped into her dress by 4 pairs of hands and her father, peeking into the room for the first time with the most hear-warming look of excitement a daughter could hope for. 

Holly actually picked her own wedding flowers from The Real Cut Flower Garden. Apparently (according to Holly) I would have LOVED it! Fields of flowers and you just get to walk round and collect your favs! 

Seriously one of my favourite wedding moments ever...

And then it was time to go meet her prince at Ludlow Castle  So a beautiful creamy coloured vintage car with a brass "No Smoking Sign" inside came to pick us up and drove us through windy roads beside hills and pastures. And then into the town of Ludlow, which I was informed holds the record for being the most beautiful town in England.  

As Holly & Laurie said their vow, the sunshine shone into spacious room through glass doors and the burlap bunting hanging at the front gave guests their first taste of the crafty wonders that awaited them at the reception.

But of course, before heading to the reception, we had to snap some of all the handsome gentlemen in their suits! One of my favourite things to do at weddings these days is to have the men line up from youngest to oldest. I love this visual display of the generations. Plus, photographing the guys is just a load of FUN!

Don't you just love these classic cars! They're so beautiful.

Oh England, you pretty pretty picturesque country...

I was so impressed with Holly's centerpieces. Each table was labeled after something (wood, pearl, silk,  lace, china etc...) and then decorated accordingly. It was so much fun walking around and looking at each table because each one was completely unique.

And of course, a CHEESE cake topped with ....MICE! Love it!.

CUTENESS.

Holly sewed over 100 meters of bunting! Jaw-droppingly impressive if you ask me. And miraculously, she pinned up the final strand, stepped back and realised she had made the PERFECT amount! 

A picnic basket for every table and custom cufflinks for the groom (the 1st cufflink was where they got engaged (at Mt. Remarkable in Australia) and the 2nd was where they got married (Ludlow). Have you ever seen something that clever/cute before!? I just LOVE it!

 

 
A cake baking competition? Yes please :D The carrot cake won (of course!) and so all is right in the universe :)

 
And what's an English wedding without a little game of cricket?

And a very dignified game of tug-of-war!

 

And they danced the night away...

To view more images from Holly & Laurie's wedding, check out their slideshow below!!

Bride's Dress :: Shropshire Country Brides – Ellis Bridal

Bride's Shoes :: Rachael Simpson

Flowers :: The Real Cut Flower Garden

Bridal B&B :: Mynd House (Church Stretton, Shropshire, England)

Ceremony Venue :: Beacon Rooms in Ludlow Castle

Reception Venue :: Henley Farmhouse (Acton Scott, Church Stretton)