Happy Monday Lovely People,

We have an epic wedding to share with you today. Think Las Vegas, cool neon signs, colourful backdrops, a doting couple and some awesome photography from Nigel Edgecombe and you would have pretty much summed up Siobhan and Lee’s wedding.

I know I am probably a tinsy wincy bit biased considering we are the blog lucky enough to feature this fantastic wedding, but I have to say I think this is one of the coolest Las Vegas wedding I have seen on a UK wedding blog. With not a cheesy chapel in site, Siobhan and Lee chose to spend their day having a pre-ceremony photo shoot at the amazing Neon Boneyard followed by an intimate ceremony in front of one of the most colourful and coolest wedding backdrops I have ever seen.

If this wedding doesn’t make you want to elope to Las Vegas then I don’t know what will!

Siobhan and Lee tell us all about it….

It was winter, cold and dark…..

It was the 20th December 2012 when I proposed on Siobhan’s 29th birthday, in Russell Square, London, around 6.30pm. It was winter, cold and dark, so with the help of some candles, a handmade ring box and a Lemur teddy (Siobhan loves Lemurs), I awkwardly proposed. Thankfully it was a yes and we went onto a small gathering of friends and family, including Siobhan’s Mum who we secretly smuggled in from Spain (where she now lives). As it was Christmas, we celebrated by sinking a few snowball cocktails, sat next to a giant inflatable Santa and watched the fairy lights twinkle.

A Day That Was Ours….

We wanted to have a day that was just ours, without any fuss. We always loved the idea of eloping and Las Vegas was an obvious choice! Nevertheless, we didn’t want our wedding to reek of Vegas cheese, so we already knew there were be no singing Elvis’ or Casino photographs. It was important that it was unique to us, that the setting spoke to our characters, and our marriage was most important.

Champagne Shoes and Pearl Jewellery

I chose champagne colour shoes from Karen Millen with a very high heel (I’m used to it!), which helped with the length of the dress as I’m quite short.

I am not really a jewellery person and terrible when it comes to accessorising, so naturally, I left all of this to the last minute! However, my lovely friends came to my rescue. I received a gorgeous single pearl necklace from my friend Fiona which was simple and understated, just what I wanted! My friends Nathan and Laura bought me a lovely silver, pearl and diamante hair slide and my now husband bought me some stunning pearl studs from Pandora.

An off the peg wedding dress….

Ahhh the dress! It didn’t take me long to find the one that I wanted. Originally I was going to go for something non-traditional but eventually the bride in me came through–the only time that happened I might add!–and I found the beautiful Pandora dress off the peg from Phase Eight. I first saw it online and fell in love with it, so I went with my mum to the St James Street store in London to try it on and bought straight away. It needed a little bit of tweaking to fit my short stature but other than that it was perfect for me!

Married at Sunset….

Siobhan found The Neon Boneyard pretty early and that became our number one photo venue. We set about arranging a slot. The staff are great and more than helpful. Once that was in stone we booked flights and hotels. Note to anyone considering a Vegas Wedding: take a few days to get over jet-lag! We flew with Virgin and stayed at the Vdara Hotel & Spa, a great off the strip destination that sits quietly behind the Cosmopolitan at a reasonable price, but with plenty of luxury. Next up was the Ceremony. Originally looking into the Drive-thru’s and Chapels, we decided they were very expensive and too impersonal. We decided on using the guys at The Wedding Wagon who offer a wedding service at a location of your request. We decided to get hitched next to the Pipe Dreams sculpture outside The Smith Centre. It’s a quiet location without glitzy lights and a short trip from Fremont Avenue. Our photographer suggested that we get married at sunset and on that basis we arranged to have our photographs at the Boneyard and our Wedding Ceremony held on two separate days. This gave us two opportunities in the sunset, and, looking back at the photos, has proved a great piece of advice!

A Photographer and A Witness….

My brother, Nigel Edgecombe is a Wedding Photographer and I’m so glad we decided to have him take our photos. They are absolutely amazing (as I knew they would be) and we couldn’t be happier. We are both usually pretty uncomfortable with having our photos taken but both sessions were very relaxed and more than anything, it was great fun – I think that shows through in the pictures. Not only was Nigel our photographer, he also acted as our witness!

Favourite Moment…

Having The Neon Boneyard to ourselves and being amongst all the old Vegas neon signs was especially haunting and beautiful.

Any Advice?

Have the courage to go your own way and not be swayed by the many voices who will chime in with what you should or shouldn’t be doing. We started off with a traditional UK venue wedding with family & friends, but as we worked out our priorities and became more true to ourselves, we realised all we really wanted was the two of us, abroad. Everything fell into place after that.

If you decide on Vegas for your wedding, book early and avoid Saturdays if possible as it will be more expensive.

The Line Up

Photographer: Nigel Edgecombe Pre Ceremony Venue: The Neon Boneyard Ceremony Venue: The Smith Centre outside sculpture Brides Dress: Phase Eight Bride’s Shoes: Karen Millen Groom: Ted Baker Stawai Waistcoat, Trousers, Shirt, Bow-Tie and Socks Groom’s Handmade Pin & Wedding Ring: BethMadeThis Groom’s Shoes: Bertie

How awesome were those pictures at The Neon Boneyard – would be an amazing place to do a styled shoot.

If you like what you see then Nigel Edgecombe has something pretty exciting to offer our Festival Bride readers…..

I’m constantly looking for inspired couples who march to the sound of their own drum and have colourful, beautiful weddings like this elopement. In particular, I’m interested in Festival Weddings and wonderful stories. Every year, I offer some very exclusive packages to these types of couples, and I call these my “Shhh! Collections” because I reserve them for couples with the best wedding stories, and those I connect with on a very personal level. I’d love to hear from these couples, so please tell them to send their stories to me at [email protected]. I’m only offering this via Festival Brides, so you have an exclusive!

Get emailing peeps!

Big Love

Laura xxx