DIY Summer Wedding in Leicestershire | Relaxed & Heartfelt Photography

I’m so excited to be back sharing weddings again! Today, I’m bringing you a beautiful DIY summer wedding from last year, filled with gorgeous photographs, heartfelt moments, and some brilliant tips from the Bride and Groom themselves.

Bride and groom kissing outside stone church , surrounded by guests throwing confetti. Bride holds bouquet; joyful, festive atmosphere.

There’s something truly magical about capturing a relaxed wedding day, and Emily & George's celebration in the heart of Leicestershire was no exception. This charming DIY wedding took place in the bride’s hometown, with a beautiful ceremony at the local church followed by a short walk to a lovingly decorated village hall for the reception. Surrounded by their closest family and friends, the day was filled with genuine love, laughter, and connection—exactly what makes weddings so special.

In a nutshell, their day was everything a wedding should be—relaxed, joyful, and full of love. The personal touches, the laughter shared between friends and family, and the heartfelt moments made it a celebration to remember. It was one of those weddings that leaves you smiling long after the day is over, and I feel so lucky to have been the one to capture it all!

Emily & George have helped me put together this blog post, sharing their reflections and top tips for planning a relaxed wedding, and of course, I’ve included lots of their beautiful wedding photographs—so let’s dive in!

How would you describe your wedding?

Our wedding was just like us - relaxed! We wanted all our family and friends under a single roof, having a good time with little formality. As a DIY wedding, we didn't want our family or friends to have lots of jobs on the day, so we kept it really simple which worked so well. Everyone we spoke to afterwards commented on how they could feel the love in the room and that's exactly how we wanted it to be. There is a lot of planning behind a DIY wedding, perhaps a lot more than people think, but all the months prepping and perfecting really paid off and we were incredibly happy, relieved and proud of how it all came together! A lot of the main things we booked had some sort of connection to us e.g. a Cornish bar for George's family's love of Cornwall, a pizza van because we love Italy, a grazing table because we love the casualness and a macaron cake tower because we love to find hidden gems, a Bridgerton-style String Trio because Emily loves Bridgerton, and an Indie band because that's our favourite genre! These personal touches really made our day.

Thoughts on your Wedding Photographs

They are amazing, and 100% worth the investment. It's worth investing in your photographs because that's all your left with when the day finishes. Being able to scroll through hundreds of pictures, captured at different points of the day, jogs your memory. We still look at them now and notice a picture we hadn't noticed before. I was worried that the lighting in the village hall wouldn't be good, and I was so wrong as they look absolutely gorgeous. We also hate having our pictures taken, but I can honestly say that was one of the highlights of the day - it was so fun! Grace made us feel so comfortable, and because of that we were able to get some truly beautiful shots we will treasure for years to come. We can't thank you enough Grace!

What was your most vivid memory from your wedding day?

Bride: Standing at the Church door and hearing the entrance music play. In that moment I saw no one, heard nothing and was just focussed on getting to the front of the aisle. It felt really surreal. Walking out of the Church down the path I'd walked so many times, with my husband and all our family and friends throwing my mum's homemade confetti, hearing the bells - it's one of the best memories I have. The pictures Grace captured of this moment were fab! Groom: When we walked to the field for some shots after the speeches and food, it felt so nice to have some fresh air and step away from it all and spend time with each other - even if we all did get a bit of mud on our shoes. We could take it all in and just breathe and give ourselves a pat on the back and that it was all going to plan, and everyone was smiling! We got some really nice natural, candid shots of me holding up Em's dress, Grace, her assistant and Laura the videographer made us feel so comfortable.

Tell me all about your outfits - Who is the designer? Where is it from? Why do you love it?

We kept our outfits very classic, my dress was from Bradgate Brides and it felt quite traditional but the touch of lace over the top made it quite unique. We always knew the Groom would be in a tux. You can't go wrong with black and white!

What accessories and shoes did you wear?

The bride wore Eve from Rainbow Club which were so comfy and had a little blue diamanté on the sole. My jewellery was from Lily & Roo, classic pearl hoops and necklace which are timeless and can be worn again (I've worn them lots since, and it always makes me think of the day!).

What about your Bridesmaids & Groomsmen?

The groomsmen hired suits, and we got them all personalised cufflinks. The bridesmaids wore olive green multiway dresses from Monsoon which looked so lovely against the late summer/autumn colours.

Tell us about your Venue

Emily always wanted to get married in St Peter's Church, however growing up in a small village with limited transport, we struggled to find the perfect venue to go after the ceremony. At first, we didn't fancy a full DIY approach (how that changed quickly) but soon realised that was our only option to make our wedding day easy for all our family and friends. We chose Church Langton Community Hall, which was a couple of minutes walk from the Church, and walkable from Emily's house. Emily had been to the village hall many times before, so knew the space would work, it just needed styling in a way that made it feel 'wedding-like'. It was quite exciting when everything came together and we saw our vision come to life - it looked amazing, and so many people commented that they wouldn't believe what the Hall normally looks like.

What was the theme of your wedding?

Very simplistic, we added pops of colour with our flowers all the way from Yorkshire Flower Farm, close to George's family. We kept to traditional colours for everything else so we can hopefully achieve a timeless look - olive green for bridesmaid dresses, whites and green bouquet and buttonhole and a tux for the groom! We wanted both the Church and the Village Hall to fit in with its surroundings, so went for lots of flowers and country touches like the milk churns in front of the Church. It was very DIY - so everything we spent hours sourcing Marketplace and putting it altogether the day before with both families (really nice way to spend the day before the wedding, to build some excitement, even though it was a little stressful at times!)

Did anything come up during the planning stage that you hadn't anticipated?

How hard it is to pick a theme when you have complete reigns of what your venue looks like - we must have changed our mind several times until we thought lets keep it simple and classic!

What advice or tips would you share with others who are planning their big day?

Planning a wedding is basically a full time job! It really can absorb your life, I would say to anyone planning a wedding to think about what matters to you and your future husband and then build your perfect day based on that. It's much easier to make decisions between the two of you first, than get everyone else involved!

What was your favourite photograph from your big day and why?

This is such a hard question as we have SO many favourites, some we love below....

Were there any funny moments or comedy errors on the day?

When the best man forgot to tell George I was pretty much at the front of the aisle! George's Grandma Valerie beelined to the dancefloor when the band played Valerie!

Would you recommend Grace Nicole Photography?

Yes, 110%! Grace was recommended to us by my bridesmaid who had been at another wedding Grace photographed at. As soon as I spoke to Grace I knew she would do a fantastic job, her attention to detail was great. Everyone who we've shared the pictures with have commented how fantastic they are - thank you a million times!