Elly & Mark

I've got all the heart eyes for Elly's beautiful David Fielden wedding dress, she looks gorgeous and there are just so many lovely elements to it - the soft neckline, the slinky fit and the lacy back are all making me swoon. Elly and Mark had a London wedding, at two of our favourite venues, instantly recognisable to those of you planning a city wedding and probably those of you who read RMW on a daily basis too... It's always a treat to feature a wedding with the boys wearing tweed, this fabric is so great for adding an element of texture and fun to the gents outfits. The couple cleverly paired Mark's Walker Slater suit with some Next high street bargains for the groomsmen. Excellent shopping all round. The stunning images come from On Love & Photography who shoot the most stylish weddings in the loveliest way.

The Bride

Elly the Bride: The dress was a simple bias cut David Fielden dress with slight fishtail effect and a lace trim around the bottom. I wanted something fairly elegant and plain but with a bit of a vintage look to fit with the venues, so this dress was perfect. Also I love a low back so this ticked all the boxes! I spotted it in a boutique Noble and Wright in my hometown of Leicester, getting it from here was lovely as It meant my mum and nieces were able to attend the fittings with me, and Hannah the owner was great. For my jewellery I wore 2 lovely gold bracelets. The first was a beautiful antique gold bangle - a family heirloom passed down from my grandmother. It was really special to wear something on the day that’s been in the family so long. The other was a gorgeous Alex Monroe “tie the knot” bracelet that my maid of honour and bridesmaid surprised me with the night before the wedding. I managed to tick off both my something old and something new in one hand (literally!)

The Groom

Mark was really keen to have a suit that spoke to the venue, but also fitted with the autumnal season – and we made the decision pretty early on that we both liked the idea of tweed to set the groomsmen apart from the guests. The problem however was that we left this part quite late, and finding several tweed suits in the summer months leading up to our big day proved pretty challenging! In the end Mark managed to find exactly what he was looking for at Walker Slater; something that had that vintage tweed style that we were looking for, but also a modern fit. They were also able to provide a few additional touches, like a really cool gold pocket watch. Then, after some more last minute panicking, we were really lucky when some close-matching suits came into Next. Mark’s shirt and tie was then from Ted Baker, and he picked up some really perfect shoes from his favourite clothing brand Oliver Spencer.

The Venue

Both of us originate from the Midlands (Birmingham and Leicester respectively) and so we were initially quite keen to have our event back in one of our home towns. However after seeing a lot (!) of venues we started to warm to the idea of a city wedding in London. So with the city decided on we start plunging through weeks of research. We were very keen to have something that felt a bit different, a wedding that reflected our urban lifestyle – but still felt romantic. Our searching took us to all four corners of London, but in the end we were really happy with our decision. For the ceremony we actually ended up choosing a venue just down the road from our flat in Bermondsey; Asylum Chapel. The venue is a grade 2 listed building that was bombed during the war, and the team there have done an amazing job of maintaining the history in the venue. As soon as we stepped in, we were struck by the drama of the building interior – which is so beautiful that it almost does not need any dressing at all. We were also drawn in by the idea of having the wedding in a chapel, but not one affiliated, as neither of us is religious. We should also mention the team that helped organise our reception venue was the amazing MC Motors, north of the river in Dalston. Again the minute we entered the building we knew it was perfect for what we were looking for. We viewed many “warehouse” style venues, but none came close really. The venue is really unique, not only due to the dramatic interior – but also the amazing array of props the Castle Gibson team have.

The Transport

To get between the venues we booked two retro buses for our guests from London Retro Bus Hire. We were really nervous about the journey taking too long, but with our guests topped up on prosecco they all seemed to have a great time. Meanwhile we made a grand entrance in a duck egg green Figaro car that one of our best friend Katie kindly lent us. This was one of the highlights of the day, as MC Motors has a large garage door that opens and allowed us to drive right into the reception, something that really made the arrival that bit more special.

