Inspiration

Christmas weddings always feel so incredibly magical, how could they not at such a special time of the year, so I love the fact that Esme and Alex decided to host their big day during this festive month complete with beautiful trimmings. And when I say beautiful I'm talking about truly exquisite table settings, decadent florals and sartorial sexiness. It's all here folks, every single bit of it. Oh and don't forget to check out the stag inspired table plan, the sun-drenched portrait shots and the couple's decadent cake! Bliss. All the action was captured by the talented Babb Photo.

The Bride's Fashion

Esme The Bride: I wasn't sure what style of dress I wanted apart from that I wanted it to be heavily embellished and backless. I went to several designers but knew as soon as I walked into Jenny Packham that I would get my dress from there. I tried on the Esme which I nearly went for (I think the name was swaying me!) but then decided on the Noa as I loved the back and I felt really comfortable in it. It definitely had the embellishment I was looking for! I also loved the cygnet fur wrap so had this for when I took my veil off after the drinks reception.

The Groom's Fashion

Alex doesn't wear a lot of suits as he works in a hospital so I was very surprised how much he loved having his suit made! Rachel was fantastic (we'd met her through a mutual friend) and Alex looked incredible in his three piece suit and brown brogues.

The Venue

We wanted a relaxed wedding that represented us as a couple, so we knew London was the place as we met here and have lived here ever since. We looked at a few venues and I loved the idea of a dry hire as I wanted to be quite hands on organising, but as soon as we saw Burgh House we knew is was the perfect place for us to get married. The music room is really intimate and our guests said that they really felt part of the ceremony. A key thing for us was that everyone was entertained throughout the day so we made sure that there was always music, food and drinks available. At Burgh House our guests went straight from the ceremony into a drinks and canapés reception before getting on the bus to The Londesborough. We had seen lots of pub weddings on RMW and we thought that it would be the perfect choice for our reception. They also let us bring in our own tableware so we were able to tailor it to exactly the style we wanted.

Colour Scheme

I wanted a lot of gold and vintage tableware. Helene Millot had the perfect choice of cutlery, crystal wine glasses as well as candlesticks to run down the tables. I was speechless when I walked into The Londesborough and saw how it had all come together and how hard the events team at both venues worked to create exactly what we were looking for. I spent ages looking for garlands but couldn't find everything quite right (and in budget), so I ended up tying 100s of feathers to string weeks before the wedding. I also wanted gold forest animals for the tablename holders but surprisingly they are not easy to come across so Alex and I ended up painting plastic kids toys from Amazon and drilling holes for wire to hold the cards. I'm pleased I did some DIY, it felt satisfying to see the end result, but I think I reached my craft limit; skill wise and in terms of my patience.

Flowers

Hatti was amazing. I love flowers but don't know anything about them so she had her work cut out for her! I wanted rich colours mixed with brighter pinks to go down the tables around the candlesticks and I wanted to stay away from anything too Christmassy - Hatti created exactly what we were looking for.

The Wedding Party Fashion

I originally wanted my bridesmaids in different dresses but I had six so that was going to be difficult! I've never been a huge fan of traditional bridesmaids dresses and wanted them all to feel comfortable so when we found the Phase Eight dress it was perfect. As a combination of their bridesmaids gifts and a cover up (expecting it to be cold!) I brought them mink faux fur wraps from Zara. We hired the ushers navy three piece suits from Yardsmen and they all wore brown brogues.

Ceremony

We asked our friends, Hogi and Guppy, to choose their own readings and surprise us on the day. Both were lovely and it meant a lot that they choose them themselves; it made it really personal.

Entertainment

It was only during the weeks running up to the wedding when confirming the suppliers that I realised the huge amount of musicians we were having! The wedding was the weekend before Christmas so we decided to have carol singers for when the guests were arriving (our one Christmas reference!) and had a flamenco guitarist (Andres, Function Central) playing during the drinks reception. Our friend Jenny played Ben Harper 'Forever', Alex's favourite song, when I walked down the aisle, which meant a lot to both of us. At the main reception we had a duo, Andre SaxMan Brown (saxophone and singing) with Sally Potterton (electric violin).They were unbelievable! They played all through the meal and then played amongst the guests on the dancefloor. They made a huge impact on the day and created an amazing atmosphere. Our friend Jack was then our DJ which was great.

Food

I love Lily’s wedding cakes and had a huge list of things I wanted incorporated into our from past cakes. Somehow she managed to make a list including gold ombré icing, gold painted blackberries and dripping salted caramel, not seem too over the top!

Photographer

Alice at Babb Photo was one of the best decisions of the day. I spent ages looking at photographer blogs and we decided that we wanted natural photos and some 'urban' shots as it was a London wedding, only having a minimal number of posed group photos. We also had a second photographer as I wanted to make sure there were photos of Alex and his ushers before the ceremony and our guests whilst we were off having other photos. Despite being 19th December, it was 16 degrees and sunny, so we were able to have photos on Hampstead Heath.
Lauren Gautier-Ollerenshaw

Written by Lauren Gautier-Ollerenshaw

Bridal Gown: Noa by Jenny Packham | Ceremony Venue: Burgh House | Reception Venue: The Londesborough | Prop Hire: Helene Millot | Groomsmen: Yardsmen | Florist: That Flower Shop | Bridesmaid Dress: Phase Eight | Flamenco Guitarist: Andres at Function Central | Cake: Lily Vanilli

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