A French romantic country wedding - in Sweden

I've been to a few classic weddings in the last few years which have all had around 100 guests. I don't know if it's an English thing to make such a big deal out of your big day... I mean, I do understand that people want to go all out, but usually these types of weddings are quite samey, and when thinking back to them you can't really tell them apart.

Swedes tend to be a lot more low key when it comes to their weddings, and one that I went to last month was a really simple DIY style wedding with only 20 odd guests, but it's the one that I will really remember for the rest of my life!

First of all, it was my oldest friend who got married, which made it all very special. I've known this beautiful girl since we were 6 years old. That's 23 years! Talk about being emotional at the wedding, and on top of that I had promised to sing a couple of songs at the ceremony... I couldn't even look at the bride for the fear of bursting out in tears! 

Swedes don't tend to be very religious, and more and more couples have started swapping the church weddings for more alternative wedding venues with a wedding officiant rather than a priest. My friend Josefin and her Mr Right had opted for a very unique venue for their wedding - a historical floating house in the sea outside the coastal town of Kalmar in south east Sweden. The walls of the house are on stilts in the water, but the floor is simply floating decks. People came here back in the day to wash their rugs, and the wash house was built to protect them from the harsh weather - something that really came in handy on this rainy wedding day!

I absolutely loved this unique venue, despite the slight fear of falling in the water. I had stupid stiletto heels on that kept getting stuck in between the deck planks, and on top of that the floor wobbled. This was my wedding guest outfit by the way; a figure hugging mint coloured midi dress, a white lace bolero, and a pair of black strappy blingy heels that I found when going through my old stuff at my parents' house - I've only worn them once before, and that was at my college prom 10 years ago!

The rings! 

I'm not usually an emotional person, but seeing your oldest friend getting married and looking so beautiful was a proper teary moment. The wedding officiant was a friend of the couple, so the ceremony was extremely personal. So lovely! 

Josefin was wearing a stunning strapless A-line wedding dress with a choice of an additional lace top over the shoulders and bust to give the dress some more detail.

After the ceremony the couple took off in a classic car - a tradition in Sweden as well as in England. The blueish teal car really lit up this grey day, and the bride looked so stunning and happy when she arrived at the party. I absolutely adore this photo that I managed to snap of her - it's a clear favourite of mine!

The couple arrived at the wedding party in style! 

The wedding party was held in the couple's garden, which had been decorated with white tents, flowers, pompoms, and antique looking furniture and lace. Very rustic and shabby chic inspired, or perhaps a bit French romantic countryside. With it being such a small wedding it was really personal and just lovely overall, and it's a day I will always remember. 

Thank you Josefin and Fredrik for letting me celebrate your special day with you!