A Beachside Wedding in Ibiza with Jimmy Choos & Bouganvillia

This amazing Ibiza wedding will have you dreaming of summer! It's a stunning example of a destination big day. Simple, chic, and perfect. The great thing about getting married abroad is that the venue usually speaks for itself - you don't need stacks of extra wedding decorations. Plus all your friends feel like they're on holiday, so they come ready to party!

We hosted our wedding in Ibiza!! We both went to Ibiza a few years ago for my birthday with a group of friends. Back then, we were just friends but during the week, we started to feel differently about each other – the magic of Ibiza made us fall in love!

I went on a recce with my maid of honour and made appointments with lots of venues on the island over 3 days – and visited lots of beautiful churches! It was a tough job but someone had to do it! ;) Our ceremony took place at San Agustin Church, and we chose the Elixir Shore Club for our reception venue.

We kept it really simple as the venue was so beautiful and had the most beautiful backdrop of Es Vedra – the magical island of love.

My wedding dress was the 'Amelie' by Gemy Maalouf from Secret Dress House. I had tried on lots of the traditional-style gowns in other boutiques and really didn't feel like 'me'. Then, following the recce with my maid of honour, we knew I needed something a bit different – and suitable for the HOT weather!  

A friend had recommended Secret Dress House and as soon as I met Kelly and checked out her beautiful and more 'fashionable' collection, I knew this was the boutique for me! I knew I didn’t want a strapless dress {partly due to it being a church wedding} but other than that, I was open to options – but it had to be cool!

When Kelly picked 'my' dress I wasn't sure at first but as soon as I tried it on, I knew! I finally felt like me – and as it was made of pure silk, it was so breathable and perfect for the Spanish heat! I loved Grecian feel, the detail, the train…and the lace back! I asked for the longest veil they had – I wanted a statement veil for the church!  

Jonny & I love our House Music – so I walked down the aisle to a live piano version of Penguin by Avicii. On our way back up the aisle as man and wife, our church band played an acoustic version of 'We Found Love' by Calvin Harris & Rhianna – another song that means a lot to us. 

My hair and make-up was done by Jaime Bravo. Ok, I’m lucky, Jaime is my sister-in-law {and bridesmaid}, but if she wasn't I would still pay for her to come to Ibiza to beautify the wedding party – she is simply the best! She is so 'on trend' and knows what looks would suit each girl. She is super quick, yet a perfectionist – what a winning combo on your wedding morning! She even converted girls reluctant to have their hair & make-up done into them wanting to use Jaime every day!

Jonny knew he wanted to wear a suit in a blue/grey colour - and something quite relaxed. Burton has a great range and he opted for skinny fit trousers and a waistcoat, with braces for the evening.  

Jonny and his ushers' blush bow ties were custom made from Kraft 2 Kotton 1 Korner on Etsy. He also wore blue shoes from Dune, a white skinny fit shirt and pink socks from Charles Tyrwhitt.   

Our wedding flowers were created by Florist Dreams, who came highly recommended to us via a contact we made in Ibiza. 

Gary and Holly were a pleasure to deal with. I knew I wanted a simple blush rose bouquet and gypsophila for the bridesmaids and buttonholes – I love the simplicity and how the colours worked together.

Without a doubt, my shoes had to be Jimmy Choo! They were the first pair I tried on and I fell in love. They were classic white, peep toe with sparkles and a comfortable heel size. For the evening - dancing and shots on the beach – I changed into bespoke Swarovski Crystal Havianas flip flops.

Our wedding photographer was Ily Grantham. We met Ily when she did our engagement shoot in Arizona and we fell in love with her! 

We were quite nervous about doing a photo shoot and felt a bit uncomfortable at first but within minutes, Ily had us relaxed, enjoying it – and the photos were incredible!!! We knew we had to fly Ily out to Ibiza!

My bridesmaids gowns are the convertible 'Annabelle' in blush by Jenny Woo for BHLDN. I came across these first on Pinterest and was obsessed – I then visited the BHLDN boutique in Beverley Hills {love that place} and tried them on with my {bridesmaid} sister-in-law. I loved the fact that they could be styled in so many different ways to best suit the girl. 

For more on this wedding, click for Part 2!

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Real Mexican-Themed Colourful Wedding

Add a huge shot of colour to your wedding day with a Mexican theme. It's got to be one of the easiest wedding themes ever, and if you're happy to do a bit of DIY, it doesn't need to be expensive. I've fallen in love with Day and Max's gorgeous rehearsal dinner, designed by the hugely talented Lisa Vorce. Just check out the striking combo of yellow table cloths and red napkins, plus ribbons of every shade. Fill some old tin cans with daisies or tulips, add some fabulous tissue paper garlands and bunting, and you've got a fiesta made in heaven. Stunning pictures published with thanks to Aaron Delesie.

