{"id":174368,"date":"2016-08-05T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2016-08-05T06:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=174368"},"modified":"2024-05-01T13:52:30","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T12:52:30","slug":"free-spirited-beautiful-beach-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/free-spirited-beautiful-beach-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Spirited & Beautiful Beach Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Free<\/p>\n

This beautiful affair will give you all the feels today. Think fuss free beachside love filled images which are just so dreamy.<\/p>\n

Jess and Nick were married on the 28th<\/sup> May 2015 at East Quay<\/a> in Whitstable. Their vision was simple, to host a wedding which was informal and low key. I totally resonate with them when they say they are not fans of being the centre of attention, so choosing a relaxed setting was just ideal.<\/p>\n

The personal d\u00e9cor was a delight and the ice cream cupcakes looked oh so scrumptious. Jess looked just stunning in a gown named Darcey by Belle & Bunty<\/a>, all flowing swishy inch of it. WOW. Romance personified.<\/p>\n

Paul Fuller Kent Photography<\/a>, thank you so much for sharing these utterly gorgeous images today.<\/p>\n

\"Ice\"Dinosaur\"Flowers\"Honeycomb\"Gyp \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free\"Free\"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Beach \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Darcey \"Bouquet \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Darcey \"Confetti \"Bouquet \"White \"Dancefloor \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Darcey \"Free \"Free \"Red \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free \"Free<\/p>\n

THE PROPOSAL | Weekend away in London staying in a snazzy hotel looking over the Thames at the o2. We spent the day in Greenwich and he popped the question before we went out for the evening for dinner and cocktails at Canary Wharf.<\/p>\n

THE VISION | We wanted something informal and low-key. We don\u2019t like being the centre of attention or having anything too fussy, so we wanted something simple that was \u2018us\u2019. I have always wanted to get married by the beach and we both loved Whitstable. I saw East Quay online and it fitted what we wanted exactly. We liked the rustic and relaxed feel of it as a venue.<\/p>\n

THE PLANNING PROCESS | We had about 18 months to plan everything and had found & booked East Quay in January \u201914. I spent a lot of time with my Mum trawling through bridal magazines, Pinterest and various wedding websites looking for inspiration. We visited a few wedding fayres but they weren\u2019t really my kind of thing, so we stuck to researching things ourselves. We managed to get the main expenses booked in first; venue, dress, band and photographer. Everything else fell into place along the way.<\/p>\n

THE BUDGET | We saved as hard as we could from the engagement to the wedding but didn\u2019t pay for lavish things. We were helped along the way by my parents and Nick\u2019s Mum, which we couldn\u2019t have done without. We prioritised the main things we wanted to spend our money on and, for example we knew we definitely wanted to spend more on a live band.<\/p>\n

THE VENUE | East Quay, Whitstable.<\/p>\n

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | I got my dress from Frou Frou Bridal shop in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. I visited a few shops beforehand but knew that I wanted something a little bit different and not a traditional dress. I tried on some amazing dresses and chose a Belle & Bunty dress called \u2018The Darcey\u2019. It was perfect, beautiful fabric but simple and elegant that I could freely move around in. I wore a vintage headband that I also got from Frou Frou, but other than that my jewellery was quite simple. I wore a Pandora bracelet with a blue charm as my something new and something blue. I had some amazing shoes from Rainbow Club called \u2018Vivian\u2019 which I had dyed bright red and had a set of sparkly bows also from Rainbow Club that clipped to the front of them.<\/p>\n

FINDING THE DRESS | Spent a lot of time researching styles and local bridal shops over the course of a few months.<\/p>\n

GROOM’S ATTIRE | Nick wore a bright blue three-piece suit from Next (which all of his \u2018Groomsmen\u2019 also wore) which was tailored to fit by a family friend. His shoes were Ben Sherman tan brogues, with bright red laces.<\/p>\n

THE READINGS & MUSIC | We didn\u2019t have any readings as we wanted a very simple ceremony. We chose some songs that we thought suited us rather than the traditional choices of wedding music. I walked down the aisle to \u2018First Day of My Life\u2019 by Bright Eyes as I had always thought the song would be perfect for our wedding. Whilst we were signing the register we chose \u2018Grow Old With Me\u2019 by Ben Odell, \u2018Us\u2019 by Regina Spektor and Emeli Sande\u2019s \u2018Next To Me\u2019. We walked out to \u2018She\u2019s Electric\u2019 by Oasis for an upbeat alternative.<\/p>\n

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | My best friends from school Steph and Kate were my bridesmaids. They did a fantastic job and looked absolutely beautiful on the day. They gave me a great send-off for my hen do and managed to stop me from welling up throughout the morning (nearly!) They wore a white 50\u2019s style Coast dress and Accessorize shoes.<\/p>\n

THE FLOWERS | Jane at Graham Greener, Whitstable, did a fantastic job of the flowers and setting up the venue for us. I had seen her work from previous weddings at East Quay and knew that she knew the venue well. She helped us choose things that were simple and in keeping with the relaxed atmosphere that we had planned. We had meadowy-style flower bouquets as well as Gypsophila for the Groomsmen\u2019s buttonholes and our Mums. On the tables we used a variety of different sized jars and milk bottles with more arrangements of meadowy flowers. We also had gyp pom poms at the end of our aisles.<\/p>\n

