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4
Nov
2015
Today I am delighted to welcome Boho bride and groom Ruth and Mike back to the bog, as they tell us about their wedding now they are married. Ruth has been writing about her wedding for the last few months in Fridays diary feature and it has been great to have her on the blog telling us all about her wedding plans. Ruth and Mike’s wedding was an elegant affair set in the beautiful Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire. Classically decorated with a Boho twist this wedding is full of festoon lghting, crystal vases, a fun DIY photo booth and the most gorgeous looking wedding cake. Thanks to Phillipa James Photography for the images. Congratulation Ruth and Mike it has been lovely having you write for the blog, I wish you every happiness for your future life together.
Ruth and Michael were married on 22nd August 2015 at Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire. ‘I used to go to Doddington Hall with my parents when I was younger and always loved it there. When we went to view it as a wedding venue, we fell in love with it straight away. It also helped that the reception area was a blank canvas, you could decorate it however you wanted and that was really important to me. We had 80 guests in total and the planning took about 15 months.
How they met
Mike and I met in a house we both lived in (at different times) but we didn’t get together straight away! I rented a room in a large house in Derby, I lived with four other young profesionals. After a while my circumstances changed so I moved out and Mike moved into my old room! He’s originally from The Wirral and he’d had a job offer in Derby hence the move. I made some lovely friends at the house and we regularly got together for nights out and house parties and this is how Mike and I met. We all went to a festival together a few months later and shared a kiss in a tent in the middle of a field in the pouring rain!
The proposal
Mike proposed in Vietnam in May 2014 on a small, quiet island called Con Dao, it’s literally in the middle of nowhere! The island is renewed for having beautiful sunsets & sunrises & we’d both said it’d be lovely to experience it. We kept missing the sunset, so on our second to last day on the island, Mike got us up at 5am (I was quite happy to stay in bed at the time!) & we rode across the island on our scooter to find a good spot to watch the sunrise. We went to a secluded beach and watched the sunrise together. I took some pictures and enjoyed the moment for a couple of minutes then I turned around and there he was, on one knee in the sand, holding up my late Nana’s beautiful engagement ring asking me to be his wife. He later told me that he actually wanted to propose during a sunset but we kept missing it!
Where did you splurge and where did you save
We invested in a great photographer and videographer and this totally paid off. We couldn’t be happier with our photos and wedding video. We also invested in a band who looked after the music for the whole evening as the music was very important to us.
We saved on stationary as I did everything myself, if I couldn’t do it, friends helped out. A very good friend created our calligraphy place cards and table plan for example. We also saved money on the cake as it was a naked cake and didn’t need any decoration on it. We also created a DIY photo booth which was a complete hit!
How did you choose your photographer
We searched for alternative and arty photographers on Google and came across Philippa James, based in Oxford. We really liked Philippa’s photography style and the photos displayed on her website matched what we had in mind. We knew straight away that we wanted to go with her
The Dress
My dress was custom made for me by Kula Tsurdiu. The boutique is based in Nottingham’s Lace Market and it’s simply stunning. It was the only wedding dress shop I visited as I knew immediately that I’d find ‘the’ dress there! My shoes and accessories were the result of hours of browsing Etsy!
The Suit and Bridesmaids
The suits were custom-made in Vietnam after Mike had his wedding suit made over there last year. We sent the measurements off and the suits came eight weeks later! The grey bridesmaid dresses were from for him and for her. The younger girl bridesmaid dress was from Olivia Kate Couture on Etsy
Theme or Colour Scheme
The colour scheme was navy and grey.
Decoration
Lots of festoon lighting, lanterns, lights in jars, candles and crystal glassware.
Food
The food was delicious and a mixture of chargrilled chicken or sunblushed tomato and goats cheese timbale to start, followed by beef or salmon with cheesecake to finish. In the evening we dined on cheeses, meats, pork pies, olives and artisan breads and of course…wedding cake!
Wedding Cake
The cake was a naked lemon drizzle cake –(lemon drizzle is my favourite) and it was the best cake I’ve ever tasted!
Entertainment
We hired The Rebel Party Band who sang rock and indie tunes for us all night. They were absolutely brilliant and had everyone up dancing!
The Stationery
A good friend created the place cards and table plan and another made the Instagram sign and wedding day timeline. I did the rest.
Personal or Handmade Touches
I purchased 80 crystal glasses and crystal decanters (centrepieces) as I wanted a really classic look for the tables. Pictures of a bride and groom were also printed and laminated for the ladies and gents doors and I created the order of service for the ceremony. I worked closely with the lighting guys on the design and layout for the festoon lights and we made the photo booth ourselves.
Special Moments
Walking to the venue with my parents and bridesmaids and then walking into the ceremony room and seeing Mike’s face light up made my day. The speeches were also incredibly touching as well as humorous – all the guys did an amazing job!
Advice to other couples
It’s so true what they say, the day goes by so quickly. Just enjoy every minute, don’t worry if you don’t get to go around and speak to every single person (they’ll understand!) and give yourself time to reapply your lippy throughout the day – something I didn’t do as I completely forgot!
Biggest surprise
The weather! I was so worried about it raining that I didn’t even think about how things would be if the sun was out. It did & we were sat eating dinner with sweaty faces!! People had to get up and move away from the table to take a break and cool down! It turned out to be one of the warmest days of the year. It did rain around 4pm…but only for 20 minutes. It was a much-needed shower and it cooled everything down so I was actually really grateful of some rain on the day!
www.philippajamesphotography.com / FACEBOOK / [email protected]
Great post! These guys are brilliant, and this wedding was so lovely and laid back. Kelly, I’m loving your new branding so so much! Big hugs xxxxxx
Ahh this has made me so excited about moving to Lincolnshire next year! Googling Lincolnshire wedding venues and stumbling on this was a nice find. It looks like a beautiful day <3