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An Outdoor Wedding with Chandeliers & Tea-Cups

If you're thinking of a shabby chic wedding with a touch of glamour, you're going to fall head-over-heels for this exquisite summer wedding. Liz and Chris celebrated their big day at The Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse in the wine country near Santa Barbara, with a flurry of gorgeous details. I'm loving the outdoor chandeliers, the peach and silver florals, blackboard menu and the old-fashioned striped straws. Don't miss their gorgeous stationery - complete with elegant calligraphy, personalised stamps and a hand-drawn map. I've always thought truly exceptional wedding stationery is the secret to getting your guests excited about your big day, and this suite proves it! Huge thanks to Aaron Delesie for his stunning photographs. He's new to Before the Big Day, but we've got plenty more gorgeous weddings from his portfolio coming soon!

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A Pretty Vintage Wedding with a Brownie Wedding Cake

Take the prettiest of pink details, gorgeous Art Deco bridesmaids gowns, and a stunning English rose bride, and you've got wedding heaven. Lovely Nicola and James celebrated their wedding day at Dulwich College, and I've fallen for its stunning historic rooms, and lovely grand staircase. Nicola chose a pretty vintage feel for her big day, and spent months planning DIY ideas and creative projects on Pinterest. The end result is a gorgeous wedding day with tonnes of stealworthy wedding ideas. My favourite details? Nicola's elegant chignon and veil combo, her beautiful Sarah Seven gown with its lace back, and the white taxi transport! Beautiful pictures by Lily Sawyer Photography. Be sure to check out Lily's blog - I'm a huge fan of her work. Don't miss the wedding reception pictures - coming later today.

We celebrated our wedding at Dulwich College on the 23rd May, which was just around the corner from James and my first home. We'd always thought it to be a beautiful place, whenever we walked past on a sunny afternoon. 

The ceremony was in the old library and our reception was in the Barry Buildings at the college which have some amazing features. 

My wedding dress was made by an American designer called Sarah Seven that is stocked at Frou Frou Brides in Tunbridge Wells. The dress was the biggest challenge of my wedding planning as nobody tells you that a bespoke dress has at least a six month lead time and I was searching for a dress only four months before our big day.

Short of time, I took advice from a friend that was already married, and started in the shop where she bought her dress. It turned out I actually bought one of the dresses I first tried on, but I did have a few more appointments at different boutiques just to make sure it was the one! 

I also made some small changes to my wedding dress - adding a cap sleeve and swapping the lace design, to one from another dress from the same designer. So if you're looking for a wedding dress, it's always worth asking if something isn't quite right.

The shoe choice was easy - my 21st birthday present was a pair of Manolo Blahniks so they were my something old. That left me with budget for a sparkly pair of French Sole flats for dancing!

My bridesmaids dresses were from Adrianna Papell, a designer stocked at House of Fraser. I wanted the dresses to be beaded, and these were perfect. I let them all pick the shoes they felt most comfortable in, so they were a mix of Dune and Kurt Geiger. We choose feather boleros from Coast but it was warm enough that they didn't need them.

My wedding florist was the The Fresh Flower Company in East Dulwich. They did an amazing job and really listened. The shop is just lovely and they have great taste. I had a fifteen minute consultation with them to discuss what I wanted, which was great fun. They were happy to look at my ideas from Pinterest and elsewhere, and then mock up a few ideas.

I was quite relaxed about the flowers chosen to create the look I wanted and put my trust in them as experts. We agreed on Sweet Avalanche roses and gypsophila for the bridesmaids and button holes, but my bouquet changed the day before the wedding, as they called me and said the most amazing peonies have just arrived, and would I like to use them? I did, and the bouquet was perfect.

I lucked in with my veil as it was a friends, so that was my something borrowed. For jewellery my maid of honour bought me a beautiful silver bracelet, and I wore earrings that were a present from James. I was really lucky, as not only were these things sentimental, it also meant I didn't blow the budget on accessories.

My husband chose a smart navy linen mix trouser and a grey linen jacket with brown brogues all from Marks and Spencer. We then picked the accessories together, so that they complemented the colours I had chosen for the bridesmaids and flowers.

The pink pocket squares were from Reiss and the grey and white ties from John Lewis. James loves pink, so he also picked pink socks from Charles Tywritt.

For our wedding decorations, I was keen to a have theme that complimented the venue which is why I opted for a pretty vintage feel. It all just sort of evolved as I planned. I didn't have anything in mind at all, so headed straight to Pinterest as soon as the venue was booked, and started my own wedding pinboard. 

The colour scheme came from the bridesmaids dresses which were the first things I bought after seeing them on Pinterest, and madly dashing around London to find the right sizes.

I had key ideas like I knew I wanted to wear lace, so with that, and my venue I started building up a picture of a vintage wedding with typically British elements such as jam jars and tea cups. 

Our wedding photographer was Lily Sawyer. We choose her from looking at her shots online, we didn't want the photos to be cheesy or too arty and she got it just right. 

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