Laura & Jon’s Wedding By The Sea. By Paul Underhill

The smiles on every single face in today’s wedding, are immeasurable! And you can’t help but grin when you look through these beautiful, sunny, seaside images by Dorset wedding photographer Paul Underhill. It’s plain to see that Laura and Jon enjoyed every single moment of their wedding day. I love how relaxed everyone looks, how ecstatic Laura’s Father is and the vibrancy of the flowers and finishing touches against the stonework of the reception venue. This is just one, big, happy wedding which will have you smiling from ear to ear from start to finish. Enjoy.

“Unique. A beautiful day in a beautiful place with wonderful people to share our special day.”

Laura and Jon were married on the 21st June at St James’ Church in Poole and the reception at Scaplen’s Court Museum also in Poole, Dorset. “Despite living in Guildford we have no connections there so wanted to be married in Dorset by the sea. My family has been married, christened and buried in the church since the year dot so had strong connections. My grandparents got married there in 1946 and so were granted special permission to follow in their footsteps.”

How they met
We met a house party (hosted by the maid of Honour) in 2003. Jon then chased after me and finally took me on a date for a cheeseburger. We then moved in together and Jon finally gave in and proposed after being convinced by Fran from the band Travis this was the best day ever and should get married. (Jon is a roadie for the band)

The proposal
Jon was about to go on tour with Travis and the night before decided to have a BBQ in the garden. He had already asked my Dad for permission to marry me and couldn’t wait to get back from a month-long tour so proposed. He put the ring box in some tin foil and put it on my plate next to the burger bun. I thought it was a vegetable parcel but when I opened it realised it was a ring! He then got down on one knee and proposed. The next day he was gone leaving me to start planning on my own! Clever boy as missed all the girly hype and my Pinterest addiction. Jon chose the ring all on his own and is a bespoke piece by Jon Dibben.

How did you allocate your budget?
We had a spreadsheet and tried to stick to it. Most of the budget was spent on the catering and booze. Our rings were handmade by Jon Dibben and are Fairtrade so were also allocated a large chunk.

Why did you choose your photographer?
We saw Paul’s photos online as had previously photographed a wedding at St James’. We really liked the photo journalism aspect of his work and so arranged to meet him for a chat. We knew we didn’t want stuffy photos to stay in the drawer and wanted photos that reflected our personalities. Paul also offered a pre wedding shoot which was great to get to know him and get used to our photo being taken in an informal way.

The dress and accessories
My dress was by Lou Lou, bought in the sale. Accessories- Ebay for birds nest and clip. Nan’s family pearls. Shoes- Irregular Choice

Suit and bridesmaids
Suit- Reiss. Shoes- Aldo.
Dresses- BHS (customised as were floor length). Accessories- Ebay. Shoes- Debenhams. Our hair was styled by Darren and Louise at Malcolm Tina Barker Salon, Poole

The theme
No real theme- Bright colours and whatever suited the bridesmaids.

The flowers
Bonnie created amazing bouquets and corsages using natural flowers in bright colours- peonies.

The decoration
Pom Poms from Tiger. More Pom Poms from Ebay second-hand. Bunting made by mum.

The food and wedding cake
Tickled Pig, Wimborne were our caterers. We chose them as grow their own food and are passionate about making everyone “remember the food not the wedding”. We had canapés followed by a help yourself BBQ. (no formal sit down meal). Homemade burger, sausage, lamb, home-grown potatoes, home-grown leaves. Handmade rolls and relishes.
Mum made the cake- Lemon and orange sponge with a top layer of fruit (to keep) Decorated with sugarpaste flower to match the bouquet. The topper was from Funky Laser.

The entertainment
Adam Hoffman- he provided a vintage disco for the afternoon, leading to and 80’s disco after the first dance.
Adam hosted the whole day and provided close up magic and sang a rat pack set. Leanne was our stilt walker and made balloons for the kids.

Buy or DIY your stationery?
I designed our own stationary in photoshop using the Graphic River website to find a template. We got this printed locally in Guildford.

Any personal or handmade touches
-We printed and designed our order of service as a souvenir newspaper using Newspaper Club
-We made our own bunting and used eBay to get second-hand bits of decoration.
-My dad made our post box
-My maid of honour had her baby, Ernie, prematurely so was unable to attend the day with her family- She was desperate to still come but told her if she did we wouldn’t let her in! We made cardboard cut outs of her head so she could still be part of the fun throughout the day.
-We made up our own favour bags with love hearts, tunnocks tea cakes and Dorset tea bags inside.

Special moments
The whole day was special. It was great to be surrounded by all our family and friends and to be married in Poole where my family have so much history.

Advice to other couples
-Set your budget- it’s easy to get carried away as “you will only do it once”
-Make sure your guests aren’t bored. We have all been to weddings where you wait for official photos. As our photographer had a journalism style the day flowed much better. We also made sure the kids had something to do by hiring a magician and balloon artist on stilts
-Enjoy yourself and relax. It’s your day!
-Get a Pinterest board- its great for ideas and DIY tips.

Biggest surprise
The fire brigade turning up when the BBQ wafted into the museum. Also, being accosted by Pirates on the Quay.
My parents arranged a vintage car to take us to the church so this was a surprise -along with jumping the broom!

Supplier Shout Outs:

• Photographer- Dorset wedding photographer Paul Underhill www.paulunderhill.com/wedding-photographer-dorset
• Catering- Jez, Georgie and the team- www.thetickledpig.co.uk
• Hair-Darren and Louise Hayward- www.malcolmtinabarker.co.uk/the-team
• Dress- louloubridal.co.uk
• Reception- Penelope at Poole Museum- www.boroughofpoole.com
• Entertainment- Adam and Leanne- www.adamhoffman.co.uk
• Flowers-Bonnie- www.facebook.com
• Rings-Jon Dibben- jondibben.co.uk

For more information on Paul’s work please go to:

Dorset Wedding Photographer Paul Underhill www.paulunderhill.com
FACEBOOK
@paulunderhill
0844 504 9547