London Wedding Style
My first couple of 2019 were Julianne and Magico on April 13th at the start of the wedding season. They live in San Francisco but met when they both lived here in the UK. They actually tied the knot last year in a small ceremony in Brighton where they lived at the time but it was important to them to have a blessing with all their friends and family present with a big party to celebrate their love and marriage. I didn’t get to meet the couple before the big day due to them living across the pond but Julianne and I chatted a lot on email and Whatsapp so it felt like I actually got to know her pretty well and I could gauge her personality and what she wanted.
Jules was disappointed with her bridal bouquet for the the first wedding so it was super important to get this one spot on for her. She wanted a wild, freeform and romantic bouquet with big open flowers and lots of gorgeous foliage and draping eucalyptus in a palette of pinks, peach and cream. I created a luxury bouquet of hot pink peonies, peach avalanche roses, peach and blush ranunculus, white veronica and snapdragons and sweetly scented wax flower and then bound in a blush organza ribbon. Magico and his groomsmen had a simple rustic buttonhole of cream lisianthus, veronica & foliage wrapped in brown twine.
Her 6 bridesmaids all wore a gorgeous shade of vintage oyster blue but each dress was different to allow their own style and personality to shine through. They all held a similar bouquet to the bride's but in simple white & cream with a silver organza ribbon and made a little smaller so Jule's bouquet would stand out and be the star of the show.
The couple's ceremony venue was a bright and elegant room with a gorgeous grand piano, spotless white walls and gold chairs with tonnes of natural light so we really just had to enhance it slightly. They asked for a rose gold arch which I painted especially for them and decorated it with 2 sprays of their chosen flowers and foliages. I also lightly sprayed some of the foliage with gold accents to bring everything together. The arch was the perfect addition to frame their blessing. I also added some Italian ruscus along the aisle to create a pathway to lead the the bride to her groom.
They also asked us to make a welcome and order of the day board, a table plan and some other signage for the day. All the wood we used was reclaimed and scavenged and we painted it with chalkboard paint we had leftover from a DIY job. My wife is the one who makes all the signs, she is such a talented artist and loves working with lettering and different fonts.
For their wedding breakfast they opted for simple Italian ruscus and silver dollar eucalyptus table runners, which were placed along the centres of their banquet style tables with mercury tealight holders that they hired from Floral Jems. I also made individual bundles of wax flower and foliage to decorate each guest’s place setting. Lastly we decorated the front of the bar in large rose gold helium balloons that spelled out their names.
Julianne messaged me on her way to the airport to thank me and said I had completely exceeded her expectations which is about the best feedback I could have received. I loved doing this wedding and what a great start to the 2019 season. From Julianne’s quirky jumpsuit, her mismatched vintage bridesmaids dresses, their elegant ceremony to their fun and rustic reception, it was a joy to be a part of a wedding with so much personality. It was a challenge to get everything done in time but I had my lovely wife on hand and my fabulous assistant Brian to help on the day, as well as Magico and his band of merry men. I wish Magico and Jules all the happiness and a wonderful future together.
Photo credit to https://www.monicamendezaneiros.com
