Today's real wedding proves that your venue choice is the most important decision you'll make in the lead up to your wedding. Get that right, and everything else will fall into place. Millie & Craig wanted a relaxed wedding with a festival feel. And Elmley Nature Reserve, on the beautiful Isle of Sheppey in Kent was the perfect backdrop for a rustic, weekend-long glamping celebration, with it's blank canvas, picture-perfect barn. Add some fish and chips, a pizza van, and chats by the campfire until the early hours, and you have the makings of one utterly relaxed, and incredibly memorable celebration - and thankfully Elsie Love Photography documented it all for us to share. 

Craig and Millie met on a night out in London, “In a club called Infernos. We saw each other across the dancefloor and before we said a word to each other, we kissed!” explains Millie. “Craig came up to London a few days later for a date, and we haven't been apart since.” Talk about a moment from a movie!

In keeping with her dress, Millie opted for some a touch of sparkle for her accessories - loving her flat sandals for maximum wedding day comfort!

Millie says there were lots of highlights that helped make the day even more special, “Having our daughter Luna with us, and her 'walking' (with the help of her auntie) down the aisle before me. My mum's homemade bunting which decorated the barn, and homemade confetti from our cherry blossom tree, and Craig's mums roses.”

On the day Craig proposed, he told Millie they were meeting some friends for a dog walk in some local woodlands he’d previously brought her to on a date. “He made a fake phone call, to tell me our friends had already started the walk and we needed to catch up,” recalls Millie. “15 mins later we arrived at a beautiful view point with views across the countryside, he made an excuse to get something out of his backpack, I was totally clueless and was playing with our golden retriever Bear, when I turned around he was on one knee!”

And it wasn’t just Craig who was in on the big surprise, “As we got back to our flat, I realised our front door was decorated with congratulation banners and inside was my my mum, dad and Craig's mum, who he had secretly organised to be there. They had decorated our whole flat with decorations, and we had a toast of champagne from Craig's late dad.”

And as if the celebrations at home weren’t enough, Craig had another surprise in store for Millie, “Once I thought I had taken everything in, Craig pulled out my suitcase, with two tickets to whisk me away to Prague for the weekend, he had timed the trip so our first day there would be on Valentines Day!” Good work! 

What an atmospheric ceremony space - it's so special.

The couple knew exactly what kind of wedding they wanted, “Relaxed festivally vibe, set in the middle of a stunning nature reserve, with fish, chips, pizza and booze!” Sounds like our kind of bash!

Millie did the flowers herself with the help of her bridesmaids the night before the wedding.

Little Luna is too cute!

Oh the excitement! P.S. I love Millie's braided updo.

These two are so sweet, and how cool that the confetti was harvested from their own cherry blossom tree, such a clever touch!

Don't mind if I do. Such a sweet idea to add 'Luna's mocktail' into the mix!

Such a chic posse! Millie's bridesmaids wore matching blush midi dresses with silver shoes and flowers in their hair - the guys tied in with pink ties paired with their sharp navy suits.

Millie tells us that she and Craig wanted to make sure they would both have time to enjoy the day, “I loved going off together for our couples portraits, it was such a nice opportunity to spend some time together, and take it all in. I love the way Melissa (our photographer) captured this moment, we felt like the only people in the world.”

The couple were blown away by the beauty of the nature reserve from their very first visit to Elmley, “The team there were unbelievably lovely. We loved the tipis our guests could stay in on-site, the fact we could all stay up around a camp fire ’til the early morning, and that we had the venue for three days. We made a lot of the decorations ourselves, and it was such a lovely day putting them all up the day before.”

The barn doubled up as a stunning rustic reception space.

Millie has one key tip to pass on to other couples, “Start planning early but be flexible! Be prepared for something to not go to plan, but whatever it is it won't ruin your day!”

You know we're partial to a naked wedding cake and this one is a beauty!

All these DIY details show how much love, and hard work, went into the wedding!

After all the excitement of their wedding, the couple headed on a well-deserved honeymoon in Corfu. 

Thanks so much to Millie and Craig, for letting us behind the scenes on your beautiful wedding day, and to Elsie Loves Photography for capturing it all so beautifully.