Welcome, lovely readers, to the laid-back, sunshine-filled and decidedly Swedish-flavoured wedding of Bridget and Mikael. I’m sure any of you who are planning to break with a few traditions, or work in a few customs from other countries, will find plenty of inspiration here. So without further ado I’m going to launch straight in and let Love My Dress reader Bridget share the story of her day.
“I’m a producer at Getty Images and Mikael runs the Photography Course London photography school in Shoreditch, London. We live in Hackney with our two-year-old daughter Bonnie Rose and got married on 14th June this year. Our biggest influence on the day was the simplicity of the island itself. We did the bulk of the organising ourselves, however, we both have amazingly talented, supportive and creative families who all chipped in, so it really was a collaborative affair.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Chiron Cole
“Mikael and I met at university in Brighton, where we were both doing degrees in photography. We were friends for two years, then got together when Mikael invited me to work with him in Gothenburg at a summer camp for under-privileged kids. Mikael is originally from Gothenburg, Sweden, and we absolutely love the west coast and its breath-taking archipelago of islands.
We chose the island of Knarrholmen, where we’d celebrated my 30th birthday a couple years earlier, for our wedding.”
“We were keen to introduce all our English friends and family to the area’s simple beauty and have a ‘Swinglish’-style affair with our favourite traditions stolen from each of our cultures.
I’m originally from Newcastle so a fair few Geordie elements were introduced to the Swedes over the course of the wedding weekend!”
I love that Bridget bought the first dress she tried on.
“I bought my dress in the Jaegar boutique on Oxford Street, from brand called Paper London. I liked the fact it was a British brand, perhaps because we were getting married in Sweden, however, it definitely has a bit of a 60s, Scandinavian look.”
“In addition to using the beautiful wild flowers on the island we bought a load of gypsophila and blue thistles from a florist in Kungsbacka, Gothenburg. Our plan was to fix the bouquets and button holes the night before, as a fun bridesmaid activity, but we ended up having a impromptu hen night drinking bubbly in the outdoor sauna and swimming in the sea.
Because the flowers had been somewhat forgotten (whoops) our very creative friend Luke came to the rescue and, with a little assistance, knocked them all up on the morning of the wedding.”
“Our photographer was Chiron Cole. I already knew Chiron and her husband Tim through work but was reunited with them when I was a bridesmaid at my friend Alex’s wedding, also featured on this blog. They are such down-to-earth, positive people it would be very difficult not to want to be their friend immediately.
They shot our wedding a million times better than we could have wished and really managed to capture the spirit of the day. I have worked with many very established photographers over the years and could not recommend Chiron Cole more.”
“I had two pairs of Swedish Hasbeens clogs for the wedding. One pair was a classic clog style in white, the other was a fun red pair of sandals for the party.”
“I bought the bridesmaids (and myself!) a thank-you pendant each, made by Elke Kramer. The pendants open like little treasure chests so, like the bunch of sentimental folk we are, we filled them with little stones and shells from the island to take away and keep!”
“I had three flower girls and three bridesmaids. I bought the flower girls’ dresses months from a amazing designer called Aika at Leaping Lizards at Broadway Market, who makes kids’ clothes from beautiful African fabrics.
The bridemaids liaised with each other to buy three gorgeous blue dresses that looked incredible against the backdrop of the sea and cloudless sky. Two were from Cos and the other was bought in Malaysia.”
“Knarrholmen is a car-free island, so me and my bridesmaids were driven to the highest point on the island by the island caretaker in his trailer, bumping along behind him on a quad bike! We threw in a blanket and it made for a really fun and exhilarating ride!”
“In Sweden the couple usually walk down the island together, but to keep a little to the British tradition, my mum and dad walked me down the aisle together. My brother Sam and cousins Myles and Gwen sang Geordie folk song ‘Waters of Tyne’ as I made my way down the aisle, and my friend Alex read ‘I like You’ by Sandol Stodard.
We first heard this at her wedding and loved it so much we bought it for our daughter, so it seemed only fitting that she read it.”
“It’s fair to say I fell in love with Mikael and the west coast of Sweden simultaneously! After two weeks at the camp, Mikael invited me to experience a Swedish crayfish party and we went for a couple of days’ sailing before. He took me to a island called Vinga where we actually snuck our first kiss.
The crayfish party was a total revelation. Mikael and his friends took it so seriously, eating crayfish, wearing daft hats and singing old Swedish folk songs. It was right up my ally!”
“Our rings were made by a talented local jeweller, Julia Cook at Branch on the Park, based in Victoria Park Village. To match my engagement ring, we decided on very simple rose gold bands. Mikael’s is twice the width of mine, mirroring my two rings together.
We had them engraved ‘Vinga, Vrångö, Knarrholmen’ – three Swedish islands of personal significance to us and our 11-year relationship.”
“We had a crayfish party for our dinner so the crayfish and of course schnapps were the main culinary focus! A friend of Mikael’s mum supplied the crayfish, Mikael’s mum Marianne made delicious salmon quiches, each table had a slab of local Gothenburg cheese, and the small restaurant on Knarrholmen made a bowl of Swedish potato salad for each table and set up a hot dog BBQ at midnight!”
“In a traditional Swedish wedding anyone who wants to can give a speech or performance, which meant a lot of the entertainment was provided by our guests! We had a disco later in the evening but just made a massive Spotify playlist of dance-floor favourites.
My favourite part of the wedding was watching everyone enjoying themselves so much. It’s a pretty special occasion, being in the same place at the same time with all the people you love most in the world. I don’t think I could pick out one particular moment as I felt I was on a high all day, and for a while afterwards!”
“We had a crayfish party for our dinner so the crayfish and of course schnapps were the main culinary focus! A friend of Mikael’s mum supplied the crayfish, Mikael’s mum Marianne made delicious salmon quiches, each table had a slab of local Gothenburg cheese, and the small restaurant on Knarrholmen made a bowl of Swedish potato salad for each table and set up a hot dog BBQ at midnight!”
Words of wedded wisdom…
“Make sure you’re actually able to enjoy yourself. It’s so easy to over-think everything, spending months deciding on what kind of cake, flowers, dress to have etc. But on the day, the most important thing is that the right people are there with you and you’re there with the right person. Sounds stupidly simple, but it is!”
I adore this wedding and the many lovely details Bridget has shared here – everything feels so personal and refreshingly fuss-free. Congratulations to the two of you – I hope you’ve had a wonderful first few months as husband and wife. And to any readers planning a London wedding, I reckon you should check out Chiron Cole’s incredible photography right now (you can see more from Chiron on Love My Dress here).
Love Kate xx
Photographer – Chiron Cole
Venue – Knarrholmen, Sweden
Dress – Paper London bought at Jaegar
Shoes – Swedish Hasbeens
Bridesmaids – Cos + pendants Elke Kramer
Flowergirls – Leaping Lizards, Broadway Market
Groom – suit and shirt Tiger of Sweden + shoes Russell & Bromley + vintage gold tie bar eBay
Rings – Branch on the Park, London
Flowers – bought from a florist in Kungsbacka, Gothenburg
Cakes – made by Swedish friends and Mikael’s family
Stationery – designed by the best man
Caterers – food provided by guests and a local restaurant
This is a simplistic and charming wedding. The florals worked out so well, I never would have guessed they were last minute, and I adore those party hats and all the bibs!
We’re loving these simply yet elegant bouquets! So crazy they were done the morning of!
Amazing wedding, beautiful photography. Those rings are very special, would like to know who made them.