Cool & Non Traditional City Budget Friendly Wedding

Rob bribed a hungover me to go for a walk around Kirkstall Abbey with the promise of pub grub and a pint. He tried to find the perfect spot and managed to kneel in a puddle whilst proposing it was perfect.

We really wanted a relaxed feel to the wedding without a heavy focus on all the “traditional” aspects of a wedding. We just wanted a big party with our lovely friends and family.

Bev, Rob’s mum, read John Cooper Clarke, I Want to be Your Vacuum Cleaner and my best friend from college Annie read Oh The Places You Will Go by Dr Seuss. We walked down the aisle to Big Brother and The Holding Company – Call on Me and walked out to The Last Shadow Puppets – Sweet Dreams, TN.

We started planning roughly about a year and half before we married and found that either going on a long walk or going to the pub was a good way to make the big decisions. We felt it was important to keep coming back to the parts of the wedding that we felt reflected our personalities and to not get sucked in by all the wedding planning. Our friends and family were amazing with helping us make decorations and decorate the night before.

I also had 10 bridesmaids! I had my sisters, sister-in-law and 7 friends from primary, high school, college and uni. My bridesmaids bought their own dresses in burgundy as I wanted them to feel comfortable and wear a style which suited them best. Their dresses were from ASOS and Boohoo.

We budgeted about £6,000 but it ended up being around the £7,000 mark.

My dress was from ASOS and I chose this because I wanted my wedding dress to be a bit different. I loved the floral embroidery and the fluttery sleeves and felt it suited the relaxed vibe of the wedding. Rob wore a three piece navy suit from Next. His tie and pocket square were also from Next and they were burgundy to match the bridesmaids.

The lovely Kellie and Emma (Briar Rose) did my hair and make up. They were so friendly and listened to exactly what I wanted. I could not recommend them enough. I wore my hair curly with a flower crown and my make up was quite natural with a dark eye.

We were married at Leeds Town Hall as we loved the building and our reception was held at Northern Monk Brewery one of our favourite places to drink in Leeds. We rented the top room of the building with exposed brick and amazing lighting when the sun began to set. The staff couldn’t have been nicer and were so helpful on the run up to the wedding.

For the bouquets I bought dried flowers from Florence and Flowers on Etsy and for the table flowers we bought them the day before Aldi and Morrisons. My mum and two of my bridesmaids arranged the flowers in vases.

Our cake was a four tier cake made of cheese from The Black Mouse Emporium. Porterhouse Cakes made mini cakes for us two – we had two different types of doughnuts, sticky toffee pecan tarts and fig frangipanes. Our main course food was creole BBQ from Shanty Town. Our guests raved about the steak and seafood dishes they had.

We wanted a colourful room filled with flowers. We had a little snug in the corner with a memory board filled with pictures of all our guests through the years. Hanging from the ceiling were circle lanterns made by myself and my bridesmaid. Behind the top table we had a wall of fairy lights with Just Married balloons behind us. We had long bench tables with green runners so it felt as if everyone was sat together.

Later on in the night we had tables turned round so our guests could play Beer Pong and make way for the dance floor.

Our photographer was Lisa Howard who was amazing! We had so much fun with her on the day and she was so helpful getting people organised for our group photographs.

Rob had 10 groomsmen. My brothers, his cousin and friends and let them decide if they wanted to wear a suit they already had or buy a new to make sure they felt comfortable in what they were wearing. They all had the same matching burgundy ties to match the bridesmaids as well.

We went to Portugal for two weeks. One week in Ferragudo and one week in Lisbon (one of my favourite places in Europe). We wanted a lazy beach holiday straight after the wedding then a busy city break afterwards.

Walking down the aisle together, getting Rob’s first and middle name mixed up (oops!), we had a rather eccentric driver who made us laugh the entire drive there. The amazing speeches read by Rob, my dad, best man Kieron and two of my bridesmaids Shanei and Keisha.

Our advice would be don’t feel pressurised to take part in traditional wedding rituals if you don’t want to! We walked down the aisle together and our first dance was with all the guests. We would definitely recommend independent businesses as they produce such unique decorations, flowers etc.

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Cool & Non Traditional City Budget Friendly Wedding

Rob bribed a hungover me to go for a walk around Kirkstall Abbey with the promise of pub grub and a pint. He tried to find the perfect spot and managed to kneel in a puddle whilst proposing it was perfect.

The Proposal

We really wanted a relaxed feel to the wedding without a heavy focus on all the “traditional” aspects of a wedding. We just wanted a big party with our lovely friends and family.

The Vision

Bev, Rob’s mum, read John Cooper Clarke, I Want to be Your Vacuum Cleaner and my best friend from college Annie read Oh The Places You Will Go by Dr Seuss. We walked down the aisle to Big Brother and The Holding Company – Call on Me and walked out to The Last Shadow Puppets – Sweet Dreams, TN.

The Readings & Music

The Planning Process

I also had 10 bridesmaids! I had my sisters, sister-in-law and 7 friends from primary, high school, college and uni. My bridesmaids bought their own dresses in burgundy as I wanted them to feel comfortable and wear a style which suited them best. Their dresses were from ASOS and Boohoo.

Bridesmaids

We budgeted about £6,000 but it ended up being around the £7,000 mark.

Budget

Your Outfits & Accessories

The lovely Kellie and Emma (Briar Rose) did my hair and make up. They were so friendly and listened to exactly what I wanted. I could not recommend them enough. I wore my hair curly with a flower crown and my make up was quite natural with a dark eye.

Beauty

The Venue

For the bouquets I bought dried flowers from Florence and Flowers on Etsy and for the table flowers we bought them the day before Aldi and Morrisons. My mum and two of my bridesmaids arranged the flowers in vases.

The Flowers

The Cake

The Details & Décor

Later on in the night we had tables turned round so our guests could play Beer Pong and make way for the dance floor.

The Details & Décor

Our photographer was Lisa Howard who was amazing! We had so much fun with her on the day and she was so helpful getting people organised for our group photographs.

Your Photographer

Rob had 10 groomsmen. My brothers, his cousin and friends and let them decide if they wanted to wear a suit they already had or buy a new to make sure they felt comfortable in what they were wearing. They all had the same matching burgundy ties to match the bridesmaids as well.

Groomsmen

We went to Portugal for two weeks. One week in Ferragudo and one week in Lisbon (one of my favourite places in Europe). We wanted a lazy beach holiday straight after the wedding then a busy city break afterwards.

The Honeymoon

Walking down the aisle together, getting Rob’s first and middle name mixed up (oops!), we had a rather eccentric driver who made us laugh the entire drive there. The amazing speeches read by Rob, my dad, best man Kieron and two of my bridesmaids Shanei and Keisha.

Memorable Moments

Our advice would be don’t feel pressurised to take part in traditional wedding rituals if you don’t want to! We walked down the aisle together and our first dance was with all the guests. We would definitely recommend independent businesses as they produce such unique decorations, flowers etc.

Advice For Other Couples

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