Claudia the Bride: Adrian and I wanted a relaxed wedding, we didn’t want too many formalities but more of a party!
We wanted something a little unique and relaxed so we began searching for venues which had an industrial vibe (we just love that look!) and set aside a day to look around some venues, a disused rail arch, an art gallery, an industrial look restaurant and Trinity Buoy Wharf! From the second we turned the corner, we were totally blown away with the amazing view of the o2 and Canary Wharf. Literally from that moment on we knew that we had to get married there!
The venue came as a dry hire space, which meant we could decorate it, bring in our own catering company and more importantly… no corkage on alcohol! So a trip across to France ensured we had LOADS of booze and no one went thirsty!
Setting up site visits and communication between us and the venue was brilliant. On the day of the wedding Sarah, the event manager, was just awesome. She had everything 110% under control and I even said how it ran smoother than I could have possibly ever imagined!
As soon as the venue had been chosen I knew what to look for in terms of a dress. I am not the girliest of girls so I didn’t want anything to big and bridal. I hadn’t really looked at any bridal magazines at this stage and didn’t really know what style I was after, but after my first three appointments I began to get a feel of what I liked and what I didn’t like. I then hit the search engines and found Luella’s Bridal Boutique in Wimbledon and instantly fell in love with a dress on the website. I called to book an appointment and as if it were meant to be, they had just had a cancellation and were able to fit me in the following day. The appointment was everything I had imagined a bridal appointment to be like; Champagne on arrival, macaroons, personal, private and relaxed. As soon as I put my Nuria dress on, I loved it. I loved the chain details, the way the fabric felt, the train at the back… when Lauren asked how I would feel if I could never try Nuria on again I felt devastated… and then I knew it was ‘the one!’ All my appointments were faultless and I felt special each and every time I visited. My veil and headpiece were also from Luella’s bridal and my shoes were Valentino. My henettes bought me rose gold Monica Vinader ring and earrings to wear on the day too. Leila, my bridesmaid, wore a Needle and Thread dress in dusky pink.
All our hair was done by my trusty hairdresser Maddie and make up by Laura, a good friend of both mine and Adrian’s. I was so pleased with both my hair and make-up. They are both so meticulous so I knew I could put my total trust in them to deliver! Laura was the first to arrive on the day at the hotel with Maddie shortly after, it was like a fun girly pamper party! They were relaxed, professional and made sure that everything was perfect before I left the hotel!
Adrian and I decided that as I was to have a beautiful ‘made to order’ gown… why shouldn’t he! We found Jack Bunneys on none other than ‘Rock My Wedding’. We made an appointment and the following week, were having a fitting. As Adrian often has to work in a suit, he wanted something different that made him feel that he wasn’t in just an ordinary work suit. He opted for a Superfine PureWool Flannel suit and waistcoat in a Prince of Wales Check. He accessorised with a stag pin and silver pocket watch all from Jack Bunneys. His shoes were also from Jack Bunneys and had been bespoke made for the suit.
Adrian didn’t have a best man but we nominated his younger brother and my nephew as his groomsmen. They wore suits from Next and Marks and Spencer and their ties were from TM Lewin.
We changed our minds so many times when it came to the colour scheme but eventually we settled on metallics and having the colour copper run through the venue. I love lights…thankfully the venue has preferred suppliers and we used them to hire in the festoon lighting and pea light curtains along with the huge olive trees with pea lights. We opted for long tables dressed in white linen. The centre pieces were giant glass bottles with pealights inside which I had bought from The Range and they sat on mirrored, copper plates which I found at a florist wholesalers. Tealights in sprayed jam jars were scattered along the table along with brown beer bottles, used as vases, with white roses inside. Our favours were shots of Jägermeister and Sambucca and these too were placed at each table setting.
The flowers were provided by Petals in Berkhamsted. David was great and he gave us some amazing advice. He was so helpful and even stayed to help set up and ensure that the venue was set up perfectly and to our expectations. The bouquets were simple but beautiful, with a mixture of white roses and green foliage, I loved them. He also created a stunning display for our sweetheart table using a copper crown (which had featured on the invites) to weave the flowers in and out of.
The ceremony was performed by Lin Donnelly, a Humanist. We opted for a humanist wedding as we wanted to personalise each and every moment of our ceremony. We had the opportunity to not only write our own vows and promises but also surprise one another on the day with a ‘Why we love one another’ which we were both asked to write and send to Lin in secret. We were so excited for this part of our ceremony and couldn’t wait to hear what each other had written! Lin was so kind and welcoming. We met her at her house to discuss our wedding and she made us feel like part of her family. It was so important to the both of us that we had a connection with the person delivering our ceremony and Lin was fantastic.
I walked down the aisle to ‘Grow old with me’ by Tom Odell which was performed by Rob our soloist who later sung at the drinks reception. My nephew Luca read my favourite poem of all time ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’, he did a sterling job considering it got a few giggles in parts!
Handmade Food provided the amazing canapes and wedding breakfast. Again we didn’t want a formal dinner so we opted for sharing platters. The food was out of this world… not that we managed to eat very much with all the excitement. They were amazing from start to finish, very professional and always on hand to assist! We had lots of comments about the food, especially the Burrata starter and their great service!
In the evening we chose to have Baz and Fred serve freshly made pizzas outside. This was a nice touch as London looks simply stunning at night and it made our guests go outside to appreciate the venue and the views.
We didn’t have a wedding cake but my mum brought in some Italian pastries. These were served after dinner, on small platters on each table and with the cheese table that Handmade Food had provided.
Solo artist Rob from Tailored Entertainment sung through the ceremony and reception drinks. As my parents are Italian, we had an Italian keyboardist and singer sing through the dinner… my uncle even got up to sing a song or two!
In the evening, we hired a DJ that we had met whilst on a night out in London- Chris Hughes… he also joined us at our after party at the Sky Bar o2 Intercontinental!
We also hired in DJ Luck and MC Neat to perform a one hour DJ set. Adrian and I both grew up listening to garage music and so we thought it would be fun to relive our youth! They were great and made the evening turn into a real party!
We looked at so many photographers but we just fell in love with Story and Colour. Again we didn’t want too many formal shots and we wanted our photographer to capture moments as and when they were happening. Dan was great. If I am honest I didn’t even notice he was there half of the time. We were so happy with the photos when we received them, he has captured some really special moments and we were both blown away with them.
Great landmark wedding shots with the O2 – ahh the perks of getting married in the capital!
Stunning photos, nailed moments. A truly lovely wedding.