Eden by Jenny Packham For An Old Hollywood Glamour Inspired Wedding

Well good morning! What an incredibly sunshiny and super-scorching weekend it was. And one hell of an amazing sunset yesterday evening too. 

The wedding I'd like to share with you this morning was another beautiful sun-kissed affair that took place on 25th April this year, when Victoria and Diego tied the knot at Morden Park House Registry Office in Merton, London, followed by a reception at Cannizaro House on the Wimbledon Common.  Soon as I saw these images, I had to scramble for my email to ask photographer Emilie White if I could share them with you.  I adore the outdoor shots, not just of the couple together, but of Victoria in her exquisite Jenny Packham dress too – all those beads and embellishment, I bet it was sparkling and shining in that gorgeous natural light all day long.   

Victoria's dress was the 'Eden' design in platinum, which she purchased from Pantiles Bride in Tunbridge Wells…

"I was looking for an unusual dress as I couldn’t picture myself in a traditional bridal dress. I loved the embellishments of the Eden Dress and also the metallic tones struck me as being just a little bit different. It was cut beautifully and had a relaxed elegance to it which complemented the small intimate wedding we were planning.  Prior to this I had contemplated having my dress made bespoke but I now believe I couldn’t have imagined a dress more perfect."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Emilie White, supported by second shooter Caroline Vidal

"I loved the idea of introducing hints of 'old Hollywood', but this was mainly through my dress and hair. Diego and I wanted to keep things quite simple and understated yet interwoven with elegant touches.  Once I had my dress, I didn’t want to over plan everything else. If I liked something I chose it and because we didn’t over complicate things, all the elements of the day just fit together.

I am still not sure if it was down to simplicity or just good luck! Either way, the styling of the day was exactly as we had hoped."

"The Fresh Flower Company in East Dulwich provided the bouquets and button holes. I spotted the most stunning grey-lilac roses in their shop which were called Amnesia roses. They were so unusual and were quite vintage appearance so I knew they would tie in well with my dress. Following a consultation with the florist we decided on a combination of Amnesia with small and large cream roses and dusty green eucalyptus leaves to add a rustic feel to the bouquet. The addition of an antique gold ribbon around the stems tied into the gold on my dress and shoes.  I decided to make my bouquet the table centre piece afterwards as it was too pretty to not show off!"

"Diego and I wanted to do all the planning ourselves as we had a clear vision in our heads of how we wanted the day to be.   We met through a mutual friend in Shoreditch in May 2005 and have been inseparable since. It was sheer chance to have met in such a hectic city such as London. We learned along the way that we both have such similar characters, values and sense of humour despite our different backgrounds.

After seven years together we got engaged. Diego drove us out to Camber Sands on a very cold but sunny January day. We walked along the beach and I was then forced to clamber up sand dunes – Diego told me “it will be worth it”. I assumed he meant the view so was shocked when he got down on one knee to ask me to marry him. After asking if he was joking I of course said yes. Fifteen months later, we had our amazing wedding."

"Our cake was the most wonderful surprise by my mother and sister. My mum made a lovely fruit and rum filled cake topped with marzipan and icing. My sister than decorated the cake with individual blossoms made from icing – Diego and I have always loved blossom so the decorations were very apt.

As a final touch and the best bit, the cake was topped with a 100 year old porcelain shoe that had been on my great grandmother’s wedding cake. The final effect had a very Cinderella feel to it. As if she was running through blossom when she dropped her shoe!"

"We provided each guest with a decoupaged wooden heart. Each heart had either pink roses on (for the women) or white (for the men) to match in with the bouquets and floral arrangements on the table. On each heart was written the guest’s name as well as the date. These looked so pretty on the table and also doubled as place settings. These were made by a supplier local to my sister’s lovely shop in north Wales -  Lotti and Wren."

"My amazing father Richard walked me down the aisle, to the sound of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto in D Minor.  Walking in and seeing Diego's reaction to my dress was so overwhelming!"

"Keeping with the gold theme I chose the Fleur mini comb in gold and crystal by Olivier Laudus to wear in my hair. I wanted something that would tie in with my dress whilst still being subtle.

As my dress and hair comb were quite embellished I decided to keep my other jewellery simple. I just wore my little Tiffany diamond necklace – Diego’s first jewellery gift to me."