The Flowers

Both of our venues already included a lot of props and the buildings themselves are quite dramatic without much decoration. This helped us when it came to choosing our flower arrangements as we did not want anything too floral – and instead wanted a style that was quite naturalistic, in keeping with the setting. Our florist Pip from Botonique Flowers did a wonderful job in balancing our desire for something stripped back with elegant and natural arrangements. These included a lot of ivy and foliage, with bouquets that were filled with a lot of greenery. In terms of colouring we went with dusky pinks and taupes to match with the Bridesmaid dresses, offset by the occasional dark red berry. The centrepieces consisted of beautiful arrangements within glass bell jars – something that really tied into the wider theme. Overall we loved the way it turned out – softening the somewhat industrial style of MC Motors, and adding an impression of the venue being naturally overgrown. Away from the flowers we did add some personal touches in terms of other decorations. On the run up to the wedding we collected vintage gin bottles for candle stands – and complimented them with Hendricks empties from every bar we visited. This brought a personal touch to the styling as we are both such big gin lovers! We also tried to put our own stamp on other elements, like a series of wine bottles (one for every major anniversary) where guests could leave messages for us to open later in our marriage.

The Ceremony

Our ceremony was fairly simple, as neither of us is religious and we wanted to get to the partying as quickly as possible! However to make it that bit more special we had two of our close friends Katie and Hugh did readings – and they really did a great job.

The Entertainment

We were very picky when it came to music – as we really felt it formed the backdrop to the whole event. We consciously didn’t want anything that felt too cheesy, or that jarred with the venue or the wider styling. For the ceremony we booked a three piece string trio from the Royal College of Music. They did a fantastic job of playing through the guests arriving, and also moving to the steps outside the venue once the ceremony had finished. At our reception venue we had two sets booked with The Chandeliers, a group we thought really matched the whole vintage styling of our day. Throughout the canapes and whilst guests were waiting for the wedding breakfast they played a stripped back set – featuring jazz renditions of songs we both love. Then, in the evening they kicked off the party with our first dance – a lovely rendition of Cat Power’s “Sea of Love”. The rest of the evening was a haze of cocktails, dancing and photographs – but we did notice some really great touches from the band, including bringing a set of percussion instruments and encouraging the guests to join in! Away from the music we also hired a photobooth from The Vintage Photobooth Company. We’ve found that booths like this always go down very well at weddings, and it’s been so fun looking back over the crazy photos since.

The Food

For our caterers we chose Easy Gourmet – headed up by the utterly amazing Marie. Not only was the food incredible but Marie’s knowledge and ridiculous organisational skills were a massive help in planning our day. Having two independent venues, with a lot of moving parts meant that having someone on hand with such experience was so important. For the food itself we opted for big sharing platters. The main event was slow cooked pork belly in cider and sage, with crushed baby potatoes and brazed red cabbage – one of our personal favourites. To give the meal an extra bit of excitement we had individuals from each table don chef hats, bring out the pork, and do the carving – which was a lot of fun! The cake was provided by Hannah at Butter Beautiful – who created a lovely two layer partially iced cake that our guests couldn’t enough of. In fact it was good that we’ve since ordered another mini cake just for us as an extra Christmas present!

The Photography

We spotted On Love And Photography at the Most Curious Wedding Fair in London – and two things immediately set them apart for us; Firstly we absolutely love the style of photography. We really didn’t want anything that looked too cheesy! Also they seem to have a really good eye for vintage detail – something that obviously fitted perfectly with our venues. Secondly we really clicked with Sophia and Giulia. You spend a lot of time with the photographers on the day, from the nervous moments getting ready, to the drunken dancing later on – so it is really important to have someone there to make you feel relaxed and help you make the most of the day.

The Videography

We did also want a videographer to help give another perspective to the day when we come to look back over our life together. Our budget did not quite stretch that far – but our friend Temi came to the rescue, offering to document the event for us. It was such a lovely touch to have one of our closest friends do this.