I simply adore weddings. I love the diverse range of celebrations we get to share with you each year, from intimate elopements to grandiose, luxurious affairs. And I adore how weddings consistently remind me of the importance of gathering, joyfully, to celebrate love.
Whilst Love My Dress predominantly focuses on weddings, we’re not oblivious to the complex unrest across the global landscape at present. Honestly, in recent weeks, it’s felt difficult and overwhelming sharing such joy in the face of it all. And yet paradoxically, it also feels more vital than ever to continue sharing joy and love-filled wedding celebrations. I’m reminded of that gorgeous Burt Bacharach song, ‘What the world needs now is love, sweet love, it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of….’
I’m delighted today to share with you Saoirse and Mark’s beautiful and laid back London wedding. This lovely day was captured by photographer Luis Calow and featuring the beautiful makeup artistry of Laura Anne, a highly recommended Love My Dress supplier. The couple’s ceremony was held at Hackney Town Hall, followed by celebrations at Lardo and the Prince George Pub. Choosing to avoid a more traditional look, Saoirse opted for a chic, silk, Stella McCartney jumpsuit. I can’t imagine anything suiting her better.
The Jumpsuit
Stella McCartney
I wore a Stella McCartney silk jumpsuit. I love jumpsuits and have many in my wardrobe so I felt like myself.
My shoes were Russel & Bromley. I just had a string of pearls in my hair which I bought from a haberdashery. I had a pair of my grandmother’s sapphire earrings turned into a ring, which I worse as my something blue on the day.
My lovely friends bought me some Maison Margiela perfume as a gift.
My makeup artist was Laura Anne – she was brilliant. Also a total joy to have around in the morning.
My mum who never wears makeup was beyond delighted with her makeup too – think it made her day.
Mark wore a lovely linen suit from Universal Works. His suit was very relaxed and he felt himself wearing it and has worn it a few times since our wedding.
The Ceremony
My dad and my caughter walked me down the aisle ahead of our ceremony that was lead by the registrars from Hackney Town Hall. Both our kids were born in Hackney and registered at Hackney Town Hall. We spent lots of our early dating times in Hackney.
I walked down the aisle to I Really Need Love by the Bees. This was a song that we listened to a lot when we first met and it just fitted perfectly.
My little boy was our Page Boy and he worn a linen suit with shoes from Next
My daughter was my flower girl and she wore a dress that I had worn as a child that my mum had picked up in a vintage shop
We had two readings – one was the lyrics from Too Late Now by Jane Powell, this was read by my maid of honour Nina. We also had Sweet Thing by Van Morrison which was read by Mark’s best friend, Emmet. The lyrics to both were really lovely.
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Photography
Luis Calow was our photographer. We were pretty last minute in our planning process so were delighted that he had a spot free. He was just so lovely when we talked to him on the phone – we both felt really at ease with him.
We were beyond delighted with his images and on the day itself, he was a pleasure to have around.
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How They Met
We met on the streets of Soho – both of us were on wild nights out with our friends and our paths crossed.
We got engaged on a lovely winter walk just before christmas in Epping forest.
This was 2021 so we were engaged for about one and half years.
We have two young kids so we had very little opportunity or headspace to do much planning!
The Reception
Our reception was held in Lardo in Hackney – this has always been a special place for us, be it for a casual lunch or a birthday celebration.
We followed this with a visit to the Prince George Pub – lots of our first dates involved going to this pub!
My local friend Ros owns Rebel Bunting, and she made lovely bunting for me – it said ‘Too Late Now’, which was the name of a film that we borrowed our creative direction from.
I found a very old song book for this film in a charity shop in Edinburgh years ago and I have kept it as I thought it would make a funny wedding invite!
One of my business partners designed all of our stationary and I got them printed by a local company (I like to keep things local).
All food was supplied by Lardo and it was incredible
Again I wanted to use a local company – so we had an incredible E10 Mess cake from Morny Bakehouse.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Make sure you have a day that feels like you and that you feel comfortable to enjoy. Don’t feel that you have to do anything because of tradition – it should just be a reflection of you as a couple and don’t let anyone else’s opinions get in the way of that!
Keep it simple. The less things there are to go wrong, the more you can focus on enjoying the day.
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The below suppliers and venues featured in this article are part of the Love My Dress Wedding Directory.
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Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
