Epic.

Get your sunglasses ready because todays wedding is a serious colour fest. Loads of funky DIY and tons of cool ideas and Kates light dusky pink gown and the pastel maids look amazing against the lush backdrop of Sefton Park Palm House...

Have you got your sunglasses..? Well get your Pinterest boards ready too because you are most certainly going to need them!

Kate The Bride: I always wanted to choose a dress that was me, but a wow version of me. I was looking for a whimsical and enchanted feel for my dress and the second I saw an image online I knew I had to have it. I tracked it down to Agape Bridal Boutique and fell in love with it the minute I saw it hanging up. It was everything I was looking for and the fact that it was a beautiful blush colour made it even more perfect. I was worried Rob might wonder why I hadn't chosen a white or ivory dress but I knew the minute I saw his face as I walked down the aisle that he loved it. I bought my shoes on a trip to London with my mum and sister and fell in love with them straight away. I adored the t-bar and they went with my dress perfectly. I chose a full length veil because I wanted to make sure I looked like a bride because of wearing a pink dress, and I wore a stunning handmade hairpiece that I will continue to wear forever and a floral crown to change into during the day. I also chose blue nails for my ring finger and toe nails as my something blue. My bespoke jewellery was by the very talented Marie Canning and the necklace was just like the ruffles on the dress. I wanted simple but beautiful pieces I could wear forever and I wore them everyday on Honeymoon too.

We didn't want to hire traditional wedding suits so instead opted for matching suits from Next with an extra waistcoat for Rob to make him stand out. He didn't know the dress was pink, so I had to make sure the colours would match and not clash! We chose a navy colour with a champagne colour tie and a peach flower for his button hole. Rob chose his shoes from Grenson. He looked so handsome when I saw him at the front of the church.

The Palm House is such a stunning and magical venue filled with amazing flowers and trees that we couldn't think of anywhere we would rather have the wedding than there. It is in the middle of Sefton Park so we are able to walk by whenever we want and remember our wedding day. It was perfect for the whimsical feel we wanted and looked simply breathtaking with all the lights during the evening. The park surrounding the venue is beautiful too, and we were lucky to be able to have some of our photos taken amongst the trees near the fairy glen and they are some of our favourite from the day.

From the early stages in planning I had visualised lots of colour and being married late in September meant that the Autumn palette would be stunning so I really wanted to make the most of that. Rob was happy to go with the flow on most things so we had a palette of blush pinks, ivories, peaches and apricots with hints of soft green for the bridesmaid dresses, and this carried into the venue décor with some gold thrown in as I love gold!

I wanted to do most of the venue décor myself as I have a creative streak and own a vintage boutique which means I have a fairly eclectic collection of things to use and play about with. We knew from early on that we wanted long rows of tables for a more informal dining arrangement for our Afternoon Tea. We lined the centres of the tables with an abundance of flowers and I made table runners from sheer floral fabric that when overlaid over white cloths gave a really soft beautiful effect.

Fleur the florist was amazing. Immediately she understood my vision for the bouquets and hair pieces for myself and the girls. My mum and me planned to do the venue flowers ourselves as we had done a flower arranging course a few months earlier. But she became unwell and Fleur helped with those too, although we managed to do some the day before and really loved it. We have loads of vintage swan planters and large blue brandy glasses which were filled with an amazing array of grasses, flowers, wheat and some stunning feathers that I sourced. We also used old bread and flour tins that were from my grandparents grocers shop from the 50s. My bouquet was amazing as were the bridesmaids'. It had feathers, acorns and wheat as well as flowers and complimented Robs button hole which also had feathers and acorns. Fleur stunned me with her attention to detail and how she didn't think I was nuts when I told her what I had in mind. The whole effect was very natural, whimsical and beautiful.

I spray painted plastic animals gold and Rob attached a wooden peg to them to create our place settings. These along with homemade jam by my dad also acted as our favours. Our dining room looked a bit like Noahs Ark when all this was going on! We also had a table full of framed photos of our parents and grandparents on their wedding days and of us as babies. This was a way to have our grandparents with us as sadly they have all now passed away. I also sprayed mini deer gold and we had those perched on all the glasses. The tables were filled to capacity with things to look at and take in. The venue itself was stunning anyway but I wanted to put our stamp on it. So we added metres and metres of bunting, some borrowed from a friend and some made by me, pompoms, huge gold balloons that spelled out Love which we had behind the top table, decoupage letters and heart garlands made by me and some of the bridesmaids and chalkboard signs. We also hired a huge light up K & R for the dance floor and made a ribbon curtain to use as a photo booth. The effect overall was so colourful and tactile and really made us say "wow" when we walked in. When we look through the photos of the venue now, we are so thrilled by how vivid and full of colour it looks on every one.

