Organic Silk Sanyukta Shrestha Elegance For An Intimate and Magical London Wedding

There are two reasons why I was absolutely over the moon to receive today’s wedding in my inbox. Number one, the photographers are the amazing Olliver Photography whose work we’ve seen many times on our pages and secondly, the bride wore the most beautiful gown by designer Sanyukta Shrestha. So without further ado, let’s meet the bride and groom.

Rosie and Rob celebrated their marriage on 31 March 2017 in the London district of Little Venice. With the ceremony and reception both held in The Amadeus they wanted a relaxed and fun day, adding in many super-personal details and creating a magical, atmosphere with hundreds of fairy lights, lit-up trees and candles. The couple met nine years ago in London through a mutual university friend and Rob proposed whilst on a holiday in Japan. They planned their day in just nine months choosing the wonderful blank space of The Amadeus, a former Welsh Presbyterian Chapel, for their nuptials.

“We wanted to get married in London because that is where we met and where we have lived throughout the years that we have been together. We chose The Amadeus in Little Venice because we wanted our wedding to be really relaxed and fun, and we wanted to make it as personal to us as possible. The Amadeus is great because it is a blank canvas and you can really personalise the day – from the lighting, to the food, and the entertainment.”

Photography Olliver Photography

One of our Love My Dress and Little Book for Brides favourite photogrpahers, Olliver Photography, captured the couple’s special day. Husband and wife team Christian and Annie really excel at capturing moody, atmospheric shots and don’t the London streets look wonderful in these photographs? They’ve caught so many intimate moments and details; I seriously cannot stop drinking up these photos.It’s time to talk about Rosie’s incredible, slinky gown, found at Sanyukta Shreshtha’s Behuli Boutique in Fulham. Sanyukta Shrestha is a real game-changer in the wedding industry, designing ethical, eco-friendly gowns from the most luxurious of organic silks and fibres.

Sanyukta ensures that each style follows ecologically green guidelines and is also a staunch advocate for sustainability, Fairtrade, women’s equality and ethical workforce projects in Nepal.

To find out more, you can read our exclusive interview with Sanyukta herself, and see more of her collection on Little Book for Brides. Just so inspiring, I really do urge you to discover her beautiful collections and awe-inspiring approach.

Rosie’s figure is accentuated by the gown’s figure-hugging silk, and I love the delicate touch of the lace t-shirt sleeves and bodice. But when she turns around there is such drama with the daring low back and that heavy, luxe bow.

“I loved my dress and it really suited both me and the London venue. I wanted to wear a dress I felt special in but I also wanted to be able to dance a ceilidh wearing it! It was classic but with a modern twist, and the silk and lace were beautiful. It fitted me perfectly thanks to Gina’s alterations.”

“I loved that Sanyukta helped me to make some small alterations to the off-the-peg dress that made it uniquely mine. I loved wearing my gown and it just suited me and the day perfectly. The whole process was so enjoyable and it was fantastic to benefit from Sanyukta’s great advice.”

An ethereally light veil, also by Sanyukta Shrestha, created this magical, winter-perfect ‘wow’ look and Rosie let her gown and veil shine with minimal accessories – just her engagement ring and a pearl drop necklace, borrowed from one of her bridesmaids.

Rob chose a crisp Ted Baker three-piece suit in dark blue for a super-smart city look. I love how the bride’s gown stands out against the dark suits of the groom and groomsmen and the deep jewel tones of the bridesmaids’ gowns.

The bride travelled to The Amadeus in a cab from London Wedding Taxis, walking in behind her gorgeous little flowergirl and page-boy.

“Our very good friend Martin married us (we got married legally in a ceremony a few days earlier, but this felt like the ‘real thing’). He worked with us on the ceremony, and we wrote all our own vows. It was really personal and so nice to have someone we knew so well guiding us through it.”

The cuple’s friends Kacie – the same friend who introduced Rosie and Rob –  flew over from San Diego for the day and read an extract from ‘The Amber Spyglass’ from Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy.

“The ceremony itself was our favourite part of the day. It was so special to say our vows in front of all our friends and family. You can’t prepare yourself for how exciting and special it is. The ceremony was very beautiful, but there was also lot of laughter (including a dropping rings incident) that set the tone for the rest of the very fun day!”

Gemma Fee, a team member of The Bridal Stylists (whose Little Book for Brides page you can see here) created Rosie’s fresh look and styled her hair into shiny dark curls.

The Amadeus was totally transformed from its blank canvas state into a welcoming, intimate space by florist Daisy Ellen and the venue’s lighting specialists Red Cat Lighting For more examples of Daisy Ellen’s diverse work then we invite you to visit her Little Book for Brides listing which also features details of an exclusive saving for you.

“I can’t recommend Daisy highly enough – she absolutely transformed the venue and was so patient. I wanted the flowers to compliment the winter feel and all the candlelight. There was a general rustic theme to the wedding, and the flowers didn’t feel too overdone – lots of trailing greenery with pops of colour. My favourite aspect was the wonderful trees that Daisy brought in and hung candles from – these framed our ceremony and the reception!”

“We wanted to make The Amadeus feel atmospheric and magical. Red Cat Lighting hung a pea light canopy across the upper hall and amazing light curtains in the lower vaulted hall.”

“A magical moment was going down the stairs into the vaulted lower hall after the ceremony and seeing all our friends and family gathered together having a drink and enjoying themselves. It was what we wanted the day to be all about.”

“Food Events were our caterers for the day but they also arranged so much of the day itself for us – guiding us through the dry hire, planning timings, coordinating suppliers, and Simon even parked his car outside the venue to guarantee us a good photo op in front of the entrance after the ceremony!”

If ever a cake made my mouth water, it’s this three-tier chocolate cake. Baked and decorated by the mum of one of Rosie’s friends it looks immaculate, despite having been transported all the way down to London from Batley, Yorkshire in the back of the ceilidh band’s van.

The entertainment arranged by the newly-weds certainly got their guests up and dancing. After an energetic ceilidh played for by a band made up by Rosie’s family and friends, the fantastic The Headliners arrived for the evening party.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Make a decision and then move on to the next one. With this in mind, don’t spend too much time on Pinterest – it can become obsessive.”

“The details are important, but when the day comes around, just enjoy it. You will realise that the little things you were worried about will just not matter at all.”

“Try to spend a moment in and amongst all the craziness on the day to stop and savour it as it absolutely flies by!”

Thank you so much Rosie and Rob for sharing your day with us all. I just adore your beautiful gown, and am totally inspired by your transformation of the venue into such a magical, warm space. Brides, if you need more inspiration and advice about how to work in a blank canvas, dry hire venue then why not read our special feature here?. Sending so many thanks to the wonderful Olliver Photography too, and I invite you to browse through other weddings captured by them on Love My Dress.

Wishing you a lovely day,

Ele xx