A Gold Sequinned Rembo Styling Gown for a London Riverside Wedding

How’s your week travelling lovelies? I hope all is groovy. This gorgeous wedding I’m about to share has got me in total reminiscing mode about my time spent overseas. The first thing I did when Aussie friends – who were travelling around Europe over the summer – popped by London to say hello was head straight for a pub by the Thames.

Over a pint, we would catch up, share stories from our adventures, and soak up the sunshine (I’m an eternal optimist) by the river. So I can see why bride Megan and groom Steve chose the picturesque waterfront location The Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich, London for their nuptials on the 8th of April 2017.

“We didn’t have a particular style in mind other than we didn’t want the day to be too formal yet wanted the overall look to be elegant. The Trafalgar is ornate, with deep red, velvet curtains and chandeliers, so we based the colour scheme around this. The flowers were rustic – mainly green and white with a hint of deep red to complement the ballroom. The venue is beautiful and doesn’t need much decoration so we just relied on flowers and tea lights scattered across the tables.”

Images by Jacqui McSweeney Photography

“We met at work whilst we were working for the same music publisher. I’m a solicitor at a music publishers and Steve is an artist manager. We were friends initially and love blossomed! We got engaged just before Christmas 2016 so we were engaged for just over a year. We wanted to get married in London, near to where we live and didn’t want anywhere too swanky, but equally it had to have something special about it and be big enough to hold a large number of people.

The Trafalgar Tavern was the first place we looked at and we both loved the charm of the ballroom and the amazing view of the Thames.”

Megan donned the breathtaking ‘Noah’ style by designer Rembo Styling from their Catwalk 2017 collection, which she purchased from Angelica Bridal in Islington.

“I wanted my wedding dress to have a fuller skirt because it’s not often you have the opportunity to wear that kind of dress! I also wanted the design to have an interesting twist.”

“I loved the gold sequin detail around the arms and neck, as it gave the top a strong look which was balanced out by the softness of the gold-coloured skirt sat beneath a layer of tulle.”

“Lulu Plews (along with her friend Emma) did a fantastic job getting the bridesmaids, mother of the bride and myself ready. Lulu knew exactly what we wanted – glamorous but nothing too heavy.”

Adding the fresh scent of ‘White Jasmine’ and ‘Mint’ by Jo Malone, Megan finished off her look with minimal, yet special, accessories.

“With all the gold in the dress, I needed to keep the jewellery minimal. The earrings were tiny diamond hoop studs by Monica Vinader. I felt privileged to wear a diamond and sapphire ring that belonged to my late grandmother (which also satisfied the borrowed, old and blue requirements).”

“I didn’t want to choose between silver and gold shoes – and the LK Bennett Mary Janes I wore were both which was perfect. I don’t usually wear heels so these were a challenge, but they were comfortable until about 10pm when they came off!”

Two highly talented members of our curated wedding directory Little Book for Brides were behind Megan’s beautiful veil and hair accessories.

“I wore the ‘Skylar’ veil from Britten. The veil was extremely delicate so it didn’t hide the back of the dress. The ‘Serena’ hair combs were by Tilly Thomas Lux which feature beautiful little stars made of Swarovski crystal.” 

“The bridesmaids wore floral crowns made by Benjamina at Indeco Flowers. The flowers looked striking against their black Mango dresses and transformed the look. I thought they looked magnificent. I didn’t think they would keep the crowns on after the ceremony but they were dancing in them until the early hours!”

“My father accompanied me down the aisle to ‘Bridal Chorus’ by Wagner played on the piano by Lee Matthews – I thought I’m only going to have one opportunity in my life to walk to this song so I wanted to go down the traditional route.”

“My close friend, Jenny, read ‘A Declaration of Need’ by John Hegley – it’s an amusing reading, although she cried with emotion half way through (during the line about a kiwi fruit). During the ceremony, our friends Josephine and Anthony sang a duet at the piano – ‘Only You’ written by Vince Clark. Josephine and Anthony are beautiful singers and musicians and their performance was a real highlight of the day.”

Megan’s wedding ring was a very delicate sapphire band by Ruth Tomlinson. She was keen for something which complemented but also contrasted against her diamond engagement ring. Steve’s ring was a rose gold band from A&S Jewellers.

“Steve looked handsome in a beautiful bespoke blue and crimson check suit from Beggars Run in Shoreditch, paired with a bespoke shirt from Sean O’Flynn in Soho, Dr Martens, and socks from London Sock Co. Our 18-month-old son had a suit made by Beggars Run tailors in Shoreditch– a mini version of Steve’s suit. My mum made our son a bow tie to match Steve’s tie which looked very sweet.”

How incredible are the pops of red in the florals? Utterly stunning.

“I was recommended Benjamina at Indeco Flowers by a friend. The bouquets and bridesmaids flower crowns really pulled together the whole look of the bridal party. Her flowers are exceptional –the ceilings of the venue were high so Benjamina recommended very tall table decorations so they didn’t get lost in the room.” 

For their photographs, the couple chose Jacqui of Jacqui McSweeney Photography, who offered a pre-wedding shoot to calm any nerves before the big day.

“I had met Jacqui at a friend’s wedding which she was shooting when I was bridesmaid. I loved the photos from my friend’s wedding and I knew Jacqui was great to get along with. Jacqui was the first thing I booked after confirming the venue! We had a pre-wedding shoot which put us at ease in front of the camera. Jacqui captured our day perfectly – very natural and stylish.”

The venue looked after the sit-down meal and for the evening, the couple sourced delicious cheese from Une and cured meat from Brindisa, both in Borough Market, as well as their own wine from The Wine Society.

“A brilliant illustrator called Pintachan, based in Spain, designed our table plan and invites. We loved his work and were delighted he was willing to help us with our wedding stationery.”

“We spent ages looking for the perfect favours but in the end went for something light hearted – percy pigs from M&S!”

“The three-tiered chocolate noisette cake was from Konditor & Cook. The cake was superb and the team great to deal with – our son particularly enjoyed the cake tasting experience in the run up to the wedding.”

“There are so many highlights – we hadn’t appreciated beforehand how special a day it is, having all your friends and family in one place, celebrating with you both.”

“We loved the personal touches in the ceremony – at the end of the ceremony our guests sang ‘Somewhere Beyond the Sea’ by Lawrence, Trenet and Lasry and the room was full of love.”

“We had an ABBA tribute band – Abba Revival. They were incredible and got everyone up dancing. And for our first dance, we chose ‘Deeply Dippy’ by Right Said Fred – it’s a favourite of both of ours and a fun song to dance to!”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“We worried in the lead up to the wedding that although we were trying to be low key, we were spending too much time and resources on one day.”

“On the day you realise it really is a once in a lifetime event and all the effort is worthwhile. The little things make a difference on the day.”

 

Are you craving to wear gold sequins after seeing Megan’s amazing dress, like me? Thank you so much for allowing us to hear all the little details of your delightful day lovely Megan and Steve – and taking me back to that majestic view. And a very big thumbs up to Jacqui for sharing their beautiful wedding snaps.

Check out this link for even more Rembo Styling inspo from our Love My Dress archives – and have a productive rest of week!

Love Jo -xo-