Me & My Wedding: An Intimate & Special Celebration In London

The Original Wedding Plan

We were supposed to get married on 19th December 2020, with 120 guests, at a boutique hotel in Devon called Anran. We had booked the venue for a three-day party weekend away with up to 30 guests able to stay on-site with us. We were going to get married in the local church and hold our reception in the venue’s glasshouse with live music and dancing into the early hours. The next day, we had booked out the local pub for our guests to enjoy a Sunday roast followed by clay pigeon shooting. However, once we realised the severity of the pandemic, we made the decision in May of this year to postpone until December 2021. We knew that, with the likelihood of a second wave, it was unlikely our original wedding would have been able to go ahead.

The Micro Wedding

With Greg working on the front line during the pandemic and all the uncertainty surrounding a second wave, we decided the most important thing was to at least get married as soon as possible. After a decade together we didn’t want to wait any longer. The party could wait but being Mr & Mrs couldn’t. We tried to secure a ceremony date for the beginning of August, but unfortunately the government didn’t lift the restrictions until the middle of that month. We then thought we’d managed to secure another date for our ceremony in September, but it turned out the slot was actually unavailable. It was all really frustrating – especially as there were so few dates that worked with Greg’s medical rota. Eventually, after a lot of back and forth on the Kensington & Chelsea registry office website, a space became available on Friday 11th September. From there, everything started to fall into place.

The Ceremony & Reception

Our wedding ceremony was held in the Brydon Room at Chelsea Old Town Hall, followed by private dining at Elystan Street. The food and service were incredible. We had marinated courgettes with burrata and vinaigrette of figs, followed by rump of lamb with aubergine, vine tomatoes, zucchini fritti, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. We then went for some al fresco drinks and cake at Stanley’s in Chelsea. Our chocolate cake was topped with chocolate macarons and edible flowers. It was simple, but delicious.

The Wedding Outfit

I wore jumpsuit 007 from the The OWN Studio. I had actually first visited [designers] Jess and Rosie back in February as I wasn’t all that comfortable with the idea of wearing a wedding dress. As soon as I tried on the jumpsuit I fell in love. Because of all of the Covid rules and restrictions, we didn’t finalise our wedding plans until four weeks before our big day, and I assumed I then wouldn’t be able to get it made in time. But the girls were fantastic and had the jumpsuit made to measure in just seven days. It was perfect for our Chelsea wedding and is my favourite thing I have ever worn. Greg wore a Hugo Boss tux with a velvet jacket. Our original winter wedding was going to be black tie, so we wanted to stick with the same theme.

The Accessories

I decided to incorporate a pop of colour into my outfit with my accessories. I had originally planned to wear a pair of Valentino heels but decided last minute to include my ‘something blue’ into my shoes – to match my nails and bouquet ribbon. I actually found them two days before the wedding in H&M – they were an absolute bargain. My bouquet was from Moyses Stevens in South Kensington. My father actually chose the bouquet arrangement – a selection of pink roses, gypsophila and green foliage. He and Greg wore matching buttonholes. 

The Hair & Make-Up

I was originally planning on having a professional make-up artist and hairdresser with me on the day, but in the end, I went to Duck & Dry on the King's Road for a blow dry and did my own make up after getting some wedding make-up tips at SpaceNK.

The Photographer

We used Darina Stoda. We had booked her for our original wedding in Devon and were so thrilled when she agreed to travel to London for a couple of hours to capture our ceremony. We love the style of her photos and she really captured all of the emotion and fun from the day. We didn’t book a videographer but my sister kindly caught a lot of the day on her GoPro and made a home video for us – it was the perfect memento. 

Looking Back On Our Covid Wedding…

Our wedding day was the best day and we were so happy to share it with our closest family. A couple of days before our wedding we found out I was pregnant and decided to announce the news to our families after the ceremony – it was such special moment and their surprise and delight was captured in some of the photos. We haven’t had time for a honeymoon yet, but are planning to spend a long weekend in the countryside this November.

Advice For Other Couples 

Don’t let the pandemic detract from your big day. You may not be able to have the original venue or guests that you wanted, but you are marrying your soul mate – that’s all that matters.

Photography by Darina Stoda.