Phoebe Rossi wrote a blog about us!

We figured it was about time we shared some words from one of our favourite wedding photographers, Phoebe Rossi.

Phoebe specialises in natural, candid photography and her favourite weddings include all things rustic, fun, DIY and most importantly, DOGS!

We are blessed to have worked with Phoebe on multiple occasions, during both weddings and styled shoots and her work is nothing short of phenomenal! Her photography embodies a very laid back, natural style, which is perfect for couples who want to spend their wedding day celebrating with all their favourite people.

Click the image below to read the blog and then head over to her website to find out more about Phoebe, what she does, areas she covers and her incredible portfolio!

Phoebe Rossi Photography - Camoer van wedding car with happy couple stood infront.
BLOG! By Phoebe Rossi Photography

If you’re looking for an amazing photographer, Phoebe Rossi is most definitely one to check out. Click the link below to contact her directly!

The Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist

So you’re engaged? What’s next?

What do you do first? Who do you book? What does your dream wedding look like?

There’s so much to think about when planning a wedding, so Wed2b have put together this helpful, comprehensive guide to get you started with planning your ultimate wedding.

Click the link below to access the full report!

GET YOUR FREE ULTIMATE WEDDING PLANNING GUIDE HERE!

Here’s some helpful tips to get you started:

12-48 months out

  1. Choose the date of your wedding
  2. Start thinking about your guest list so you can gauge numbers
  3. Decide on your wedding budget
  4. Choose a venue
  5. Get wedding insurance (very important!)
  6. Send your “save the dates”

12-18 months out

  1. Start shopping for your wedding dress, if you’re wearing one!
  2. Choose your colour palette or theme
  3. Book your florist, hair and makeup artists if these are important
  4. Hire your photographer
  5. Time to book your caterer
  6. Start thinking about your wedding car/ photobooth (if you have a specific one in mind they tend to book up quickly!)
  7. Consider booking a DJ or Band, or both!
  8. Post out or email your invites
  9. Consider if you need a wedding planner

6-12 months out

  1. Consider a wedding website, or a wedding gift list
  2. Shop for your bridesmaids or bridal party outfits
  3. Book any remaining wedding entertainment
  4. Plan your honeymoon! This is the exciting bit!
  5. Think about wedding party gifts
  6. Consider if you need a wedding planner or an “on the day coordinator”

3-6 months out

  1. Book your hair and make up trials
  2. Book your final dress fittings
  3. Ensure you’ve arranged your notice of marriage! Very imporant!
  4. HEN DO’S AND STAG DO’S!
  5. Seating plans
  6. Check in with your suppliers if they haven’t made contact with you!
  7. Practice your first dance!
  8. Write your speeches

1 month out

  1. Check in again with your suppliers
  2. Book any beauty treatments (don’t have a facial too close to the wedding, you might break out!)
  3. If you have botox or fillers, make sure you’ve allowed enough time for these to settle before the big day!
  4. Check in with your wedding party, check the groomsmen have everything they need.

1 week out

  1. Break in your wedding shoes.
  2. Nails, hair colour, brows and lashes!
  3. If you can, take some time off work.
  4. Rest and get excited!
  5. Wedding rehearsals usually take place during this week.

The night before

  1. Go over your speeches.
  2. Pack anything you need for the day ahead, this will leave you with less things to worry about on the day.
  3. Get an early night!

On the day

  1. Wake up early (ish)!
  2. Make sure you eat something! You might not be eating for a while!
  3. Stay hydrated alongside the champagne!
  4. Arrive at just the right time! Not too early, not too late!
  5. Enjoy yourself and aim to make time for just the two of you througout the day.

Click HERE to view the full guide, download it and save it for future reference.

Hope these tips help, if you’ve got any questions, just hit the link below!

Christmas Camper Mini Shoots

Back in 2020, with the help of a lovely photographer, Sabrina Reed, we did our very first Christmas Camper shoot and we were hooked.

