Hello again, time for Part 2 of my cousin's carnival themed wedding!
I think Amie and Joe's epic nuptials actually broke a few world records including:
Most entertaining wedding ceremony ~ from Amie quite literally dancing down the aisle to Joe's chatty banter with the officiant and their catalogue style posing while signing the register. Everyone who was lucky enough to be there that day was fighting back tears of joy and laughter. (If you missed it yesterday, check out the fun filled ceremony photos in Part 1.)
Best dressed toast master ~ I love that he embraced Amie and Joe's theme and wore a ring master outfit complete with whip.
Most delicious cupcakes ~ home made by another lovely cousin of mine, Tammy. Seriously the best cupcake (ok cupcakes…I had 2!) I've ever had.
Craziest cake cutting ~ they had a brightly coloured topsy turvy cake with cute rubber duck cake toppers which they proceeded to attack with a 3 foot long sword!
Here's Amie with more about their day:
We had the venue draped professionally to look like a circus tent, which turned out better than I could ever have hoped! The table we kept pretty simple with some big martini glass centrepieces filled with water beads (which ended up being bounced about by everyone by the end of the night).
We had personalised rock sweets for our favours, as we are from Brighton. We used some sweet little cards made by our lovely photographer to decorate the favour bags. They had pictures from our engagement shoot on them and also had the password to the photographers website on them. Cute and functional!
A Brighton BBQ
We had a BBQ, which went down a storm. We are not formal people at all and neither are our families, so a sit down meal didn't really suit us. Everyone loves a BBQ and it meant that people could have as much or as little as they wanted and there was hopefully something for everyone.
We had a topsy turvy cake that had three flavoured tiers; Vanilla Spice, strawberry and chocolate cherry. We also had a sweet table, candy floss and popcorn machines for the evening. It would seem that food was quite a big part of our day….
Amie's Favourite Moment
My mum's speech. She was in hospital on the wedding day so couldn't be there, but my grandad (who gave me away) read out a speech from her during his speech. It was a total shock and such a wonderful moment. Of course, I was in tears and even my grandad got choked up reading it. It meant so much to me.
A ‘Closing Time At The Pub' First Dance
Our first dance was ‘Is this Love' By Bob Marley and was more like closing time at the pub than a romantic first dance. We are not really slow song people, nor can either of us slow dance to save our lives (we practised many, MANY times).
Neda Blake Photography
We won a competition to have an engagement shoot with Neda Blake Photography, which we did on a chilly day last November in Brighton. After the shoot, I was gutted that I had already booked a photographer and that we couldn't have Neda photograph the wedding day too. Bizarrely, the original photographer pulled out days after the engagement shoot and we booked Neda straight away!
Advice for other couples planning their weddings:
Don't sweat the small stuff. The centrepieces/ favours/ colour scheme may seem like the MOST important thing in the world two months before when you are stressing about them, but it is such an insignificant thing when everyone you love is in one room and you are overwhelmed with love.
Enjoy the planning and share it with your friends and family, you will only get to do this once (well, hopefully….)
I just adore the fun and blustery beach group shots, Neda captured so beautifully don't you?
Many thanks to Neda Blake Photography for sharing these gorgeous photos with us. She was absolutely wonderful on the day itself and went above and beyond making sure Amie and Joe's wedding was documented to perfection. She even created a same day selection of photos to show during dinner, which was just such a wonderful touch! Everyone was smiling and laughing away.
Check out her blog and Facebook page to see more of her work.
A Few Behind The Scenes Snaps (not taken by Neda, obviously)
Blustery beach shot prep ~ going barefoot on Brighton's pebbly beach wasn't a good idea on my part!
The Addams Family? Oh no, wait, that's my family.
Zee and I reliving our wedding day.
Me and the beautiful bride.
Fun fact: the chalkboard sign below the table plan says ‘special of the day: spagetti on toast' ~ it was written by us when were little kids playing at being waitresses and it hasn't been rubbed off in almost 20 years!
Our cousin Tammy and her husband, Wayne, surprised Amie on the day by getting it out of storage and bringing it with them! But spaghetti on toast wasn't actually on the menu, half the guests must have been so confused…
Congratulations Amie and Joe! Wishing you all the happiness in the world. I love you guys! xx
Okay lovely readers, I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into what was one of the best weddings I've ever been to. Less of the formal more of the fun is the way to go when it comes to weddings!
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Photographer: Neda Blake Photography / Venue & Catering: The Lansdowne Place Hotel / Groom and Groomsmen’s Attire: The O Zone / Bride’s Dress: Amanda Wyatt (from The Ozone) / Bride’s Shoes: Irregular Choice / Band: The Swing Ninjas / Florist: Muscari Whites / Cake Baker: The Cake Escape / Table Plan: Something New Stationery /Invitations: Alex House
