Little Miss Wedding gives you tips, inspiration, and ideas for your special day - showcasing British wedding photographers, designers, and creators of everything lovely. 
Becky & Godfrey wanted a small intimate wedding with their closest friends and family in Scotland, and that is exactly what they got. Its clear from the photos that it was an incredible day and despite it looking a little overcast it didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits! Award-winning photographers,Archibald Photography were there to capture the day, and as per usual did a fabulous job. The couple searched high and low for the right venue and eventually fell in love with Glenapp Castle, a luxury castle in Ayrshire that dates back to the 1870′s. You can see why…..
On the morning of the wedding the guests enjoyed a bit of clay pigeon shooting in the grounds of the castle.
Then it was time to get ready for the intimate service at 3 PM at Glenapp Church. Becky looked amazing in a 1940′s inspired Vera Wang gown, that she had found in Selfridges, and fell in love with immediately. She wore silver satin round-toed shoes from LK Bennet and a silk tulle veil, also from Vera Wang.
I love the intricate detailing on the shoulders of her dress – gorgeous.
Becky decided to do her own make up as she wanted to look natural (I know how she feels its a bit scary thinking that you might come out looking nothing like yourself). Glenapp Castle had recommended hairdresser, Jeanna Hyslop, who styled her hair in a stunning low bun, with a small comb of pearls and crystals. And she arrived at the ceremony in serious style – check out the vintage 1954 Riley (belonging to the owner of the castle)
The flowers were shades of purple/blue with small white roses and thistles. I love the purple thistle buttonholes that the men wore (very Scottish), whilst the ladies all had corsages featuring a white rose and a purple spray flower. Becky’s bouquet also included some loops of Douglas Modern tartan ribbon interspersed among the blooms to match the groom’s kilt and plaid. All the flowers were done by the Castle’s florist, Sam Murdoch. 
For Becky looking back, “It was an incredible day that I will never forget. Plus I got to marry my best pal, how many people can say that.” And her advice to others would be “Take a few moments out to savour the experiences of the day. Just stop and appreciate all the hard work and organisation that has gone into your day because it will go past in a blur.”
Everyone enjoyed a fabulous 5 course wedding breakfast followed by a fireworks display in the castle grounds – Wow!
I know that Mark from Archibald Photography loved photographing this wedding he told me “Becky, Godfrey and I got on really well and we had great fun wandering through the grounds of spectacular Glenapp Castle. One of the main reasons we got so many lovely photographs was down to the clear close relationship between the couple and the fact they enjoyed being photographed. My main memory of this wedding will always be how fantastically well Becky carried off her Vera Wang dress. She truly looked gorgeous and her look was perfectly complemented by her subtle and elegant hair and make up. Everything came together for me on this day…great weather, classic venue, lovely people and, of course, an ideally matched couple. One of the favourite weddings I have photographed, this day will live long in the memory.”
If you want to see more photos from this gorgeous wedding click here to visit Archibald Photography’s blog (there are lots of their other recent weddings on their blog too). Archibald Photography are award-winning Scottish photographers and they have photographed some stunning weddings in Scotland and further afield – be sure to visit their site too, Archibald Photography. You can also visit the real life weddings section where you can view all the recent weddings that I’ve featured on LMW.
Scottish Wedding * Becky & Godfrey, Glenapp Castle
Top 10 DIY Style Ideas for Your Wedding
‘Its always a bit of a risk when someone asks to guest blog on LMW as I’m never quite sure what its going to turn out like (I don’t always post them!), there was no need to worry here though as Mary, a London based wedding planner, has sent through some really fantastic DIY Styling ideas for your wedding….’
Hiya, Little Miss Weddingistas! I am a wedding planner and owner of Forever and Ever Events, a boutique wedding planning firm based in Primrose Hill, London. I was so thrilled when I was asked to guest blog about my favourite two topics: DIY and Styling.
As a wedding planner and event design consultant, I know how daunting DIY can seem to people, especially to those who don’t have much time to put it together! Never fear: here are some easy DIY tips that will most certainly inject your personalities and charm into your celebration. (Just don’t leave ordering some of these items to the last minute! Always factor in how long shipping/handling will take… just FYI!).
Photography by Alicia Pollett
10. Frame old photographs of you and your fiancé (individually, from toddler to adult, and as a couple), as well as photographs of your grandparents, siblings and, most importantly, your parents on their wedding day. Try and use pretty antique-style or gilt-edged frames. Set these framed photos around your reception venue or in the hotel lobby if you have exclusive use. It will instantly create a sense of an intimate party that celebrates your lives.
