Botanical Boho Festival Glitter Party Wedding in a Palm House

We were in Bali on holiday, it was NYE and we’d spent the first day trying to get a great tan for our NY night out. Matt (who usually tans pretty well for a redhead!) had far too much sun and got VERY burnt. As we were getting ready he went so quiet and mentioned he wasn’t feeling well. He’d booked us in at a beachclub for dinner and pulled out a ring and got down on one knee while we were having drinks in a private chill out area… sounds cliché

but it was genuinely completely unexpected so I was in total shock but absolutely buzzing. A couple of glasses of fizz later and we were heading to our table for our 12-course tasting menu, whilst I was on cloud 9, slightly tipsy and couldn’t stop staring at my ring, Matt had started feeling more and more unwell from the sunburn. He tried his hardest to power through but ended up almost fainting at the table, he was shivering (even though his skin was hotter than the sun) and needing to be sick.

We probably should have called an ambulance at this point but he was insisting he’d be fine if he got back to the hotel to lay down. Once back at the hotel he couldn’t keep his eyes open and was trying to get warm under the blankets. At this point I googled how to treat sunstroke and read that you must cool the skin down and not to fall asleep (thanks google). So I wrapped him in a cold damp towel, whacked the air con up and kept him awake watching the midnight fireworks out of the windows.

Thankfully, after about an hour he started to feel a bit better. We saw a doctor the next day who said I (and google) probably saved his life which was pretty scary. It wasn’t the most romantic way of celebrating new year and our engagement but it made a great story to tell the family…

We’ve always been party people and wanted the wedding to feel really relaxed and fun, like a festival or a day party in Ibiza. We love a botanical or tropical palm print and wanted to use that as a theme so our venue was a perfect fit, and everything else followed pretty easily after we’d booked that. One of my bridesmaids, has a stationery design business and she completely got the look we wanted.

As we knew the sort of theme we wanted, once we found the venue it was just a case of pulling all our ideas together, we had a timeline of stuff we wanted to tick off each month and that really helped keep us on track. Matt works in hospitality and used to run weddings so we were both equally involved in decision making. We had a few recommendations from friends on some suppliers and used friends or people we knew where possible.

I’m pretty good with saving money and finding a bargain so we started off by setting a budget of £15k but as time went on, we realised that was a lot harder than we expected for the size of wedding it was becoming. I love a spreadsheet so that was my saviour but it was scary watching the figures build up. About half way through planning we agreed we’d got so far and there were certain things we didn’t want to compromise on so had to accept it was going to be more than we originally estimated.

Sefton Park Palm House, Liverpool We started by looking at a couple of warehouses but didn’t feel they fit with the summer party vibe we wanted. I’d heard about events at Sefton Park Palm House, so we went for a visit and both agreed it was a no brainer, it really felt like we could have been in Ibiza or Bali… even in the grey British weather!

We met a couple in Bali just after we’d got engaged and we ended up chatting about wedding readings and she sent me a Bob Marley speech which I loved and kept hold of, it was quite long so I cut it down to keep in the bits which were most relevant to me and Matt. I knew my friend Rosie would be great, she did such an amazing job that it became the voiceover on our video!

The other reading we had was the Adam Sandler song from the film The Wedding Singer, a friend of mine had this for her first dance, we love the lyrics and Matt wanted to read it. Music Walking down aisle – Ella Henderson, Yours Signing register – Clean Bandit, Rather Be & Flowers, Sweet Female Attitude Walking out – Years & Years, Shine

First dance – Candi Staton, You’ve got the love

Matt wanted his groomsmen to look relaxed and knowing it was going to be pretty warm (or absolutely sweltering!) inside a glass building he thought it would be easier to go without jackets and do the short sleeves, bow tie and braces look. The floral bow ties were from Zara, Matt and the Dad’s wore these too but with a more traditional suit jacket. We encouraged a relaxed beach wedding style with our guests so had such a great range of floral shirts, dresses and colourful outfits!