The bridesmaids all wore different dresses within the same colour palette. I ordered them from the totally amazing ASA in California. It was a slight gamble because I could only give their measurements and choose colours and then wait 8 months until they arrived! But it was massively worth it. The girls looked gorgeous and their dresses worked perfectly alongside mine. I didn't want traditional bridesmaid dresses and was thrilled when I stumbled across this designer. Not only were they affordable but they were unique as they never make any dress the same. We chose peach dresses for the flower girls with flower crowns and beaded jackets which looked adorable. I made some Here Comes The Bride signs for them to carry down the aisle and they stole the show.
The ceremony was at Holy Trinity Church and the minister is also my parents neighbour so it was lovely being married by someone I have known since I was a child. We had an organist play the music for my entrance and rather than the traditional wedding march we chose You're So Cool, by Hans Zimmer from True Romance as it is a film we both love. For the recessional he played Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros and both give me goosebumps whenever I hear them now. During the service we had 3 readings including Maybe and A Lovely Love Story. Jenny one of my bridesmaids is a saxophonist and along with two other musicians performed Waiting for a Star to Fall during the signing of the register which was simply amazing and one of our favourite parts of the service and of the whole wedding. They were a talking point all day. We also picked entrance music to the reception for us, and for the bridesmaids and ushers so they would get a cheer too. We came in to Ho Hey and they came in to Spice up your Life and Who Let the Dogs Out. We wanted to give them their moment too.

The band were called Superted and they were amazing. They even allowed one of the ushers up on stage during the night to perform Mustang Sally especially for us. We wanted a band that would get everyone dancing and having a great time and they really and truly delivered.

Food was by the amazing Pickled Walnut. We had Afternoon Tea and they provided us this with a twist. We had a selection of savoury pastries and sandwiches, followed by scones, macaroons and a trio of deserts. All this was washed down with Pimms and buckets of beer. We also bought mini bottles of Babysham for the speeches. They looked really cute on the tables and fitted with all the other deer we had around everywhere! For the evening food they did a BBQ and it was unbelievable. Our cake was made by both our mums and by my sister who are all good bakers. We had a chocolate and victoria sponge layer cake with strawberries and Lucy also made cupcakes to go around the bottom. They put so much effort in to the cake and we were so grateful to them. It was lovely having one that was made by our families.

Nicola Thompson was one of the best decisions we made hands down. We wanted a photographer that would capture all the little details about our day that made it ours, and she did so in such a natural, innovative and original way. When you choose a photographer you really put your day in their hands and hope that they capture you as you. She did this perfectly. We were quite simply overwhelmed by her photos and she really told our day as a story and we could not be happier with our beautiful photos. After all the excitement of the wedding day is over you are left with a few things that will last forever. Your photos are one of those and choosing the right photographer is such a big decision. We are so grateful we chose Nicola.

We decided not to have a videographer as we couldn't afford it. So instead we used a company called Edit Your Wedding where they send you cameras, you get your friends to film and then EYW edit what footage you take. We were not sure what to expect but we love our video and the fact that the footage was filmed by our friends and family makes it extra special.

We tried to make our day as much about us and what we love as we possibly could, and to involve our friends and families as much as we could do, whether that was my brother in law Tom designing our invites, my dad making the jam, our mums and sister making the cake and all the DIY projects we did together and with help from the bridesmaids, arranging flowers and making the video. It is lovely on the day to look around and see what you and your loved ones have helped create. The day really does go in the blink of an eye so try to enjoy every minute and not to worry if things don't go to plan. We were announced in to the reception by the wrong name and Nicola captured the moment we walked in laughing because of it and it is now one of our favourite photos. Marrying Rob was the happiest day of my life and I will never forget the feeling of walking down the aisle to him or of us walking back up together as husband and wife.

Photography by Nicola Thompson
Dress Watters | Boutique Agape Bridal Boutique | Shoes Carmen by Rachel Simpson | Bridesmaid dresses Armour Sans Anguish | Jewellery Marie Canning | Groomsmen Next | Flowers Fleur Florist | Stationery Tom Leadbetter | Orders of Service designed and made by bride and groom | Venue Sefton Park Palm House | Band Superted | Transport Camper Shak | Light up Letters Doris Loves | Video edityourwedding.com Caterering Pickled Walnut Catering |Hair and make up by The Powder Room |Tea cups and saucers vintage wonderland