Our Low Budget, Eco Friendly Wedding
Mekele the Bride: Dave and I knew we wanted to jump off the wedding treadmill. We started the process with some core values which we wanted to be woven through the day. Our aim was to create a unique wedding which was beautiful and intimate, but most of all reflected us as a couple. Although we respect many of the ceremonial aspects of wedding traditions, throughout the planning process we always tried to ask “why?” instead of automatically following the usual custom. This wasn’t always easy. It made the planning process more complicated and time-consuming, but it was always worth it. One of our core values was to try to be as environmentally friendly as possible, something quite foreign to the lavish world of weddings. We achieved this by handcrafting or recycling what we could to avoid waste and excess. It allowed us to create a unique, handmade, creative and personal vibe. It also made financial sense and helped us keep to a budget under £9k - which was really important!
The Bride & Groom
We wanted a wedding at the beach so we opted for a beach boho theme which incorporated our own personal style. The two piece wedding dress was bought from a wedding charity shop (
Prichard and Moore) in Cardiff. In addition to being recycled, the dress was also budget friendly, and best of all donated to a cancer charity in the process - a total win-win! The rings were passed down through family, or made from recycled metals. Groomsmen wore their existing suits that matched our loose colour scheme, and bridesmaids wore mismatched dresses that suited their shapes, so that they would want to wear them again. The bridesmaids flowers were hand made by the bridal party, and all flower crowns and the bridal bouquet were made by the talented Rachel Poole from
Sweet Peony, Penarth, who totally understood the leafy boho brief.
The Venue
As Dave and I both spend most of our lives on water, we wanted as much of our big day as possible on a beach.
Slade Farm, located near our favourite beach in South Wales was the perfect match. Having only just opened its doors to public weddings, Dave and I were thrilled to be able to use this naturally beautiful venue for our ceremony. With its historic building, walled gardens and a shell path that meanders through a forest to access the beach, it truly is idyllic. We opted for a very intimate service, with 30 of our nearest and dearest. Following the ceremony we enjoyed the gardens and then made our way in wellies through the blossom filled forrest to the beach, where we celebrated and relaxed with Prosecco and homemade canapés served from the back of our camper van. Our talented photographer
Francesca Hill took full advantage of this, capturing some wonderful shots.