Nicole & Chris

What a talented bunch of suppliers Nicole & Chris had to create their metallic and geometric city wedding. Many of them included on our very own wedding directory, The List. I love the quirky hanging decor at 06 St Chads' Place, and how glamorous do the bridesmaids look in their gold sequin gowns. Nicole also sports a gorgeous 1920s vintage inspired hairstyle that compliments her embellished Rosa Clara 'Veleta' gown beautifully. And did I mention the shoes, you'd never guess they were from the highstreet?! With red double decker buses, marmite favours and a portrait machine, you'll be hard pressed not to find something you don't absolutely LOVE about this urban wedding captured by Miss Gen Photography.

Our Story

Nicole the Bride: Chris and I met at work. We were part of a really social team and were friends over a long period of time before a three-year courtship. Chris proposed at Galvin at Windows on my birthday. The actual proposal was a struggle, because the moment he produced a ring box from his pocket, the waiter started laying our cutlery, straightening the tablecloth, unfolding our napkins and pouring our water…. he was clueless as to what was going on and it was the slowest seven minutes of my life. We were engaged for just over a year. We fell in love with two venues, and they each only had one date available left in the almost-summer of 2016. Fortuitously, it was the same date, so that made our decision easy.

Most Important

We rallied friends and family from Australia early on in our planning, but it soon became apparent it just wasn’t possible for everyone to travel to the UK for our day. Knowing some key family would be absent was hard, so it was important we could incorporate elements of my home into the ceremony and reception. We also wanted the wedding to feel very “us” so tried not to get carried away with wedding trends and expectations too much. We wanted to choose meaningful venues we’d visit again, rather than an off-the-peg manor house in the country.

Fashion

I’d seen the Rosa Clara range online, but desperately wanted the experience of wedding dress shopping with my mum and best friend, who both live in Australia. I managed to find a shop in Sydney which stocked the exact style so made a booking when I was home at Christmas. Although I had no intentions of buying it so early, I fell in love with my dress – it was so easy to wear, beautiful, elegant and beaded but didn’t feel fussy or over-done. The exchange rate made it an easy decision, and we carried it all the way back to London. Carting a large, white wedding dress bag earned us a glass of champagne from the cabin crew on the way home. My grandparents had sent over my great-great grandmother’s engagement ring as they couldn’t be there, and I pinned my late nan’s brooch to my bag – both pieces were really meaningful. I had a Littlesmith bracelet made with our initials, which tied in with the bridesmaid’s initial bracelets and our geometric theme. I adored my Ted Baker heels. I wanted any accessories I bought new to be items I could wear again. Chris bought me Kate Spade “Mrs” earrings and a “Pop, Fizz, Clink” bracelet for our post-wedding brunch and honeymoon, which I haven’t taken off since.

Flowers

I followed One Flew Over on Instagram and loved their style. We met Charlie and Jess for a drink one night in King’s Cross. They understood what we wanted immediately, were friendly, reassuring and provided us great tips for eating out in Copenhagen. They totally nailed the brief- the colour of the bouquets popped against the sequin bridesmaid dresses and they expertly wrangled with our large, geometric shapes which hung from the ceiling with floral arrangements.

Ceremony

The ceremony was more emotional than I expected. My dad fancies himself a little Steve Martin from Father of the Bride so was every part the doting father which left me desperately trying not to cry. Our friend Dave read a really simple and lovely poem about love and friendship, and my brother read “A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Monkton, he’s a brilliant writer and illustrator. We had our mums as witnesses – I was surprised to learn only your father’s name is added to the marriage certificate, so this was our way of including our mums in the legal part of the ceremony. We worked with the London Contemporary Voices on a memorable exit – they stood behind the door of the music room and sung the refrain from All You Need is Love before the doors were flung open and we walked back down the aisle, which still gives me goosebumps and makes us smile.

