Emma & Andy's Wedding

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Emma, from Newport Pagnell, and Andy, from Cumbria, met while they were both working in Dubai where Emma runs a conservation project and Andy manages health and safety inspections in the oil industry.

As Emma works in conservation and they are both actively involved in environmental work, it was important that their wedding reflected that and, where possible, choices were made that were environmentally friendly. It was particularly important to them that they supported smaller, local businesses (both in Dubai and Newport Pagnell) and they enlisted the help of friends and family to keep their wedding personal - the wedding invitations were hand made by the bride's mother and a friend, who used recycled paper and by making the majority of the stationary, table decorations and flower arrangements themselves, the wedding had a much more personal feel.

The couple held their ceremony at St Peter and St Pauls church in Newport Pagnell, followed by a reception at the Fox and Hounds Pub in Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes. The reception venue is run by Emma's godfather, Chris Hallett. The couple wanted the traditional wedding in a church but were keen to have a more informal reception, which is why they chose Emma's godfather's pub, a buffet meal and live music.

Emma and Andy only used local suppliers for their wedding, including the minibus hire, cake, band, disco, marquee, decorations and the catering company; the cheese and meat were sourced from a local farm shop. The beer served at the pub reception was from local real ale breweries, one from Andy's home county of Cumbria and one from Emma's local area.

With the exception of the bride's and bridesmaid's bouquets, all the flowers were artificial and donated to a charity which re-uses wedding supplies. The wedding dress and bridesmaid's dresses were made using a local tailors in Dubai, where the money went directly to a small business rather than a large bridal chain.

Emma and Andy chose an unusual 'fishy' theme for their wedding - the father of the bride's speech told of Emma's obsession with fish from an early age, spending hours in the rock pools or fishing wildlife out of the garden pond. Emma Smart, soon to become Dr Emma Smart has continued her exploration further afield and is now based in Dubai where she is doing a PhD on one of only two species of freshwater fish to be found in this desert part of the world. Her PhD is in conjunction with the University of Plymouth and she undertakes wildlife surveys for the World Wildlife Fund.

'Lobster Adoption Certificates' - wedding favours from The National Lobster Hatchery, in Cornwall.

In keeping with their fishy theme, the couple surprised their family and friends with some very unusual wedding favours - 'lobster adoption certificates', from The National Lobster Hatchery, based in Padstow, Cornwall - the guests got to name their adopted lobster and when their lobster is released back into the wild, the date and location of the release is published on The National Lobster Hatchery website.

The National Lobster Hatchery is a marine conservation charity, set up to raise and release juvenile lobsters back into the sea around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The purpose; to conserve lobster populations, that are heavily targeted by industry, and to promote a sustainable fishery for generations to come.

Emma & Andy's goldfish bowl centrepieces for their 'fishy' themed wedding.

The favours were the perfect addition to Emma and Andy's fishy wedding! Not only did all the guests leave as proud parents of a lobster named after them, but there were goldfish bowls as table decorations and the bride had fish embroidered all down the back of her dress. The fish which formed the centrepieces of each table were re-homed with guests after the wedding and several of them are still happily swimming in the bride's mother and father's garden pond!

The wedding guests loved the lobster idea and particularly liked the individuality of the favours and having a lobster named after them. The bride being a marine biologist and the groom a dive instructor, they were very keen to support a UK marine charity and have always followed the work of the National Lobster Hatchery and it's dedication to conservation.

The small touches, such as the 'adopt a lobster' favours, the fish in the bowls and the wedding dress 'shoal of fish' detail made the couple's wedding absolutely 'unique'.