A Stephanie Allin Bride and her DIY Style Wedding…

"We wanted it to feel like us, to be relaxed and above all fun. No awkward moments, no wishing we had done something else. Just simple and stress free, nothing over the top.

The whole day was put together in a DIY fashion with friends and family. There was hardly anyone involved that we didn’t know. The furthest removed was a friend’s recommendation so it felt really special and made from the love of everyone involved…"
 

Louise and Tony and they tied the knot on 21st April 2012 with a ceremony at All Saints Bisham, Nr Marlow Bucks, followed by a reception at Lilliebrooke Manor in Maidenhead.  The couple were after 'big party in the barn with lots of dancing' kind of vibe.

Louise wore a beautiful Stephanie Allin design, purchased from Windsor Bride

"I loved the simplicity of the dress. All the detail was in the cut, material and shape of the dress. I didn’t want anything fussy or that didn’t seem like something I wouldn’t normally wear. Obviously I wouldn’t normally wear a wedding dress, but I’m not really a frills and sparkles girl either…"

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Laura Babb

062louise and tony lillebrook farm wedding laura babb

Louise's shoes were from Rachel Simpson, via notonthehighstreet.com

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

"The bunting was made by my Mum. I painted the signs and decorated using wicker hearts.  We also used hundreds of little jars of flowers that were family heirlooms, charity shop buys, sale bargains and baby food jars from my niece who was cajoled into eating as much as possible for the past six months!"

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

"The flowers, bouquets and buttonholes came from Nash and Son’s, Maidenhead. Louise’s mum organised all the rest! The church flowers were done by Louise’s mum and Aunt, whilst the table decorations were done by a number of eager friends and family. The scheme was loosely purple, green, yellow and cream.

wanted very casual arrangements in keeping with the style of the barn. Each person had a flower for their place name and each table had different flowers. So rather than table names they had to match the flower on the table plan…"

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

"Our photographer Laura Babb came on board a few weeks before, when we had been let down by someone else and she could not have been more helpful and considerate. She was great beforehand and on the day. Everyone was happy with her on the day as she was so discreet and we love the resulting photos."

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog


Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

"Tony spent six months meeting with the jeweller to design the engagement ring down to picking the main stone. For a man who hates shopping, I know how much that must have stressed him out.  So not only do I love the ring, but I love the fact that he did that for me. He can’t even buy a new pair of shoes without breaking into a sweat."

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

"We didn’t really have money to spend on a cake so the main thing was to get one that tasted really good on a budget. It was from Marks and Spencer.

We didn't supply favours, but we made bunches from the table flowers and gave them to all the ladies who came for lunch in the pub the next day + the left over cake…."

069louise and tony lillebrook farm wedding laura babb

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Take the time to step back and look around to see everyone enjoying the day. It’s easy to get stuck in lots of little conversations and miss the big picture. + make sure you have food stashed for when you get back to the hotel afterwards. We were starving, but luckily someone had told us we would be so we nicked a whole load of the cheese and bread buffet.

I also took the week off before and mum and I put everything together. We tied so many bows that our fingers felt numb! It was amazing to spend so much time with my mum, (dad had gone to Dubai for work, conveniently!) which I never get the chance to do and then get the build up as more people arrived day by day. On the morning of the wedding Tony and lots of our friends volunteered to set up the venue for us, so I didn’t have to do anything or get stressed. It was fantastic to walk into the venue and see it complete and not have been the ones that did it…"

Stepanie Allin wedding dress, Love My Dress Vintage and Alternative Wedding Blog

Congratulations Louise and Tony on your wedding, I wish you a lifetime of happiness.

You can see more from Stephanie Allin in Love My Dress right here.

One more post coming up very soon ladies, you won't want to miss out. It involves a rather stylish giveaway 😉

Much love,

Annabel

Photographer – Laura Babb
Venue – Lilliebrooke Manor in Maidenhead
Brides dress – Stephanie Allin, purchased from Windsor Bride
Brides birdcage veil – via Windsor Bride
Brides Shoes – Rachel Simpson, via notonthehighstreet.com
Brides Hair Accessories – Vintage Marcasite Hair Comb, Katherine Swaine
Grooms Suit – Austin Reed
Bridesmaids Dresses – Coast
Flowers – Nash and Son’s, Maidenhead
Cake – Marks and Spencer

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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