As someone who is completely obsessed with all things British (obsessed is an understatement), London weddings are pretty much my favorite thing ever. So when a sweet set of English nuptials comes my way, I consider it a reason for a serious celebration. Especially when that sweet set of nuptials includes a crazy cool vintage theme, an amazing Loft Studios backdrop and a stunning White Rose gown that will most certainly take your breath away. See it all captured by Corrado Chiozzi right here in the full gallery.
From the Bride… The first thing that Paul and I decided was that we wanted to be married in London. Although neither of us grew up here, its where we have lived together for the past four years and is our favourite city.
We chose the Orangery in Holland Park for the ceremony as it is just beautiful without being fussy and we liked that it was a public place that we could visit again and again. April 6th turned out to be the sunniest day of the year so far and after the service, the weather was perfect to enjoy canapes on the lawn outside the service provided by Bovingdons caterers was warm, friendly and tasty!
With such a classic ceremony venue we wanted something a bit different for the reception, something that captured the urban side of London. The Loft Studios in Willesden was perfect and we were able to add our own touches that complemented the old brickwork, white tiles and wooden beams. We transported our guests from one venue to the other on the old routemaster buses. This celebrated the fact that the wedding was in London and fitted in to our vintage theme. The flowers to decorate the Loft were ordered online and arranged by myself, my Maid of Honour and my Aunt, who used to work in the floristry industry. We (with the help of my nan and the WI!) had collected jam jars for over a year and once decorated with lace and hessian, made excellent vases!
My husband and I both love anything vintage and this was reflected throughout. Some of our friends and family made cupcakes and these were displayed on a traditional dressing room table. This was fitting because the Lofts main purpose is a modeling studio. We hired a traditional fish and chip van for the catering (who doesn’t like fish and chips!?) and live music was provided by a friend of ours and his band, playing a range of covers from the 60s onwards.
For the favours we collected china tea cups, saucers and plates for the guests to have their after dinner drinks in and take home. We, with the help of family and friends, collected these from charity shops over the course of a year and our guests loved that they could keep these and use them over and over. We also used photos for our table plan and asked guests to stick their picture alongside their message in the guestbook.
The occasion was made even more personal by a painting on the wall of the two us by one of my husband’s work colleagues, painted in a 50s style. This was my wedding gift from him and it fit in well with the style of the reception. A big surprise we had in store for our guests was a flashmob dance halfway through the evening. My best girl friends and I studied Dance at university but seeing the boys bust a move certainly had everybody laughing!
The most important thing for us was that our wedding was a little different from the norm and reflected our own personalities. This was one of the main reasons why our guests had such a good time and the one piece of advice I would give to anybody planning a wedding is to do things the way that you want its worth a little bit of work and not giving in to the easy option! You also don’t have to spend lots of money to make the room look beautiful or to keep people fed and smiling.
Photography: Corrado Chiozzi | Floral Design: flowers4design.co.uk | Ceremony: Orangery at Holland Park, London | Reception: The Loft Studios in Willesden, London | Shoes: Nine West | Bridesmaid Dresses: Topshop | Catering: Fish and Chip Catering | Catering: Bovingdons | Hotel: Drayton Court, Ealing, London | Bar: ukmobilebars.com | Groom Shoes: Ask the Missus | Groom Suit: Topman | Groom Tie: T.M. Lewin | Rentals: Yahire | Transport: Omnibuzz | Vendor: White Rose