Greer & David’s Romantic & Dreamy Holland Park Orangery Wedding

Greer and David’s wedding at Holland Park Orangery was the definition of modern romance – elegant, intimate, and filled with the most beautiful and elegant personal touches.

Their vision was clear from the start: a white and neutral wedding aesthetic warmed by soft blush, cream, and dreamy peachy tones , brought to life with luxury linens and delicate, hand-painted signage. Greer looked wonderful in her Halfpenny London gown, its timeless silhouette the perfect match for this lovely couple’s gorgeous glasshouse setting. The ceremony, led by the brilliant Roxy Hayde of Roxy Celebrates Love, was heartfelt and deeply personal and set the tone for a day filled with joy, love and authentic style and beauty. Enjoy!

Once we decided on our venue, we quickly began researching how other weddings looked at The Orangery. It was very special to find Love My Dress, who showcased previous weddings at The Orangery over the years, for inspiration.

The Holland Park Orangery is a cherished location for David and me, as we spent many summers around this area, picnicking in the park and walking the historic, charming streets of Chelsea and Kensington. We fell in love with its enchanting atmosphere and always hoped to get married there one day.

We wished to have our wedding in London, where we had wonderful memories of our first dates and the special times while living together in Battersea. It was also important to honour David’s parents, given that we are currently living in New Zealand.

Celebrating during The Wedding Breakfast, sitting together on one table filled with friends and family who had come from across the UK and the world. Listening to the heartfelt speeches from our loved ones, in awe of the moment we were in.

Taking photos during the sunset over the twinkling lights of Albert Bridge – our favourite place in London. The sky turned pink as the sun was setting. We used to walk over the bridge from our flat in Battersea to The Kings Road many weekends ago, and it was a dreamlike moment to be back there on our wedding day.

David and I spent the morning together before he went to get ready, as he calms me. Being with him, my family and sharing the excitement for what’s to come that day was one of many favourite moments.

Our first date was at Winter Wonderland on a cold winter’s night in December 2018. From that point onwards, our relationship blossomed, leading to us moving into a little apartment in Battersea – a very special place. We were so happy to get married in the city that holds so many memories for us.

After being together for five years, I was surprised with a beautiful picnic beside a lake in Central Park during a trip to New York, where David proposed. Since then, we have moved to my hometown, Auckland, New Zealand. We now have two amazing places we call home.

We planned our wedding from abroad in one year.

David wore a cream silk tie from Suit Supply and a classic black suit. His groomsmen wore black ties to differentiate them from the groom, all wearing white carnations as buttonhole flowers – we adored how this all looked together.

I walked down the aisle holding hands with my Mum whilst the Nero String Quartet played ‘Something’ by The Beatles – a moment that was one of the highlights of my life as my Dad and I both enjoyed and had bonded over 1960s and 1970s music.

Our celebrant Roxy Hayde told the story of us with such joy and heartfelt emotion. The ceremony was personal, romantic, with light-hearted humour. Roxy honoured my dad with dedications to him, with guests placing hands on their hearts. Dad was a significant part of our ceremony within Roxy’s storytelling.

We both wrote words on what we loved about each other and sent them separately to Roxy, who read these out as a surprise on the day during the opening of our ceremony. I expressed how David is the reason I am strong today. David said how he will protect me just as much as my dad once did.

We wrote our own personal vows together. We both read and committed to the same vows, with two individual vows at the end. We promised to maintain the strong foundation of friendship in our marriage, to maintain our independence, to treat each other with the utmost kindness and respect, and to deeply understand each other’s wishes and desires. We also promised to keep our lives full of laughter.

The two individual vows at the end were light-hearted, with me dedicating life-long support to David’s favourite football teams, Sutton & Manchester United, and David vowing to take lots of Instagram-worthy shots.

We placed our vows in beautiful booklets tied with Nude and Magnolia silk ribbons, from La Lettre Kalligrafie, based in Amsterdam.

Our wedding reading was Does the sun promise to shine?, from Atticus Poetry – it bears sentimental value to Greer as she has always wanted this to be read at her wedding. Greer shared this piece with David, and it is how they feel about each other. Greer’s sister Rachael beautifully read this romantic poem during the ceremony.

The recessional was to ‘Layla’ by Eric Clapton, the second half of the song played on strings, which is one of my all-time favourite romantic pieces of music. The second half of the song is what love sounds like to me. One of our favourite photos was of our aisle kiss, which happened during this song when David and I walked back down the aisle – I will remember this moment forever.

Aline Reis’ romantic and natural photography, with soft light and a vintage touch, aligned perfectly with our vision for the day.

Aline was exceptional – so professional from the very moment we enquired, with an incredible eye for the details, family, and love. Each photo beautifully captured the magic and genuine emotions of the day.

As soon as she arrived, I felt her warmth and was immediately at ease. She began placing all our precious items together, scattering rose petals amongst our rings and other special things, creating art as soon as she entered the room.

