a DIY wedding in the pretty English countryside

Now join hands, and with your hands your hearts.
- William Shakespeare

She is a singer, he a songwriter. (isn’t that perfect?)
She, English, he, Australian, met in the French Alps in the ski season. Their love blossomed from there and now the rest is history.

They are now married.

The day was absolutely lovely. They were both glowing all day long and exchanged adorable smitten looks with each other while they said their vows.

I was blown away at the cuteness of this wedding and the fact that it was pretty much all DIY. Genius!

The wedding took place in Oakham Castle. It was constructed between 1180 and 1190, in the reign of Henry II. The Castle is well known for its collection of massive horseshoes and is also recognised as one of the best examples of domestic Norman architecture in England.

The weather was simply divine, we couldn’t have been more lucky!

Everything about the venue was quaint, pretty and oh-so-English.

Two hundred and thirty horseshoes currently decorate the walls of Oakham Castle. It is thought that this tradition is linked to the ‘de Ferrers’ family name. Ferrier was the Norman French word for farrier and the horseshoe has been a symbol of the de Ferrers family since Henry de Ferrers arrived in England in 1066.
Said simply, each time Royalty stopped by in this village, a horseshoe was mounted in their honor.

The oldest surviving horseshoe in the collection is one that was presented by Edward IV in 1470 after his victory at the Battle of Losecoat Field. The newest addition to the collection is the horseshoe presented by Princess Alexandra in 2005.

Isn’t that incredible?

Here she comes…

The bridesmaides were dressed in yellow, it suited the Spring weather so well

My dear friend Brooke flew all the way from Australia for the wedding

They are glowing!

The family.

J and I all dolled up.

And off to the reception….

There was such attention to detail. Mary and David had found an antique key for each guest. They were on a little table at the entrance of the reception so that we had the “key” to our table. We were on the Bon Jovi table (must be because of Dave and his love for rock music).

Even the cake was DIY

The first dance.

We stayed in a gorgeous house just down the road from where the reception took place. It was so refreshing to wake up and see this outside of our window.

And back to Paris we go…

Each guest was even given a cupcake to take away for their journey home.

Congratulations, friends, I wish you a long and happy life together… xxxx