This will be my final Wedding Wednesday on Bumpkin Betty folks. I’m hoping to do a full ‘Wedding Week’ in January, once back from honeymoon and once we have our official wedding photos, with more details on our special day and of course – the dress – so stay tuned for that. And of course, if you’ve been following my Lovette posts on Love My Dress you’ll know our wedding is still to be featured over there too. For now though, our wedding planning journey has come to an end and so too must this blog series. I wanted to conclude things properly and so today’s post will be a final round up of all of my wedding related recommendations for any of you still in the throws of planning. But I have to admit concluding this particular blog series is a little bitter sweet.
The truth is, I’ve really surprised myself with how much I’ve enjoyed writing about weddings over the last year. It honestly wasn’t a subject I knew anything about, or really cared to know anything about before I got engaged but in some ways I think writing about my own experiences and emotions in an honest way, as I went through them for the first time, has resonated with other brides and bride-to-be’s and it’s been lovely to share those experiences and emotions with those of you who have taken the time to read and comment along the way. I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and there are probably many readers who are glad to see a return to outfits posts and baking challenges, but this blog has and always will be – the story of my life – and in the last year my life has been about weddings, or at least one wedding, our wedding. Of course, I realise that things will change again and life will move on to the next challenge or project or event and this blog will follow it. So I know that beyond this year (and once we get all the official wedding pics back) it would be silly for me to continue a wedding section on this personal lifestyle blog, as it will no longer be a personal experience for me.
That being said I’ve decided that while it might not be right for this blog after this year, it is an area I want to continue writing about, thinking about, and being creative with. And because of that I’ve made the decision to continue working in the wedding industry in one way or another. I’ve started making tracks to steer my freelance business (creative content, social media and editorial) into the wedding world as opposed to purely the fashion and lifestyle world which will hopefully open up many new avenues for me in what is, let’s be honest, a pretty over-saturated industry. I’ve got plans for a few creative side projects that may see me continue to indulge my love for car boots and wedding styling in the new year and… (the one which might be of the most interest to all of you) I’ve begun work on a new wedding website, a venture I hope can become as much of a passion project as Bumpkin Betty has become over the years.
I can’t tell you all that much yet (as I’m still in the throws of planning and nothing is set in stone) but my aim is to make it an inspirational space for those planning a wedding – full of tips, ideas, DIY projects, advice and most importantly #RealBrides and real projects that are actually accessible and affordable to all. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for months but now that the wedding is out of the way I can throw more of my energy into. I don’t yet have a launch date because I want to do things properly and really make a go of it, but I’ll be sure to keep you all updated when the time comes. For now, those of you who are as wedding obsessed as I, can enjoy this final Wedding Wednesday post and hopefully you’ll follow along when my new site launches!
So with that announcement out of the way, keep on reading for all of my wedding recommendations! I can only recommend based on our personal experience so these are all suppliers/ resources that we either used ourselves, met or dealt with in some way who I would rate! I hope they’re helpful.
Newly engaged
My Favourite Wedding Reads
Online Resources to Kick Start the Planning
Wedding Planners
Wedding Fairs not to be Missed
The National Vintage Wedding Fair
Engagement Rings
Steven Einhorn (who created my gorgeous ring – see more here)
In the throws of planning
Wedding Venue Hunt
You and Your Wedding Venue Search
Photographers to check out
Amy Shore Photography (our gal!)
Wedding Videos
Invites and Save the Dates
Printed.com (we printed all of our invites through them – very reasonable)
Florists doing great things
I Heart Flowers (our superstar florist)
And where to buy your own flowers to save money
Triangle Nursery (the wholesaler we used)
Car Boots I Loved
Becoming a bride
Dress shops and designers I’d recommend
Wilden Bridal (my lovely dress designer)
Where to shop for wedding shoes
Vestiaire Collective (where I found my Rupert Sanderson shoes)
Where to shop for bridal accessories
Samantha Walden (who designed my amazing tiara)
Wedding Jewellery
Ivy Nixon Jewellery (who made my wedding ring and jewellery for the day)
We Are Arrow (gorgeous organic pieces)
Catbird (found them in Brooklyn, been in love ever since)
Metal Crumble (for a cheaper alternative)
Hair and Beauty
Pin Up Hair Glasgow (who did my hair on the day)
Rosie Lewis (my friend did my make up but check her out on Insta)
A La Carte London (read about my make up trial here)
For the Grooms
Finding a suit
Gresham Blake (where GB got his suit made)
Shoes and Accessories
Loake shoes (read my full review of their service here)
I’m sure I’ve missed some stuff out so I’ll keep adding to this list as I go. I haven’t included things like Venues, Catering, Bands etc as I felt like they were so location specific. We also had friends help us with a lot including cakes, transport, music etc so didn’t have much experience dealing with suppliers on those things but I really hope some of you find that useful!
Farewell Wedding Wednesdays!
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