Libby and Charlie’s Intimate, Minimalist & 1960s Inspired December Wedding

Libby and Charlie married in December at St Luke’s Church in Ramsgate, Kent, followed by a small reception at The Bell Inn Minster.

Inspired by the simplicity of 1960s weddings and the intimacy of modern elopements, the couple planned a minimalist celebration centred around family, faith and keeping the day personal to them. Their two young sons were part of the wedding throughout, including wearing blue as Libby’s ‘something blue’.

Libby wore a short puff sleeve mini dress with a distinct 1960s silhouette, paired with a bouquet of white roses that reflected the couple’s minimalist approach to the day. Tom Keenan documented the celebration in his relaxed editorial and documentary style, capturing the intimacy of the church ceremony and the family moments throughout the day.

I hope this inspires you if you too are planning an intimate wedding celebration. Enjoy!

We are both Christian and wanted to follow our faith by being married in Gods blessing, this meant a lot to be able to do that in a church which holds value to us both.

We chose the location of St Lukes Church in Ramsgate Kent as this holds value to both of us from having both our sons christened there to my own christening and my grandparents’ wedding. This church has always been a part of my upbringing, and it felt special to us. We have always lived locally to this church and made friendships through being part of the community that it brings.

Paul Worledge, the vicar of St Luke’ss church officiated our ceremony and a reading was also done by Beth Keenan, a pioneer curate.  

We followed the traditional vows; we liked the idea of keeping some parts of the wedding traditional, and these vows hold importance to us. 

Our ceremony reading was 1 Corinthians 13. We chose this as it highlights love as a way of life and what it is. 

Our rings were from H.Samuel in Broadstairs. We looked one day with no intention to buy and I saw one I loved which matched my engagement ring. My husband also saw one he loved and we were able to try them on. We seized the opportunity especially as we only had two months before our wedding day.

Our photographer was Tom Keenan. Toms’ photography is editorial and documentary style and this approach made us feel extra comfortable on the day especially having young children – as Tom captured real life candid moments which turned out to be the best as well as more detailed hands-on photographs.

On the day Tom was professional and relaxed, he helped to calm the nerves, and he made a great relationship with our eldest son who was at a toddler phase of not wanting pictures but seemed to let Tom which shows how friendly he is.

We would recommend Tom to anyone – his work is a talent, he has a true passion for photography and that shows in his work.

We are so pleased Tom was our photographer on our day.

We met at school when we were 17 years old back in 2016. We got engaged in September 2023 on a local beach which holds special memories to us. This location later became a place where we had some of our wedding photos. Soon after being engaged, we decided that we admired those who eloped and did not feel the need to have a lengthy engagement.

By then we had been together seven years, had our first son, brought our first home and was expecting our second baby so the time felt right. 

We made plans straight away to have a minimalist, elopement style wedding within the same year after our second baby be born. This wedding happened just over one year or being engaged.

Our reception was at The Bell Inn Minster in Ramsgate. We chose a simple vintage heart-shape cake design with piping and had the writing `just married. This was made by Paisley Cakes. This cake felt like it matched our vibe of the day keeping in with the colour theme of white to match my roses, being a simple design and a retro/vintage feel. 

We brought our own decorations from Hobbycraft such as bunting which we brought ribbons to tie the bunting up with. We kept with the colours of white and neutrals. As a bonus, St Lukes church had put their Christmas tree up which made it look festive and extra special.

Your wedding is a day for you both, do whatever feels right and special to you. No two weddings are the same, but that is what makes it personal and memorable.

Make your day meaningful and focus on what is most important to you both whether that may be a big wedding with lots of guests or an intimate experience. Don’t be shy to move away from traditions and expectations, we may be biased but having an intimate ‘elopement style’ wedding was the best decision we made, and everyone should be able to say the same about how they feel on their wedding day. 

We did not necessarily have a wedding budget as we knew it was not going to be a large event, instead we prioritised our spending on what we value most such as picking a high-end photographer because photos and capturing memories are so important to us.

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