She heard the music playing throughout the day and intertwined it within our video, bringing us to tears as we watched and relived the memories all over again.

We adored working with Aline Reis and would recommend her to every bride and groom.

Set amongst the light-filled backdrop of The Orangery, which was seamlessly turned around after the ceremony. Katie specialises in hand-painted wedding stationery and floristry. Katie and Samantha made our dreams come true. From soft pink and white striped menus to Katie’s signature welcome sign and seating chart dotted with painted illustrations – every detail was perfection.

Katie created floral arrangements that were beyond our wildest dreams. A floral arch framed the windows of The Orangery, flowers overflowed in white ceramic bowls, large white petals were used for confetti, and my bouquet was dainty and simple – white with touches of blush and soft rose. The ceramic bowls, from The White Company, were kindly borrowed from our lovely On-the-Day Wedding Co-Ordinator, Samantha Sell, who had used them in her own wedding just the month before.

Katie and Samantha work together often, and we did not have a single worry on the day, as they made everything flow seamlessly. The floral arrangements and decorations were effortlessly moved from the Ceremony to Cocktail Hour on the lawn, to the Wedding Breakfast in The Orangery, and finally to the After Party—where the décor was completely set before we even arrived. I don’t know how they did it – it was pure magic.

A watercolour painting of The Orangery and the surrounding rose garden was created by Michal Illustrator for us. The illustration was featured in the morning detail photographs, alongside scattered rose petals and a locket of my dad. It was then digitally rendered by Michal and printed as guest thank-you cards after the day. We now also have the painting hanging in a frame to remind us of our favourite day and place. We thought it was excellent value, having thank-you cards alongside a painting as a keepsake.

Bovingdons created our menu and managed the catering. The food and service were exceptional, and they went above and beyond for us. Kamila was the Bovingdons team lead, and together with Katie and Samantha, they created the perfect wedding day we had waited our lifetime for.

Our cake was from Flavourtown Bakery, based in Fulham – our favourite cake shop. We asked them to create a simple white two-tiered cake for our wedding day, with their iconic flavours inside. Flavourtown are famous for their Red Velvet, but we opted for Raspberry & Salted Caramel. It was tied with a long ribbon falling to the ground, adding a delicate touch. We cut the cake at The Orangery in front of family and friends. It was then served later on in the evening, and handed out on the dance floor alongside late-night bites.

Charlotte from Westhouse Music sang beautifully throughout the Wedding Breakfast, creating the perfect atmosphere. As guests exited the venue for the Afterparty, she performed September, a special highlight as it marked our wedding date—the 21st of September.

Options Great Hire provided rentals for the day, as managed wonderfully by Kamila at Bovingdons. We selected beautiful white chairs for our guests, romance plates, and crystal glassware. Luxury draped linen in a soft nude colour, from Just 4 Linen, complemented the white and blush floral arrangements. Kamila kindly upgraded us to the table linen, as we wished to achieve a draped look. Hand-painted, fully bespoke wedding candles by Kazoku Workshop, featuring florals and our national flags, were lit during the Afterparty. They were perfect with the vintage interiors of The Surprise Pub.

Greer had a very clear vision for the day but she also kindly trusted me to take that vision and put my own spin on it. I knew I wanted to keep the colours pale & focused on nude and blush tones.

Luxury roses, hydrangeas and fluffy carnations were used in all arrangements to keep the continuity. My stationery designs reflected the elegance of the venue but I also wanted to add a fun element with the illustrations. Each menu was personalised and hand-painted to match the other hand-painted signage.

The dreamy tablescape was again inspired by the Orangery and felt very timeless with all the candles, large and abundant floral arrangements and the glass elements. I wanted it to feel like a really special dinner party so we used thick and luxurious tablecloths and napkins. As the candles were lit and the late September sun began to set, the mood was set.

A vintage cream double-decker bus from London Retro Bus Hire transported guests to The Surprise Pub in Chelsea, where we ended the night dancing, with a saxophonist from Westhouse Music playing over our favourite songs.

Our first dance was to ‘Thank You’ by Dido. It truly represents how just being with David makes me so happy. To come home to him after a long day is the best feeling I could ever have.

At the end of the evening, once everyone had gone home, David and I were together alone at The Surprise. Over a glass of wine, we both shared how happy we were and how it truly was the best day of our lives. We then stayed up late into the night talking about every detail. A few months later I am still looking at the photos and video and I know we will cherish these memories forever.

All the time dedicated to planning and the investment was worth it.

If you can, leave the days leading up to the wedding to completely relax. I had various things left on my to-do list and would’ve loved to truly rest before the big day. Even one or two days before with no appointments I highly recommend!

Make sure you allocate enough time in the morning to take it all in. We had an early ceremony of 12:30, but perhaps starting a bit later in the day would’ve allowed us to soak in the wedding morning bliss. However, I did enjoy how we had the whole afternoon and evening to be with our family and friends.