*infamous Geordie accent* “Week 6 of Lockdown in the Big Faith house: Amy has spent ALL day in the garden repotting house plants and weeding the borders and paths while her partner, Tom, mows the lawn.”

After a few days of rain, I was glad to get outside today and do a bit of gardening. I had a monster of a headache, but I remembered that I also had a headache last time I gardened and it went within a short time of aggressive digging and planting and organising. Nothing better for a sore head than a bit of outdoors!

While I was in the garden I got thinking about at-home garden weddings and how lovely they can be. If you have space it’s definitely something to consider: you have access to your own home for the morning prep, you can spend weeks prepping the space and days building the marquee. You can style the inside of the marquee anyway you want (I once saw a marquee erected around a tree which they decorated lavishly with fairy lights, it was a beautiful centrepiece). An at-home wedding is a great excuse to rope in all of your family & friends to help out – just bribe them with a lovely dinner & drinks together afterwards.

Because one thing this lockdown has made me realise is that spending time with your loved ones, whether it be on or during the run-up to the big day, is so so so important.

Another great perk of having your wedding at home is that you, essentially, get to have TWO wedding days! The one you get legally married on and the one you hold the ceremony on. One can be intimate, just family, one can be a massive party, for everyone! If you want to know more about getting married separately to your wedding day, read my blog post “Why You Shouldn’t Get Married On Your Wedding Day“.

Planning a wedding may seem stressful and, at times, you probably shout “I WISH THE WEDDING WOULD HURRY UP AND GET HERE!”, but as one of my postponed 2020 brides said – “this should be a joyful time, full of hen dos, spa days and finishing touches”. And she is spot on!

So take her wonderful words and apply it to your own wedding planning – ENJOY EVERY SECOND.

Amber & Anthony were so excited about their back garden nuptials, the fact they were going to be married in a place where Amber had played as a child was so special to them both.

They divided the long garden with a marquee, with the ceremony happening at the very end under a beautiful tree that held an impressive treehouse, and the mingling/drinking happening nearer the house. They even built their own Tiki bar (which became a permanent feature in the garden after the wedding).

When I turned up in the morning to shoot prep there was still a lot of final touches being made to the space. Anthony arrived dressed (but in his trainers) ready to get stuck in, if needs be, along with his groomsmen. Amber got ready in her old bedroom and spent lots of time giggling with her bridesmaids as they peeked out of the back windows, trying not to let the boys see them spying. It was so welcoming and fun, I couldn’t help but get swept up in it all.

Ambers dress was definitely a show stopper. From the high lace neck to the tearaway sleeves, all the way down to the PVC garter she wore underneath; everything was super chic yet still wonderfully alternative, and very very Amber.

When Amber was finally ready her dad lead her from the house and through the marquee where he passed her over to her stepdad, who lead her the rest of the way down the aisle – a very special moment for both of the wonderful men in her life. After the ceremony there was drinking and speeches, dancing and photos, giant chess and outdoor pizzas.

My favourite part of the day was when I whisked the bride and groom off down to a quiet country lane, not too far from the house, and let the couple spend some time alone as I snapped away. The turquoise smoke bomb was the absolute cherry on the cake. For anyone who’s worked with smoke bombs will know they’re absolutely unpredictable. The smallest breeze will carry the smoke in the wrong direction. But, for some reason, it just worked for Amber & Anthony.

That’s enough from me for now, I’m going to hand you over to Amber & Anthony themselves to tell you more about their gorgeous English garden wedding.