One man and two ladies sit in front of a camper van decorated in christmas decorations.
Is this just not festive AF?

You might wonder what the connection is between a camper van and Christmas and, well, aside from an interpretation of Chris Rea’s “Driving home for Christmas… to be honest with you, it just looks super cute and we actually just love Christmas!

So why do we love Christmas? Jack’s birthday is 22nd December so he’s just obsessed with Christmas generally and Kate, just loves being festive AF! That and the cute pictures and you’ve got a recipe for ALL the festive fun!

Our Christmas Camper mini shoots feature Peggy, our gorgeous 1959 splitscreen, with an adorable set up including a twinkling Christmas tree, presents, santas sleigh and rudolph! We also provide a range of funny props to get the giggles going!

For 2023, we’re working with Alaa of Blue Hours Photography to bring you all the festive goodness, so if you’d like to book, hit the Contact Us button and we can get you booked in!

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

When is it and what do you get? I hear you ask?

Date: Saturday 25th November
Location: Findon, Near Worthing BN14 0RG

Christmas themed Camper Van
30 minute photo shoot
10 fully edited images of your choice (colour & B+W)
10 Christmas Cards with your choice of image
Selection of Christmas props
Hot Chocolate and Mince Pies
Private Sussex Barn location in Findon, West Sussex
Free parking


Price: £65

Case study: Hants & IOW Southern Health Trust Wellness Festival

Firstly, what an incredibly amazing and forward thinking trust to work alongside, on two separate occasions!

Back in summer of 2022, Lucy from BeSure events got in touch with us in the hope of securing a camper van photobooth for the inaugural Southern Health Wellness Festival taking place in Eastleigh, Hampshire. With over 1000 delegates attending from all over the trust, it was a fantastic event, with workshops focussing on wellness, mindfulness and inclusion and diversity and a real focus on positive mental health across the trust. Delegates were able to take part in exercise classes, yoga and some incredible guest speakers, including Alice Liveing (PT and online influencer).

Our camper van photobooth was in place from the Sunday until the Wednesday evening – with nothing moving from the site in those four days. The event went without a hitch, we towed the camper down on the Sunday afternoon, in gale force winds no less and parked up on site, connected to power in readiness to set up for the event starting on Monday.

As we hadn’t been long out of Covid restrictions, the awards evening was sadly postponed, but took place later in the year at The Concorde Club in Eastleigh. It was amazing to see so many incredible people recognised for their work within the trust.

Huge thanks again to Lucy and the team at BeSure events for having us – it was our pleasure to provide our photobooth for both events.

To find out more about having one of our vehicles or photobooths at your event please contact Kate at kate@busandbugvintageweddings.co.uk. or fill in our enquiry form by clicking the link below.

It’s been a while! #whataboutweddings

It really has been ages. I mean what do we talk about?

Weddings, that’s what!

It’s so encouraging that weddings are slowly starting to return to our lives, albeit in a much smaller, intimate form. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely devastated that 2020 has pretty much been written off and that lots of couples and suppliers are still facing the seemingly never-ending uncertainty about when weddings will be back to some kind of normal, but we are moving in the right direction and that can only be a good thing.

Now, without this getting too political, (believe me, I can rant for hours on this absolute s***show of a government) I wanted to tell you about #whataboutweddings.

Annabel Beeforth, founder of Love My Dress, has been working tirelessly behind the scenes with lots of high profile wedding bods, fighting for the wedding industry to reopen, or in fact, just some clarity about when we *might* be able to open in line with other industries that are already open for business. (Doesn’t seem quite fair that you can go to the pub surrounded by a whole premises full of people you don’t know from Adam, yet you still can’t have a wedding reception with your closest friends and family in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland…. but that’s for another time!)

I won’t be able to do it justice so please click on the link below, have a read and rally the troops! It’s time to make a stand. Write to your MP, write to local businesses, hell, write to your cats and dogs, just do it!!

