Lydia and Luke’s stunning DIY wedding

Wedding Photography by Amber

Lydia and Luke’s at home DIY wedding, was held in the beautiful gardens of their parents home, surrounded by friends and family. We asked them some questions so read on for their advice to our future couples.

What is your favourite memory of the day?

It is so hard to pick just one! From start to finish there were just so many beautiful moments- getting ready with our wedding party, seeing the marquee all set up for the first time, our first look together! We loved talking to everyone during the cocktail hour, the speeches made us laugh and cry and we did not stop dancing the whole night! 

Our favourite memory though was at the end of the night, around 3am, when we had our last dance together just the two of us. The bonfire was dying and the lights on our marquee were still sparkling. All our guests were either asleep or chatting inside and we just couldn’t stop smiling and talking about all the best moments of the day! 

What surprised you on the day? 

How quickly it all went by! We are so glad we did all the photos before the ceremony, as it meant we had lots of time to chat with all our guests during the reception! 

What was one thing you wish you had known before planning your wedding? 

We were fortunate enough to be having the wedding at Lydia’s parents house- where both her siblings were married too. Being the last couple, and using lots of the same vendors made it a very easy process! 

What’s your advice for future couples? 

Trust your vendors! They are amazing at what they do, and will do things better than you can imagine. You have chosen them for a reason! Once the day comes, just sit back at relax and trust the people around you, and have fun! You get to marry your best friend and see all your favourite people in the same day! 

We also strongly advocate for bridal party photos before the wedding if you are having an afternoon ceremony. This meant we had lots of time to spend with our guests who had travelled far and wide to be at the ceremony! 

We are also so glad we ended up doing a wedding video. We love watching it over and over again and reliving all the moments!

What is your favourite photo and why? 

So hard to choose! We love the photo of us looking at each other at the reception. There is just so much happiness as well as a feeling of “we did it!” while looking out over all our favourite people! 

Have you thought about having a first look? This allows opportunity to have a moment with your closest friends and family. It also gives the bridal couple a moment together before sharing vows infront of your favourite people. It gives you a moment in time to just see one another, and be together. It may swap any nerves for excitement. Lydia was able to have this with her family (above) and with Luke (below).

Vendors:

Hair Stylist: Amelia from Boutique Bride 
Makeup: Sam Hart Makeup 
Dress: Hera Couture
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Anthropologie 
Suits: Rembrandt 
Florist: Branch and Bloom
Marquee + Set Up: Twelve Tables
DJ: Jarrod from MixIt DJ
Food: The Free Range Chef 

Having a wedding at home can be very intimate, you are familiar with your surrounding and you can plan the set up well in advance. As Lydia and Luke recommended, get your vendors organised and then let the party commence!

We also had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Georgia & Sam (Lydia’s sister), at the same family home. They married in the same location but had different vibes for both DIY weddings.