Rustic Lithuanian village wedding

It’s always nice to get inspiration from other countries and cultures when it comes to all aspects of life, but in particular I love seeing the way the other people celebrate their wedding days.  I am so excited that I get to share with you this gorgeous Lithuanian wedding shot by photographer Svetlana Batura (who also captured this timeless autumn wedding I featured).

Svetlana took the time to tell me all about the wedding of Irminta and Artur and what they were inspired by, I particularly love the horse drawn cart ride for the bride and groom and their friends – more about that below!

Irminta and Artur were inspired by their love of nature, old traditions, the naturalness they feel is missing from everyday life, and of their grandmother’s stories of village weddings.  They wanted to combine old and new styles to create a wedding day that was beautiful, fun and that celebrated their family traditions.

Those old village traditions and a more natural way of life is something close to Irminta and Artur’s hearts: “Every summer we are travelling a lot with a tent, across the country, to visit open air music festivals or just spending time somewhere far from the city, closer to nature.  We are big patriots of our country and believe that love of our country beings in our villages, forests, nature and people.”

Irminta’s bridesmaids all wore white dresses in different styles and a number of them with brown leather belts (I love this look), and in their hair they wore wreaths of greenery with tiny white flowers.

Artur and his ushers wore a mixture of waistcoats and braces, all in their own style with none of them matching, one wearing a tie and others wearing neck scarves – I think it’s so refreshing to see a not-too matched together look, both for the groomsmen and bridesmaids.

Their wedding ceremony took place in a pretty church before they were greeted with confetti and bubbles outside.

Afterwards there were two horses and a village cart waiting for them and their friends – how cool is this!

Incredibly, Irminta, Artur and their friends took a leisurely 4 hour horse and cart journey to the village where the wedding celebration took place – I think this sounds utterly lovely.  Photographer Svetlana told me, “The 10km long journey took almost four hours – gravel roads, dust, hot sun, happy faces, celebrating and having a great time all the journey long.”

Along the way there were plenty of opportunities to stop and take photographs in the stunning Lithuanian countryside…

I love this welcoming party with the string of pretty yellow rudbeckia across the lane and a basket of flowers.

When they arrived at the bride’s family home in a small village, they were greeted by a local country music band who played traditional Lithuanian songs.

They chose to hold their wedding celebration at Irminta’s parent’s home as it had been in the family for many generations.  Photographer Svetlana told me, “It was chosen for the celebration as it was a place to run away from the noise of the city and to remember what nature looks like, to have a chance to catch a chicken, see what a field of rye looks like,  how tomatoes grow and so on.  All this was there in an authentic place where time stops.”

The whole day was put together with the help of family and friends who made decorations and the bride’s mother, who is a florist, created Irminta’s bouquet.

Wedding photographer Svetlana Batura summed up the day, “It was a really natural wedding with real emotions, love and peace.  The mood of the day was colourful, smiles, smiles and smiles.  It was unforgettable, not only for Irminta and Artur, but for me as well.”

A huge thank you to photographer Svetlana Batura for allowing me to feature this gorgeous wedding here on the blog.  I really struggled to choose images as there were so many lovely ones, but I hope that like me you are soaking up this wedding.  I’m also a tinsy bit jealous of that gorgeous long cart ride they had to their wedding reception.

You can view more pictures from this beautiful wedding here.

If you’ve loved this wedding do leave your thoughts below, it’s always nice for a couple and photographer to get nice feedback and especially if you’ve been inspired by their wedding day choices.

Images: Svetlana Batura