Weddings are a multi-billion pound industry and this sad state of affairs is taking it’s toll. It’s estimated that £3billion has been lost this season already with up to 500,000 jobs at risk. This is big news for all of us, so lets do what we can to support the comeback.

#whataboutweddings

Check out the hashtag #whataboutweddings on Instagram and get behind the movement. After all, we want weddings back, with a bang (eventually!)

In other news, we are working on a few new projects in the background, which we are excited to reveal soon along with a couple of “last minute” weddings booked in July and August, so plenty to keep us busy until the autumn where we look forward to meeting many more brides and grooms!

x Kate x

The Elephant in the Room

Well, to put it bluntly, what an absolute s***storm this is proving to be!!!

Covid-19 has been, very much, the elephant in the room for small businesses such as ours while we plan for uncertain times ahead. Brides and grooms, we totally get you and empathise with your feelings of worry in these troubling times. But please don’t panic!

To our March, April and May brides, WE SEE YOU and will do as much as we can to help at this difficult time and we will do our very best to accommodate you all.

Here’s our current position:

Bus and Bug Vintage Weddings will be continuing with business as usual and we have no plans to cancel any weddings or events unless advised otherwise by government or local authorities, so please rest assured that being at your wedding is still our absolute priority.

With regard to payments and cancellations, our standard terms and conditions remain in place however we understand that this is causing a conundrum for many of our couples and urge you to make the decision that is right for you and your family/ guests; whether this means going ahead as planned, or postponing, we will always do our best to accommodate your needs. If you are considering postponing, please do get in touch as soon possible to discuss your new date. Of course, if you just want to chat about any concerns or special measures, please do call or email at any time, we are here to help above all.

Our vehicles already have a basket on board containing tissues, antibacterial hand sanitizer (while stocks last of course) and wipes for your use and as a precaution, all our drivers will be instructed to wear gloves and the vehicles will be thoroughly cleaned and handles disinfected before and after use to help the spread of the virus.

We have currently removed all photobooth props such as masks and glasses that are worn on or near the face to help minimise the risk of transmission, however hats, wigs and prop boards will still be available for use. We already clean and sanitize our vehicles and all of our props before and after each event and will be using antibacterial wipes on seats, handles and any other areas that could transmit the virus regularly throughout each event as an additional measure. Tissues, wipes (and hand sanitizer where available) will be made available for all guests to use throughout the duration of your event. Staff will continue to wash their hands regularly and avoid close contact with guests.

The health and wellbeing of our passengers, guests and staff is our absolute priority and as such, we politely request that anyone feeling unwell, or exhibiting any symptoms of cold, flu or Covid 19, please refrain from entering or travelling in our vehicles on the day. Likewise, should any of our staff become unwell, appropriate cover will be sought.

From a small business perspective, this is going to have a huge effect on us and those effects will not be known for some time. We would like to thank you for your continued support and urge you to continue supporting your small local businesses at this awful time. Hopefully the situation will settle soon and we will all have a clearer picture of what the future holds.

To all our 2021 and 2022 brides, we haven’t forgotten about you! <3

Stay safe everyone x

Wedding Fayres 2020

While wedding season is a little quieter at this time of year, wedding fayres are busier than ever for most of us!

We recently attended the Winter Wedding Experience at Findon Manor on Sunday and despite the chilly weather, the lovely visitors, exhibitors and canapes made it a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Tickle at Findon Manor Wedding Experience
Photo credit: Sabrina Reed Photography

Here’s our upcoming Wedding Fayres, dates and locations for 2020:

Barnham Wedding Fayre – 23rd February
White Swan Wedding Open Day – 1st March
Bury Manor Barn – 15th March
Henfield Spring Vintage Fair – 29th March
Southlands Barn – 10th May
Blacknest Golf Club – 10th May
Old Basing House – 31st May
Findon Manor Wedding Experience – 30th August
Southlands Barn – 16th September

Please do get in touch if you’d like to view a specific vehicle or photobooth at any of the above events/ fayres and we would love to make it happen!

