Inspiration
Wedding Baptism & DIY Wedding Decor
Photography by
Emily & Steve Photography
Photography by
Emily & Steve Photography
Would you believe that almost all of this wedding is completely DIY? Charlotte & Benjamin's wedding was cancelled in lockdown but they still had a small ceremony and later had a son. Even though they lost suppliers, they managed to throw a wedding baptism in 2022, in their original venue. So they could baptise their son and have a wedding at the same time! Sounds genius! As they had the time, Charlotte & Benjamin managed to DIY nearly every aspect of the wedding, from the flowers to the stationery. Every inch was part of them. The bride got her gorgeous shoes from Recommended supplier, Rainbow Club.
Wedding baptism at The Gridshell at Weald and Downland Living Museum
Our favourite moment has to be when the light started to go down and you could hear all the fun and laughter. The golden hour sun poured in and people were dancing, drinking and discovering little bits of the wedding that we had poured ourselves into. A friend of ours hand bound and designed the guest book, and people were snapping polaroids of themselves in animal masks that we had left for the kids. There was just such a sense of fun about it all.
DIY Wedding Decor
Charlotte & Benjamin really wanted to support local and reuse as much as we could. The couple supplied and did all their own flowers! They contacted parks to find out their dead heading season and went to pick them all up, got them from people's gardens, or even from the sides of the motorways. The bride and groom designed and made all the stationery. Because the bride is a keen sailor, they folded 210 paper boats made out of books found at the local tip. The bride and bridesmaids did their own makeup. Charlotte's wedding dress was a sample dress from Ebay, which she took to two seamstresses for amendments. The cathedral-length frill veil was from Etsy and the evening dress was from ASOS bought just one week before the wedding! With zero floristry cost and a lot of DIY, the couple could afford to have 170 guests.
Wedding Baptism
Charlotte & Benjamin's wedding baptism was performed by the couple's local church. The worship band and vicar are friends of the couple and kindly gave their time to perform the ceremony and include a rendition of Meatloaf's 'I Would Do Anything For Love'. The overall vibe Charlotte & Benjamin aimed to achieve was a mix of vintage, festival, and boho. They wanted every inch of it to feel warm and inviting. As the couple are both architects, they chose their venue because it has won architectural prizes! As a lot of architects were going to be attending, they chose the Gridshell building because it was the first timber Gridshell building constructed in the UK. But ultimately, their son definitely stole the day by running around in his nappy during the speeches.
You can use Recycle My Wedding to buy or sell anything wedding related!
Our tip would be to reuse as much as you can and sell it on after. Think laterally about how you can produce bits for your wedding. Ask friends and family to contribute time to making something for you. There is no need for weddings to involve excessive spending. Support your local businesses. If you can't make something yourself, there is always someone out there with a vision. It really was hard work, but it paid off to spend all that time on the details.
This wedding baptism is certainly going down as one of our top DIY weddings ever! If you're feeling inspired and want to see some more wedding DIY, take a look at our DIY favourites roundup. Why not take Charlotte & Benjamin's advice and focus on reusing? Head on over to Recycle My Wedding to shop designer wedding dresses, decor, and more!
Written by Leah Blundell
Featured suppliers
Venue:
The Gridshell at Weald and Downland Living Museum | Photographer:
Emily & Steve Photography | Videographer:
Chloe Rose | Worship Band:
Harbour Church Portsmouth | Music:
Still Moving DJs | Band:
Hometown Show | Food:
The Southsea Deli | Drinks:
The Rolling Bars | Hair:
The Artful Hair Stylist | Veil:
The Boho Bride | Seamstress/Alterations:
Lovelace Atelier | Shoes:
Rainbow Club UK, Rainbow Club UK | Groom's Blazer:
Hugo Boss | Groom's Trousers:
Reiss | Groom's Shirt:
Ted Baker | Decor & Hire:
Luna and the Lane | Transport:
GRB Executive Cars | Favours:
Low Tide Coffee
