Saturday 26 October 2013

When gardeners get married.

 Just like everyone else we pick our frocks (£20 charity shop) and our shoes (£10.50 reduced), our scarf (1.99 charity shop). Be assured the dashing wellingtons, (whilst cut at a killer deal), cost far more than the whole of the rest of my wedding outfit. Priorities and all that, the wellyboots will get well used again. We also have a good scrub as often as not, we're muddy. And we don't spend much money on finery as we need it for seeds and tools next year.
We kindly ask chums to gather and forage what they have in their gardens looking beautiful to make bouquets with....no one blinks and eye when asked for a bin bag of ivy or a bucket of berries. We just get it. We did indulge in a few red roses to set the tone, fair trade supermarket bunch for £10 for a large bunch. The only cost of our wedding flowers was £10. Quite happy with that, we didn't need them, but they added a lovely touch. If you work with the season you're in, frugal wonders can happen.
We ask their help to forage around their beautiful gardens and provide free seasonal colour for our tables, laid on old free recycled slate roof tiles cleaned and washed for the occasion.
 They also kindly take the time to lay it out and make it look radiant.
 We borrow the things we don't have like fairy lights, tea lights and improvise rustic peedie vases from 'Nutella' glasses from those who indulge in such decadence! . Table runners replaced table cloth hire, at £2 each, we paid £20 in total for those. Instantly an autumn country rustic theme is born. We added various bits of home made (by friends) bunting which just set things off beautifully
And nature doesn't let us down and it does its own thing and looks beautiful, like we know it always will. Simple, natural and celebrated is often better. The tops of free roof tiles point out the way through the forest.
So we go, nervously with our loved ones, in our recycled finery, our wellyboots and and take our vows.
 In the company of so many wonderful and kind friends who've helped in so very many ways. The old kitchen basket used last week to take veg to a chums house today is filled with song sheets and recycled dried petal confetti. This is our stuff, our family stuff and it played its normal back up role in our lives. A kitchen bottle filled with foraged elderflower cordial quenches our Quaich to welcome our guests.
How grateful we are for the friends that we have and the life that we have and those things that make life nicer from old guitars to baskets, bottles and bags. And how we laughed!
Be assured there will be more on this another time. Just wanted to tip my hat and say thank you for everyone who's contributed to a truly special spectacular day.  All of our friends worked hard to put this special day together for us whilst laughing and chatting and hopefully finding out how much we love them too. And due to their kindness, hard work and efforts, cost a fraction of what it might have. All the better for being hand made with love, a fair bit of charging around to see what we could scrounge and a few pennies.
Photographs here are almost entirely the hard work of my wonderful chum Robyn who I'm hoping won't mind me sharing a few the now.
 
Mr & Mrs McB
Gardener and Rock Legend, finally wed.

(more on that later.)

32 comments:

  1. Beautiful - many, many congratulations and best wishes for the future xxx

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    1. Thank you Jacqui - one day we'll get to that island of yours!

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  2. Awww, that is simply beautiful. Many congratulations to you both.

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    1. I managed somehow to say away from the mud and not hug the trees. I hear its hard to get bark stains out of wedding frocks. Thanks for the good wishes. The forest played its part very well as did the chums who paid us a visit.

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  3. What a beautiful wedding so pleased you got the wedding you both wanted and deserved

    Congratulations to you all

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    1. Thanks Squirrel Family - frugal to the end - we came in just around bang on budget - fed 100 folks on £500 with all the home grown donations, home made bits and bobs and pressies of grub that we asked for. Perfect way to share the load and include those we loved too.

      Whilst it was hard work, for many of us, it was great fun.

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  4. Absolutely beautiful and just the way a wedding should be.

    Many, many congratulations. xx

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    1. Thanks Sue! I've only been to a few weddings and they're all so different aren't they?

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  5. How simple and beautiful, hope it was a day to remember. Many congratulations.

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    1. Indeed a day to remember and very beautiful - although in the whirl that everything was - its nice to see everyone's photos to remember the little things (like the table decorations) which I'd not fully seen the beauty of their construction! I was heavily involved in the food side, so many little touches I saw later were great to see captured since.

