An Eco-Friendly DIY Wedding By the Sea

A seaside setting, a Superman and Princess Belle cake topper, a band playing as guests waving paper windmills walk through the town from the ceremony to reception — this is one super-cool wedding!

Clare and Ben’s seaside wedding in Lyme Regis started with a church ceremony, followed by a reception at the Marine Theatre. As part of their big day they walked with their guests through Lyme Regis whilst Clare’s brother’s band played folk music.

They wanted their wedding to be as eco-friendly as possible so, with a little help from friends and family, they made and locally sourced most of their decor. Everything was made with such love, including a large MR & MRS sign, bunting, and the cute paper windmills Clare made for the guests to hold on their walk to the theatre. The venue looked fantastic with banquet style tables, simple place settings and tassel and bunting decorations. Look out for the flamingo too!

I love Clare’s gorgeous bridal bouquet , which really stood out against her wedding dress. The hedgerow flowers and roses in dark pinks and purples work so well with the herbs and lily of the valley. The bridesmaids wore white dresses and carried bouquets with the same mix, and Ben gave a nod to the surroundings by wearing a fab tie with boat detail.

So, with sea, sand, beach huts and boats as the backdrop to many of the pictures, enjoy taking inspiration from this wonderful wedding, brilliantly captured by Andrew George Photography…

Clearly Fate

“Ben and I met online, and had our first date on the South Bank at the BFI bar. We found out that we’d nearly passed each other in real life several times before, as my cousin was Ben’s housemate a few years earlier, and Ben had been working in Exeter when I was a student there. It was clearly fate.

“Ben proposed at the end of the Cobb in Lyme Regis, where his parents live and he grew up. It was a stormy day and we had to run back in the rain, sheltering in the amusement arcade. Then we celebrated with our parents at the Alexandra Hotel — Ben had organised it all before and I’d had no idea! We went away to Cornwall for a surprise holiday the next day, again organised secretly by Ben, and this was the best memory now looking back.”

All Looked Beautiful

“I wore a silk princess style wedding dress by Justin Alexander. I fell in love with the shape and the fabric was just divine. Because we were trying to keep our carbon footprint down when planning the wedding, and also our budget, I bought it second-hand. An amazing seamstress altered it, adding buttons all the way to the bottom of the train and fitting the dress to me. I also wore a cathedral length veil, edged with lace, which I’d found on Etsy.

“My bridesmaids wore white silk dresses, some from Reiss and one from Hobbs. They all looked beautiful! My gorgeous flower girl wore a simple white dress edged with broderie anglaise, and carried a flower wand. Ben and his groomsmen all wore blue, and they had ties with mermaids on while Ben wore a tie with sailing boats.”

By the Sea

“My brother, Joe, is a professional musician, so after the ceremony Joe and Cole, his band mate from India Electric Co, and our family friend, played us down through the town and on to the theatre. Walking through Lyme Regis on a busy Bank Holiday Saturday with all our wedding guests and with Joe and Cole’s folk music playing was the best!

“Ben and I wanted our wedding to be by the sea, but it also had to be in a place that meant something to both of us. We chose the Marine Theatre, and the venue inspired a lot of our styling and decoration choices.”

Labour of Love

“We made most things ourselves, and it was important to us to be as environmentally friendly as possible. I was so grateful to my mum who made metres and metres of bunting to decorate the Theatre front. We found an old mirror in a junk shop for the table plan, scoured charity shops for old shot glasses for the favours, and a friend made the big sign (our initials) for the stage.

“We had a great time decorating the theatre foyer with film posters — not real ones though. Instead we used photos of all our friends and family and came up with cheesy film names. For the walk down from the church to the theatre we handed out pastel paper windmills, which I’d made.

“My dad made cake stands for the desserts from vintage patterned plates. This really was a labour of love as he had to drill through each plate and the drill bits wore out so quickly each time. They looked fantastic and we passed them onto a local charity running afternoon teas.

“We were so lucky as Ben’s mum took on the job of all the flowers. I love deep, dramatic colours so we chose dark pinks and purples, mixing hedgerow flowers and herbs with David Austin Darcy roses. My mum added some lily of the valley from our garden too.”

So Special

“I’d originally planned to make our wedding cake, but sensibly my mum arranged a local baker to do it. We had amaretto cupcakes and a fruit cake which I decorated this with hundreds and thousands and put Superman and Princess Belle figurines on top. On a board behind the cake we placed wedding cards from my class (I’m a primary school teacher) which was so special to me.

“We chose Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m on Fire’ as our first dance song. It still sends shivers down my spine, and our first dance, just in front of the stage, with all the lights on us was magical. I was a little tipsy but thankfully Ben remembered all the steps! Funkty Dumpty were our wedding band and the dance floor stayed full all night.

“We found our photographer, Andrew George Photography, while looking at other weddings in Lyme Regis. We came across a blog that Andrew had posted of a wedding he’d done in Lyme, and were instantly drawn by his candid documentary style and the colours and vivacity in the pictures.

“There are so many special memories from the day… squeezing into my old bedroom with all the bridesmaids to put on my really quite enormous dress — there was hardly room for us all and the hoops and skirts… seeing Ben at the front of the church and his smile… walking through the crowded seafront in a wedding dress, just married, and both of us so excited for the celebrations ahead… sitting with our close family on the top table and watching our relatives and friends partying together…”