James and Gigi’s Fun Filled DIY Norfolk Wedding by James Pearce Wedding Photography

I am taking you back to the end of last summer when the sun shone and winter was just a glimpse away, with the gorgeous wedding of Gigi and James. This lovely Norfolk wedding is brimming with charm and plenty of personal details. It is fun, relaxed but full of love and tender moments. I love the outdoor ceremony with the draping over the tree, in fact draping takes centre stage in the reception decor as well, which looks just marvellous. James and Gigi look so happy and so in love, what a chilled, yet totally gorgeous wedding they have created. Big thanks to James Pearce Wedding Photography for the lovely photos.

A beautiful coming together of friends and family to have a boogie and a feast. A workout for the dancing shoes and vocal cords.

Gigi and James were married on 21st September 2024 at Happy Valley, Norfolk. ‘We moved to New York about two years ago and having been on a few trips upstate, we fell in love with Happy Valley’s forest vibes which echoed these locations. There are lots of different (and absolutely stunning) spots throughout the venue’s grounds which allowed us to be creative with the timeline and where each portion of the day was held. We also wanted to have accommodation and camping on site so some friends and family could stay with us the night before and into the next day – HV has cabins akin to where we’ve stayed on these upstate trips so it really was the perfect setting. We had 103 guests and it took just under a year, off and on to plan. Engaged in May 2023, started planning in October 2023, married in September 2024.’

How they met
We met on Bumble! And have been together for 7 years.

The proposal
After Gigi finished the last masters exam, we were to get a train upstate for a romantic upstate cabin trip. I, James, had secretly got her best friends over from the UK and they gave her the best surprise of her life jumping out at the train station. However, that very day, Gigi had a bad panic attack following the craziness of the surprise! We spent the early hours of the proposal day in the hospital and had about 3 hours sleep. I’d ordered a seafood delivery order to the cabin for dinner but Gigi had to have a nap right when dinner was ready. I woke her up after 15 minutes, telling her it had been 30, and got her to get ready for dinner. When she came down, I whisked her away for a private moment on the porch and after some preamble, I got down on one knee and popped the question. To which she replied “of course I will” through (happy) tears. Our friends were watching, ready with glasses of bubbly, and we were able to spend the next week celebrating with them in the States. A proposal that didn’t go quite as planned but also, perfectly imperfect.

How did you allocate your budget?
After booking the venue, we had a better idea of our budget but there wasn’t really a method. We looked at the overall spend and compared it to the old bank account. Ultimately, the budget kept being pushed up soooo… We didn’t really stick to it anyway!

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on the venue, having two bands and extending the trip. We also ended up doubling our original flower order realising they were more important than initially thought. Everything else was smartly hired according to what we could afford. The smaller decoration, accessories, and graphics were DIY and luckily we had the DJ equipment. Plus, we had wonderful friends and family who helped set up!

How did you choose your photographer?
I, Gigi, met James Pearce at my cousin’s wedding where he was the photographer. He was ducking and weaving around but also nowhere to be seen, clearly an absolute pro, so I asked if he’d come to Norfolk (we were in Kent) and we shared socials so we could talk further and I could check out his work. The photos from my cousin’s wedding were awesome and his colours / fly-on-the-wall style were perfect for what we were after. Following a call altogether we just got on well, he really understood us as people, and both James and I had a good gut feeling so it was a no-brainer. Clearly, it was a choice which paid off ‘cos just look!

The dress
Dress by Jenny Yoo. My friend and bridesmaid, Amanda, made the veil! Necklace was my mum’s – given to her by my late grandma for her wedding. Earrings were shop bought but the pearls were added by myself.

The suit and bridesmaids
Three-piece-suit by Zebel, London. The bridesmaids were given a colour board and they sourced their dresses themselves.

Theme or colour scheme
It was green and reds/corals/oranges. It was vaguely green for James’ Irish background, red for my Chinese background but they’re also just colours that worked well for the general theme and vibe of the venue.

Flowers 
The flowers were picked by Anna’s Flower Farm and arranged by friends and family. Lots of dahlias in reds, oranges, and white, wild grasses etc. We had bouquets for the bridal party, buttonholes for the groomsmen and parents, table bud vases, and aisle arrangements/eucalyptus and grasses in milk urns.