I knew I wanted something quite different and had a few designers and boutiques in mind that I wanted to visit but for a long time I was totally overwhelmed, every dress I tried on I loved in a different way so kept coming away from dress appointments just wanting to try on more but not ready to make a decision (completely milking it basically). Then I saw a post by Love Bridal about a designer weekend they were having with Sarah Seven.

I saw it in the window when I arrived and knew instantly it was out of my budget but had a glass of prosecco and decided to try it on anyway… obviously it was the one. It was so unusual to anything else I’d seen, I was instantly obsessed with the cape! I’ve always loved a festival flower crown and absolutely loved the white rose version Yvette created. Matt is quite an eccentric dresser so wanted something stand out.

For the ceremony he wore a light blue / grey gingham style check suit with a waistcoat which he thought was more suitable for the day, then he changed into his brightly coloured floral suit after the reception ready for the evening party. Both from ASOS.

We all had long-ish hair and preferred to wear it down so one of my bridesmaids volunteered to do loose curls for us all. We had a practice run in Ibiza on my hen weekend! A couple of the bridesmaids did their own make up, with the others and mine done by Becca and Ella Bridal. I wanted it to be quite natural with copper and rose gold tones.

We had a really relaxed BBQ which Delifonseca put together for us, we wanted a casual dining atmosphere with people mingling and trying all the different dishes! We named each table after an Ibiza venue which we’ve been to and have memories from, and we had polaroid style photos of all our guests printed, some old and some new, mostly from events or parties we’d been at together which we thought would be a nice talking point when people were sitting down.

MakeMyDay did all of our stationery from the initial save the dates, to table plan / names, welcome signs, favour tags and the ‘line-up’ (order of the day). She created a gorgeous palm design and we included some embossed rose gold text on some items too. We filled mini cork topped bottles of Pink Gin for the ladies and Spiced Rum for the gents… mine and Matt’s favourite drinks. They went down very well (so to speak) during the speeches!

It was all about the party for us, our evening entertainment was booked through Six15 as we always wanted a house music vibe and we knew that’s what they specialised in. Matt chose Will Maden from the Dj’s as he’d seen him at a club before, and we also booked DaxonSax who was incredible. The pair of them are amazing together, it genuinely felt like a night out in Ibiza.

We really love the huge balloons Coldplay use at their gigs so wanted to re-create but on a (much) smaller scale, the best men threw them out after we’d finished our first dance and everyone bashed them around for a bit. We’re both big glitter fans and love any excuse to decorate our faces so there was no question that the night do would be a glitter party.

The Gypsy Shrine girls were amazing and so patient with our long queue of guests of all ages wanting their faces embellished!

We chose to have a cheese tier as our ‘cake’ which our caterers supplied mainly because we love cheese and it doubled up as a great evening snack with biscuits and a family friend’s homemade chutney! Although it was so warm inside the building that the brie started to melt and do its best Leaning Tower of Pisa impression! We didn’t want to go without a sweet treat completely so had a selection of brownies which we displayed on a cart my dad built.

We were recommended Bloom by a friend of a friend who’d shot their wedding, we loved the video they did for them and their natural style of photography. With them being a couple it was great to have photos from two angles throughout the day. And there is also the bonus of having the ‘getting ready’ photos with the groom too!

Bloom also did our video and we are over the moon with it, we have watched it about a million times! It’s difficult to know what to expect with a video but it sums up the day perfectly and we love that Rosie’s reading was included as voiceover.

They were done by the wonderful Yvette at The Flower Barn in Liverpool. We were lucky to have a venue that was already full of and surrounded by flowers so we needed to add very little in terms of décor, it was mainly bouquets and flower crowns, plus additional loose Monstera leaves for the table centres and down the aisle.

For the bouquets I wanted something really leafy and sporadic, almost as if I’d just picked them, she used ivory roses, white peonies and lot’s of greenery. The bridesmaid’s were similar to mine but with some blue thistle, and they wore dainty crowns of gypsophila.

