Wedding baptism celebration at The Gridshell

Wedding Baptism & DIY Wedding Decor

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.

Charlotte & Benjamin

Bride and grandmother wear matching purple stoned emerald cut rings

Bride in high neck wedding dress holding dried flower bouquet with palm leaves and grass

Bridesmaid in satin champagne gold bridesmaid buttons the bride into her wedding dress for a wedding baptism

Grey velvet hangers with champagne gold bridesmaid dress and name tags on orange labels

Father of the bride walks the bride down the aisle for the wedding baptism at The Gridshell

Wedding signage at the DIY festival wedding at The Gridshell

Bride and groom stand together at the altar for their wedding baptism ceremony with neutral orange wedding flowers lining the aisle

Bride wearing a cathedral length ruffle wedding veil

Bridesmaid in satin champagne gold bridesmaid dress with dried flower bouquet made with hydrangea and dried grass

Wedding chair back decor with label tied with gold string reserving the seat for family members

Traditional ring warming ceremony with hand sanitiser for blessings to the couple

Father of the bride in a beige suit jacket and brown bow tie smiling with the bride in a high neck wedding dress

Simple and minimal fabric wedding signage reading 'oh happy day' at modern museum wedding venue

Wedding guest attaches a penny to the bride's wedding shoe for some good luck

DIY hand-painted wedding sign with a wooden table and a ring warming ceremony area with hand sanitiser

Rainbow Club bridal wedding shoes with an ankle strap and beaded flower detail

Bride does her own wedding makeup in a gold edged mirror with wedding day written in white pen

Bristle brush, pink garter, beaded purse, Rainbow Club beaded heels, white retro earrings, and beaded bracelet

Neutral dried wedding flower bouquet with cotton, dried palm leaves, and hydrangea

Bridesmaids in satin champagne gold halter neck bridesmaid dresses smiling with the bride in a classic white gown and the father of the bride

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.

Groom in pink summer Ted Baker shirt kissing the bride on the forehead in a strapless gown with ruffle detail in half up half down style

Bride in strapless ruffle wedding dress being spun by the groom in a Hawaiian style summer pink shirt during golden hour

Bride in a strapless ruffle wedding gown walks holding hands with a young girl on the decking at Weald and Downland Living Museum venue

Bride with brown hair in a half up half down style in a ruffle wedding dress doing the first dance with the groom in a pink summer shirt at The Gridshell

Cute wedding tag on the cork for fun and quirky wedding decor

Hand bound wedding guest book with personal handwritten messages for the wedding guests with polaroid pictures

Wedding museum wedding venue with the bride and groom sharing their first dance together with the bride in a strapless ruffle dress and groom in summer pink shirt

Groom in all black suit with dried bunny grass buttonhole smiling with the bride in a high neck wedding dress with DIY flower bouquet

DIY paper wedding boat decoration made from old books hanging down

Groomsmen in beige suit jackets and groom in all black suits holding up the bride in a simple wedding dress for funny photo

DIY wedding sign decoration with gold edge in a typewriter font

Bridesmaids in satin champagne gold bridesmaid dresses and bride in front flit dress, groom in all black suit and their son for the wedding baptism

Groom in pink summer shirt with thistle design holding hands with the bride in a strapless ruffle wedding dress during golden hour

Bride in a halter neck wedding dress with front slit holding neutral wedding bouquet smiling with the groom in an all black suit

Cured wedding meats with olives and stuffed peppers on wooden board

Wooden peg board for the guest to peg their polaroid pictures of the wedding guests

Bridesmaids in halter neck champagne gold dresses with the bride also in a white halter neck wedding dress holding boho bouquets with bunny grass

Wedding map with copper pins tagging the special places with meaning to the couple

Groomsmen in beige holding up the groom in an all black suit with DIY dried buttonholes

Wedding DJ and band for the wedding entertainment for the fun festival boho wedding baptism

Wedding table name sign resting on wooden holder

Wedding sign with gold edge resting against white wedding drapes for decoration

Tall orange frosted wedding cake with dried flower decoration for boho wedding next to pillar candles

The Gridshell at Weald and Downland Living Museum venue with boho decor including pampas grass, hay bales, flower arch, and wedding signage for wedding baptism

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.

Charlotte & Benjamin

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!