Decoration
Drapery on the ceremony tree and in the dining barn, disco balls throughout, and flowers on the tables and aisle. Photos of everyone over the years were on display in the party barn. The table settings had Chinese red packets and mandarins as a symbol of good fortune.

Food
Our food was a mix of some of our favourite foods. Canapés were mini fish ‘n’ chip cones, veggie spring rolls, and sesame prawn toast. For the main meal, we had crispy duck pancakes with an Asian salad and bangers ‘n’ mash with very, very well done gravy! Gold Leaf Catering did such a wonderful job in serving up actually good, hearty wedding food – exactly how we imagined.

Wedding cake
We didn’t have a cake. Instead, we had Persian love cakes and truffles handmade by my sister – Yanloi – and a Krispy Kreme tower because James loves them!

Entertainment
The day’s dancing started with a ceilidh hosted by a fabulous ceilidh band and caller, Fairgreen Ceilidh. After dinner, our function band Signal played wedding bangers – they even let James get on stage and sing I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor which was one of the night’s highlights. And lastly, the DJ decks came out – James and I went b2b before friends saw us into the night.

Who supplied the stationery?
We designed the graphics ourselves with the use of Canva and got them printed at a local printing shop.

Where are you going on your honeymoon?
We’re hoping to take a trip to Belize to experience a mix of their jungle and beaches.

Personal touches
It was very DIY and personal – something we wanted! Each guest had a fortune cookie and a 2-line poem we wrote about them and a hand painted/calligraphed coaster. The tables were named after Vines – the signs had illustrations by our talented illustrator friend – Dalton. We also provided a red packet with a hangover kit inside but, sadly, the effervescent Berrocas got a bit mangled overnight!

Special moments
It’s very very hard to pick the best moments because there are so many pockets of time which live in our hearts. That first look down the aisle, the vows, running around like headless chickens during ceilidh, seeing people open their personalised fortune cookies, the speeches, taking a moment with the photographer to have a walk through the meadows in the sunset, when everyone joined the first dance, James singing with the band, playing a good drop when DJing…!

Advice for other couples
We’re sure everyone says it as they did with us but TAKE IT IN. We knew the day was going to go past like that *clicks fingers* so we made sure to stop, look around, and soak it in, and tell each other we were doing so. Also, if you can, extend the wedding to the next day with a close group of friends. That was one of the best choices we made in planning and delays the post-wedding blues!

Biggest surprise 
Probably how good Sammy’s, Gigi’s dad’s, speech was. All of the 5 speeches were wonderfully written, timed, and delivered but his was extra funny and heart-warming because, as English isn’t his first language, he said he had taken inspiration from the wedding speeches in Bad Boys II and Bad Boys: Ride or Die. We had half expected him to sign off his speech with, “we ride together. We die together. Bad boys for life.”

Supplier Shout Outs

• Photographer: James Pearce Wedding Photography
• Venue: Happy Valley, Norfolk
• Catering: Gold Leaf Catering
• Make Up Artist and Hair: Sam Kay
• Ceilidh Band: Fairgreen Ceilidh
• Function Band: Signal
• Flowers: Anna’s Flower Farm
• Props: This Gardening Gal aka Beth
• Bell Tents: Matt at The Little Beach Bell Company
• Drapery, lighting, and deco: Quirk Events
• Furniture and kitchen hire: The Banqueting Hire Service
• Groom’s Suit: Zebel
• Dress: Jenny Yoo
• Dress Tailoring: Tailoress Atelier
• Smoke Grenades: Enola Gaye

James Pearce Wedding Photography

www.pearceweddingphotography.com / www.pearceweddingphotography.com/blog / [email protected] / 07713767067 / FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / PINTEREST 

I’m a wedding photographer based in Kent, though I am happy to travel just like I did for this wedding! I even have a wedding in Spain next year which is very exciting. I think I’m a blend of different photography styles, my main focus is how the couple feel on the day, as every time they see their wedding photos in the years to come, the photo will take them back to the day and they’ll remember how they felt in that particular moment. Couples spend so much time, months even years planning their wedding and the last thing I want to do is turn up and start changing things. Even though I’m way over 6ft tall, what I hear most often is that I was either invisible during the day, or constantly working which is something I strive for.