One of my very favourite things about being a wedding blogger is providing couples with oodles of inspiration for their wedding day. It gives me a real buzz when a couple that read WWW then contact me asking if I would like to share their own day.

WWW readers Lizzie and Rich did just that and of course I wanted to feature their lovely day held on the 2 ^nd May. Following a church ceremony they headed to the family home in Cardiff where a beautiful see through dome marquee was erected for the reception. Lizzie and Rich tackled much of their day themselves including the brilliant distressed doors back drop and they also sourced a 100 year old piano which really set the atmosphere.

I adore the lighting, the stunning naked sponge cake and Lizzie's stunning custom made gown. Wow.

Thanks today goes to Jon Turtle for sharing these wonderful shots.

THE PROPOSAL | Rich and I were skiing in Le Deux Alpes where he was trying to teach me to snowboard for the first time. Rich's vision of me as a pro snow boarder rapidly went down hill! A tumble on the glacier slopes (Rich's ideal proposal spot), left him with little time left to create the perfect moment. However, switching from out of control snowboarder to graceful skier allowed for the perfect moment for Rich to go down on one knee 3000m up in the most beautiful mountains in Europe. It was the perfect setting with blue skies and untouched fresh snowfields for the most amazing unforgettable proposal.

THE VISION | As a couple who have worked in the event industry collectively for over twenty years, it was great to finally be able to put our own stamp on an event. We had so many ideas, we just needed to make sure they all worked together, and further more, that our friends and family were on board. Trying to convince traditional father of the bride, John, that painting old wooden doors and then sanding them back to a rustic finish was a challenge in itself! We always wanted the focus to be on the day being very relaxed and informal and reflecting our personalities.

THE PLANNING PROCESS | We were lucky in that we had always had a similar view on our what we wanted for our wedding so when we started pulling ideas together we were always on the same page. We didn't have the most lavish budget but between very generous parents and some money we had put aside we pulled together a budget. I think one of the most difficult things was deciding where we wanted to spend our budget, we knew we couldn't afford everything we wanted so tried to always focus on the impact different elements would have on the day.

THE VENUE | Dome Mode created the perfect 'see through' venue allowing the guests to enjoy the beautiful Cardiff family home.

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | Wedding Dress Boutique: Rachel Burgess Bridal Boutique, Designer: Helen Rhiannon, Hair and Make up Emma Kidby.

FINDING THE DRESS | I tried three dress shops in and around Cardiff but it wasn't until we went to the Rachel Burgess Bridal Boutique that we came up with the solution. Her fantastic range of Welsh designers and vintage dresses were so beautiful. After trying on lots of different styles we agreed on a combination of several dresses by Helen Rhiannon. Having the ability to choose all the aspects of the dress was such a breath of fresh air, from sleeve length to material to neckline. I couldn't have been happier with the end result and the fact that there was only one dress ever made like this for me made me feel really special.

GROOM'S ATTIRE | Rich and his best people (Rachel and Alex) knew they wanted wool mix tweed style suits and hunted high and low for the right style but after a long day ended up stumbling over the exact thing they wanted in River Island. Rachel had her suit tailored slightly and added a fascinator to give it a lady like touch.

THE READINGS & MUSIC | Readings - 'Do Not Worry' read by Tim Bowen and 'My Love, My Fair One' read by Jo Watkins.

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | I decided a long time ago that I didn't want any bridesmaids. I have so many amazing friends (some guys) and family that the choice would have always been too difficult.

THE FLOWERS | I have always loved gypsophila but I didn't want all of the table decorations to be white so the florist and I decided to spray them vibrant colours. I loved the effect; it seemed to fit so well in the venue.

THE CAKE | We asked an old friend who was a pastry chef if he could make the cake for us, we simply showed him a few pictures and he overwhelmed us with the most incredible cake on the day. It tasted amazing and was more than we could have wished for. My dad surprised us on the day with a log cake stand that he had carved our initials into.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Our photographer was Jon Turtle, he is a good friend and brilliant photographer. We wanted to steer away from the formal family pictures and focus on shots of guests enjoying themselves. Jon was completely understanding of this and took such amazing pictures on the day. We couldn't have asked for more!

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | As all of the décor was going to be our own work we began building parts of the venue five months before the wedding using my dad's garage as a workshop. We painted and sanded old doors and used scaff planks to distress them so they could become the backdrop to the stage and the bar. Rich turned old pallets into partition walls for a seating areas, we then planted brightly coloured flowers from the garden in the top. I was insistent that the reception was going to be colourful and that we were not going stick to one colour so we chose a colour pallet of five colours from some paint sample cards that were to be used on all the set. Then added some quirky touches such as a hundred year old piano that we picked up off Gumtree which my cousin played during the reception. I got the inspiration for the heart shaped guest board from a website. I asked my brother in law to make something similar. My mum was amazing throughout the whole process hand making the napkins, table runners, designing and printing the church order of services, even the particular style of aprons that we wanted for the waiting staff!

THE HONEYMOON | We used Turquoise and they were great. We went for a double destination honeymoon staying in two beautiful places in Bali. It was such an amazing holiday I wish we could do it all again.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | There were so many moments during the day that stood out but for both of us I think saying our vows in the church was very emotional and meant a lot to us both. We just kept beaming at each other.

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Just enjoy the day as much as possible, don't focus on the small things that may or may not have gone right just enjoy every minute. Let other people sort out any mishaps that may or may not be happening. One of the ushers had to fix the toilet on the day as it wasn't working but we had no idea!

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Photographer | Jon Turtle

Dress | Rachel Burgess Bridal Boutique

Florist | Sweet Peony Floral

Structure | Dome Mode

Pure magic.

Lizzie and Rich, thank you both so much for sharing your story with us today xo Lou