Sarah and Nick's Relaxed, Rustic and Fun DIY Norfolk Wedding by Lisa and Neil

Happy Friday everyone, I hope you are all well and happy! If you have children are you currently on a half term break? We are here in Sheffield, so I have been having a lovely week with Dexter. It’s been great so far, lots more planned for the next 4 days and then back to school on Tuesday. I hope you are all OK during these storms, Storm Eunice is certainly taking her toll at the moment! I haven’t known winds like these in a long time! Stay safe everyone. So on with today’s gorgeous autumn wedding. This Norfolk wedding is a real rustic treat. The whole day is super chilled and FULL of DIY projects put together by the bride and groom, Sarah and Nick. The whole day is a real labour of love and made so much sweeter as they had their beautiful daughter with them to share the day. Lisa and Neil were there to capture the day for us.

Rustic, relaxed and fun.

Sarah and Nick were married on 4th September 2021 at St Mary’s Church, Fishley in Norfolk with the reception at Fishley Hall. ‘We started looking at local wedding venues and stumbled on Fishley Hall. We booked to view and as soon as we drove up past the church we knew that’s where we’d get married. We never even viewed anywhere else and had it booked the very next day. We had 80 guests to the wedding and a total of 130 in the evening. We booked the venue, band and photographers straight away then COVID hit so we didn’t do anything else until the beginning of 2021 as we were worried it might get cancelled. Having to organise everything else in a few months was a little stressful though.’

How they met
We were both on a pub night out with friends (I was, Nick had come from a friends wedding alone, and very drunk) he tried chatting my friend up at the bar and after she asked how old he was then directed him to me. He then would not leave my side all night, I had thought I’d given him a wrong number but obv being drunk too I gave him the right number. Haha the rest is history as they say. It’s now been 5 and a half years and we’re married with a baby girl.

The proposal
We had taken both our mums to New York to celebrate their 60th birthdays and had the whole weekend planned around them. On the first night we went up the Rockerfeller Centre, at the very Top of the Rock he asked me what I thought of my surname and whether I wanted to change it. I told him to get on one knee and ask again properly and he did. He was so nervous with loads of people around bless him.

How did you allocate your budget?
We downloaded a wedding app and roughly used that, although me and Nick never stick to any budget and really just booked what we wanted and worried about everything later.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on the band as we decided we wanted everyone to enjoy themselves and they were AMAZING!! We also spent a lot on our photographers but again totally worth it and they deserved every penny. We saved money by using local companies for our flowers and catering, although we had so many incredible comments on both these.

How did you choose your photographer?
We went to a few wedding fairs and I remember picking up their information. We looked through it that night and loved all the photos so arranged to meet them. As soon as we met and had a coffee we knew they were the photographers for us. They made us laugh and put us both at ease, not to mention the incredible photos they showed us. Again we never even looked at anyone else, we just knew.

The dress
Buying my dress I was 6 weeks pregnant and no one knew at all! Not even my mum. I knew I had to get my dress quick as I would soon be showing. Thankfully the first dress shop we went to I found my dream dress. As I was about to sign for payment the lady joked and said ‘I hope you’re not planning on losing or gaining weight anytime soon!’ I was so worried and slyly informed her I was 6 weeks pregnant. Luckily it was fine and she said the dress could easily be altered later on. My accessories I found in charity shop’s as I wanted a vintage look, it all worked so well together.

The suit and bridesmaids
The suits were all from Next (I got a discount as I work there) and the bridesmaids dresses are from pretty infinity.

Theme or colour scheme
We had discussed a few colour themes at the start and we had roughly decided on a burnt orange colour. Then I got home one day to burnt orange ties and pocket squares Nick had brought. So that was that and the burnt orange colour theme was to stay. Haha little did I know how hard it would be to find bridesmaid dresses in this colour though.

Flowers
I let my local florist, a girl I knew from a previous job, run wild with my flowers. We literally said Boho theme, wild, autumnal colours and let her do the rest. I had no idea what they would look like until the morning of the wedding and I couldn’t have been happier. They were incredible. I have even sent my bouquet away to be made into a resin heart to keep forever. I can’t wait to see it.

Decoration
We decided early on we wanted to DIY a lot of our decorations for the wedding. Although with COVID we probably left it till the last minute and rushed them but we were so happy with everything. We made the lights, stands, garden games, signs, table names etc. we also drank a lot of wine and used the bottles for added decoration in the venue. It all came together so well and everyone complimented the decorations.

Food
We both wanted something relaxed but didn’t want people walking about getting their own food. We had agreed on a BBQ and the end result was amazing, we had all different types of kebabs so people helped themselves to what they wanted. Then there was wedges, salads and vegetables on the table to help themselves too. Felt so relaxed and everyone enjoyed it.

Wedding cake
We had always agreed we weren’t going to have a special cake and just get a selection from M&S for the day. However we went for a date night a month before the wedding and bumped into a friend who had started doing cakes as a side business. She said she would do a wedding cake for us and OMG it was the most incredible cake ever!! It surpassed our expectations so much and saved us so much money.

Entertainment
One of the first things we booked was our band. We both wanted a live band for our wedding and found Captain Atlantic online, as soon as we saw their reel we knew they were for us. They called us before the wedding and got to know our music style and on the night they judged the audience and played exactly the right songs every time.

Who supplied the stationery?
We done the stationary all online and ourselves. Nick done all the menus and got a local company to print them for us, saving us loads.

Where are you going on your honeymoon?
We had a little mini-moon in a local hotel as our daughter was only 7 months and I didn’t want to leave her for long. But we have plans for a proper honeymoon later in the year, maybe a few nights in Europe somewhere nice.

Personal touches
We had this idea for the lights leading the way down the tables. However we couldn’t find anything that matched our view online or even with any companies. Therefore Nick decided to make them himself. This was very nearly the reason we didn’t get married as it wasn’t as simple as Nick had thought. It took days to put them up and if they didn’t work we wouldn’t have had any lights but it all came together and looked amazing in the end.

Special moments
During the ceremony at the pivotal moment ‘does anyone here have any reason……’ Bodhi (our 7 month old daughter) made a massive scream and cry. Don’t know if she was trying to tell us something!! My special moment was Walking down the aisle and seeing Nicks face at the end waiting for me.

Advice for other couples
Make sure your hair and makeup ladies are there early! I wish I had mine earlier so I could have had photos with my mum and bridal party before the wedding. The day was perfect but it did stress us out and I’m just glad it’s all over now!!!

Biggest surprise
During Nicks speech he was explaining how this girl had come into his life unexpectedly and how he wasn’t really ready for her etc, how amazing she was and how she has made his life so amazing, everyone was looking at me and smiling and he raised his glass to ‘Coco’ our dog!!!