A beautiful, autumnal DIY wedding

Katie and Ikra’s creativity shone for their DIY wedding day.
7th October 2023
The Kitchen Garden Café
Photography by The Bearded Man Photography

A Giant Leap

Katie and Ikra met in Melbourne, where they were both living at the time, after chatting on the dating app, Hinge. Things could have quickly come to a halt, as the pair started dating in May 2021, during the Covid19 epidemic. But instead, their budding relationship blossomed.

“We had been going in and out of lockdowns and only two weeks after our first date the country went into another lockdown,” Katie tells us. “We continued messaging and after dating for a while, Ikra – who is from Melbourne – decided to take the leap and move across the world with me, to my home in the UK.”

Aisle Style

Katie tried on nine wedding dresses before she found the one.

“It was exactly like some dress styles I had first ever looked at when I was scrolling through Pinterest when Ikea had first asked me to marry him,” grins Katie. “It was whimsical, bohemian and it just felt right as soon as I stepped into it.”

Finding her dream dress in The Dressing Rooms, Katie stepped down the aisle in a chiffon, A-line gown by Casablanca. She added short puff sleeves and a big bow at the back to make the corseted dress the perfect gown for her.

The bridesmaids made their entrance in a different coloured gown each, choosing red, pink, mustard and sage tones. All of the ladies and Katie wore pretty flower crowns to finish their aisle style.

Ikra looked dashing in a checked beige suit paired with an embroidered white shirt.

Homespun Heaven

Choosing not to restrict themselves with a set theme, Katie and Ikra mashed together all of the things they love to create a DIY wedding day that completely reflected them both. Lead by the season they were set to marry in, the colour scheme had an autumnal vibe with warm red, orange and russet tones.

“We got really creative with our decor and because of that, I think the wedding was a real expression of us both. We made most of the decorations ourselves,” the couple explained.

The pair made their ceremony arch from ribbons and dried flowers, pinecone place names, a Polaroid picture station and wooden flower and candle blocks for their table decorations. The bouquets were all arranged by the couple, too!

Cake by numbers

When it came to the cake, Katie and Ikra had not one, not two, but three cakes! In keeping with their DIY wedding, their friend made them a single-tier, heart-shaped cake. Plus they had an array of ring doughnuts displayed on a doughnut stand. And to round the cakes unto three, they had a tower or cheese wheels decorated in edible flowers and fresh fruits. The cakes were served across a trestle table for guests to help themselves to the sweet and savoury cakes.

The Best Bits

The couple’s favourite moment was seeing everyone they love together and seeing their DIY wedding vision come to life on the day.

“It’s easy to get carried away with everything when you’re planning, but try not to let it take over your life,” advises Katie. “Remember it’s your day, no one else’s, so do what feels right and really reflects you as a couple and the love will show.”

The Details

Wedding venue: The Kitchen Garden Café
Wedding dress designer: Casablanca at The Dressing Rooms
Photography: The Bearded Man Photography
Flowers: Dried flower bouquets arranged by the couple
Stationery: Made by Ikra
Shoes: Anthropologie
Accessories: Flower Crown by Hidden Botanicals
Makeup: Michelle G Makeup & Hair
Cheese barrel cake: Becketts Farm
Menswear: Suit from Séfr, shirt by Pikol x Percival
Band: Tonic Function