Now we know that wedding fayres aren’t for everyone and we are the first ones to admit they can be a little contrived! Don’t let that put you off. The main thing is to enjoy yourself and chat to people. Absolutely don’t feel pressured into buying on the day or feeling like you have to make a decision there and then! (We would never make you do that!) So, make notes, take pictures and contact details for those you really love and use it as valuable experience that’s part of the fun of planning your wedding!

K x

Weddings!

Can anyone believe we are almost at the end of 2019? Like seriously?? Where has the time gone? We still have a couple of weddings to go which we are super looking forward to but with over 90 bookings completed this year we can’t help but take a step back and say WOW! What a year it’s been!

Pearl + Betsie Wedding Camper Van and Beetle Wedding Car
Pearl & Betsie

2019 saw Peggy and Betsie join our little fleet of super cool vehicles, we met tonnes of AMAZING couples, some FREAKING AWESOME wedding suppliers and of course, we made some unforgettable memories doing what we love all year long!

All that’s left to say is, THANK YOU! To everyone who’s booked us, to everyone who supports us and encourages our amazing little business to grow.

We’re in the process of updating our website with some amazing professional photos from this year and last – why not have a look?

To our couples; if you’d like us to feature your wedding – don’t be shy! We wanna show the world how amazing you are! Pop us an email to: hello@busandbugvintageweddings.co.uk

Finally check out our list of wedding suppliers that WE LOVE! (We know you’ll love them too!)

That’s all for now guys – peace and love!

K x

“The Wedding Fair”

By Caroline Stocking – Wellies and Weddings

This is the blog you’ve all been waiting for, the blog you didn’t know you needed to see and the blog telling you all about an AMAZING wedding EXTRAVAGANZA on 1st of September 2019! Buckle up!

Wedding Fairs;

Love them or hate them……Give it a go!

Top Tips for Married Couples to be…

Love them, or hate them, Wedding Fairs are a long running institution in the wedding planning world.

From classic hotel fairs, full of organza chair sashes, traditional wedding cars and pretty centre pieces, to alternative, unique fairs offering glitter tattoo’s and black wedding cakes.  The wedding industry is evolving, and fairs are having to keep up.

I am well aware that even the words ‘Wedding Fair’ send a pang of dread through some people, but I urge all married couples to be, to experience the bubble just once. 

It can open your eyes to everything you do, or in fact do not want!

So many couples have a vision of what they think they would like at their wedding.  And honestly a lot of the time, that vision is in fact what they think ‘everyone’ else will want!

When it comes to planning ‘your’ wedding…. Plan it for you!  Not your guests!

This is your day, and it should incorporate everything you’ve ever dreamt of, or imagined.

So, when it comes to visiting wedding fairs..think the same way!

Only go to the one’s that suit you, and cater for your style.

Here are my top tips to you, to ensure you get the best out of your wedding fair experience.

