Me & My Wedding: A Fun Day In London
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The Proposal
We’d been together for six years before we got engaged. We met at Reiss before I came to work for Luxe & Co. While we’d discussed marriage before, it just never felt like ‘this was the year’. There was an antiques store near where I used to work, and one day I went for a little browse. When I found a ring I liked, I wasn’t going to propose immediately. There were still some formalities to go through – like asking Harriet’s dad. It would have been weird to just ring him up, so I had to wait until we were in person.
A couple of months down the line, I’d asked her family, so I think she kind of guessed it might be on the cards. When we went to Paris in June 2022, I think she thought I might do it there – but I didn’t. I waited until we went to Corfu that September. I did it on the third day – she asked to go and see the sunrise in the morning, and I took my camera with me, pretending to take lots of pictures. I asked her to get a lens out for me – and I’d put the ring in the camera bag. When she pulled it out, she asked me what it was and… well, I was so unprepared. I had no idea what to say. We bumbled around a bit but essentially, I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.
EMMYLOU KELLY
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Ring
The ring is vintage, and the setting was based on a Tiffany setting from the 1970s. It’s a white diamond on a gold band and they’ve just put new stones in it over time. Very classic, very timeless. I made loads of the girls from work come with me to check it out before I bought it to make sure Harriet would love it.
The Venue
We knew the venue might take the longest time to find and book. Initially, we drove up to Gloucester and Cirencester – places like that – but none of the venues up there, amazing as they were, really felt like us or the style we wanted. We even went as far as Florence in Italy to look for venues, but most of them wanted us to book a five-day minimum stay, which suddenly made London look like good value. When we went to 100 Barrington in Brixton, it just felt right – and easy. The front of it is very unassuming – it’s kind of blacked out and just looks like the front of a pub. But the minute you go in, it’s like you’re in a different world.
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Flowers & Décor
Our florists were Into The Wild and they were great. Once they saw the space, they were able to tell us what was best where. There isn’t really an obvious ceremony space, so they suggested building an archway and it turned out brilliantly. It was a real feature when you walked through the doors. 100 Barrington is quite an industrial venue, so we needed to soften it a bit. We hired drapes, which made it feel a little bit more romantic. We also turned the lights way down and only had fairy lights, so it felt a lot prettier and warmer.
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Dress
It was Harriet’s mum who found the dress designer in the end. She’d been to a couple of wedding dress shops, but nothing really felt like ‘the one’. Her mum then discovered Eva Lendel, which was stocked in a bridal shop in Crystal Palace called Love Bridal. Harriet always said she wanted something with a timeless feel and a little bit of drama. The dress had an overskirt with a big train she could take off in the evening.
Bridal Hair & Make-Up
Harriet had two friends – Emma Broom and Tori Hutchinson – who kindly offered to do her hair and make-up on the day. She wanted something very natural, but of course with a bit of glow. Originally, she was going to have a low bun with some soft bits out around her face, but in the end went for a more of a slicked-back low bun. She looked perfect.
EMMYLOU KELLY
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Groom’s Suit
My suit came from P. Johnson, an Aussie brand that does quite preppy tailoring. I knew a few friends who had gone to them for their wedding tuxes. I found it quite hard to find a tuxedo that didn't have either super modern details – like thin lapels or skinny trousers I couldn't breathe in. But these guys just hit the nail on the head. And they were great in terms of the fitting. I went in there, spoke to the guys – they don't have a store here, but they have kind of a showroom on Percy Street, just off Rathbone Square. They’ll show you the fabrics then you go in for a fitting. From there, they’ll order everything in and that's when the real work starts. It was such a good experience – they kept tweaking it until it was just right, and they also threw in the bow tie for free. My biggest tip here is to spend time finding shoes that are comfortable – in the end, I had to buy a pair and spend two weeks breaking them in.
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Bridal Party
I had seven people in the groom’s party and Harriet had roughly the same, including a maid and man of honour. I had two best men, both of whom kept me distracted on the morning of the wedding because they were just being so ridiculous – we all laughed a lot, which was good. Everyone in the groom’s party’s suits came from Reiss. Harriet let the bridesmaids choose their own dresses – the brief was something neutral or champagne in tone. She just wanted them all to feel comfortable on the day – and they looked great.
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Ceremony
I wasn’t nervous about the ceremony until I got down there. I was very aware of getting too emotional and not being able to control it, so I tried to find points and people to focus on. Harriet giggled the whole way through – I think we both found it quite hard having all eyes on us. We exchanged semi-traditional vows, and the registrar was really funny. She kept saying, “You've got to keep looking at Harriet because you're not marrying me.” And then from that point on, obviously all I could do was look at her.
EMMYLOU KELLY
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Food & Drink
Our caterers – Cater London – were great. We’d looked at a few and all the quotes were coming back around the £20,000 mark which just felt far too high, but then these guys came in at around half that figure. It made me a bit nervous at first, but once we did the tasting, I was more than convinced. The steak was next level. We also had beef cheek croquettes as one of the canapés, and sea bass carpaccio and mini tortillas, which were amazing. There were meatballs dipped in marinara sauce – they went down the best – and the tiramisu for dessert was another big hit. We had everyone seated at two long tables with sharing platters, which made it feel quite family style. I have to shout out Emily at Cater. She honestly did so much for us, she almost became a kind of wedding planner. Honestly, they were amazing, going above and beyond just the food. We went to Majestic for most of our alcohol – we wanted an open bar – but we ended up sending a load of it back. I couldn't believe how much people didn't drink.
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Photographer & Videographer
Emmylou Kelly just had a vibe we liked. We didn’t want to do the whole going into the fields at sunset thing. It didn't really feel like us. Instead, we wanted something that was more documentary in style, and she really delivered on that. She was one of the first people we spoke to after we got engaged, so I was thrilled she was able to do it. We also hired a videographer we work with a lot at Luxe & Co, Jonathan Weatherley, who also went above and beyond.
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Entertainment
One of my friends was meant to be DJing and pulled out last minute. But Caroline Hesford, the DJ at the SheerLuxe Christmas party was great, so I messaged her. Luckily, she was available. We did loads of work on the playlist, but can I remember hearing one of those songs? Not a chance. I mean, she obviously played them, but I wasn’t on the dancefloor as much as I thought I’d be.
EMMYLOU KELLY
EMMYLOU KELLY
The Day Before & After
The day before the wedding we went for a drink in the pub near our home in Herne Hill called The Half Moon. The day after we went to another pub, but it was kind of too much. I think everyone had just had enough at that point. The number of people who were sat there nursing their drinks… Jason Statham was there too, which was cool. Everyone kept trying to take sneaky pics of him. That said, I think both Harriet and I were glad we did things the day before and after – it made the wedding feel longer and you get to spend more time with the people you love.
Advice For Other Couples
One of the nicest days we had was choosing our wedding bands. We went to Hatton Gardens, into one of the antique shops there, and everything was very reasonably priced. Each of our rings cost around £200. Harriet has also said she wishes she had relaxed into it more on the big day – it’s easy to feel so worried about speaking to everyone that you kind of miss being in the moment.
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Photography by Emmy Lou Kelly.
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