Giambattista Valli for a Relaxed Pub Celebration Including Japanese Wedding Traditions

There is something so lovely and cosy about pub wedding celebrations, and I have a super one to share with you today. It features a radiantly happy bride and groom, flowers in summery shades and amazing food. It also incorporates aspects of Japanese wedding customs in a personal way, for a day that feels fun, fresh and relaxed.

Freelance curator Sonoko and linguist and lecturer David were married on the 24 June 2017 in a ceremony at Southwark Register Office in Camberwell, London followed by a reception at the Crooked Well pub, also in Camberwell.

“We chose the registry office because we wanted a small civil ceremony relatively locally (we live in south-east London), and then a simple reception at a pub. The registry office has a nice ceremony room, which backs on to a lovely garden, which was ideal for taking some photos. We liked the Crooked Well because it had exactly the right kind of atmosphere for the wedding that we wanted (not too formal, and the right kind of space).”

Images by Michelle Wood Photographer

Sonoko was a vision in her dreamy confection of a dress – a strapless floral print Giambattista Valli gown in shades of white, fresh green and lemon yellow, with a beautiful guipure lace bodice and frill detail. She bought the dress from Farfetch and alterations were undertaken at London Fashion Workrooms.

“I didn’t want to wear a white dress, and it has a nice summery style to it. I just liked the design and colour! I was also very happy about the alteration work done by London Fashion Workrooms… the tailor… was very professional and altered my dress to fit my body perfectly.”Groom David wore a smart navy blue three-piece suit from Reiss paired with a crisp white shirt, a pastel pink Liberty print tie from Kate Temple, a Tissot Tradition watch and black brogues from Loake. David’s best man wore a coordinating blue suit in a lighter shade, also from Reiss, along with a dark blue Liberty print tie, also from Kate Temple.

“We met in Kyoto in Japan nearly 10 years ago, when David was working for an English language school and I was a student at Kyoto University. We became a couple shortly after, and stayed together but lived in different cities after I moved to Nagoya for work. David left Japan in 2011 to study in London, and the relationship continued at a distance.”

“After a couple of years apart we decided that I would try to move to the UK, and in 2015 I arrived. On my birthday… in 2016, David proposed. My mum was visiting at the time, and we had a small celebration. We were engaged for a little under a year before the wedding.”

To complete her outfit, Sonoko wore pink velvet sandals from Office, simple pearl earrings, a pearl necklace borrowed from her mum and a pretty berry coloured lip. Tadasuke Takahashi styled Sonoko’s hair in an elegant chignon, which was simply adorned with a delicate white floral accessory handmade by the groom’s grandmother.

The bride travelled to Southwark Register Office in a classic white London taxi from Wedding Taxis.

To the sound of Handel’s beautiful Water Music (Suite No.1: Air), Sonoko and her father walked down the aisle to begin the ceremony. David’s best friend John chose to read the lovely, classic piece Union by Robert Fulgum, and the couple exchanged vows and rings from Regency Jewels at Hatton Garden Diamond.

“We chose them because they were helpful, honest, and willing to haggle!”

“The most important thing for us was to have an intimate wedding in London, and we focused on having fun with friends and family…Neither of us is religious, so we wanted a civil ceremony, and we generally wanted to keep it reasonably simple.”

Sonoko and David’s reception was held at the Crooked Well pub, with the room decorated with more lovely flowers from the Fresh Flower Company, pretty lace bunting and candles that the couple had bought from Ikea. The couple also made their own botanical inspired welcome sign, while their illustrator friend Sally Faulker made place cards with a leaf motif.

South East London based florists, The Fresh Flower Company created gorgeous, summer arrangements in shades of white, with added greenery and accents of lemon yellow in the delicate chamomile daisies, perfectly reflecting the colours in Sonoko’s gown, working to the bride’s brief of wild and natural.

A wonderful feast of food was provided by the team at the Crooked Well, and guests were entertained with a Spotify playlist of the couple’s favourite songs.

 

Capturing Sonoko and David’s fun and relaxed day was photographer Michelle Wood, and what a wonderful job she did of recording all of the many little details, from moments shared by the bride and groom to the happiness of their guests.

“Michelle has done the photography for a number of weddings in our friendship group, so we knew that she would be extremely reliable and take beautiful pictures. We would definitely recommend her: the photos came out beautifully. We loved every single picture she took. Michelle has a knack for capturing happy moments, and is incredibly helpful and professional.”

Japanese favours came in two parts: packs of incense from Lisn, and a masu for each guest – a small wooden cup for drinking sake, which the couple purchased from brewery Fujii Honke. The reason for this favour became clear, as Sonoko explains.

“We actually didn’t have a cake: we had a barrel of sake instead! There is a Japanese tradition…whereby the bride and groom smash open a barrel of sake with a wooden mallet (called ‘kagami-biraki,’ literally ‘opening the mirror’). We then served the sake to our guests, in their masu (wooden cups), which they kept as a wedding favour.”

“We included the sake barrel opening because we also wanted to have some kind of Japanese tradition at the wedding, and it seemed like an ideal thing to do…”

This part of the day was also a real highlight for Sonoko and David.

“Smashing open the barrel of sake was great fun, and it meant that everyone who was there could get involved (especially my dad)…The speeches at dinner come in at a close second. They were lovely, and both emotional and hilarious.” 

“Our first dance was to ‘Nachuraru ni koi shite’ (Love Me Naturally), a song by the Japanese pop group Perfume. We both love Perfume’s music and listened to it a lot together in Japan, and it just seemed right.”

“I don’t think we would have done anything differently, but I wish we had more time to speak to everyone! There’s just not enough time to go around and chat to everyone in detail, but then again that’s just the nature of a wedding!”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Don’t feel like you are completely constrained by convention. Even if you want to have a traditional wedding, there are ways to make it personal, and to add your own touch. I worried a little about not having bridesmaids, and about us not having a wedding cake, but then on the day everyone just cares about you being happy and enjoying yourself.”

Many congratulations, Sonoko and David! Thank you for your words and for sharing your day here. I adore the relaxed and informal approach you took, and all of the details that made the day so personal. Smashing that barrel of sake also looked like brilliant fun! Huge thanks also to photographer Michelle Wood, for capturing the intimacy and joy of this lovely summer pub wedding. You can view more super pub weddings on Love My Dress here and more Japanese inspired weddings here.

With love,

Laura