Once Stephen and I decided to have a wedding, there were many choices to be made, but we knew we wanted it to be unique, relaxed and true to ourselves. Was it all of those things? To us yes, and it was one of the best days we ever had. 

Having said all of that, if I had to do it again now that I’m in the wedding industry and I know a lot of really cool suppliers I would make different choices, even though most of the day would remain the same.

I wasn’t a particularly bridal bride: I hadn’t been dreaming about my wedding day since I was little and I wasn’t particularly bothered about a lot of things except I didn’t want to follow traditions that I didn’t believe in.

The two main difficulties I faced were

1) I was planning a wedding in Ushuaia, Argentina from Brighton, England. In Ushuaia, you get what you get and you don’t have much choice so a lot of things were down to availability and I didn’t have the luxury of being picky.

2) I didn’t know where to look. This is a biggie. I spent hours looking for a dress that wasn’t too bridal or not bridal at all, shoes that were pretty and comfortable and not wedding shoes – I hate the standard wedding shoes. If you like them, I’m happy for you, but I would never in a million years wear them – and hours trying to find accessories and jewelry that was cool but simple and classy.

The thing is, there’s a whole world of AMAZING suppliers who create beautiful pieces in UNIQUE styles and I believe every bride can find the right dress, the right accessories and the right “everything”. You just need to know where to look, which isn’t that easy. All of this goes for grooms too! 

So anyway… I spoke to some people who know their shit when it comes to alternative weddings and non-bridal style and here’s what they said.

Melissa from The Un-Wedding:

“1 – Don’t try to tick all the boxes. People still think that weddings follow a formula: big dress, lots of bridesmaids, cake, favours, flowers… Step back and decide which parts (if any) are important to you and your partner, scratch off the ones that aren’t. Not only will your budget go further but you will make more of an impact in the right places and leave people with a strong sense of who you really are! 

2 – Save time by using an online directory or attending a trade show that have been carefully curated to include unique suppliers who are all trying to break the mould set by the traditional wedding industry. Check out the The Un-Wedding’s Book Of Love directory and the forthcoming The Un-Wedding Show.“

IG – @the_un_wedding

W – un-wedding.com

Ellie from The Wedding Enthusiast: 

“1- Use Instagram saved collections for inspiration

Pinterest can be great but it also can be a hindrance when you’re overwhelmed by ideas and styles and can’t narrow anything down. It doesn’t really work the way my brain works as a consumer. Instead I find Instagram’s “saved collections” feature a gem, as the content on instagram is more curated. Alongside it being mega inspirational, this means it’ll probably be closer to your theme or your location rather than being a far away fantasy. You can have different collections for different elements and remember, you can still upload them onto Pinterest for one master moodboard by uploading them in their own right to your board (just remember to credit them!)

2 – Be wary of suppliers with a bad inspiration to original content ratio

I say this as someone who loves posting a wedding inspiration picture: be wary of accounts who only post inspiration work, and if you really like one of them, don’t be afraid to ask for a portfolio. A lot of inspo and not much original content on a feed or website may just indicate that it’s part of their job, like mine, to style spot and inspire. However, it may also mean they’ve little to no experience, and this can be a huge problem as you need so much more than just creative style in your wedding supplier: you need good time management, good communication, and great people skills too!”

IG – @theweddingenthusiast

W – theweddingenthusiast.co.uk

Kat from Rock n’ Roll Bride:

“My number one tip for finding alternative suppliers would be to read wedding blogs and magazines! Wedding blogs in particular are updated daily with real weddings to inspire you and in every feature, all the suppliers they used will be credited and their websites linked to. Ask your fellow brides-to-be for recommendations too. The Rock n Roll Bride Facebook group has over 13,000 members so is a great place to start!”

IG – @rocknrollbride 

W – rocknrollbride.com

I’m very thankful to all these lovely wedding people who said yes when I asked them to write down some tips for this blogpost.  I hope some of their advice helps you on your wedding journey!

I do have one tip to add. Once you find a supplier you like, go to their Instagram profile and click on the downward arrow button (next to the follow button). Instagram will suggest similar accounts and you can scroll through and check out the accounts that catch your eye.