"David Jones from The Classic and Vintage Car Company was our charming chauffeur for the day and kindly transported us in his beautiful 1962 Bentley S2."

"I did my make-up myself, as I trained as a make-up artist and knew I would be more relaxed if I was in control. As for my hair, my sister Jennifer patiently curled my hair on the morning of the wedding to help me create the wavy hairstyle I wanted."

"Our photographer was the wonderfully talented Emilie White. Emilie was absolutely fabulous! From the first conversation we had I knew she was the right photographer for us. She seemed to understand exactly what we wanted.

We knew we didn’t want posed shots of our wedding and instead wanted our photos to be artistically shot and to tell a story of our day. Emilie captured all the most special moments, emotions and more. Everyone was astounded by the photography and the way Emilie captured even the smallest details."

"We chose to have our ceremony at Morden Park Registry Office for its idyllic and green surroundings. Lest not forget its beautiful grounds also boasts a magnificent Grade II listed building. We wanted somewhere away from the city traffic that felt peaceful and this venue was perfect for that."

"Angela, my mother-in law read Love by Khalil Gibran which was then repeated by Merche, my sister in law in Spanish. My father stood up to welcome all the family together in four languages representing the nationalities present – English, Welsh, Irish and Spanish. He received a big round of applause for that and impressed us all!"

"Our wedding rings were purchased from a local jeweller – A.L Hamilton in Forest Hill. They are a family run jewellers who are amicable and provided the very rings we wanted. Mine was a slim silver band encrusted with tiny diamonds and Diego’s a matt platinum band."

"Again, Lotti and Wren provided all the pretty and unique decorations for the reception. Using Amnesia roses and eucalyptus – to tie in with the bridal bouquet – my sister placed small posies into Bonne Maman jam jars and lined them up the centre of the table. We spent months before the wedding all collecting jam jars and eating lots of strawberry jam along the way! In each jar we added a decoupaged wooden heart on a stick. These were similar to the wedding favours however on each heart was written Love in one of six languages to represent the nationalities of our family – English, Irish, Welsh, Spanish, Dutch and Indonesian. This was a really special addition – a surprise gift from my sister – and really brought together our different backgrounds.

On the table and around the cake we scattered little green wooden hearts from Lotti and Wren. A large Neom candle in Happiness burning in the room gave a welcoming scent as we walked in and will forever evoke memories of the day." 

"Our reception took place at the wonderful Cannizaro House on the Wimbledon Common. Again this venue offered a more rural setting for photographs and provided the relaxing ambience that we wanted for our guests. Diego and I had eaten there in the past and loved the cuisine."

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Try not to put too much pressure on every detail being perfect. It can be nice to just let the day take care of itself to an extent. Try to step back and take everything in as the wedding itself flies by in a blur! Oh and get a great photographer who will capture the little things that you may miss as you will be so caught up in excitement and nerves. Wonderful photos will help you to re-live it all afterwards.

And of course, Love My Dress is a great blog that is full of inspiration"

A simply beautiful and elegant way to start the week. Huge congratulations to you both Victoria and Diego – thank you so much for sharing your day with our readers.

Thank you too to the brilliantly talented photographer Emilie White for so kindly allowing her work to be featured.

Hoping this wedding gives you a great kick-start to the week ahead everyone – I'd love to hear back from any other Jenny Packham brides out there – which Jenny dress will you be wearing on your wedding day?

With much love,

Annabel

Photographer – Emilie White, supported by second shooter Caroline Vidal
Venue – Morden Park House Registry Office + Cannizaro House
Wedding Dress – Eden (in platinum) by Jenny Packham via  Pantiles Bride in Tunbridge Wells
Veil/Headpiece – Fleur comb by Olivier Laudus
Brides' shoes – Dune
Grooms Suit – Henry Herbert of Saville Row + shirt and tie by Reiss+ shoes by Oliver Sweeney + vintage Admiral HF watch by Longines
Bridesmaid – pale green dress by Nancy Mac at Lotti and Wren + Marco Tozzi shoes
Flowers – The Fresh Flower Company
Transport – The Classic and Vintage Car Company
Favours – Lotti and Wren
Additional Styling – Lotti and Wren