Lets get the week going with a bang shall we?

WWW readers Daniel and Lauren married on the 2nd April 2014, at Great Higham Barn. With a vision of a soft, romantic and rustic feel to their day they had a sweet peach, white and mint colour scheme and got super crafty. They home made pom poms, a guest book area, coloured drinks and a fun game for the children; the barn looked Archbishops Palace followed by a reception at amazing.

Lauren looked super beautiful in her customised dress and bountiful white bridal bouquet, while Daniel went for a black three piece suit with tan brogues. Totally gorgeous.

Thanks so very much to the ever wonderful Rebecca Douglas for sharing her photographs today.

THE PROPOSAL | The proposal was a complete surprise, I think for both of us! It was on a chilly October evening and we were snuggled up on the sofa when Dan got down on bended knee and popped the question. He proposed to me when I was having a bit of a Bridget Jones evening... munching a chocolate bar wearing pj's, no make up, hair bundled up and I thought wow... he is asking me to spend the rest of my life with him right now.... this must be what they call unconditional love!

THE VISION | We wanted a really relaxed day with close friends and family, we envisioned a soft, romantic and slightly rustic style day full of love and laughter. I had set my heart on a white, mint and peach colour scheme and albeit tricky to achieve we managed.

THE PLANNING PROCESS | Dan is so organised and he created a spreadsheet listing every detail and the estimated budget for everything, we worked through this together starting with bigger details such as the venue for the ceremony and the reception venue. Working on a budget involved a lot of shopping around and diy decoration but luckily there are so many fabulous websites such as Whimsical Wonderland Weddings and Pinterest which provided so much inspiration. I daren't think of how many hours of our life we lost looking and shopping online but its worth it all in the end! We were so blessed with a number of talented and generous friends who offered their skills and services for our big day, we were overwhelmed by all the love and support and our wedding wouldn't have been the same without them.

BUDGET | We had budgeted £5000 but ended up spending £6500, we plan to sell on many items we purchased for the day but no longer have the need for.

THE VENUE | Dan and I are not religious so we knew we would be wanting a civil ceremony. We would have liked a nice outdoor ceremony but couldn't rely on the great British weather in April so we decided on the Archbishops Palace in Maidstone, it is such a lovely building. Our reception venue was a beautiful converted barn in Doddington called the Great Higham Barn, surrounded by fields we really felt like it was just us, the fields and the sky. We wanted somewhere we could have our family and friends stay with us and having the barn and two other beautiful cottages for 4 days we ended up having a little wedding holiday with our nearest and dearest. The freedom of having the place to ourselves for this time meant we were able to decorate to our taste and it meant we were not governed by normal wedding venue hours/rules. It was hard work setting up and packing back up after but everyone chipped in and it was so worth it. The nature of the venue meant we had to provide all food and drink, we were so lucky when our great friends the Pearce's and the Larkin's offered to do the catering for the day. They rustled up a yummy roast dinner which went down a treat with everyone! (As for drinks we took advantage of many Xmas offers and stored it all in the best mans cellar)

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | The dress was a Phil Collins sample, it was a subtle fishtail shape to begin with but my fabulous friend and incredibly talented seamstress/dressmaker Serena Williams altered the dress to really accentuate the shape. When I bought the dress it was the closest thing to what I wanted but i didn't feel that 'this is my dream dress' feeling, on the penultimate and final fitting I had fallen totally in love with it and had butterflies in my tummy... I took that as a good sign!

I wanted to keep accessories to a minimum due to the amount of detail on the dress so I wore a side tiara hair band, small studs and Dan had left me a beautiful bracelet as my wedding gift which was given to me by my Dad on the morning of the wedding.

FINDING THE DRESS | I had a very clear picture in my mind of the shape dress I was looking for having browsed websites such as Preloved UK and Preowned US. Being budget aware I visited 2 shops and tried on a number of dresses, nothing stood out enough for me until I visited a 3rd shop The Bridal Wardrobe in Rochester and there it was!

