I am having a blush bridal gown moment right now. The pale pink shade suits fair-skinned lovelies so well and it is unbelievably feminine. Kyla's Claire Pettibone "Genevieve" is truly spectacular, a dress of dreams.

The couple's "Romantic Boho Whimsical" theme is perfection, all avalanche roses and flower crowns. We also need to talk about the guest book, an entire dressing table set up complete with mannequin. A stunning piece of decor as well as an entertainment station for your nearest and dearest.

And then there's the cake. Oh my.

Kyla The Bride: The moment I saw Claire Pettibones's Genevieve on-line I knew that it was the perfect dress. Thinking that there would be absolutely no way I could afford it, but like seeing your favorite artist in a gallery I went along to Leonie Clare in Brighton for Claire Pettibone's trunk show. Leonie (aka the bride whisperer & owner of the boutique) let me walk around to begin selecting the dresses I wanted to try on, however, I only had eyes for Claire's pieces. She started to remove each dress I had chosen off the rail, as she came to take Genevieve off the rail I started to cry- yep cry (!). I believe both Leonie and I were just as surprised as each other when the overwhelming emotion came over me....?

When I put Genevieve on it was as if everything made sense, the wedding, me, it was the ONE! Eek! At a loss of how to extend a £1,500 - £1,800 budget to £4,000 wasn't the biggest challenge, it was how to tell my soon-to-be- husband that I was willing to pay £4,000 dress I was only going to wear once! Saying this I had absolutely NO idea how I was going to make it happen?! So I did it, I took a leap of faith and trusted that the abundance would come in and that I would be provided for because in my heart I knew it was the ONE - and to my surprise it did!

The Accessories

I wanted something natural, simple and elegant. As I could not find the perfect baroque style drop pearl earrings I went for some simple drop pearl earrings with a rose gold & pearl necklace. As for the flower garland, I had always imagined myself with flowers in my hair, as I couldn't find the right flower garland, I decided to make it myself and had one of my bridesmaids help me with the garlands for the other girls.

The Groom

We wanted Keith to feel as special in his suit as I would in my wedding dress, so we sought out a tailor to have one made; choosing the buttons, thread, cut and style of the suit. We also picked out a form fitting Hugo Boss shirt so he would feel amazing on our special day.

I LOVE all things intricate, unusual and creative, so when I came across the gold steam punk cufflinks I knew they would tie in with everything perfectly. Keith picked out his stunning pair of brogues, which went really well with the rest of his outfit.

The Venue

Keith wanted to be within an hour radius of Brighton so that our guests would have easy access to the venue. I came across the venue whilst doing some on-line research and thought that it would be a good compromise between our love of nature & protection from the unpredictable English weather (as I had always imagined getting married in nature amongst the trees). Southend Barns was the perfect option for us with the simple Dairy Barn (ceremony room), the stunning Thereshing Barn (reception & wedding breakfast) & the super cosy Milking Parlour (bridal suite) all enclosed within the beautiful grounds we were in heaven!

The Colour Scheme

The colour scheme was Pinks, Creams, Ivory and Copper, a "Romantic Boho Whimsical" theme. For flowers we chose peonies, various pink and white roses including O'Hara and spray, Anemones and then we had overflowing troughs of flowers for the tables.

The Ceremony

We chose to have a Blessing Ceremony held by a friend and teacher we hold close to our hearts.

When Keith and I were looking into each others eyes, we were ever present and committed to the moment as we came together; at which point several of our guests mentioned that they could feel the love between us permeating the room and touching their hearts.

Readings:

"The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not
knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along." - Rumi

"In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art." - Rumi

The Food

I first came across the inspiring beetroot chocolate mascarpone cake at my favourite Café in Brighton Igigi General Store/ Café and asked them who their supplier was which lead us to a multiple cake tasting at Treacle & Co Bakery in Brighton. I don't think I have ever seen Keith so happy! He said and I quote ' Well it's a tough job but somebody's got to do it!' he did make smile.

We ended up with a Rose Buttercream Sponge tiered cake, lavender & vanilla cheese cake, of course the beetroot/ chocolate & mascarpone cake, Chocolate/ Orange & Almond gluten free cake, as well as a delicious layered Carrot Cake- Needless to say the cake tasting left us feeling a little indecisive & indeed inspired.

My father was an executive chef growing up so I developed a taste for good food and a keen eye for presentation runs in the family.

We had two vegetarian menu options that were inspired by the foods we love:

Menu A

• Warm halloumi, wasabi, cashew nuts, mango and avocado salad
• Wild mushroom and truffle risotto garnished with goats curd and rocket
• Creme brûlée

Menu B

Indian spiced red bean fritters with sesame and pomegranate dressed baby leaf salad

Thai green vegetable curry with coconut rice

Trio of desserts: mango sorbet, chocolate and pistachio tart, lime and basil panna cotta with peach coulis

The Photography

When I first came across Natalie's work I felt an instant connection, as when I was looking at her photographs it reminded me of myself- I thought this women sees the world in a similar way to me, she is also very creative, playful, interesting, perfectionist and detail orientated which for us was the perfect combination. To be honest choosing the right photographer was right up there with choosing the perfect dress- it was extremely important to me. We knew we were in good hands for our wedding once we had our engagement photo shoot with Natalie, we had so much fun time seemed to evaporate before our eyes.

The Inspiration

Be creative and resourceful to save money, so you can still have what you want within budget. However, if it's not within your budget, but your heart knows it's meant to be, trust that it will be yours and manifest it!

Pinterest was a great way for me to develop my vision and proved to be a great resource to offer our photographer, make-up artists, hairstylists, etc..
Here's my gift from my heart to yours - my pinterest board! Enjoy!

At the end of the day its about the two of you- I was told by several people to stop at different points leading up to the wedding that I should stop at various points during the wedding to turn around and take it all in as it goes by so quickly- and they were right it did- but I was able to take in every moment.