9. Remember chalkboards from school? Well, they don’t have to be associated with your ol’ school marm. Chalkboards can be extremely cute signage at a modern wedding reception and are also eco-friendly. All you need are large pieces of wood, plastic or metal and “chalkboard paint” from your local hardware store. Definitely apply multiple coats, but make sure the prior coats dry completely before adding the next layer. Use these babies as a welcome sign, to write out the evening’s menu, a dessert table sign, etc., and then reuse them after your wedding!
8. For a guestbook, find an old/antique typewriter on eBay or at a flea market/car boot sale. Set it on its own table with blank sheets of high-quality paper. Feed one paper through for guests to start on – and type your first message, such as, “This is our guestbook! Share a message with us! Love, M + D.” After the wedding, punch two holes in the left hand margin of each page, stack them up and feed a pretty ribbon through all the pages (front through back, twice to secure), double knot and tie a big bow. Now you’ve got a guest book with pretty binding.
7. If you can’t afford one of those amazing photo booths, why not create your own? Put together a Polaroid camera station! Ask an attendant or friend to take Polaroids of your guests and paste the instant photo into a book. Your guests can then leave a cute handwritten message next to their photo. Before the wedding, take a sample Polaroid and, using it as a guide, paste photo corners onto each page, so that it is super easy for your “photographer” to slide the instant photos onto each page.
6. Are you a music buff and picky about your DJ or band’s play list? Create your own wedding soundtrack and provide personalized CDs as wedding favours. All you have to do is burn the play list onto CDs and order personalized CD labels in your wedding colours. Make sure to get square envelopes that match your colour palette for the CDs and tie a ribbon around the entire packet so that it looks like a mini present.
5. Escort cards can be such a creative DIY platform. If you’re planning a destination wedding, get brown luggage tags for your escort cards. Use a typewriter to type up each guest’s name with their table assignment (e.g., “Mary Herrington | Table 4”) and line the tags up alphabetically in a large antique suitcase that’s displayed lying open on a table, propped against a wall. Type up a sign that says “Find your dinner destination!” or something cute like that so that your guests know to pick up their escort cards.
4. For instant charm, hang up bunting and fairy lights! It’s so easy to do – and fairy light don’t even require assembly! For the bunting, cut out triangles on patterned paper and sew the top of the triangles onto thin white ribbon with few inches of space in between each triangle. Then hang away!
3. Do you have a friend or family member who is awesome at baking? Put together a dessert table with their homemade treats! Mix up your mom’s famous pecan squares with your BFF’s cupcakes and your granny’s melt-in-mouth cookies. Set them out on a long table in your reception area on cake stands and pretty platters. Yum!
Photos by Berna V Photography
2. Flowers & centerpieces. For an outdoorsy or vintage reception, collect glass milk jugs, pickles jars and honey jars and arrange them in three’s in the center of a round table. Make sure you use fresh flowers and arrange different, yet thematically cohesive, flowers into each of the three vases, creating a vibrant centerpiece. For example, baby’s breath mixed with daisies and roses in the same colour palette. {Tip: it’s beautiful to mix ‘rough’ edged flowers and succulents with the traditional, like roses}.
1. And the easiest DIY styling idea? Candles candles candles! This is so cheap and so easy, you really don’t have an excuse. Candlelight instantly creates warmth and a romantic glow – and makes your evening reception look stunning in photos. You can get tea lights in bags of 100 at any local shop for less than £5. Order super cheap clear glass tea light holders from IKEA and set out loads of tea lights all over your tables. Gorgeous.
Most importantly – make sure you have FUN and inject YOUR personality into any DIY project for your big day. For more tips on event styling, DIY and wedding planning, visit Forever and Ever Events or visit my blog.
‘What do you think guys? Fab ideas? Do you have any other DIY ideas to add?‘
Free tickets to Bridal Workshop with The Wedding Genie
Julie Dawson, from the Wedding Genie, contacted me recently to ask me to spread the word about her bridal workshops (and also mention the chance to win a free pair of tickets!) So for all you confused brides that are looking for a bit of help and direction on planning your perfect day (and staying within budget) read on…. She is giving away 5 pairs of free tickets to her first workshop. Check out all the info on her bridal workshops and the free competition here on Wedding Genie site.
