Ritva Westenius Elegance for a London City Summer Rooftop Wedding

wpid311956 ritva westenius london rooftop wedding 121

When reading about all the gorgeous weddings on Love My Dress, one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the sheer range of styles, ideas and dreams that are celebrated on a daily basis. While some are elegantly simple, others are flamboyantly fabulous; some are in a boho woodland croft while others are a super glam city affair. However, no matter how different they are, they are all special. There isn’t one wedding where I don’t fall in love with some magical element, be it the dress or the flowers or the location…

Today’s wedding is no different. Claire and Jake chose to have a London summer wedding on 12 July 2014. I wholeheartedly approve of their choice of venues of Islington Town Hall followed by Smiths of Smithfield. This restaurant is perfectly situated in the heart of the famous Smithfield Market that happily provided some amazing backdrops for Miss Gen’s beautiful photography.

“We wanted the day to be a real reflection of us – I am from London so we wanted a central location, double decker bus ride and views of the city.”

Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Miss Gen Photography

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“We met in New Zealand at a music festival called The Big Day Out in 2006. We became engaged in April 2008 and had been engaged for 6 years before our wedding. Jake booked the Islington Town Hall which made us get organised and plan the day.

We choose Smiths because we had been looking for a rooftop or outdoor venue that also had a ‘plan B’ just in case the weather was not so good. Smiths was a great size, had a wrap around terrace and stunning views of the London skyline.”

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

Who doesn’t love an oversized balloon? Personally I am a big fan! Claire and Jake sourced theirs from Bubblegum Balloons and used one very effectively as a prop in their couple portraits.

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

Claire chose her effortlessly elegant dress from a collection by London bridal designer Ritva Westenius and accessorised with shoes from Reiss and a British made crystal headpiece by Richard Designs.

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

Genevieve of Miss Gen Photography was the perfect compliment to our wedding day – she fitted in with us and our day so well. Gen was unobtrusive, polite, laid back, organised and took the most beautiful photos of us, our family and our friends.

Her photos say it all. Calm, poised, well composed, in the moment, documentary style plus a few portraits that made us look better than we really do. Her attention to detail is astonishing. If you are after an absolutely class photographer we couldn’t recommend Genevieve more highly.”

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dressritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

Both the bridesmaid and the cute little flower girls wore dresses by Monsoon.

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

The bride had her hair simply styled by the team at Percy & Reed East and her make up was expertly applied by Silvija.

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

Groom, Jake, looked mighty dapper in his blue suit, tie and pocket square from Reiss and shiny, brown Grenson shoes.

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

Claire walked down the aisle with her dad to ‘Loving You’ by Minnie Ripperton, accompanied by her bridesmaid sister and flower girls.

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

This amazing naked wedding cake was made by the bride’s sister, Kate and adorned with strawberries, kiwi fruit and matching blooms.

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

“Since we met at a concert and both love music it was very important on the day. We selected a playlist for the evening ourselves – Jake was a DJ for many years. We wanted our friends and family to feel involved in the wedding so we had them choose our first dance from a selection of five possibilities. They chose Franki Valli & the Four Seasons, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ by voting with pennies in jars.”

ritva westenius, london rooftop wedding, smiths hotel weddings, slinky wedding dress

Thanks to Claire and Jake for letting us have a peek at your stylish day and, to Genevieve of Miss Gen Photography, for sharing your stunning work with us.

I simply don’t think that there has ever been a better time to have the perfect wedding of your dreams; whether you fancy a small and homely or a très chic French chateau do. So, if you could simply follow your heart (or do it all over again) what would you do?

Much love,

Katie xx

 

Photographer – Miss Gen Photography
Ceremony – Islington Town Hall
Venue – Smiths of Smithfield
Bride’s Dress – Ritva Westenius
Shoes – Reiss
Headpiece – Richard Designs
Bridesmaid & flower girls – Monsoon
Groom – Reiss
Groom’s shoes – Grenson
Watch – TSOVET
Hair – Percy & Reed East
Make-up – Silvija
Bus – The London Bus Company
Balloons – Bubblegum Balloons

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