  • Only go to the fairs that suit your style.  There is no point dragging yourself and others around a hotel with frills and white linen, when what you really want is a tipi and hay bales!
  • Have a Budget in mind.  Suppliers will appreciate it far more if you are honest with them from the start.  Having a budget also means suppliers will not offer you a product or service you can’t afford.  Instead they will work with you and offer you the best possible product for your budget.
  • Make a List.  Go with an idea of what you are looking for.  But be prepared to change your mind!  Just because you have written it down, it doesn’t mean you have to stick to it.
  • Start early.  If you really don’t know where to even start with your planning, then get going early.  Take the stress out of the planning, and give yourself time. Explore a few different fairs.  Investigate what is available, and what you like. 
  • Travel.  Don’t be scared to travel further afield.  Some of the most incredible fairs can be miles away from your home, but go for it!  Make a weekend of it!  Take your bride tribe, or husband/wife to be, and have a few days away.  Make an occasion out of it.  Wedding planning is an exciting time, so enjoy it!
  • Go Big!  Don’t be put off by the big national exhibition shows.  They showcase a vast range of suppliers…You never know what you might come across.
  • Relax.  Grab yourself a glass of bubbles, take your time, and have fun.  It shouldn’t be a chore planning your big day, so just embrace it.
  • Ask Questions.  Be Brave!  You don’t know unless you ask!
  • Be polite.  Suppliers are giving up their valuable time to showcase to you, so even if you are not interested in their service, be thankful for their time and information.
  • Be open minded!  You’ll be amazed at what’s out there!
  • Have Fun!!  You’re planning the best day of your life….enjoy it!!

As a Wedding Photographer, I am often asked if I would like to attend fairs.  And I have to admit, 9 times out of 10, I find myself saying NO.  The reason?…. Well, I can never find one that captures me, and my style.  I love the alternative, I love the unique, and I find myself underwhelmed by what’s available.

That’s not to say there isn’t any…because there is, and the ones out there are amazing!  But you have to search for them.

After saying No far too many times, it occurred to me, that maybe I wasn’t alone.  Maybe there was a whole bunch of suppliers in the south east who felt the same.

So, there was only one thing for it….Create my own!!

And that’s when Wellies & Weddings was born!

I wanted to create a platform where couples could come and source their perfect suppliers, and where like mind suppliers could come to network.

Wellies & Weddings is a planning and hiring service for all you lovers of the alternative, and we love nothing more than showcasing unique and independent businesses to the world.

So, with this in mind we have created the first ever Wellies & Weddings Extravaganza!  A festival themed Wedding fair with a whole host of alternative, unique and independent suppliers.

The Wellies & Weddings Wedding Extravaganza

No offence to traditional wedding fairs, but this certainly won’t be traditional! We’re aiming big, we’re aiming beautiful and we’re aiming at all those things the discerning alternative bride can’t always find at a traditional fair!

This is a rural event, set in a beautiful 8 acre field location. Come and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere with Food & Drink stalls, Live Music, Wedding Suppliers and a Fashion Show.Tickets are £4 and can be bought here!

This is a cash only event and tickets can also be bought on the gate.
Come by and say Hi.  We would love to see you!

(Sensible footwear advised!)

Pearl…..! Birthday Girl!

Our lovely girl Pearl turned 50 years old last week and weddings couldn’t be a better way to celebrate this milestone with people who love VW’s as much as we do! Ian has kindly contributed some little snippets of information to help you get to know Pearl even better!

Pearl in Pink!

Most people who own VW buses do so because they love them, and when you love them you generally get to know their little idiosyncrasies and their personality too! For instance Pearl is called Pearl after the colour of the van ‘Pearl White’ and the original VW paint code is L87. She loves to settle in at 45 mph and will cruise all day at that speed.

Ian and his wife Claire cruised in Pearl to Belgium in 2018 and attended the largest European VW car show at a place called Spa at the well known Francorchamps F1 race track and drove round the race track on Saturday afternoon but only at a little over 8mph!!!!

We sometimes think the old girl may be missing the sunny dry days of California where she spent 45 years of her life but as she celebrates her 50th birthday this month she certainly puts a smile on our faces and judging by the waves and smiles we get from others when we are out and about she brings joy to them too!!

At every wedding we do there is always genuine interest and lots of photos taken alongside her and at least one person who will say “I had one just like that”, which if we’re honest is one of the best things ever!

It’s so amazing that out little aircooled dubs can bring so much happiness into the world and it definitely makes all the hard work worth it!

The happy couple!

Pearl covers Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset – if you’re looking for an adorable wedding car, Pearl may be able to help. Please do get in touch for a quote <3

x Kate + Ian x