Emily & Jamie

If you like your weddings homemade and full of DIY and sentiment then STOP, get comfortable and savour every moment of this Lineham Farm wedding in Leeds. Bride Emily's dad designed all the stationery, table names and signs whilst her green fingered mum grew all the flowers so the barn reception and outdoor woodland ceremony would be full of pretty wild blooms. DIY colourful bunting was also crafted which was hung everywhere and looks absolutely incredible tying everything in beautifully. Both of them look absolutely incredible in their wedding attire, and perfectly in keeping with the country vibe. Emily wore the prettiest of Catherine Deane lace gowns, and Jamie had the suavest of wool Ben Sherman suits teamed with a bow tie and gingham shirt. The pair of them are literally beaming from ear to ear the whole time and I challenge you not to do the same when you pore over the images by Shutter Go Click Photography.

Wedding

Emily the Bride: We decided even before we were engaged that when we got married we wanted a day that gave our guests an insight into our relationship and what we enjoyed. 18 months of planning later, we devised a day that was completely our own and created by us with many many thanks to everyone who helped us along the way.

Rings

The DIY elements of our wedding (of which there were many) started with the rings. Jamie took it upon himself to become an engagement ring designer and with the help of the amazingly talented Form Bespoke Jewellery, created the most perfect of rings. Unable to contain his excitement, the proposal was essentially throwing this ring in mys face - but the effort did the trick! We went back to Form for our wedding rings which are equally gorgeous (good job given we have to wear them every day for the rest of our lives!).

Venue

When it came to planning, the first thing to work out was the venue. We had a really clear idea that we wanted somewhere we would be able to do what we want, without the usual shackles of a venue imposing their ideas of what a wedding should be like. As soon as we met Amanda and the team for a look around Lineham Farm Children's Centre we knew it was the perfect venue for our day. We had the run of the place for the full weekend of our wedding and complete free reign to use all the amazing spaces around the farm to house our crazy ideas however we thought fit. No off the wall suggestion was too much for Amanda and the whole team bent over backwards to help facilitate our plans.

Photographer

Next, we hunted down the most talented photographer the world has ever seen. Ryan aka ShutterGoClick who captured our day in the most amazing way, allowing us to relive every second and feel like we are right back in the moment. He did it all without for one minute being intrusive or prescriptive, apart from perhaps to the farm’s animals. We couldn't love our pictures more.

Wedding

For the day itself we wanted music, food and fun. So that's what we did.

Dress

Neither of us wanted stuffy traditional wedding attire. I wore a Catherine Deane dress, found secondhand but unworn on eBay for a snip at £500 and just exactly the comfortable yet pretty gown I was after. MY shoes were ASOS, another bargain at under £20. Instead of a veil, I wore a gorgeous flower garland from Artisan Dried Flowers, with the wedding party wearing matching pins. For jewellery, I wore her late grandma’s pearls.

Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids were kitted out from the high street, wearing M&S and Coast. Hair and make up for the bridal party was supplied by Brittany Jae, the most friendly and calm person you could dream to spare your wedding morning with.

Grooms Attire

Jamie’s suit was Ben Sherman, mix matching a navy suit with different grey waistcoat and finishing it off with a maroon bow tie from Mrs Bow Tie. The two best men wore matching Jeff Banks suits in a stone colour.

Colour Scheme/Decor

We started with a vague “multicolour” colour scheme until my Dad, a graphic designer, devised a 9 shade colour palette to keep us on track. My Dad designed all the wedding stationary, from invites to table numbers, huge table plans and signs. The whole venue was also decorated in hundreds of metres of homemade bunting (made by mine and Jamie’s mums) based on these colours.

Flowers

Flowers were completely home grown. Emily's green fingered mum, a landscape architect, grew all the flowers for the day herself (with the help of a few friends and their gardens!). The results were amazing colourful wildflower bouquets, that couldn't have been more perfect.

Ceremony

Our ceremony was led by Jane Hawksworth who was the perfectly chilled and patient celebrant we were hoping for. Our vows were full of cringes, smiles and laughter, with just a couple of happy tears when my brother read The Wedding Song. In the gorgeous setting of Lineham Farm woods, we listened to our favourite tunes whilst everyone helped themselves to a bottle of beer. We did the legal bit in Islington Town Hall a few weeks earlier.

Entertainment

One of the highlights of the day for both of us was a little surprise we had planned for our guests. Immediately after the ceremony, the absolutely amazing Back Chat Brass gate crashed our party. The sounds of “Higher and Higher”, their opening song, rang in our heads for days after. And so the party started, with our guests joining a procession back through the woods to awaiting drinks.

Food & Drink

We both hate going to weddings where you have to sit for hours eating a stuffy meal that no one wants. So, we opted for an informal afternoon tea. Victoria Rose Catering delivered sandwiches, pastry goods and cups of tea galore, providing such a personal service it felt like they were part of the wedding party. For dessert, instead of a traditional wedding cake we'd asked any guests that so fancied to bake a cake for us. We had a table full of delights, from vegan carrot cake and gorgeous cupcakes to an elaborate rose cake and a decorated campervan. Cake heaven! Our evening do took place in what is usually used by Lineham Farm as a climbing wall, complete with alien and farm murals. With the help of Amanda and the team, helping hands of friends and family, more bunting and Wedding Lighting Hire we transformed the space into a fun beer hall style party. The room was finished off by a fab long bar from Elite Bars, who kept us well watered all night. For evening food we wanted to create a food festival feel, with guests able to help themselves whenever they got peckish. Duke’s Pizza and their big green truck supplied sublime wood fired pizzas and Elite Bars served perfect macaroni cheese and burgers from a horse box.

Music

For music, we searched and searched for a covers band that wouldn't play the usual wedding dross. Eventually we found Band of Covers who were brilliant and had us all dancing to Brit Pop classics for hours. Along with a chilled acoustic set to begin with, the band even learned our favourite song for an enforced first dance!

Final Thoughts

Somehow we managed to pull everything together with the help of our nearest and dearest and the result was a day, exactly as we could have hoped, full of our favourite people and our favourite things.