Those of us that have got married, know that it can all get a bit overwhelming at points (even if you’re planning a very chilled/relax wedding), so what better than a morning or afternoon of fun, advice and a chance to talk to a wedding planner about learning to budget, and planning tips for your wedding.
* Tips for a relaxed and stress-free day
* How to pick the right suppliers and manage them (including the all important choice of venue)
* How to save money including ways to negotiate with suppliers
* Free goodie bag including budget planning spreadsheet.
Make sure you email Julie as you might be in with a chance of winning a free pair of tickets – good luck! Just click here to read about the Wedding Genie Bridal Workshops
Real Wedding * Kate & Alex, Edinburgh
Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while will know that I have a soft spot for 2 fab scottish suppliers, Elemental Weddings (the photographers) and Planet Flowers (florists obviously) so when I received this real life wedding, which was a collaboration of the two, I obviously jumped at the chance to feature it on LMW. Starting with some gorgeous flowers (I love flowers!) followed by fun and games for the groom bowling with friends pre wedding, whilst Kate the bride was getting ready at the amazing wedding venue, Borthwick Castle, which dates back to the 1430′s.
Kate’s gorgeous dress was from San Patrick, her hair was done by Karen at Paterson SA and make up by Jennifer Bell. The girl’s got ready in Mary Queen of Scot’s bedroom – all very regal!
After their humanist ceremony the couple escaped for some romantic photos. 
Now this has to be one of my favourite photos I LOVE the origami birds that were decorating the venue, so colourful and pretty. Christina and Jay from Elemental Weddings said “We’ve really enjoyed getting to know Kate and Alex over the last few months – they are so much fun to be around and we knew their wedding would be a blast. Kate and Alex had been working on their thousand origami cranes for months, and the end result was spectacular. They absolutely deserve the 1000 years of happiness and prosperity Japanese legend says it will bring!”
Christina from Elemental Weddings knows that I love Planet Flowers’ work so she sent me an extra does of flowers and table arrangements – gorgeous. Gloriosa, Denrobium orchids, Vanda Orchids, Hydrangea, Callas, Allium, Peonies, Eustoma and dark tropical leaves and grasses
Gorgeous cake was made by Kate’s aunt. Some heart-warming speeches, followed by dancing, great music and lots of laughter
* I asked Kate why they chose Christina and Jay, from Elemental Weddings as their photographers
“We found Elemental by looking online at Edinburgh wedding photographers. We looked at loads of different one, but Jay and Christina’s photos were by far our favourites so we arranged to meet them. They met us in the Balmoral Bar (for coffee) after which we were in complete agreement that they were the ones for us! They seemed – and are – very relaxed and professional at the same time and we both had complete confidence in their ability to just get on and take fantastic photos of our wedding day”
* And the best bit about the day?
“The best bit of our wedding day… yowsers! We’ve sat here discussing this and neither of us can possibly think of one bit that was the best. The whole day was truly amazing and we have constantly chatted about it, reliving so many bits over the last couple of weeks. I think that everything from the how the castle looked with all of the flowers and candles, to the immeasurable feelings of love and happiness on the day were even better than we had ever imagined. What we, and our friends and family can’t stop talking about is what a happy, happy day it was. Alex and I had written our own humanist ceremony and had no idea that it would invoke such a reaction among all of our guests. Our words and the readings that we chose seemed to make such an impact on other people too, which we hadn’t expected and they were so kind in telling us afterwards how much they loved our vows and the ceremony for its individuality and intimacy. Throughout the whole day everyone at the wedding got on so well, which was so lovely to see” 
We had a joint hen-stag party (theme = trailer trash!) a few weeks before the wedding which was really good as loads of our friends from different parts of our lives got to know each other really well, so there was never the awkward “how do you know the bride/groom” chatter!”
Don’t you just love this wedding? As I said a great collaboration between Planet Flowers, Elemental Weddings and a gorgeous, fun couple Kate and Alex. Be sure to check out their websites (and Elemental Weddings Blog too) and thanks to you all for sharing with me!
PS if you wanted to check out another wedding that I have featured that they’ve both worked at then have a look at Jude and Matt Tie the Knot, another Edinburgh wedding. You can also click here to look at all the submissions for real life weddings on LMW.
* Kate & Simon, Bournemouth Wedding
Kate and Simon got married in Bournemouth this summer. Loving the laidback style of their wedding and the subtle blue theme running throughout (maybe not so subtle with the bright blue converse!) ….this first photo of fresh flowers in jam jars is absolutely gorgeous and sums up their fun, relaxed wedding. Thanks to the groom, Simon, for filling me in on all the finer details of the wedding!