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  6. How truely beautiful and what a wedding is all about.

    Congratulations my you always be this happy xx

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    1. Thank you Welsh Poppy - we're still living apart but was so nice to see all our chums and loved ones in one place for a day. Perfect!

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  7. Congratulations Mrs McB. The wedding was fantastic. It just goes to show you can have a fantastic wedding at a fraction of the cost. The pics look fabulous.

    Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness x

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    1. As you know himself and myself were so utterly chuffed you managed to come and supply the most magnificent cape for his stage performance. He wears it daily - which I think is good?

      £3000 seems like a lot of money for a celebration - but the main costs were things like forest hire/venue hire/celebrant and the 'other' band. The bits we could do ourselves we did and I do think that made so much difference.

      Lucky to have such clever chums to help and we're so grateful that folks pitched in :)

      xxxx

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  8. Congratulations! It all looks wonderful....especially the red wellies:0)
    Your foraged decorations are perfect and I love your bouquet too.
    Wishing you a long and happy life together.
    Jacquie x

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    1. Thank you Jacquie - we had lots of bunting too but not crocheted - all made from scraps and bits of fabric to be recycled. The decorations were gorgeous - I love autumn so much to choose from - we were only keen to wed in autumn in that forest or in spring in a snowdrop forest for the same reason - nature playing a leading role!

      The bouquet a triumph - aside nearly losing a finger when the lassie pulled the string so tight - what a giggle!

      And with only 5 of my bought fair trade roses in it - I guess the total cost - £2.50

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  9. Beautiful, beautiful, and congratulations, all your details looked stunning. And the best bit it was all personal to you, I am so so happy for you

    Sharon x

    www.onelifeand3kids.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Thank you Sharon - really kind - very personal and moving, I've never been so touched by folks kindness and willingness to get involved. It really did make my heart sing.

      Folks just pitched in and blethered and new friendships were made. For that I am so utterly delighted and very humbled.

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  10. Utterly fabulous - and so totally you. Flower and table decorations look amazing. What a lovely day.

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    1. Arent' they all clever Janet? I can take no credit aside the act of running around like a headless chicken achieving barely anything for most of the day.

      Jane (the head gardener extraordinaire) provided most of the foliage with another chum Karen (both of which sat either side of me at the botanics during our classes there) - clever girls - give them a few nutella jars, some gravel and a bag of foliage and they come up trumps!

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  11. What a beautiful wedding. Lovely details and so very frugal...
    Wishing you all the best in your married life.
    (And love the red wellies!)

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    1. Red wellyboots are very new to me and seem a tad decadent! Certainly a very frugal day - and very beautiful - Mr Rock God and myself are very blessed with such kind folks.

      :)

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  12. so beautiful and absolutely lovely. love the wellies and all the personal touches. wishing you all the very best. thanks for sharing your special day. :)

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    1. Thanks JTS - lovely to share it with you all too - I thought I'd be shy but its so beautiful that I just want to sing from the rooftops (still) folks at work are a little bemused still by my bounciness!

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  13. Share away my dear - your day was possibly the most fun I've had with a camera in a good long while! Janet sums it up perfectly "totally you"! xx

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  14. Now we both know I am a bit of a space cadet - so being very me - just sums it all up. conkers on the tables banana leaves in the flowers and leeks too :)

    You my dear did it all incredible justice. And very proud that you took the time to come up and be a part of things.

    Above and beyond me dear but so very kind and so glad you could come and share in the chaos.

    PS Peedie and Haggis also thank you for their walk. :)

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    1. Awww bless Peedie & Haggis - lovely boys! Love you all lots....looking forward to the next party! (Although we'll stick with just the one wedding, thanks!) xx

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  15. All the best. The Wellies are wonderful! Perfect for it!

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  16. love your blog, and what a beautiful world you have created! Congratulations on the blessed union!
    I wandered over here looking at pictures of Yesnaby, a place I visited years ago when I was a young adventuress.

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  17. Hello, I found you via A Lifetime of DIY. This is utterly beautiful and just goes to show what can be achieved with a little imagination. I feel truly inspired by this.
    Congratulations on your wedding and I can't wait to see more.

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