Wedding Photography in Bedfordshire by October James Photography
This is an abridged version of Whimsical Wedding's post - see their full article here:
Craig and Eleni, who were wed on the 29th June 2019 in a church ceremony followed by a marquee reception at Eggington House in Bedfordshire. They described their day as “travel inspired, wild and rustic with a focus on love, companionship, friendship and family.”
They wanted a DIY wedding which enabled them to really encapsulate their personalities into the celebrations. There were lots of fab décor features including signposts and confetti bags, with the vintage suitcases and table names giving a nod to their love of travel.
Keep an eye out for smoke bombs, super stylish attire, a striking semi naked wedding cake and cute transport.
THE VENUE
Eggington House is a large country manor with the main focus being on the lovely grounds. The beautiful village church is a 3 minute walk down the road. When you walk up the gravel driveway you are instantly hit by the view of this grand manor where Eleni got ready on the morning of the wedding and a coach house adjacent is where the bride and her tribe stayed the night before. The grounds are like something out of Jane Austin, traditional English beauty, fields upon fields, a stunning rose garden with hidden windows and seating, a grand entrance to an enchanting woodland and a beautiful wooden pole marquee where the reception was held.
THE FLOWERS
A local florist, Kate from Polly and Petal, created a rustic, vintage theme including pew ends (gypsophila) and a church archway which was an array of beautiful foliage and was later taken to the top table after the ceremony for reuse. Eleni's bouquet was very wild and rustic with a mix of greenery and vintage flowers for a pop of pastel colour.
OUTFITS & ACCESSORIES
Eleni's wedding dress from Wed2B who have stores all over the UK. Eleni says "It is not the experience every bride dreams of but this is because of the cheaper wedding dress prices. I did not want to pay an arm and a leg for my dress as there were so many other things we wanted our money to go on. Although I did pick the most expensive dress in the shop, ooops! I chose my dress because it suited my style, it was a sheath ivory dress, with a lacy top half which came all the way down to the hips and a beautiful material which was plain Ivory on the bottom. My shoes where from Debenhams which I got in the sale for £25, I was pleased with these as they looked unique, classy and expensive. My earrings were my something borrowed and my bracelet I had made by a local jeweller with something blue. I also had a broach as a gift from a dear friend which was incorporated into my bouquet, this had a blue heart on it, an old penny and was something new for me too!"
THE DETAILS & DÉCOR
A family prop hire business supplied wood log slices, suitcases, card holders, glass water bottles, sign posts, crates etc.
THE CAKE
Eleni and Craig used a wonderful local cake maker, Sarah from ‘Sprinkle Some Magic Events’. They had a rustic, partially naked cake with handmade flowers made of icing sugar to work well with the colour theme. There were 3 tiers with the bottom being vanilla, second chocolate and third banana - delicious!
BRIDESMAIDS
The girls' dresses were found on ASOS and were actually an ASOS own brand. They were sage green and made from a very flowy chiffon material which suited every body and skin tone/hair colour.
GROOMSMEN
Craig went to Bicester Village and Charles Tyrwhitt for his suit. it was a lovely charcoal number with complimenting waistcoat. He got the same suit for his best men (he had 2) and groomsmen, the only difference in the outfits were the ties - salmon pink for the Groom, hot pink for the best men, royal blue for the groomsmen and turquoise for father of the bride.
PHOTOGRAPHERY
Eleni and Craig said "October Willis Photography captured our day and they were incredible. Their moto is not to take up too much of your day so you can be enjoying your wedding, so there were many natural shots. Some were posed of course but they created the perfect balance and really captured the special moments we requested!"