Straight after the wedding we went on a mini moon to St Ives, we love it there and seemed like the perfect getaway. We stayed in a beaut little beach hut with a hot tub outside. We waited a few months for our actual honeymoon which was good to have time to properly plan for our trip and get excited about where we were going without having the wedding to think about.

We went to Sri Lanka and the Maldives in October, the whole trip was incredible from start to finish, we travelled around in Sri Lanka covering all the key areas including climbing Sigiriya Rock and Little Adam’s Peak, Safaris, an elephant orphanage, turtle sanctuary… and then lot’s of eating, drinking, snorkelling, and sunbathing in the Maldives!

All bridesmaid dresses were from ASOS. They all chose a different style white, lace, above the knee dress (or playsuit) which they felt comfortable in and would wear again. They wore nude or tan sandals of their choice, and gypsophila flower crowns – I wanted us all to look like we’d come straight from Coachella!

When we started our vows, the heavens opened and it began pouring with rain, being in a glass building it was so loud we could barely hear each other! As soon as we finished the rain stopped and the sun came out again as we walked outside. Crazy! During our first dance I remember trying my best to take it all in and looked round to see everyone’s smiling faces, then all our friends joining us on the dance floor to finish the song – I didn’t want it to end!

Real Madrid beating Liverpool the night before in the Champions League… because if Liverpool had won there was a huge parade planned for the next day on Albert Dock meaning I’d have no way of leaving my hotel and getting to Sefton Park other than to leave at 8am, get ready in another hotel and re-direct all suppliers to the new hotel at 11pm! So big thanks to Gareth Bale for that.

Keep track of everything you’re saving and spending on a spreadsheet, and stick to a timeline of things you want to tick off each month. If you’re undecided about whether to book a videographer we’d say 100% do it, it’s the best feeling watching it back a couple of months after. We’ll be showing people and reminiscing for years to come.

Remember to have fun throughout planning and not spend time worrying about certain things not going to plan – some things may not and that might be out of your control, but it won’t affect how special your day is and often makes a great story.

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Botanical Boho Festival Glitter Party Wedding in a Palm House

The Proposal

The Proposal

The Proposal

Thankfully, after about an hour he started to feel a bit better. We saw a doctor the next day who said I (and google) probably saved his life which was pretty scary. It wasn’t the most romantic way of celebrating new year and our engagement but it made a great story to tell the family…

The Proposal

The Vision

The Planning Process

Budget

The Venue

The Readings & Music

The Readings & Music

First dance – Candi Staton, You’ve got the love

The Readings & Music

Groomsmen

Your Outfits & Accessories

Your Outfits & Accessories

For the ceremony he wore a light blue / grey gingham style check suit with a waistcoat which he thought was more suitable for the day, then he changed into his brightly coloured floral suit after the reception ready for the evening party. Both from ASOS.

Your Outfits & Accessories

Beauty

The Details & Décor

The Details & Décor

The Details & Décor

The Details & Décor

The Gypsy Shrine girls were amazing and so patient with our long queue of guests of all ages wanting their faces embellished!

The Details & Décor

The Cake

Your Photographer

Bloom also did our video and we are over the moon with it, we have watched it about a million times! It’s difficult to know what to expect with a video but it sums up the day perfectly and we love that Rosie’s reading was included as voiceover.

Your Filmmaker

The Flowers

For the bouquets I wanted something really leafy and sporadic, almost as if I’d just picked them, she used ivory roses, white peonies and lot’s of greenery. The bridesmaid’s were similar to mine but with some blue thistle, and they wore dainty crowns of gypsophila.

The Flowers

The Honeymoon

The Honeymoon

Bridesmaids

Memorable Moments

Memorable Moments

Advice For Other Couples

Remember to have fun throughout planning and not spend time worrying about certain things not going to plan – some things may not and that might be out of your control, but it won’t affect how special your day is and often makes a great story.

Advice For Other Couples

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