The Special Touches To Make Your Wedding Memorable

Zoë Carter-Mackay, Creative Director at Free People UK & EU 

 “We held our wedding in London despite living in New York at the time; we settled on having a civil ceremony at Islington Town Hall followed by a reception at The Savile Club in Mayfair and tried to include as many personal touches from friends and family as possible. My friend Jess is a talented art director, graphic designer and florist (@TheFloristryHK). We asked her to design a little logo for our invites, favour bags, menu and even the little brown paper bags we put our confetti in. My mum also made jewellery for the bridesmaids as thank you gifts and my something borrowed, old and blue was a beautiful vintage handkerchief my grandmother had embroidered. I tucked it inside the top of my dress in case I cried.”
 
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Rabea Schif, Presenter, Model & Fashion & Design Expert   

“Even though it was one of the most magical days of my life, my wedding itself was pretty last minute. I’d been lined up to interview Paul McCartney, but it got cancelled a few days before, so we chose to get married that day instead. After the ceremony we went to a friend’s bar and as it was all so spontaneous, we didn’t even have a song for our first dance. Luckily, I remembered ‘You and Me’ by Penny & The Quarters, which I had often played to my husband… so, we had that, and it was perfect. You need a great wedding song – it’s something you can listen to anywhere and anytime and be transported back to that special day.”
 
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Irene Forte, Founder Of Irene Forte Skincare

“Felix and I got married at Chelsea Town Hall in September and at the reception, Carmine Lauri – the co-leader of the London Symphony Orchestra – performed on the violin. He was accompanied by his daughter Francesca on the piano, but due to Covid restrictions, there was no dancing at our wedding – it was just a lovely dinner. Another special touch were the flowers and tablescapes. The roses were handpicked from my mother's garden in Surrey and her table decorations were stunning. She used lace tablecloths and these beautiful candelabra alongside the roses. With just 30 of our nearest and dearest, it was extremely intimate and felt all the more special for it.”
 
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Michaella Bolder, Skincare Expert

“We got married at Villa Rusconi on Lake Maggiore in Italy. We love music, so invited two incredible DJs from home (Steve Adams and Charlie C) who made the perfect day-and-night duo. Our guests danced from the moment the music started until 3am when we got thrown out of the venue! It was an unforgettable experience, but to see so many people mixing that didn’t know each other before, laughing and smiling… it was the best.”
 
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Fehintola Bolodeoku, Owner & Creative Designer, Monannie Cakes

“We got married in Ibadan, Nigeria even though Segun and I both lived in the UK. As a little girl I always dreamed of spending the morning of my wedding in the home I grew up in, like my sisters did before me, and my dad walking me down the aisle. Typically, Nigerian weddings are very community focused, but we wanted our day to be more family oriented and personal. Our little nephews and nieces (16 in total!) formed our bridal party, and my sister wrote and sang at our service. A close relative wrote and performed a poem at our reception and our nine-year-old nephew gave the vote of thanks. It was wonderful that so many family members played such key roles – our guests loved it.”
 
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Georgie Coleridge Cole, Founder & Editor, SheerLuxe

“Our wedding was pretty traditional, but I’d like to think there were a few things that made it ours. We had our reception in a marquee in my godfather’s garden. It had a couple of apple trees on the lawn, and we built the marquee around them. Lit from underneath, they were quite impactful when you walked in. We had bangers and mash for our main course; a guy who sang Rat Pack big band songs while we ate; a pick ‘n’ mix station and a seriously pimped Range Rover to drive us away from the party.”

Sarah Corbett-Winder, Stylist

“We got married in December at Grittelton church, in the small village in Wiltshire where I grew up. I got ready at my parents’ house, in my old bedroom and we had dinner in my parents’ walled garden. There were three long banquet tables filled with Christmas decorations and candles, with everyone dressed in black tie and diamonds. It was the most magical evening. We invested in an amazing band, The Soul Jets, who got everyone on the dance floor and kept them there all night. Our friends and family still talk about it today. There might be cheaper options than a band when it comes to music, but I couldn't recommend it more highly.”
 
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Michelle Royle, SheerLuxe Wedding Editor

“We had 45 people at our wedding and really wanted it to feel personal. One special touch was the place cards. They were printed on thick card and tucked into the napkins. When each guest pulled them out, there was a personal memory from my husband and me. As soon we sat down everyone was showing each other and swapping anecdotes. I also gave a speech which included a funny poem I wrote for my husband. I wrote it the night before and wasn’t sure how it would land, but thankfully everyone laughed at the right times.”
 
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Miranda Langford 

“Tom and I got married in Greece because we liked the idea of a destination wedding and wanted to celebrate with an intimate group of people. There was a lot of dancing the night of our wedding but when the Greek zorba started playing, everyone got involved. I feel like the zorba is a dance that any generation would recognise. It got all the oldies on the dancefloor, and everyone linked arms and started doing the six-step circular routine. It was such a fun way to get everyone involved.”
 
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Charlotte Collins, Senior Editor, SheerLuxe

“Conscious of not making our wedding feel like a walking Pinterest board, we tried not to go overboard, but about a week before the wedding, I woke up in a cold sweat panicking that the open-air venue would feel a bit empty with the tables dotted around the dancefloor. At the last minute, we erected a scaffolding structure in the middle of the space, decorated with climbing greenery and 80 lanterns strung across it. I didn’t see it until I walked down the aisle and I remember saying to my dad how well it had turned out.”

Laura Stephens, Interior Designer

"My husband Luke is from Bath, which is why we chose to get married there. For our civil ceremony, we picked The Assembly Rooms and held the reception in my parents in-law’s garden in a marquee which we decorated with vintage bird cages filled with flowers and hundreds of strings of butterflies hanging from the ceiling. It looked magical."
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Polly Sayer, Junior Fashion Editor, SheerLuxe

“Where we got married isn’t typically a wedding venue, so the onus was on us to inject something into it to make the space feel more personal. Each of our tables were named after a cocktail, so we gave each one a kit, complete with a shaker, ingredients, garnishes and an apron, to make said cocktail themselves. We deliberately sat guests with a mix of people they did and didn’t know, so it was a fun way to break the ice. A couple of people tried to put us off the idea, but after seeing how much fun everyone had, it was totally worth it.”