Sustainable garden wedding
SUSTAINABLE GARDEN WEDDING
Emma and Jamie got married at home, in a marquee in their garden. They made several sustainable choices for their wedding day, Emma's dress, Magnolia, being one of them. The intimate, sustainable garden wedding was captured beautifully by the amazing The Falkenburgs.
Congratulations Emma and Jamie and thank you for sharing your wedding story with us!
- Miina -
THE WEDDING DRESS JOURNEY
What made Indiebride London stand out from the other wedding vendors you were considering?
I was nervous about looking for my wedding dress because it felt like such a big decision. I wanted to feel comfortable and unrestricted on our wedding day, and most of all, I wanted to feel like myself. When I found Indiebride London, I was so relieved. I didn’t know wedding dresses like this existed. They’re all so flowy and ethereal looking, and the style is somehow simultaneously laid back and extremely special at the same time. We had an outdoor, relaxed wedding, so the dresses all matched perfectly, and the focus on sustainability was also really important to me.
Why did you ultimately choose to work with Indiebride London?
There were a lot of reasons, from the dresses to the sustainability focus, but it was getting to know Miina that really convinced me that Indiebride London was the place I wanted to get my wedding dress from. She is so passionate and talented, but she’s also created a relaxed environment in the showroom that made the experience of trying on dresses completely unforgettable. Going into the showroom and seeing all the dresses, it sounds strange, but I just knew from then that I would find something there. Looking back on it, I really chose Indiebride, rather than choosing the dress.
If you had to describe your experience with Indiebride London in one sentence, how would you do it?
A relaxed experience where I found a beautiful dress and made lovely memories along the way.
What was the biggest worry about your wedding that Indiebride London helped alleviate?
I think anyone who looks for a wedding dress feels like this at some point, but I was honestly worried that I wouldn’t find anything I liked. I didn’t know what I wanted and though having an open mind can be a good thing, it made shopping for the dress feel a bit overwhelming. Me, my mum and my sister picked out a lot of dresses for me to try on at Indiebride, and then Miina asked if I would consider trying on one more. I tried on Miina’s pick, and that was the dress I ended up with. It was such a great moment, and I’ll be forever grateful to her for that.
Tell us about a moment you especially enjoyed while working with Indiebride London
One of the great things about Miina is that she helped with the overall look too. She makes beautiful veils of all different styles. I knew I wanted a veil, but I didn’t have a clue how to pick the right one to go with the dress. When I tried on a long veil, Miina suggested we match the lace trim on the veil to the lace on my dress. It looked so perfect when it was all done. Watching the dress come together was also a great experience. Every time I went back for a fitting, more of it was done, so I got to see it all come to life step by step.
Read more about Emma and Jamie's wedding after the image gallery
THE WEDDING
Tell us about your bridal look
I had my make up done by Ruth Tong, who’s a make-up artist from our local area. She was completely wonderful and did both my hair and make-up in a really natural way, which was exactly what I wanted. The flowers were done by local florist Amy at Flutter Florals, who grows all her flowers sustainably from scratch and creates beautiful, unique bouquets and designs. We gave her complete free reign with the flowers because we loved her style and had no real colour theme since we were outdoors. She did an incredible job. My shoes were low heeled satin shoes that were comfortable all day, and for accessories, I had matching pearl earrings, necklace, and bracelet. I also had a ‘something blue’ bracelet from my mum which I love.
Was there anything that went wrong on your wedding day, and how did you deal with it?
The only thing I remember or knew about going wrong was our table plan. I’d spent ages planning it, and then me and my mum made a seating chart board from an old wooden pallet. Her boyfriend also helped us make table numbers from some felled trees in the woodland behind their home. So a lot of thought had been put into it all. Then, when the guests arrived, and we were greeting them, I realised we’d put the numbers on the wrong tables! I just told everyone where they could find their seat instead, so it didn’t cause too much of an issue. You think before the day that you’ll care about things like that, but honestly, it just made me laugh, and I smile when I think about it now.
What did you have as entertainment and food at your wedding?
We used Luca’s Events for our catering, who, (apart from making really amazing food) source all their ingredients sustainably, fresh from local producers. They did canapes, a main and desert and evening food for us. The cake was from Farli’s Fancies, which is local to us. The cake was amazing and she did such an amazing job keeping it standing because it was an extremely hot day, and the cake was very tall! For entertainment we had a local DJ.
Apart from saying "yes" to your husband, what was your favourite moment on your wedding day?
We’ve talked about this a lot, and for both of us, our favourite moment was the first dance. You think it’s going to be really awkward (we definitely did!) but the moment that everyone joined the dance floor with us actually turned into the most private moment we’d had all day. No one was looking at us because they were all dancing with their partners and friends, and we got to have the most beautiful moment, just the two of us right in the middle. It was amazing.
What advice would you give to brides who are still planning their wedding?
This is really difficult because I think when you’re in the thick of the planning, it doesn’t feel like this at all, and if someone would have said it to me, I wouldn’t have believed it. But the advice I would give is to know that it will all be completely worth it and all completely fine in the end. There were elements of the planning I enjoyed, and I made some special memories with my family and friends that I’ll never forget (like shopping for bridesmaids’ dresses and my hen do). But there were also some really stressful moments. The money side is hard, making decisions is hard, and you’re trying to make a lot of people happy. But, even though it doesn’t feel like it will be sometimes, it will be absolutely, 100% worth it in the end. Having all the people you love in one place all together is such an incredibly special thing, and celebrating a new stage of life with your partner, however you choose to do it, it’s an unforgettable day.
- Emma -