Photography

We booked Miss Gen Photography before thinking about any other supplier. We’d seen her photos on a blog in the early weeks of venue-hunting and they were so vastly different to any others we’d come across. Each individual image looked like it belonged in the editorial section of the New York Times or TIME magazine. Every frame told a story or captured an emotion and that’s exactly what we were looking for. We met Gen over a wine to look at her portfolio and she was so lovely and down-to-earth we knew she’d be perfect and her images stunning. From the moment we started planning, we both agreed investing in quality photography, and a photographer we’d feel comfortable with, was one of our highest priorities. We knew Gen’s images would be captivating and professional, having spent some considerable time pouring over her blog and images of other couples. Gen’s pictures were remarkable. They captured joy, excitement and elation, vulnerability and nervousness. We can view the day not only from our perspective, but also that of our family and friends. They showed us so many fleeting moments we missed on the day and each frame really tells a story, rich with emotion and context. Gen captured plenty of gorgeous portrait photos of the two of us, family and group photos to please our grandparents back home and many, many, beautiful reportage shots which is primarily what we were after. Gen was fabulous to work with, she patiently listened to our indecisiveness, gave guidance and perspective where we needed it, and willingly braved the constant drizzle when we were determined to get outdoor photos. She’s professional, relaxed and genuinely really friendly. We have such a beautiful set of photos, which we’ll treasure forever.

Favourite Photos

I’m pleased we persevered with King’s Cross in the rain. As a result, we have some stunning photos around King’s Cross station and St Pancras, which, although they’re not as poised as our portrait photos from earlier in the day, really capture our little corner of London, with Chris and I looking relaxed (and in love) in the place we call home. There’s also a smattering of photos of my mum, dad and bridesmaids which are just completely captivating in capturing their raw emotions. They’re beautiful.

First Dance

We used Weather to Fly by Elbow for both the bridal party entrance and our first dance. It was the first gig we went to together, and as they played this song under the Lovell Telescope on a summer’s evening at Jodrell Bank, the heavens opened up and it poured with rain. So it was apt, really. We chose In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel), Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac) and Fall At Your Feet (Crowded House) for the signing of the register, and London Contemporary Voices sang a selection of 90s and indie songs in the courtyard after the ceremony. Embarrassingly, we’re both pretty enthusiastic about Journey, Toto, John Farnham and power ballads generally so we asked our DJ to play an “Hour of Power” at midnight, along with a confetti cannon and cheese toasties.

Entertainment

Amy from The Portrait Machine came along to Happy Hour. She sits in a box and draws a portrait of your guests through a tiny hole, then spits it out the side. It’s quite surreal but she was a great laugh, and we have some fabulous sketches of our guests. Ruby Violet saved us from a dessert disaster when our supplier pulled out two days before the wedding. They pootled down from King’s Cross with their ice cream trolley to serve our guests ice cream cones for dessert.

Vibe / Style

We didn’t have a colour scheme, but wanted the ceremony to be elegant, and our reception to be more relaxed. We used metallic tones and geometric shapes throughout. At the reception, we included some Australian and British touches – mini Marmites, fairy bread magnets and an Australia Post post-box, as well as miniature Pimms and marmalade vodkas, King’s Cross pop-up books, and Cards Against Humanity place cards. It was loosely tied together with shades of gold and coral.

Most Memorable Part

The ceremony was just perfect. I struggled not to cry walking down the aisle and our vows were quite emotional, but it was everything we wanted, our friends and family all in the one room, sharing our excitement. We also threw a drinks reception at St Chad’s Place in my dad’s honour. He loves a sav blanc before dinner, and had helped us pay for the wedding, so we appointed it Rob’s Happy Hour and dished out mini-bar miniatures, bubbles, wine and cheese. It was a nice chance for everyone to relax, escape the rain and let their hair down before the wedding breakfast.

Words of Wisdom

Chris is an excellent organiser at the best of times, but planning everything together during our engagement made it much more meaningful and enjoyable. It’s a cliché, but the day does go so quickly, it’s important to stop and take it all in. Spend money on the things that excite you both, or will create memories – we got ready in the Clocktower chamber at St Pancras, it’s an amazing venue we’ll never forget, and everyone was drenched but totally excitable for our confetti shot in the rain. There were some issues we had no control over – our venue totally changed our menu without our knowledge on the day of the wedding. It was a cruel twist, but we couldn’t do it differently, some things will just go wrong. In the end, any hiccups will be completely overshadowed by strong, fond memories of the day in years to come.