We have a seaside treat for you lovely folks this morning. Mandy and David's outdoors affair on the Dorset coastline is an absolute stunner from start to finish. My Favourite things from this vintage seaside themed wedding are the old school ice-cream bike, the creative home made stationery and those cliff top deck chairs... Especially the shot of the happy bride and groom holding hands and reclining.

A perfect keepsake from the ever skilful photographer Mister Phill

Mandy The Bride: Because we are from different countries, the first decision (apart from saying "Yes") was to which country should we wed in? I am from Cologne, Germany where David and I lived for several years before moving to London. David, originally from the South coast, grew up holidaying with his family in Studland, Dorset. We felt that weddings should as much as possible reflect the couple and that this beautiful stretch of coast was a perfect choice.

We knew from the start we both wanted to stamp our creativity onto the day which led to some key decisions with regards to the format of the ceremony. This was coupled with David's reluctance to wed in a church (I earned some serious bonus points by allowing this!) and so we searched for outdoor venues so as to reflect our love for nature.

As luck would have it, I came across Harry Warren House, a beautiful 19th century country house set in 4 acres of spectacular seaside grounds. They had only just started to do weddings and even though we considered a couple of other places, this was hands down one of the most breath taking spots we have ever found. We decided to place a marquee in the grounds, dress it ourselves and hold a humanist ceremony in the grounds mini-amphitheatre.

The legal part of the wedding (as HWH doesn't have a licence) was done 2 days prior in the quaint little town of Swanage, a short bus ride away from Studland. We invited just a handful of family and close friends to bear witness to what was a very emotional and intimate ceremony at the Swanage Town Hall. We then took everyone for Fish, Chips & Champagne on the seafront in the roasting British Summer Sun. The Friday in-between the 2 ceremonies was, to say the least, manic! We had done a lot of prep work in terms of the little touches (such as me hand stamping 100 doily menus!?!), but from an organisational point of view it would have been nicer to have 2 full days. Fortunately we had a crack squad of helper bees who earned their drinks that weekend and then some.

David (bless him) had to (in one morning) pick up 50 deck chairs from Bournemouth Beach Council, go to a farm in the middle of nowhere to pick up 25 straw bales, drive to the aquarium to pick up 20 gold fish for our centre pieces* and then get back in time to help out with dressing the amphitheatre and surrounding areas.

* you will be pleased to read all 20 fish were returned unharmed and with an interesting tale to tell their fellow aquatic friends!

In terms of theming the wedding, I would best describe it as 'Vintage Seaside', a mix of eclectic cutlery, glassware and decorations that I had to spend many months sourcing as there weren't any decent sources near London for hiring such things. As a result, I have decided to start a side venture called www.mandysvintagehire.com where people can hire from a collection of beautiful vintage decorations and supplies (shameless plug I know!).

We continued the 'Seaside Vintage' theme into our website www.theramsbottoms.com (which David and his best Man Marco made), the invites and the orders of service (which David designed) and the seaside cut-out (which David hand painted - it helps to have an artistic husband!). Our choice of colours were white, lavender and green which helped inform the design, bridesmaids dresses, groomsmen's ties, flowers etc. We also brought the seaside into the marquee with fishbowls on every table and a trinket from all the countries we visited.

The ceremony itself was written by us and conducted partly in German, and partly in English so that everyone could understand. We chose 2 very close friends, Basti and Ash, to lead the ceremony as we had seen something similar done at a friend's wedding in the US. We also hired a wonderful choir to sing the songs which when combined with the amazing views and roasting English summer made for a ceremony we could have only dreamed of.

We opted for a BBQ style dinner (which was delicious and ideal for a 'beachy' wedding) and had been buying booze (Champagne, Wine, Pimms and our friend Rich even provided 3 kegs of beer) for over a year to keep the spending under control! We also splashed out on a vintage Ice Cream Tricycle for pudding which proved to be a massive hit, alongside our wedding favours (a David-designed Tote bag). To make sure our guests weren't left hungry (as if!) we had trestle tables of cheese, sweets and popcorn for those late night munchies.

The evening's entertainment was something that David was hugely proud of having discovered through his musical-minded brother Philip. The Smooth Sailors are a band like no other, they look like a proper band and sound amazing. Our good friend Jon (AKA Vinyl Ritchie) was also on hand to scratch in some funky tunes as and when was needed. Philip even sang us a song at the end of his best man's speech which brought the house down.

The final thing we must mention, and the thing that has allowed us to relive the day over and over (and over) again is the masterful Mister Phill. David knew Phill from back when he was his University lecturer at Bournemouth Uni and had stayed in touch. His eye for composition and technical execution were just brilliant (as you will see from the photos) and we would recommend him to anyone wanting the best. We love you Mister Phill!

Brides Gown | La Promessa | Headpiece Chezbec | Florist Bloom Floristry | Venue: Harry Warren House | Marquee: Oakleaf Marquees Cake/Cupcakes: Brides Mum Gabi / Grooms Mum Debbie & Sister Katie (cake topper came from Miss Cake) | Caterer: Red Cherry Catering | Ice cream Tricycle Cafe Bon Icecream | Beer Itchen Valley | Bridesmaids Dresses Light In The Box | Grooms suit Robert Told | Band Smooth Sailors | DJ: Vinyl Ritchie Videographer: Nekane | Choir Sound of Soul