Pretty & Relaxed Marina Party Wedding

Alyce and Rebecca wanted everyone to have a great time at their wedding, they didn’t want too much tradition and the emphasis was on having a party. This is something that I can firmly get behind and I can’t wait to show you their relaxed and pretty day.

Everything took place on 1st September 2018 at Aston Marina, a WWW fave! Following a beautiful outdoor ceremony, the party got started with beer pong and a barbecue dinner. The decor was simple and rustic, and nearly all made by the couple and their friends and family, perfect.

It looks like everyone had a wonderful time, beautifully captured by Photography & Films by Charli who produced both the images and the brilliant video. Thanks for sharing Charli! Make sure you check out all the beauty, but my personal favourites have to be the couple shots in front of the pyracantha, such a gorgeous autumnal treat!

The Proposal

Myself and Alyce went on a two week trip to America. Whilst in Los Angeles I proposed to Alyce during a hike up Fryman Canyon looking out over one for the viewpoints overlooking the city of LA.

A month or so after returning from LA Alyce then proposed back to me in our home, which I was not expecting! I think she both wanted us to have a ring!

The Vision

We wanted something which was easy going, where guests could relax and feel more of a casual vibe. We didn’t want any of the usual “gimmicks” at a wedding e.g. photobooth, sweet stands because we thought a good old fashioned party type atmosphere would allow the guests to enjoy themselves more. We did have beer pong because we both love playing it and because It would add to the atmosphere!

We really wanted to get married outside and the venue we chose allowed for that.

We also wanted to have an adult only event because again I think it helps with creating more of a party atmosphere and gave parents of children a chance to be able to let their hair down! The only children allowed were immediate family.

The lasting impression we wanted to create of the day is that people had a good time and not that they felt it was too over the top, or too formal etc. that meant more for us than anything else.

We also didn’t want a “traditional” wedding breakfast and opted for a BBQ as we thought that would link it with a more relaxed vibe.

The Planning Process

The planning was fairly easy going- we found our venue first, the Aston Marina in Staffordshire. It was the first and only venue we looked at but we instantly knew it was right for us. It had a modern but also a rustic feel, lots of outside space with the possibility of getting married outside if the weather was nice. It also had some great views of the canal and surrounding countryside.

Then we moved onto choosing our photographer and videographer, Charli. Once those things were out of the way and because we booked our date two years in advance we had plenty of time to research, cost out and get inspiration for how we wanted our day to be.

We just planned things as and when we felt the time was right to and I think we took a more laid back approach. We called on the help of friends to chip in with things and so we had a friend make our cake for us, another friend helped us with flowers and another friend helped make some pocket squares for our bridesmen.

People tend to say planning a wedding is stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. We sourced, made and did a lot of the things ourselves such as the place cards, seating signs, beer pong tables, favours and even the flowers! Google and tutorials definitely came to the rescue on many an occasion.

Budget

We wanted to keep it under 15 grand. I don’t know the exact amount but fairly confident we were under budget!

The Venue

The Aston Marina in Staffordshire

Your Outfits & Accessories

Rebecca: I chose to wear a suit as you would never catch me dead in a dress! I chose to go for a tailed suit from Next- it wasn’t originally what I planned to do as I had thought to get a bespoke one tailored and I tried it on initially just to see if I wanted to go for a checked suit. After trying it on I loved it and so bought it!

Alyce: Alyce’s dress was from Abbey Wedding Warehouse in Leeds which sells wedding dresses at a discounted price.

After visiting a few boutiques in Chester Alyce got a feel for what she thought would and would not suit her and then form there she was able to pick what style she wanted from the warehouse at a discounted price. With Alyce’s dress and considering our budget price did come into this but in honesty it did not stop her form choosing a dress she really loved!

Beauty

Rebecca: my 17-year-old sister did mine and my bridesmaid’s make up. This may sound scary but she has some skills! She is due to go a prestigious make up school in September in London to pursue a career in make up artistry

As for hair, this was done by a local hairdresser to Staffordshire.

Alyce: One of our friends who is also a make up artist did Alyce and her Bridesmaid’s make up- this was handy because this was the one thing Alyce was worried about getting right and having a friend do this meant that Alyce was able to convey her vision about what she wanted more comfortably.

As for hair, again this was done by a local hairdresser to Staffordshire.

The Readings & Music

We had one reading at our wedding which our best friend read out titled Sunday morning (not sure who the author was!)

The music for Alyce walking down the aisle was Pachelbel’s Canon.

Then we made several of our own playlists on Spotify for the drinks reception (this was old school hip hop music!) and the wedding breakfast (just some chilled vibes!).

We had a two piece called Malaika for the drinks reception and also part of the evening do as well. We met her after she performed at Leeds pride one year and then we had a DJ local to the area for the rest of the evening do.

Bridesmaids

All seven bridesmaids outfits were again from ASOS’s wedding range!

Bridesmen

All three wore a simple black suit, shoes and belt all sourced from ASOS.

The Flowers

The flowers we sourced from Leeds market and put together by ourselves. We only used gypsophila in our bouquets which was simple but effective.

Your Photographer

Photos by Charli did both our pictures and video Charli was excellent on the day and managed to capture all the important/ funny and emotional moments!

The Details & Décor

Pretty much all sourced and made by us, most of the materials and resources we got from eBay or Amazon. As Alyce is a graphic designer she was able to design and get a lot of things printed as well for free

We had a Ru Paul themed seating plan which most people who watched the show lived for!

The décor itself again was rustic, we chose to go for simplicity over big and complicated stuff. A log stump in the middle of the table with a jar with some gypsophila in with a candle next to it and some brown hemp table runners. Having a smallish table decoration allowed for people to be able to see each other and actually have a conversation.

The Honeymoon

We went to Vietnam for three weeks and explored Hanio, Hoi and and Saigon. It was an epic way to put an end to an epic wedding day we got to also go on a mini cruise to Ha long bay which Is definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.

Memorable Moments

Getting married outside was what we always wanted and to have it happen was amazing. We were very lucky with the weather!

There were definitely some pinnacle beer pong moments, especially when Alyce beat me at beer pong! Also some very interesting dance moves taking place on the dance floor as well as outside when someone brought a football for a kick about.

I felt the speeches were especially memorable, plenty of laughter but at the same time not a dry eye in the room!

Our wedding favours went down a treat- we did a “sangria spray” so sangria in a little spray bottle which guest could spray into their mouths!

Our first dance was a chilled cover of a well known Sugababes song by Malaika which went down well

Advice For Other Couples

Our advice would be go with what you feel works. If you have an idea, believe in it and go for it. Get other to help wherever possible and if you can make or source something yourself then don’t be scared to give it a go, it will make a real difference to your budget.

For us we knew people would remember having an epic day more than they would the flowers or how things looked exactly on the table. People tend to remember an atmosphere more than physical things so we concentrated most our efforts on getting that right than anything else!

The Cake

Our friend made it

It was carrot cake which is Rebecca’s favourite cake and was made in a rustic type style!

Credit Where Credit Is Due