Sian & Mike

I've looked at weddings pretty much every single day of my life for the last five or so years. That means I've seen A LOT of weddings. And so it's rare to find one that's different or unusual to anything I've come across before. But somehow, creative couple Sian and Mike have totally shaken things up and styled a wedding day that's full of colour, quirky details, gorgeous illustrations (by Sian herself) and is totally, utterly unique. I love every detail and found myself pouring over the images just soaking up the creativity. The splashes of colour are gorgeous too, just perfect for adding some fun to proceedings. Sian wore two floral inspired outfits, the first a bold skirt from Coast which makes me think of a tulip and then a more dance friendly number from Chichi London in the evening, which a gorgeous softer floral motif. Images come from Claudia Rose Carter, who was the perfect photographer for the job, being a true creative herself. Enjoy lovely ones, you're in for a treat.

The Bride

Sian the Bride: I knew I didn’t want a white wedding dress, I wanted something colourful but it took time to find anything I loved. In the end Coast saved the day, by bringing out THE most gorgeous, colourful, patterned skirt, with the added bonus of pockets - absolute winner. I couldn’t find a top to fit me properly, so I went down the route of having one made, by a dressmaker in Wales. To bring everything together I went for a chiffon cape with an open back by Gina Bacconi from House of Fraser and super sparkly shoes by Kurt Geiger, which were so comfy all day! I wanted an excuse to buy another dress, so decided to have a more relaxed outfit for the evening, which was easier to dance in, this I bought from ChiChi. My accessories were a necklace I borrowed from my Mam, leaf style earrings from Mejuri, a rose gold bracelet from Astley Clarke (I bought another bracelet for my Maid of Honour) and a bangle from Kate Spade, which had the sweet inscription of ‘stop and smell the roses’ in the inside. My engagement ring actually belonged to my late Great Auntie, who I was very close to. It felt extra special for us to use such a meaningful piece of jewellery. Our weddings bands we had made by a chap who works in Hatton Garden - I wanted a rose gold band with a filigree design etched into it and Mike wanted a brushed metal look, which Jonny did such a great job of making. I toyed with the idea of a veil, but ultimately decided on a headpiece instead. I found on Etsy a fantastic maker - Anna Marguerite. I wanted something pretty and feminine, with a strong nature theme and in rose gold - her shop is a treasure trove! I was overjoyed when it arrived. Hair and makeup was by the lovely Alicia - she was calm, supportive and very encouraging of me to drink Prosecco while getting ready, which I appreciated! After getting ready, my Mam pinned a blue handkerchief under my skirt. This was given to her, when she was a bridesmaid for her sister, by her grandmother. Again, wearing something so singular to our family felt very touching and special.

The Groom

Mike loves wearing a suit and we found the one in Moss Bros, where the service was excellent and they tailored it to fit him perfectly. We already had the shoes sorted - Jeffrey West. We came across a pair that had a spitfire etched into each side, which was a perfect nod to Mike’s love of history and model making skills. We wanted to have the floral theme going on in his suit too, so went with a Ted Baker floral tie, which was complimented by Tateossian rose gold tie bar from Selfridges.

The Venues

Neither of us wanted to have a grand affair wedding - we wanted intimate, relaxed, fun; a day that was personal to us and we would remember for the rest of our lives. We decided on Asia House registry office because it was conveniently located, while also ticking the aesthetic box of being a stunning Grade II listed Georgian townhouse, with our ceremony taking place in the pretty library room. Both being fans of a pub, we thought that would be a good way to go for the reception. Through various internet searches I happened upon The Easton, we went in to meet the fantastic manager Andrew and straight away we knew it was the place for us. Brilliant open space, beautiful wood floors/tables, lovely windows, fantastic staff and most importantly, absolutely delicious food. Friends still talk about the roast beef even now. I would not hesitate to recommend this place to other couples looking for a brilliant pub reception.

