Kerry & Zaman’s crafted wedding was full of handmade touches and found pieces including charity shop glassware collected for table centerpieces, an up-cycled door for the seating plan and even handmade heart confetti made from the pages of old romance novels. The eco and sustainable credentials of the wedding were incidental to Kerry’s vision of a budget friendly celebration with her focus on spending time and having fun making decorations with friends and family in the run up to the wedding, which reminds us all that this really is what a wedding is all about: – having your family and friends invest in the love that you have found, being there to support you as a couple and celebrating your love alongside you.

Venue – Great Fosters, Egham              Photographer – Gemma at Beautiful Fields          Brides Dress – Needle & Thread         Hair and Flower Crowns – Wild Rose Hair

     Flowers and Decorations – Lavenders of London            Fruit Sculpture – Jo’s Fruit Sculptures        Chairs – Academy Furniture    Children’s Entertainer – Bella Parties

Where did you meet?  Hippodrome Kingston – Like Rhianna says, you can find love in a hopeless place.

Was it love at first sight? It was love at first dance off for sure.

How did he pop the question? He took me to a gorgeous hotel in London for our anniversary, then booked a table at the rooftop bar. After our dinner, he wanted to pop back to the room to grab something and when we went in, there were petals everywhere, my favourite quotes written on the mirrors, music playing, and the lights were pink. I remember thinking, this is a bit much for an anniversary. I was so amazed that we got free champagne and strawberries that I didn’t realise he was down on one knee behind me. He proposed and it was beautiful. We were then so excited we went out walking in London till the early hours.

Tell us about the ring! It’s a beautiful deep blue sapphire enclosed in diamonds. I absolutely love it.

What did you do for your hen party? We did a home and away hen do. For the home hen, my close friends did a garden party for us and then we went to a comedy club that then turned into a club.

For the away hen, I was surprised in the morning with the girls and they took me to Dublin. Very messy weekend but we did an Irish dancing class, which we now bust out at every party we go to.

Tell us about your dress? I found a dress online right at the beginning of planning the wedding. I thought it was too good to be true, so went for the usual wedding dress shopping experience, which wasn’t as enjoyable as I expected. I ended up settling for a sale dress which was really really big (princess feel). After a few weeks, I completely changed my mind and ended up ordering the one right from the beginning. It was a sequin, long sleeve gown by Needle and Thread and was exactly what I had imagined. It fit perfectly and I was over the moon. Should have listened to my instinct in the beginning!

Tell us about your bridesmaids? My maid of honour Hayley has been a part of my life for around 7-8 years now. We met through friends and spent a lot of time together. We shared a love of red wine and chatting till the sun comes up. She makes me laugh all the time. She’s a keeper. My bridesmaids were Linsay and Amy. We have known each other over 8 years now and met properly at a friend’s new year’s party. We all share the same love of having a laugh and trying not to take life too seriously. They really are the best friends a girl could ask for and make me laugh till I cry.

Did you decide upon the bridesmaid’s dresses by yourself or was it a group decision with all the bridesmaids? Group decision all the way, I wasn’t the one wearing the dress, so I wanted to the girls to feel happy and comfortable. I gave the idea of the multi-wrap and they all loved it. We started organising wrap nights for trying out all the different ways they could have the dresses. Hayley had just had a baby and Amy was pregnant with twins, so it was important to have something for everyone.

What was it like getting ready on the morning of your wedding day? How did you feel? Surprisingly, I felt fine. I had breakfast in bed, sat on the window bay overlooking the hotel gardens, then had a long bubble bath. As I was last in the schedule to get ready, I took advantage and just chilled out with bubbly.

Were all your bridesmaids with you getting ready? Yes, we stayed over at Great Fosters the night before and shared a big room together. Much better than an early morning rush.

Did your bridesmaids have any special duties for the day? No special duties, but we did have trouble setting up the tables the night before as we ran out of time. Hayley and Linsay spent some of the morning setting up balloons and lights. They looked amazing!

Did you get your bridesmaids a gift? Yes, I made some dressing gowns with embellishments for them to wear, as well as some goody bags with pamper bits and gifts in.

What flowers did you have? I used Lavenders of London for all my flowers and decorations. They do the absolute best artificial flowers and had such a huge selection of decorations. It also meant that I could buy everything in advance and make it up ourselves. Thankfully, Hayley is a florist by trade and is super gifted when it comes to flowers.

Where did you get married? Great Fosters, Egham

Did you have music to walk up the aisle? Etta James – At Last

Where did you get all your decorations? We bought some from Lavenders of London and hired the big lanterns for the aisle. I also visited charity shops for vases and glasses and used them to put centre pieces together. I made my own love heart confetti from old romance novels. I got my table plan from a skip, which was an old door. Just cleaned it up, painted it and wrote on the glass. I also used some pallets for signs. We also hired helium tanks to do our own large balloons. It was a very DIY wedding but was more fun that way.

What was your first dance? Alabama Shakes – Gimme all your love

What was the best part of your day? I think it was the buzz right after the ceremony. Everyone was so happy, and we had some time to chat and mingle before we went off with our photographer into the hotel grounds. Our photographer really made that part memorable.

What is your favourite photo from the day? The one of us together in the fields. I remember feeling on top of the world.

Advice for brides to be? Try to keep to your budget. It so easy to get carried away and eventually you don’t even care about the number of zeros. Use Pinterest to get ideas and upcycle and resell where you can. It really helps people. Also do your research and try to build open relationships with your suppliers – they want you to have a good day too! We had a very child friendly wedding, so we hired a children’s entertainer for few hours in the evening, which gave the parents time to enjoy the wedding, knowing the kids are safe and playing.