We're starting the week off in the tropical climes of Solihull.

Yes, you read that right. Although it may look like today's wedding was held in the heart of the African jungle, it actually comes from the Akamba Garden centre in Solihull.

Hayley and James were concerned that people just wouldn't 'get' the combination of a traditional church wedding, followed by a reception at an African Heritage Garden centre.

Well, they needn't have worried.

Their wedding looks seriously, seriously fun. A riot of colour, shots, fire dancers and a guinness swigging Vicar. Yes, you read that right too.

Hayley The Bride: We've been eating at Akamba for a few years now. We love it because it is such a magical place. A real bit of escapism in England's second city! When we finally decided to tie the knot, Akamba was James' first thought. We've travelled the world together and ideally would have liked to get married somewhere exotic. As this was not in our budget, Akamba was the next best place!

One of my close friends, Sophie Jones, styled my hair for me. I loved the detail she created. I decided to apply my own makeup. My primer and brow highlighter were Benefit ...the primer was good...my make up was still perfect after a glass of chardonnay was (accidently) thrown in my face!

A friend from Church made my bird cage veil for me. Kindly, my Mum gave me a delicate gold watch to wear. She had it for her 21st birthday when she was pregnant with me. I also borrowed my mum's blue garter that she wore on her wedding day.

James and I are quite laid back people and wanted a wedding day that reflected that; so our efforts went into making sure everything was relaxed and fun for our guests. We were a bit worried at first about having a traditional village church wedding followed by an informal reception at an African Heritage place. What about if our guests didn't like it or think it was weird!? There was no need to worry, it went down a treat.

Entering Akamba is like entering a tropical paradise. You really do feel as though you are in Africa! The outdoor area is immense.....Exotic plants are all around whilst African animals made from wood and recycled metal peep out at you. African artefacts adorn the wooden walls...all of this coupled with some African beats, creates an atmosphere that you have to experience to believe!

Two of my very creative bridesmaids put the cake together at Akamba. I really would recommend doing it this way. I spent ages looking on line at different companies that make wedding cheese cakes for you...they were three times the price that we paid!

For the artwork on our invites, we used a graphic designer Digi Buddha Paperie. She designed the invites and RSVPs for us and sent us the file. I took them to a local printer to get them printed. I dressed them up with twining and a love heart cut from card.

Making invitations is not as fun as you think it might be. It took a lot longer than we first thought it would and ended up being quite a pain. Get someone to do the hard work for you if your budget allows!

For favours, we asked Kris at Akamba to bring some tiny wooden giraffes back from Kenya for us. We put them in little hessian drawstring bags.

We had a fabulous wedding day and hopefully achieved the informal, relaxed, different, fun wedding that we dreamed of. The effort that our family and friends made to make sure our day was special and memorable was unbelievable. A big fat thank you to each and every person who was involved. We love you all!

Photography by Babb Photo
Venue Akamba | Dress Mori Lee | Boutique Red Rose Bridal | Groom Topman | Band Killerstream Covers| Cheese Coopers Farm Shop| Stationery Digi Buddha Paperie

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