My DIY Wedding

At Pendrell Hall Wedding Venue

We asked lovely newlywed Laura to tell us about her DIY Wedding at Pendrell Hall. Sharing her top tips for adding personal touches to your perfect day.

Where Did It All Start?

We met on our first week of college. We had made friends with the same group without realising and whilst on a group Xbox live chat we first said hello. The next day in tutor class after the register Ollie turned around to me and said ‘are you Laura?’ to which I replied ‘yes?’ and he remarked ‘it’s me Ollie from Xbox!’. From that moment we became best friends and have been for 10 years. It wasn’t until our 6th year of friendship that Ollie finally asked me out!

As our relationship is rooted in friendship, we never fail to make each other laugh! We’ve supported each other through difficult times, including other relationships and have a deep understanding of one another.

Why Did You Choose Pendrell Hall?

To be honest it was the building. We absolutely loved the look of Pendrell Hall and we are massive National Trust fans so the old-style stately home look was exactly what we were looking for. As we were also only planning on having a small affair (consisting mainly of family) we loved how it was not too big and once inside reminded you of a cosy home. The décor was stunning and had an art décor vibe. There was also the added bonus that as well as having a bridal suite for myself to get ready there was also a groom’s room for Ollie to feel special too!

Did You Have A Theme?

We didn’t particularly have a main theme for our DIY Wedding as it mainly consisted of things we love. However, we used a lot of countryside, rustic items such as blossom trees on the table, logs throughout the hall in the fireplaces, a pallet with photos of us as children and couple photographs and we also had a log cutting cake! We wanted it to be a very relaxed gathering of our closest friends and family and Pendrell Hall really delivered! I do have to say Pinterest was a big help on the lead up to the wedding!

What Was Your Favourite DIY Wedding Decoration?

A large attraction was our homemade pallet with fairy lights and polaroid pictures attached. The polaroid’s consisted of pictures of Ollie and I together as friends and as a couple throughout the years and also of us as children. In the middle of the pallet we stuck a sign that said ‘every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favourite.’

What About Flowers?

As Ollie has bad hay fever, we didn’t want too many flowers and so instead we went for more foliage. The flowers consisted of mainly foliage with pops of colour from berries within the bouquet. We also had small white flowers, gypsophila, lavender entwined with other herbs and thistles.

Tell Us About The Dress!

Ollie never saw my dress before the wedding but I did help him pick out his suits. I wore the dress called ‘Jodie’ which is an original design from Heavenly Wedding Belles (the shop I bought it from). I probably tried on around 60 dresses before going to Heavenly Wedding Belles where I found the one. There was something more to the dresses within the shop that caught my attention, I didn’t want a ‘normal’ wedding gown that you see in every wedding shop, I wanted something that was a little bit alternative. I knew I wanted off the shoulder and lots of lace! (Although before trying on dresses I had wanted long sleeve, but that changed quickly!

I chose Jodie because it ticked all the boxes. The train was gorgeous, long and commanded the room. The lace on the train reminded me of royalty and gave the dress a real feminine touch. The layers on the dress inhabited sparkle and gave the dress depth. I loved the off the shoulder style of dress and I felt that the detail on the shoulders was stunning. I loved how the lace on the shoulder material would ‘stick out’ and create a ‘feathered’ look (as I was becoming a Swannick I loved the idea of being a swan princess). This made it so different to other dresses I had tried, and especially when looking at the bodice it had fine detailed beadwork/ lace which really gave it more.

How About Entertainment?

We had a DJ (TRAX Disco Roadshow) in the evening to entertain our guests. Due to our wedding ceremony taking place at 2pm there wasn’t a lot of spare time that needed to be filled up with entertainment for our guests. They were happy to explore the venue, drink and chat to friends and family who they had not seen for a while.

We had a mixture of music throughout the day but every song we picked we loved. We had classical instrumental pieces playing in the morning and throughout the ceremony. We then mixed it up a little and whilst the reception took place we had acoustic sessions and more chilled music, this continued throughout the wedding breakfast. After this all took place the DJ then played upbeat tracks that we chose, whilst also playing requests and reading the room.

TRAx Disco Roadshow

Did You Hire A Photographer?

Timothy James Photography was our photographer and he was just amazing! Tim from start to finish was exceptional! His communication throughout the whole process was amazing and nothing was ever too much trouble! Everyone on our wedding day commented on how fantastic Tim was as a photographer, how friendly and approachable he was and basically how it was just like having another one of your friends at your wedding!

We received our photos (hand delivered as well I might add) and they were incredible. We can’t believe how amazing they turned out and we are in love with them! There was so much detail put into the packaging of our photos which made the whole experience even more extra special! Tim you are a fantastic photographer and thank you so much for creating memories for us that we can hold onto forever!

Timothy James Photography

Best Bits?

One of my favourite parts of the day was when Victoria our events manager took us into a separate room after the ceremony so we got 5 minutes together. It was the first time we got to see each other properly and it was lovely to have that time! As well as that the evening was one of the best parts of the day for us as we were finally able to relax and enjoy the rest of the day without having to worry about what was to come. As even though you have an outlined plan for the day, you kind of just go along with it and don’t really know what is happening. It’s definitely a big whirlwind!

Any Final Top Tips?

Don’t stress about the little things! When your living through the day you won’t care about what shade of card the place names are etc and the guests won’t mind either! It’s about the two of you coming together to share your love and be entwined forever!