A Vintage Inspired Ghost London Gown For a Handmade + Jewel Toned London Wedding

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There are the most marvellous bursts of vibrant colour to be found throughout today’s cool London wedding, and a couple who filled their day with the things they loved best (purple, pink and green included!).

If you’re in need of a dose of colour today, then stay where you are and prepare to be dazzled! Meet George, who works in film, and Michael who works in theatre. They were married on the 7 October 2017 at New Unity Hall, Islington in North London, before moving on to the Chapel Bar for a party into the small hours of the morning.

Images by Amy Rose Photography

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George wore a beautiful 1940s style tea gown in a delicate oyster pink shade from Ghost London. I also love the tulle illusion cutaway at the waistline, too – George looked incredible.

“I bought it from their shop in Brent Cross and went on my own. I think the ladies in the shop were a little taken aback that I went in, bought my wedding dress on my own and left. I’d seen it online and just loved the silhouette and vintage feel. I kept coming back to it and it was the first one I tried on.”

“I didn’t want to spend loads of money on something I was most likely going to only wear once, and so it was a perfect choice. It also felt very ‘me’ and really suited our city wedding and plans for the day. I could eat, drink and dance all night in it! I was also very lucky to have been working at a theatre at the time and the hugely talented Head of Costume lined it for me to add a bit of oomph!”

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At the last minute, George ordered some pretty hair pins and combs for some extra sparkle, from Etsy based Ava Grace Design (now named Loved By One).

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George wore a pair of luscious deep red velvet shoes (those bows!) from Marks & Spencer, and for jewellery, a pair of vintage style crystal earrings from Etsy seller Bird in the Wood together with a crystal necklace from Made for Topshop.

“I wanted a bold colour for shoes. Someone actually put a link to them on the Love My Dress Facebook group and I ordered them right away. They were also a total bargain in the sale!”

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Michael wore a navy blue suit from Zara with a white shirt and bright pink tie from Charles Tyrwhitt.

“Michael’s mum made the pocket squares for the groomsmen and groom, which were lovely.”

Note how the groomsmen are all wearing ties to compliment the jewel colours running through the day, too!

“Right from first contact she was super helpful in suggesting how to get ideas and inspiration, and offered advice and guidance on my ‘look’ up until the big day. I was so pleased, and I just felt the best version of myself. It also all stayed put after LOTS of dancing and a few too many Proseccos! She’s also just really lovely and was great to have around when I was getting ready. I’ve also come away with a few new product recommendations and tips!”

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George made her own bouquet using silk flowers in vibrant jewel colours – rich reds and purples and deep pinks.

“It was actually one of the most fun things I did in the lead up. I bought loads of flowers in our colours and watched a YouTube tutorial for ideas! I was so pleased with the results and it now sits proudly on our bookcase.”

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Finding that the idea of being ‘given away’ was not for them, George walked down the aisle with her dad, and Michael with his mum, and they chose the opening music from Sufjan Stevens’ Death With Dignity.

The couple had already legally married the day before, but truly considered this day to be their wedding day.

“We wanted to make our promises to each other with our friends and our family as our witnesses…We wrote our ceremony and vows ourselves with our friend Lisa who led the ceremony and it was an amazing process to go through.”

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“It made us really consider exactly why we were getting married and to have the chance to express this. It also allowed us to make our ceremony completely personal to us. It was such a special thing to be able to do and the most incredible part of our day.”

George and Michael also exchanged wedding rings with one another, both choosing simple rings from Etsy sellers (sadly no further details supplied).

The couple chose a selection of beautiful readings for the ceremony, the first an extract from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, Ulysseswhich had been used during the play when George and Michael first met, and read by the friend who had also directed them together in that play. The Divine Comedy’s song lyrics Perfect Love Song was the second reading, followed by an extract from Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith and ending with A Blessing For A Wedding by Jane Hirshfield.

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“We liked the idea of having some sort of non-religious blessing and just thought the sentiment of this was really nice. It was read by Michael’s mum.”

“I loved Michael’s reaction to the ‘surprise song’ I arranged at the end of our ceremony. A friend sang and played ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’ on the Ukulele and the congregation had song sheets to join in. This is his favourite song (and also his football team’s song!) and he’d wanted to include it, but I’d said no. Little did he know!”

“For Michael, it was walking back down the aisle together after the ceremony and the moment we had together outside, just before everyone came outside for a glass of fizz.”

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On hand to capture all the bold colour and joy of the day was Amy Rose Photography, and it’s great to be able to share her lovely work with you all for the first time here.

“Amy-Rose was amazing; she fitted right in immediately and really got to the heart of our day. I’d say she really captured the essence of it in a natural and spontaneous way. We have so many fantastic shots of us and our guests having a total blast and she captured so many special ‘moments’ that we’d have missed otherwise.”

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“Many of our guests thought she was one of our friends and we’re still in touch today. I’d recommend her to everyone…Amy-Rose was also really flexible and adapted completely to our needs. She answered all our questions and was really responsive both in the lead up and on the day.”