The Decor

Nature, florals, crafts, teapots, old tins, gin bottles, bunting and whimsical sums up the decor - an amalgamation of a few of the things we love - especially nature and the outdoors. We made teapot terrariums to go on the tables - for these we used moss/twigs that we gathered on walks in the countryside and again I turned to Etsy for a bit of help. We bought felted sheep from one seller and toadstools from Craft Me By Laura G, which really brought the terrariums to life! In the centre of each table we had an oil lamp, which is a nod to both our backgrounds as my grandfather and great grandfather worked in the mines in the Rhondda and Mike’s Dad used to work in one out in South Africa. I painted small watercolour landscapes, bought frames from The Range and these were used for our table names, placed on mini easels that Mike had gone to town spraying rose gold. Mike used his steady hands to stamp out all the individual letters for the place names and the table plan. He made the pretty wreaths, we bought preserved ferns from an online shop (recommended by our brilliant cake maker) so we could keep them afterwards. Once made, he used them to decorate the table plan and then constructed everything together on a large canvas. We collected and bought several old tea/biscuit/chocolate tins from ebay and Etsy throughout the months, which we filled to the brim with ferrero rocher (bulk bought from Costco!) and placed around the tables. As well as tea we both have a love of gin, we did our best to purchase pretty gin bottles throughout the year (and drink them of course, what a hardship!), to use on the tables with flowers in. We also made our own confetti, from dried flower petals which was fun! Several family members also helped by getting involved and making some, which was lovely. Mike’s sister is really talented at origami, so she made loads of origami frogs and other animals, which looked so sweet and were used to decorate the table. I purchased embroidered hoops from another fab seller on Etsy, which were placed around the pub. My Maid of Honour, Jesz made our beautiful bunting - she went on a mission to Shepherd’s Bush to collect nature themed fabric from the local shops and then got manically sewing! She did such a wonderful job. Mike’s sister in law is a talented artist, so we asked if she wouldn’t mind lending us her skills on the day by decorating the notice board that was to go outside the pub - she did just a fantastic job, creating beautiful lettering. It is the little details like these that really meant a lot to us - and it made us so happy to see all these crafted elements come together to create a beautiful, whimsical space.

The Flowers

Flowers are really important to me, I adore them. I knew I wanted a wild looking, free form bouquet, with lots of greenery and peonies. I did quite a bit of research, compiled a rough list of flowers I wanted to use - I passed this over to our florist who then created the gorgeous bouquets, buttonholes, display vase for the registry office and flowers in the pub. As soon as the flowers arrived at the hotel in the morning, I was completely wowed - Teddy had created the perfect look and she got the feel I wanted spot on.

The Wedding Party

Ash’s (the Best Man) suit came from Farah and Mike decided for him and Ash to have the same waistcoat, to breakup the traditional 3 piece. The Ted Baker tie Mike got had a matching one, but in opposite colours, so we thought it was perfect that Ash wore that. For Jesz (Maid of Honour), we found a fabulous, glittery dress from a great online shop Joanie she looked gorgeous! Her look was finished off with a shawl from Coast and a floral comb that I picked up in the Christmas sales from Anthropologie.

The Ceremony

We wanted to keep the ceremony short and sweet - Mike isn’t the biggest fan of being the centre of attention and I wanted to have a ceremony that was simple, intimate but full of feeling. I walked down the aisle to the Vitamin String Quartet version of Blink 182’s ‘After Midnight’, Mike really got me into this band and we both love this song. Seeing all our loved ones happy faces meant I nearly started crying immediately! We decided on a reading of the song ‘I wanna be yours’ by John Copper Clark - it summed up perfectly all that we are to each other, while being humorous as well as memorable.

The Entertainment

Mike and I thought swing music would be a fun way to go for the evening! I discovered ‘Fox, Wiggle and Sass’ a talented trio of singers that do vintage songs, as well as modern with a vintage twist! They were wonderful, we have received so many compliments about them. They provided a fantastic night of entertainment and we would highly recommend everyone to use them! You won't be disappointed!

The Food

The cake and the cupcakes really were a work of art. I found inspiration on Pinterest of designs I liked and then working with the brilliant cake maker Clare, we brought it all together. Her knowledge, professionalism and friendliness meant she was a dream to work with. I thought cupcake terrariums would tie in well with the teapot terrariums and I'm so glad we went for it, Clare blew us away with her skills! They looked amazing. Then the wedding cake itself was breathtaking. I sketched out, then digitally painted the design, which I passed to Clare and she had it printed onto icing, then wrapped it around her delicious cake. She brought to life my vision with preserved flowers and ferns, copper leaf, cherries, and artichokes. We were utterly blown away, plus it tasted incredible. The rest of the food also didn't disappoint in The Easton. Andrew was a former butcher, so we were confident he knew about good food and we were right. The starters and mains were all super delicious. The pub has a smoker out the back which means the beef is given a wonderful flavour. The chefs there were very accommodating for guests that were gluten free, we were highly impressed by the level of service. Simply put, it was fantastic.

The Transport

We decided on hiring a vintage double decker bus to take guests from the ceremony to the reception. We were so glad we did! It was lovely being in the party atmosphere after the ceremony and also seeing strangers admiring the bus as we made our journey was heart warming. We used the company Victoria Events and they were great. James, the person we booked with, even came to our flat to collect the Prosecco we wanted to use onboard, such service!

The Photography

Our photographer was Claudia Rose Carter and we couldn't be happier with our photographs. As soon as I found Claudia, that was it. Mike and I both admired her fine art style, attention to detail and ability to capture intimate moments. Claudia is so relaxed, friendly and discreet, it meant you never noticed when your photo was being taken! She has provided us with tangible memories that we will always treasure. She is such a pleasure to work with, we urge you to not even think twice, hire her!