Recently we saw the final ‘just married’ post from last year’s TNWC Real Brides – I am so sad to say ‘goodbye’ to those lovely ladies who made such an inspiring contribution to the blog. But today is a wonderful day, because I get to introduce to you the first of this year’s TNWC Real Brides.

We have five brides-to-be who are going to be blogging about their upcoming weddings over the next few months, I have been privy to reading all about their plans already and can’t wait to get them sharing all their lovely ideas with you. This morning I’m going to hand you over to the first of our TNWC Real Brides – Emma – who has a rather sweet long distance love story, in fact very similar to my own (apart from it was me that moved thousands of miles away to Vancouver shortly after meeting my now husband).

I do hope you are looking forward to following this year’s TNWC Real Brides, so it’s over to Emma to tell us all about her plans for a natural wedding in the city…

Long Distance Love

It was on one of our first dates that Shane told me he was planning to emigrate to Canada. Our love story began as an office romance, flirting over cups of tea in the staff kitchen. It took me a while to realise that he actually liked me and it wasn’t until he moved in for a kiss at a cocktail bar one night that I was convinced!

We fell in love in the summer of 2010 ~ giddy, breathless, starry-eyed love ~ but at the end of the summer, just as he promised he would, he got on a plane and flew 5,000 miles away!

We missed each other very much, so we crossed oceans whenever my books and his travels would allow. I’m studying for my PhD, and have been flying back and forth between semesters for the past three years.

I remember the first Christmas I flew out to spend with him as a really exciting time ~ I’d never missed a Christmas at home or been to Canada before and I was terrified of flying! The fact that I was willing to endure the flight time was a big indication of my feelings for Shane.

Our third Christmas in Vancouver was full of memorable moments ~ we even bought our first real Christmas tree together, a six foot Noble fir! On Christmas Eve, we went for a walk on the beach at the end of our street, ringed by the North Shore mountains and Pacific Ocean.

Shane got down on one knee in the sand to propose! Of course I said yes!

I boarded a plane back to England two weeks later. Going through security, I kept turning around to wave at him and blow him kisses. It felt so different to be wearing an engagement ring. It was wonderful to imagine a future with him and making our home together on the same continent!

A Natural Wedding in the City

When we began to plan our wedding, the images I collected on Pinterest (invaluable for communicating with vendors from a distance!) were predominantly set in the middle of the beautiful British countryside, picture-perfect rural church ceremonies and rustic barn receptions.

That wouldn’t work for us logistically, and, in truth, it doesn’t reflect our lifestyle. We’re urban natives. Although we live in Vancouver, we decided pretty swiftly to hold the wedding in our hometown of Liverpool, so we could have our nearest and dearest there. It might seem a contradiction, a natural wedding in the city, but I’m determined we can made it happen!

The cards in the garland are some of the notes and cards we sent each other while apart

As much as possible, we want a handmade wedding, and we’re so lucky to have a team of supporters to help put our ideas into practice ~ my big sister and maid of honour Annmarie has already sourced some amazing touches I can’t wait to share with you!

Our mums are farming sweet peas and collecting jam jars and we spent a few weekends combing craft fairs for buttons, gingham, and lace. Getting everyone involved is the best way to make them feel part of things. I want our wedding to feel like we’re giving our friends and family a great big cuddle and sharing how happy we are with them.

We want a relaxed, informal day full of meaning, love and laughter ~ we’re bringing the laid-back West Coast vibe with us! I want the details not just to be pretty, but to evoke memories. We believe we will make our day truly beautiful by concentrating on how it feels. Five words to describe our wedding? ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE.

A warm welcome to Emma to the blog! I am super excited about her natural wedding in the city, as it’s not something I’ve covered as much on the blog before, so looking forward to being inspired by Emma and to get us maybe sharing more details here on how to have an urban wedding that’s still natural and rustic and all those things we love here at TNWC.

Images: (1 – 7) MCS Photo