“I think the photos speak for themselves! When she described our day as a ‘romantic riot’ I think she got it spot on, and took the photos to match.”

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“We live nearby and wanted to get married somewhere that we both knew – we spent lots of time here when we were first ‘hanging out’ sampling the many good pubs in the area. We chose our evening venue as we wanted to throw a proper party and last orders were at 3.30 am! Plus it had a brilliant dance floor with a big glitter ball.”

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Although George and Michael enjoyed planning their wedding day, as the date drew closer, they decided to secure the services of Shaun Johnson Events, to ensure everything went smoothly, and their venue was styled just the way they wanted.

“About a month before our wedding we got in touch with Shaun to see if he might be free to help us with his ‘on the day’ service, and luckily for us, he was available! He’d been recommended to us and was totally amazing in helping us to pull together the whole thing, and making sure it ran without a hitch on the day. Enjoying our day without having to think about any of the logistics was so brilliant and Shaun was amazing at taking everything on and whipping our (very helpful!) groomsmen into shape.”

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New Unity Hall was the perfect blank canvas, and George and Michael knew that because of this, it could handle lots and lots of colour! A designer friend gave them the idea (and made) the light curtain, which served as a fantastic backdrop both for the ceremony and the meal afterwards, and this same friend also helped them to hang the many colourful paper lanterns from The Hanging Lantern Company   dotted around the venue space.

“We also had lots of help from friends and family – particularly for the table decorations. We did a fair bit of DIY such as spraying bottles and painting the table crates which we collected from our local shop. And I have to give credit to my mum (George) for lots of this – she also made all the tablecloths. ! In the end we totally transformed the space and were so pleased!”

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There was also jewel coloured bunting and fluttering ribbons made by George’s mum, and on the dining tables inside, hand painted crates acting as centrepieces for vases of flowers, and for serving the starter course. George arranged the venue flowers herself using flowers from Marks & Spencer.

“We also made our seating plan. Each table had a postcard to represent it and each image was special to us. Either places we had visited on things we’d enjoyed. Some of them were quite cryptic!”

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After drinks and snacks, it was time to sit down to a pie and mash feast from Pieminister, and George and Michael had taken the time before the wedding to taste and select the flavours they wanted to serve.

“The team were fantastic and went above and beyond on the day. They arranged all the crockery and equipment, served our drinks and were able to effortlessly change the room around from ceremony to the meal. They even cleared up all of the furniture in the hall after we’d moved on to our evening party.”

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“We bought all our own drinks and would totally recommend a trip to Calais to buy wine if you’re doing your own. It was so easy and saved us so much by making the trip. We had delicious wines, Prosecco, beers and soft drinks all served by Pieminister staff on the day.”

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“I didn’t have bridesmaids as such, just three brilliant ‘bride’s people’ who all helped with different things on the day, rather than in the traditional sense. They threw me the most amazing hen-do and were all brilliant to have there on the day, especially my amazing friend who was 8 months pregnant at the time and travelled all the way from France!”

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The couple liked the idea of then serving wedding cake for dessert, and were recommended to try Lizzy’s On The Green by a friend.

“Lizzy made us her incredible rose chocolate and cardamom raspberry ripple cake and a selection of delicious brownies for each table. We served these on cake stands as dessert for people to help themselves to and it was very popular! Lizzy is so lovely and uses only natural ingredients for her really special cakes.” 

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After dinner, cake and speeches it was time to head over to the evening party venue, the Chapel Bar in Islington. George and Michael chose Yazoo’s Only You for their first dance together, which was then interrupted halfway through by their live band playing Crazy In Love!

“We booked the best band ever for our evening party – Latimo – an eight piece funk, pop brass band who were incredible and really got the party started! I’d seen them at my work Christmas party and knew they had to play our wedding once I’d heard their funk cover of Spice Girls ‘Wannabe’. We weren’t even thinking of live music until I’d heard them and then couldn’t not have them play.”

“For anyone considering it – live music is the best! I can’t imagine not having them now. They even rehearsed a special surprise song which Michael performed. It was a brilliant moment! This was followed by a DJ late into the night.”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Do something really personal and that really represents the both of you and enjoy it! It’ll be over before you know it. If you have willing friends and family – don’t be afraid to ask for their help! People love being involved and it makes such a difference.”

“When it comes to budget, decide together what your top three things are and then budget accordingly. For us it was plenty of delicious food and booze, a great party to celebrate our wedding and amazing pictures to capture the day.”

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Wow! Thank you so very much George and Michael for sharing your magical technicolour day with us. Many thanks to Amy Rose for these stunning images, too.

Until next time!

With love,

Laura

Credits & Thanks

Laura Callan

Laura Callan View all Laura's articles

Laura is a freelance writer and content creator who loves telling stories. She has keen eye for photography and art, and lives with her husband, cats, and huge amounts of books.

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