“Blue is Kates’ families nickname for her and her favourite colour. Also its traditional for the bride to have something blue at a wedding 
The dog is Daisy, Kate’s mums. She was with all the girls whilst they were getting ready and kept trying to get in every shot Greg took, shes vain like that.” The wedding ceremony was in Kinson, Bournemouth at St Andrews Church, with the bride and groom photos at Boscombe, Bournemouth. Afterwards the guests all headed off to the reception at the Best Western Hotel Royale in Bournemouth. The couple hired the VW camper van from The Wedding Bug in Bournemouth, which specialises in classic VW cars and vans.
Simon said that the best thing about the day …. “The service was lovely and touching. The reverend made everyone feel relaxed and at ease and laughed along when Kate got the giggles during the “with my body I honour you” line.” 
They also had Brock Ice on hand to serve guests delicious New Forest ice cream from a traditional ice cream bicycle. “Kates maid of honour, who is also her aunt offered to do all the flowers and pay for them as a wedding gift. Which meant a hideously late night for all the girls the night before the wedding. Kate had the idea of jam jars on all the tables and set about getting all the family involved in collecting them and growing sweetpeas which made the reception rooms smell delicious”.
“The snorkel and flippers were a present from Kate’s brother and Kate’s friend to take on honeymoon with us. They wore them onto to the dance floor towards the end of the evening”
Great photos by Greg Thurtle, who is based in Dorset/Bournemouth (make sure you check out his site, TP Photography)- Greg said that he loved photographing this wedding as it was such a laugh! Simon, the groom, told me the reason that they chose Greg is because “We liked his laid back style and after meeting him it was easy to relax around him and he helped us to relax in front of the camera something neither of us thought possible.” If you’ve enjoyed this wedding then click here to read lots of other real life wedding submissions on LMW. Little Miss Wedding is a UK Wedding blog that focuses on featuring british designers, photographers, and wedding vendors. Are you feeling the love for this wedding too??
Free Bridal Makeover from Estée Lauder
We all love a free competition don’t we, so I was more than happy to spread the word about Estee Lauder’s latest competition to win a bridal makeover with one of their top international make up artists, Alan Pan. They’re offering one lucky bride-to-be the chance to come to London and meet Alan Pan for a makeover, tips and to share his make up secrets! (bride, bridesmaid and mother of the bride). Not only this but you’ll leave with a goodie bag of Estee Lauder beauty products worth £500, which is certainly enough to tempt most brides-to-be to enter!
To enter the competition on Facebook click here for a Free Bridal Makeover.
Image Courtesy of Estee Lauder
I asked Alan Pan, International Make up Artist, Estee Lauder, what is the popular look for brides at the moment and if could share some of his tips with us…
“Lots of brides have been asking for a romantic look recently. For a gorgeous, romantic wedding look you’ve always dreamed of, use these tips to create soft features with romantic accents and a hint of depth if desired.
Prep your skin with your favourite skincare products. Next apply your foundation – try one with a long lasting formula (such as Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10 or Nutritious Vita-Mineral Loose Powder Makeup SPF 15). For full coverage invest in the cult product Maximum Cover Camouflage Makeup for Face and Body SPF15 – it will cover tattoos, redness and scars for total confidence on your big day. While your foundation is still wet, apply a crème blusher along the area under cheekbones to contour and define. Create a natural flush by dusting on powder blush on top of it – this will keep your blush in place for longer. Use the middle of your ear and tip of your nose as a guideline. Next apply a neutral, ivory eye shadow to the brow bone to highlight eyes. Apply a muted eyeshadow starting at your lashline, then blending up and over lid, buffing shadow into the brow
Line and fill in lips with a lip pencil. Layer with your chosen lipstick – bonze colours work really well for this look. Apply your eye liner then slightly smudge – opt for a brown rather than black as it can be too harsh. If you want something slightly more dramatic go for a slate or graphite coloured liner for added defition into the lash line. Finish this look with a sweep of gloss in a blush rose or honey coloured gloss . Finish by sweeping a waterproof mascara – go for one with volume and lift for added drama onto the over top and bottom lashes”
What do you think guys is this the sort of promotion you like? Sounds like brilliant fun and I love the sound of the goodie bag (I am hoping that they might send me some bits and bobs!). I look forward to featuring the winner on LMW. Enter for free online through the Estee Lauder Facebook Page.