Inspiration

We've got a treat for you this afternoon with not one but two dapper grooms saying 'I do' against a contemporary backdrop in London. Jacky and Daniel chose a more informal but oh so chic canapé reception rather than opting for a sit down wedding breakfast at the Hoxton Hotel in Holborn. I particularly love the image of both men with their mums just before they said their vows at Wandsworth Town hall and they were super lucky to have the run of the place for just their friends and family. How special is that!

The Grooms' Fashion

Jacky & Daniel The Grooms: We always wanted a three-piece suit, but it’s hard to find any suit which fit us well as we are both smaller guys, Topman naturally become our first choice.

The Venue

We wanted this to be a casual yet intimate event, no formality like a sitting down wedding breakfast, so we opted for a canapé reception. We wanted a venue that reflected our style – contemporary, stylish, homely with lots of room. Hoxton offers all of the above and since our ceremony was in London we wanted to keep the reception in reasonable close proximity. We chose to have a wedding broadcast via webcam as we both have relatives in Hong Kong and Australia and it was the perfect way to have our relatives abroad be part of our special day. In addition after the ceremony at the reception held at Hoxton Hotel in Holborn, both Maid of Honour and Best man speeches included a montage of video messages from our relatives in Hong Kong and Australia; it was very special and emotional.

Colour Scheme

We didn’t think of a colour scheme initially, however it evolved slowly from the moment we decided on our suit – Navy. Our bridesmaids and groomsmen and parents all  decided to coordinate and all of our guests also very kindly turned up in an element of blue.

Flowers

We wanted something as a souvenir so we chose to go for artificial flowers. Succulents were our first choice as they are not as feminine as most flowers and it’s quite unusual which we like. We found some images online and Silk Bloom worked their magic and turned our vision into reality.

The Wedding Party Fashion

The ushers organised their suits taking on board our blue/navy theme. The bridesmaids wore matching bridesmaid dresses in navy from Warehouse, and the flower girl wore a navy dress from BHS.

Ceremony

Our ceremony was at Wandsworth Town hall on a Sunday and we were lucky enough to have the only wedding on the day meaning we were able to enjoy the building and courtyard. We were keen not to have wedding guests see us, other than the bridal party, and the staff were extremely helpful and considerate provided us a haven to wait until our ceremony started.

Cake

The cake was provided by Cutter and Squidge delivered to the reception the day before and stored overnight. Probably one of the best wedding cakes out there and on low budget (£180 including delivery); we opted for a two tier cake consisting of 2 raspberry ripple and red & black velvet. Every guest told us that the cake was amazing.

Photographer

We found Kevin on Fearless Photographers website. Kevin is one of very few who has earned himself multiple Fearless awards and his work on his website was exactly the style we wanted. Kevin caught our attention when he wrote back to us and explained how he would love to work with us as we are his first gay wedding and of course we were very happy with his work and therefore jumped at the chance to have Kevin photograph our special day.
Lauren Gautier-Ollerenshaw

Written by Lauren Gautier-Ollerenshaw

Wedding Ceremony Venue: Grand Chamber, Wandsworth Town Hall | Wedding Reception Venue: The Hoxton, Holborn | Grooms' Suits: Topman Limited Edition | Rings: Steven Einhorn | Shoes: Hudson Shoes | Florist: Silk Blooms | Cake: Cutter and Squidge | Bridesmaids Dresses: Warehouse | Caterer: Hubbard & Bell | Transport: Traditional Travel

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