THE CAKE | We love cupcakes and opted for a \u201999\u2019 style ice cream cupcake complete with flake from a local baker, Carrie-Anne, who has since opened up her own cake shop in Minster, Sheerness. They were absolutely amazing and accompanied by a selection of smaller cake bits instead of a sweetie table. We had some brownies, flapjacks, lemon drizzle slices and her own recipe mars rice krispie squares which were delicious!<\/p>\n

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | We asked Paul Fuller to take our photos after seeing some of his work at other weddings at East Quay. We liked the informal and relaxed nature of them and they seemed to capture the day without being intrusive. After meeting with Paul he put us at ease and made the process so easy for us as we don\u2019t like being in front of the camera. The photos are excellent and we couldn\u2019t be happier with them. We\u2019re so pleased that he kept us outside in the sunset for just a little bit longer than he should have because the photos are really something else. We can\u2019t recommend him highly enough and he was in keeping with the vision of an informal and relaxed day.<\/p>\n

THE DETAILS & D\u00c9COR | We tried to keep the decorations simple and didn\u2019t want anything too fussy. In the ceremony room we had small pom pom garlands from Talking Tables with flowers at the end of the aisles. We had larger colourful pom poms and fairy lights about the dance floor and white pom poms and fairy lights in the dining area. We picked up a few second hand items that fitted in well, such as an old suitcase for people to add cards and props, including a gold frame, for our self-made photo area complete with polaroid camera. We asked people to take their own pictures and attach to our photo boards, which we have since added into our guest book. We had tea lights in beach-themed jars in shades of blue and green with beach shells. There were more tea lights in small heart buckets and some black slate hearts. On the tables we had heart wood chips scattered and the favours were messages in a bottle with hand-written quotes\/messages for our guests (thanks Mum!) There were some added extras that we didn\u2019t know about that my parents had organised, including huge photo boards of old family photos of Nick and I. My Mum and Nick also arranged for a vintage London Bus to collect our guests from a nearby hotel (The Marine Hotel, Tankerton) which we were all staying at. The bus was decorated inside and Nick arranged for a personalised blind to read \u2018Jess & Nick\u2019 which we got to keep. My Mum was such a great help in finding decorations and ideas and her efforts really made the day special for us.<\/p>\n

THE HONEYMOON | We decided to take a couple of weeks in America but wanted to take the opportunity to see as much as we could. We settled on the East Coast and visiting Washington DC, New York, Boston and Cape Cod. We travelled between Washington, New York and Boston by the Amtrak train, but hired a car in Boston to drive down to Cape Cod. For Boston and Cape Cod we used AirBNB and stayed in a couple of incredible apartments. Our host in Cape Cod, Kevin, was excellent and his knowledge of the area really made for an excellent stay, including letting us have access to a private beach nearby.<\/p>\n

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | Walking down the aisle and seeing Nick waiting for me put me at ease, and all of the speeches. The whole day was perfect and I wish I could go back and do it all again! Those moments really stood out for me, particularly my Dad\u2019s speech. He isn\u2019t a man for words, but he made us all so proud and did a fantastic job. I still get emotional thinking about it now over three months on. The band in the evening, The Super Rollers, created a fantastic atmosphere and the dance floor was packed all night. They played some excellent old classics, including our first dance \u2018Signed, Sealed, Delivered\u2019.<\/p>\n

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Make the day just for you and don\u2019t worry about other people\u2019s opinions or politics. We did exactly what we wanted to do and are so pleased that we did. We weren\u2019t particularly frivolous, but if there is something that you want and it means a lot to you, those are the things to splash out on without feeling guilty about it! Also, make sure you take it in and enjoy the day. Don\u2019t worry about the minor details as you are the only one who may notice if something isn\u2019t just so.<\/p>\n

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |<\/p>\n

Photographer | Paul Fuller Kent Photography<\/a><\/p>\n

Venue | East Quay<\/a><\/p>\n

Flowers | Graham Greener<\/a><\/p>\n

Dress | Froufrou Bridal Boutique<\/p>\n

Shoes | Rainbow Club<\/a><\/p>\n

Band | The Super Rollers <\/a><\/p>\n

Take me to the beach now. Oh so special.<\/p>\n

Thanks so much to Jess and Nick for sharing their stunning wedding with us here at WWW xo Lou<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This beautiful affair will give you all the feels today. Think fuss free beachside love filled images which are just so dreamy. Jess and Nick were married on the 28th May 2015 at East Quay in Whitstable. Their vision was simple, to host a wedding which was informal and low key. I totally resonate with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,4],"tags":[403,535,359,1753,12,459],"class_list":["post-174368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modern-wedding","category-real-weddings","tag-beach-wedding","tag-belle-and-bunty-wedding-dress","tag-kent-wedding","tag-the-east-quay","tag-white-wedding-ideas","tag-whitstable-wedding"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":174385,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/whimsical-cdn.wedissimo.com\/2016\/07\/East-Quay-Venue-Paul-Fuller-Kent-Photography-Jess-and-Nick-020-300x200.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}