A Halfpenny London Jacket for a Joy-Filled and Laidback London Wedding

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If there’s one wedding you can’t possibly have missed in March, it’s this one. Possibly the most colourful and fun wedding we’ve ever shared. That gorgeous, French celebration was actually the second wedding of couple Jess and Rob, who had already formally tied the knot in London by the time they had made their way over to the French countryside. Today, we’re sharing their cool, laid back, London wedding.

Jess, a Film & Experiential Producer married Rob, a Digital Creative Director and Strategist on 9th July last year with a ceremony at Stoke Newington Town Hall, followed by a reception at the Trattoria Sappori restaurant. Part of the reason I warmed to this wedding so much, wasn’t just because of the beautiful Halfpenny London bow jacket, but because for both bride and groom, this was their second wedding, and I love the honesty with which Jess shares her story…

“It was 2009 and I had just discovered my finance of eleven years had cheated on me and was having an affair behind my back. I was devastated. Six months later I got a call from my Step Mother, Julie, saying she had ‘found me a man’! I was to look this gentleman up on Facebook and connect. With much reluctance and a bit of prodding from my Stepmum, I found and ‘friended’ him. Well, he looked nice and what did I have to lose!? We struck up a conversation over Facebook and then on email. It turns out Rob was midway through a Divorce, he had the Nisi but not the Absolute. He’d been single for a year. We finally set up a date.”

Photography by Razia N. Jukes

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“It was a Monday night, but it was the night of the first of the massive snowfalls London had. London ground to a halt under several feet of snow and I was stuck in Wandsworth. I had to postpone. Rob was a bit grumpy about that, so I suggested…since London was so magic, that he should bunk off work the next day and come down to Wandsworth. And he did. Date two, he cooked me risotto at home, and by date six, we were on a weekend away skiing. The rest, as they say, is history.

Looking back, when I listed my requirements for a man on many of the dating sites I tried, I didn’t want anyone over 40 and not previously married – and definitely no kids! (Rob has two boys). It just goes to show, that sometimes, you get what you don’t ask for!”“I wanted some orange flowers to represent my Nederland routes as well as white and green. I really wanted a modern bouquet with succulents as well as roses – which are mine and my Opa’s favourites.”

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“Rob’s oldest son Reuben wore a cool Top Shop Man tartan/plaid suit with slim fit legs and lapels, white shirt and sockless brogues.”

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“Orlando, Rob’s youngest, was keen to wear Plus Fours and a flat cap….so that’s what we got him and teamed it with some snazzy patent black and white brogues.”

“He also walked with Annie’s stick – Annie was Rob’s mother who passed in 2011.”

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Rob wore an off-white bespoke suit by Pokit, which he teamed with a pair of off-white Stan Smiths and a Fruit of the Loom T-Shirt.

“My hair was styled by one of my best friends, Stephanie Chorley-Guimaraes who works at Percy & Reed in Spitalfields. I did my own make-up.”

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“I really wanted to wear trousers for the London Wedding.  I found a pair of off white trousers I liked from River Island.  I showed Kate Halfpenny my trousers when I came in for discussions about the Dress for my French Wedding. I told her I was looking for a top and possibly a jacket and was trying to get her to take me out shopping (as she is a friend).”

“She showed me a piece that had just come in from her new collection and wasn’t even out yet! It was a gorgeous short-sleeved swing coat with an amazing bow for the neck! I fell in love immediately and knew it was right.”

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“I was already going to blow my budget with the French couture Dress and so was hoping to buy ‘high street’ for London Wedding. I went away and dreamt of the coat. My mum then said she would help me with buying this magical piece, and so I did and honestly, I am SO glad I did. You can mix high street with high end and still look stylish. Well, I think so anyway!”

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“I loved the wood panelling and the wonderful high ceilings of Stoke Newington Town Hall – the architecture is beautiful. I loved the quiet luxury of the place. I also loved the acoustics.”

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“Rob also had a groom’s entrance, before me. He came in with his sons Reuben and Orlando, to the sound of Elvis’s ‘Love Me’.

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“My mother Kate and my Stepmum Julie accompanied me into the ceremony – as it was she who introduced Rob and I.”

“My dad was a witness though, along with Rob’s Stepmum, Sally. Our entrance song was Roxy Music’s ‘More Than This.”

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“After we had arrived and before the ceremony, we asked for a song to be played, ‘Nature Boy’, by Nat King Cole.  We all listened to this in place of any ceremony readings. Nature Boy is a very special song for Rob and I – we always wanted to play it at our  wedding.”

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“Our rings are from Gill Wing in Islington – a local designer. Rob has bought many lovely pieces for me from there, the girls are all great. My ring had five diamonds on and is designed by Diana Porter, my engagement ring is also by Diana PorterRob’s ring was chunky and silver with a ‘chip’ out of it. It’s by Christina OswinBoth rings are quite organic in form and importantly ‘not perfect’ – like life. This was to symbolise we had both come from failed relationships.”

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“Our photographer was Razia N. Jukes, who was amazing, such a lovely soul to have around and completely captured the day perfectly! She was great with my family.”

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After the reception, the wedding party moved on to Trattoria Sappori, the couple’s local restaurant in Newington Green.

“They closed the restaurant for us and we had a wonderful wedding breakfast lunch. We had also met for breakfast coffee + croissants at the restaurant, prior to the midday ceremony.”

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“A family tradition is to pass down to the oldest female child, a very old family heirloom brass urn and it must be filled with white Hydrangeas and placed on the wedding table. There is a photo of it in many family wedding photos, as there is in ours now too.”

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“We kept the décor at the Trattoria simple. Genna, the owner is very stylish; she used rosemary sprigs to tie the name tags onto the cutlery. I loved this simplicity, as rosemary signifies both fidelity and remembrance. That was great for our day, as we had many lost and close relatives we wanted to honour.”

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“Music was important for us – for example, we picked favourite songs to play during our ceremony (as guests were arriving etc) that included ‘Witchita Lineman’ by Glenn Cambell and ‘God Only Knows’, by the Beach Boys. For the signing of the registry we had ‘Love’s Theme’, by The Love Unlimited Orchestra and ‘At Last’, by Etta James, followed by ‘Love Is In The Air’, by John Paul Young and then ‘The First, The Last, My Everything’, by Barry White.”

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“I just loved having all my family in one place and all enjoying something magical and positive. As a family we have had much tragedy over the last few years. This was a reason to celebrate and there was SO much love in the room. Everyone’s hearts melted when my 94 year old Oma made a great speech.”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom

“I would also say that official and posed photos, however boring they are on the day, really do keep a record of the day and everyone loves to see themselves and the group. I wish we had taken some more official group photos outside of the registry office. But when everyone is hot and tired and just want to eat, it’s hard!

I am a Producer and so used to filming/shooting things in ‘takes’. I would definitely suggest that any Bride and Groom do two ‘takes’ leaving their Church / Registry office…one without confetti and another one (possibly more) with confetti! That way you are bound to get a great shot and avoid a perfect shot with confetti covering the
couple’s faces!

I would have also asked Rob not to tell my whole family that we slept together on our very drunken first date in the snow!

Finally, I would say, try really hard not to get to wound up by anything going wrong or things not ‘being perfect’. Yes it’s got to be right but it’s important to have fun on the day and let the little things go – don’t sweat the small stuff!”

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Credits & Thanks

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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