GROOM'S ATTIRE | Dan didn't want a 'Traditional' suit so opted for a skinny cut suit in a deep charcoal grey with a champagne colour skinny tie and tan brogues. He looked soooo handsome.

THE READINGS & MUSIC | We decided not to have any readings! But music.... well there was plenty of that!! We had a mixture of genres playing during the ceremony from Nat King Cole to Ben Howard. I walked up the aisle to Pachabel Canon in D and we walked back down the aisle together to Marvin Gaye and Tammy's ' You're all I need'

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | My beautiful Bridesmaid was Dan's Niece D'arcy (14), my beautiful Flower girl was D'arcys little sister Evie (8) and their little brother Isaac (5) was my handsome Page boy. The girls looked gorgeous in their mint colour dresses and Isaac looked like such a little dude in his suit! They were all so excited for the wedding day and it was great seeing them all dressed up and having fun.

THE FLOWERS | I wanted the flowers all white and used Pinterest for inspiration on types of flower, I'm certainly no expert on flowers so it was a real learning curve! The ladies at Slinders florist in Maidstone were very helpful in choosing. I love Peonies but it wasn't quite the season for them so they recommended Ranunculus which are almost identical only smaller! We ordered a combination of Ranunculus, Hydrangea, Gypsophila and Roses. The Bride, Bridesmaid, and Flower girl flowers were all hand tied bouquets in 3 different sizes.

THE CAKE | Such an important part of the day for foodies like Dan and I!

The cake was made by my wonderful colleague and friend Michelle Toms. Michelle created a beautiful 2 tier Victoria sponge with a lovely soft fluffy mint colour icing and a beautiful handcrafted peony perched on top. It was amaaaazing!... I actually shed a tear of joy when I saw it.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER | The FABULOUS Rebecca Douglas. We found her when searching online for natural & documentary style photography and as soon as we saw her work we were sold. The way she tells a story through photography is amazing. Aside from beautifully capturing the happiest day of our lives she was always there to guide us and advise us, both on the run up to the day and on the day. I am really not the most photogenic person and she made me look good so as far as I am concerned she is a genius!

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | Hmm. almost too much to mention! Our reception venue had lovely tall ceilings with open beams, we made the most of this by creating a veil of fairy lights from one side of the room to the other. I got to indulge in my obsession with paper pom poms, we decorated pasta jars with lace tape for the flowers. Dan created a fabulous guest book area where guests had a polaroid picture taken, we used blue curacao syrup to make mint/aqua colour soft drinks which we served in mini milk bottles with stripy straws for our favours. Dan devised an epic Spy game for the kids which kept them entertained for several hours! Oh the delight on their faces when they completed their mission and unlocked a safe full of sweets and received their medals. These are just a few to mention!

THE HONEYMOON | We had 2 weeks in Orlando, Florida. Its amazing how you feel like a kid again when you hit the parks. The sun's warmth is amazing the parks are so much fun and the people are great. There is just so much to do out there we literally didn't stop and could have done with a week off to recover.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | Walking back down the aisle as husband and wife was the happiest feeling. The speeches were a great opportunity to see all our loved ones in the same room laughing and smiling. In the evening we had the band Rumblefish play, they are brilliant and the atmosphere was unforgettable.

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Do a spreadsheet listing every little detail, plan a budget and areas you go over budget you can cut back on others. Save on the small details like the decor, get crafty! Don't scrimp on the photographer, those beautiful images are your memories for life. If you are planning a DIY / budget wedding, get cracking because the big day will be upon you before you know it.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Photographer | Rebecca Douglas

Car | Kevin & Pat

Furniture hire | Ambassador Furniture Hire

Dressmaker/Seamstress | Serena Williams

Make up artist (MAC)|Hayley Cordier - Facebook page 'Makeup by Hali'

Cake | Michelle Toms - [email protected]

Ahh so beautiful, and those fairy lights looked magical.

Thanks so much to Daniel and Lauren for sharing their wedding story with us today XOXO Lou