A glamorous London Wedding

David and I first saw each other in a pub in Battersea, London, close by to where we both lived at the time. I say “saw each other” because we didn’t speak to one another on that occasion…instead our friends did the job of mingling and making the moves for us. Dave and I had made eye contact a few times & mentioned to our respective friends we liked the look of each other & it didn’t take them long to share this amongst the two groups. In the end one of David’s friends asked if I was single and whether I would be happy to pass my number on to David, I of course said yes and the rest, as they say is history, from date one we got on so well & felt like we’d known each other for years.

Dave proposed 3 and half years later in Central Park after the most wonderful few years together making memories with incredible trips, friends and sharing our families with one another.

The choices out there for the style of weddings can be a little overwhelming. From early on I knew I would want editorial photos and a classic style that would be timelessly chic. I’m a romantic at heart and wanted the ceremony to feel glamorous with a romantic atmosphere. We also wanted the wedding breakfast and evening to feel really contrasting to the ceremony design.

We chose black tie for the groom, groomsmen and my dad, with the bridesmaids in chic full length black gowns. This was the basis for the remaining decor with the ceremony flowers being whites and creams with lots of candles. The evening we went for dark pinks and reds to bring depth to tables and a real “wow factor”

We had our ceremony and reception in the Kimpton Fitzroy London. We created a whole spreadsheet of venues, colour coded with pros and cons of around 40+ choices all around the country. The Kimpton was the first we viewed, and the last. It was really important to us that the ceremony room had an incredible atmosphere, since we were not getting married in a church. The Kimpton ballroom had just that, the architecture and ambience it had without decor or flowers truly won us over, along with the amount of space.
We were also looking for something special for the cocktail hour, we loved conservatory venues when we created our original list of favourite venues and when we saw the Palm Court bar for the first time we knew that’s where we wanted our guests to mingle. The lighting makes it feel like a conservatory, complimented with the indoor greenery of trees with gorgeous lighting - it was honestly perfect.
And then there were the staff. Lucy at the Kimpton blew us away, so organised, enthusiastic, helpful and knew exactly the kind of style we were going for. Lucy recommended most of our fantastic suppliers including Claire from Elizabeth Taylor Weddings, who was our phenomenal planner as well as James from JF Styling, who did the design and flowers for the day.

I found the dress in a beautiful bridal boutique I have walked past since I was a little girl. I grew up in Chislehurst, Kent and after we got engaged I knew I would visit Chislehurst Bridal as soon as I could. I tried on a variety of styles and this one stood out, it was classic and chic which is what I wanted.

I went back for another try and we decided to swap out the train material for a sparkly alternative. We also added beautifully romantic sleeves and a belt to customise the dress in order for it to feel exactly like my own. It was perfect, I loved the shape of the back, how the skirt fell & the strapless neckline with the sleeves added shape and dimension to the look. We also used the same sparkly fabric we added to the train for some slinky sparkly sleeves for an evening change.

Our priority for our wedding day was always our guests. We wanted everyone to feel as loved as we have over the years by them. Leading up to the wedding we wrote 140 handwritten “love notes” as an alternative to wedding favours to each guest. In the ballroom at the Kimpton there is a hidden balcony, Dave and I snuck up there to watch our guests enter the ballroom for the wedding breakfast. One of our highlights was watching everyone come in and see the room for the first time and read their notes privately and then share with one another. It felt so special to have a moment to ourselves but also to see the year of planning all come together

Being a London wedding we loved how many people could visit from all over the country and the world. Our friends made a real trip out of our wedding which made it all the more special.

My late grandad was a black cab driver for years and years, another bonus of a London wedding was being able to do a lap of Russel square in a black cab with my dad right before walking down the aisle to honour my grandad.
The speeches were another highlight, each one so funny with beautiful sentimental highlights. Sharing a father daughter dance with my dad was particularly special.

Later we had a moment in our room. Whilst I was changing into my evening glittery sleeves, we took beautiful photos around the hotel & then joined our bridesmaids and groomsmen for a champagne spray photo shoot which was the funniest and most chaotic part of the day (everyone was a few champagnes in by this point)

Honestly the entire day was a highlight. My biggest tip for other brides is to not worry about the day flying by, stick by your partners side & try and get round to your guests during the meal courses (you’ll find you aren’t too hungry with the adrenaline anyway). Even 5 minutes alone with your partner in the corner of the room watching all the different people in your life mingle and have a ball, you won’t regret making time to be present and taking it all in.

Also remember, this is the start of a brand new chapter - I’ve reminded myself of this a few times and it’s kept my wedding blues at bay since there are so many other exciting moments to come!

Claire! The ultimate wedding planner, I don’t know what we would have done without Claire. We opted for the on-the-day coordination package but she went above and beyond expectations. @weddingswithelizabethtaylor

JF Styling - wedding designers who brought my dream to life @jfstyling

The most incredible photographer & videographer - Emily and Pete. They made Dave and I (who are particularly awkward in front of the camera) feel so comfortable & the photos and videos are amazing because of it. @emilyjayneweddings and @petechiddyvideo