Inspiration

Food, faith and friendships are what best describe former Great British Bake Off contestant Martha Collison's rustic wedding. With a dessert table consisting of nine cakes baked by the GBBO class of 2014. Plus, homemade chocolate favours and cheese toasties! In true Martha style, she doesn't stop smiling and moves her groom Michael to tears as she walks down the aisle in her customised Morilee wedding dress. If you're looking for an appetiser before the 2020 final tonight, you've come to the right place! Enjoy.

What Made Our Day Unique

We both knew, right from the moment we got engaged, that we wanted our day to encapsulate the joy of marriage! We didn't want any super formal, just a joyful celebration and proper feast with as many people as we could fit in. Michael proposed in the church hall we had the ceremony in, which was so special (and very emotional!) to come full circle. Food, faith and friendships are hugely important to us, so having so many food moments, from cheese toasties to personalised chocolates as favours, was epic, as was dancing the night away with our favourite friends.

Martha & Michael

Wedding Suppliers

Mainly word of mouth! Our priority was people, and having as many friends and family there as possible, which made it hard to find suppliers in our price range. We also care a great deal about sustainability and supporting local, so this was a big factor in our choices too. Our caterer did my cousins wedding a year before and used all local produce, our photographers are talented family friends, my brother-in-law headed up our evening band, friends from church made all the refreshments for after the ceremony and my fabulous GBBO baker pals did us proud with a whole cake table!

Martha & Michael

Great British Bake Off

When you think of the Great British Bake Off you think of cakes! Showstoppers to be exact. Former 2014 quarter finalist Martha Collinson called on her fellow contestants to help her create a dessert table of dreams. This wasn't the only element of the rustic wedding made with love, there was also a wooden palette sign, a mirror table plan and homemade chocolate favours. Plus, lots of sparkle, joy and colour. Have you spotted Martha's vibrant bridal bouquet yet? In.Cred.Ible!

Inspiration & Styling

Lots of DIY and personal touches, with colour, sparkle and flowers! I’m not a pastels girl, but neither do I love neon, so knew we wanted something in the middle: vintage and bejewelled with rich colour, to create warmth on an April evening. It was a relaxed day, with a colourful lebanese sharing feast and lots of retro tunes and dancing, plus lots of little activities for those for whom the dance floor was too loud!

Martha & Michael

Favourite Moment

My favourite moment has to be our first dance. We are real romantics who wanted a meaningful song, but are also lovers of fun suprises and twists! We chose 'I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)' and the first half of the song was slow and acoustic, but once it got to the second chorus, the band cranked up the volume, changed up the tempo, the bridesmaids set off confetti cannons and the whole room came alive. All our friends ambushed us on the stage and i'll never forget it.

Martha & Michael

Advice

Do your research and decide how involved you want to be! We decided to save money by doing everything ourselves, from dressing the venue to choosing the teaspoons and hand writing addresses onto invitations, but it meant it took a lot more time. We didn't use a wedding planner which meant we had to be super organised to see everything come together on the day (spreadsheets galore!) - our venue was super flexible and we could set up two days before, which was helpful.

Martha & Michael

Anniversaries

Cheese toasties were the dream of an evening snack - just what everyone needed! We plan on making them every anniversary and getting the cheese pull shot as we grow older. Our favourite thing that will bring us joy for years to come was sticking 50 envelopes on the wall and leaving notecards for friends to write us letters for each anniversary. We opened our first one on our first anniversary and it was quite overwhelming to have such a time capsule of the day, and I know it will feel even more special as time passes.

Martha & Michael

We love how Martha and Michael have already got their own personal rituals and traditions when celebrating their future wedding anniversaries. If you need a little inspiration for years to come, bookmark our First 10 Years article with gift ideas, advice and more.

Lorna Shaw

Written by Lorna Shaw

Featured suppliers

Videographer: Patrik Despajo | Wedding Venues: Emmanuel Church Hove | Sullington Manor Farm | Food: Garlic Wood Farm | 9 Cakes Baked by the Bakers of GBBO 2014: Kate Henry | Chetna Makan | Nancy | | Iain Watters | Jordan Brown-Cox | Claire Goodwin | Enwezor Nzegwu | Florist: Joy Floral Design | Stationery: Isabel Zarth | Decor & Hire: Place Settings Event Hire | The Toast | Transport: 1958 Vauxhall Victor Super | Celebrant : Dave Rogers at Emmanuel Church, Hove | Chocolate Favours: Will Torrent | Candy Floss: Sugar Puf | Cheese Toasties: Cheesy Fingers | Wedding Dress: Customised Morilee | Seamstress: Emma Louise Design | Shoes & Faux Fur Wrap: Coast | Bridesmaid Dresses: Lipsy London | Grooms Suit: Dickies Suit Hire | Hair & Makeup: Estelle Horder

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