After the challenges of 2020 and 2021, it was a delight to finally celebrate with Julia and Joe after their wedding was impacted by covid-19. We caught up with them after the big day to find out more about their inspiration and why they chose Blackfriars as their venue.

Julia and Joe take to the dance floor with their guests.

Why did you choose Blackfriars Priory?
We both wanted something different, a step away from the conveyor belt wedding venues you see everywhere. We both love historical buildings and Blackfriars ticked every box for us. We fell in love with the amazing mixture of buildings. It's like a patchwork of different eras of history! The location is amazing, and you really feel like you're in a secret garden, totally sheltered from everything happening outside of the walls. And the North Range is just so stunning and dramatic, as soon as we saw it, we could picture every part of our wedding.

What is your favourite memory from your wedding day?
Julia - I don't know if I could pick a single moment, but walking down the aisle in the North Range to Joe waiting for me in front of those huge fireplaces will always stick in my mind.

Tell us about your inspiration and styling.
We really wanted to be as environmentally friendly as possible as well as a reflection of what we both wanted our day to look like. We recycled glass bottles and used them as vases for floral decorations, we gifted wild flower seed packets as our wedding favours, we used vegan leather to make tiny beer tokens too and everything that we did buy in was bought with the intention of using again after the wedding. We DIY'ed an awful lot too, this was to both save on cost and to ensure we could really stamp "us" on our day. So, I (Julia) DIYed everything from my bouquet and hair accessories for me and my bridesmaids, to the signage and table numbers (making sure our dog got to be part of our day in some way). Joe and the groomsmen's button holes were also DIYed using faux flowers, so that we could have a little keepsake after the big day. Flowers for the venue and my bouquet were grown in our garden, found in our local area and filled in with bits bought from supermarkets.

Top piece of advice for planning a wedding.
This is your day, your chance to celebrate the 2 of you. It's easy to let anxiety of what other people may think cloud what you want to do, or how you do it. Just remember that it's about the 2 of you, and those who join you are there to celebrate you! So go crazy, or keep it simple, go big or go small. Do what makes the both of you happy

Bridal Styling

Wedding Dress – Bridal Boutique Warwickshire (Henley-in-Arden), and the brand is Essense of Australia. Alterations by the fabric Wizard that it Make it Sew Henley.
Hair – DIY, did this myself
Makeup – DIY, did this myself too
Accessories – DIY again haha!
Shoes – Betsey Johnson
Bouquets - DIY too! I grew some of the flowers and bought the rest

Groom Styling

Suit - Harry Brown from Topman
Grooming - DIY
Accessories - Etsy for pocket square. It's a William Morris print called Strawberry Thief and is a little in joke between me and Joe, so it was my wedding gift to him
Shoes – Ted Baker
Button Holes – DIYed ourselves

Bridal Party and Best Men
Bridesmaids Dresses – ASOS
Best Man/Groomsmen Suits – Their own suits

Catering
Caterers - Hey Pesto
Miscellaneous extras (eg sweetie buffet, icecream cart) - DIY donut stand with donuts from Steamhouse Bakery in Redditch

Venue
Venue - Blackfriars Priory
Venue Décor - All DIYed by ourselves
Place settings – DIYed by ourselves too

Extras

Photographer - Electric Blue Photography (Charlotte)
Videographer - as above
Wedding Stationery/signage - DIY via Vista print (for things like invitations), and then everything else was hand drawn/written by myself
Band/DJ - DJ was Light my Hire (Steve Anson)

A Gorgeous DIY Detail Real Wedding: Julia and Joe