Inspiration

You know when Chris Barber Photography sends you a wedding it's going to be full of emotion, fabulous fashion and quirky surroundings, and this one in the heart of Shoreditch London, is no acceptation. The two brides each sport their own bridal look, opting for the chicest high street attire. Their fabulous footwear is a statement all on their own too. Then there's Sacha's gorgeous white & yellow bouquet with the big bloomsey peonies and delicate ranunculus flowers that looks adorable with her Ted Baker gown. Get ready to feel the love.

The Venue

Lisa the Bride: I wore a tailored black Kooples suit, Cole Haan shoes, family heirloom gold bracelet from my Nonna, diamond necklace gifted by my parents, heirloom blue brooch borrowed from my sister-in-law Jen (too delicate to wear, kept in jacket pocket). Sacha the Bride: I purchased a Ted Baker dress 2 weeks before the wedding off the rack at local store. I borrowed pearl earrings from my lovely friend (purchased in Pakistan) to match Tiffany & Co, Zeigfeld Collection pearl pendant necklace gifted by parents-in-law as an engagement present. My ceremony shoes were by L.K Bennett and my reception shoes were by Rainbow Shoes, from some random local shoe store; both purchased 2 days prior to wedding day.

Hair

Padraig O Cathain was recommended to us by a friend. He was amazingly calm in the chaos. We basically let him do what he wanted. He's incredibly talented.

Makeup

Lisa's best friend Bex Fernando who's an architect and general artistic genius did our makeup. Meghan Evely (recommended by our hair stylist and incredibly lovely) did the makeup for the bridesmaids.

The Venue

WE held our ceremony at Islington Town Hall Council Chambers. We were late booking and this happened to be one of the few spaces available on our date. Turned out to be a great space. We went to our favourite restaurant Lyles's for our wedding breakfast. Since we'd moved to London we've always wanted to share it with our close family and friends.

Florist

That Flower Shop created small centerpieces, bouquets for myself and the bridesmaids, and buttonholes for the groomsmen. Lisa didn't have any flowers. Instructions from Lisa included something like "Please make us flowers that are not ugly. In white" Where as I wanted peonies and ranunculus with hints of white, yellow and lots of greens. Finding That Flower Shop was an accident..we were shopping around Sloan Square and one of the stores had a few small bouquets from the florist. We really liked them, jotted down the name and contacted them the following week.

The Wedding Party Fashion

Our bridesmaids wore dresses of their choice. The groomsmen also wore black or grey suits of their choice.

Ceremony

Readings from books we like. Music included: -Our favourite Nils Frahm song on loop, -Our friend Jaylene sang Rolling Stones She's a Rainbow w/ guitar live while we walked in. -Johnny Cash Ring of Fire during Registry Signing

Entertainment

Old Routemaster tour of London b/w ceremony & dinner. Forced all guests to walk up Primrose Hill. Champagne and canapes on the bus. For music, we complied a playlist on Spotify of our favourite songs and played this at the reception. Our friend Jaylene sang w/ guitar for our first dance.

Food

Lyle's is one of our favourite restaurants. We gave them carte blanche. They prepared the menu and chose the wines. We saw the final menu at the dinner (menu is very seasonal) No cake. The food was unbelievable. A highlight of the day. Raved about by everyone. They live up to their hype. Eat there.

Photographer

Lisa hates all things wedding photography. So I did the research and found Chris's website - it made Lisa laugh. Banter ensued by email whereby we told him we hate posing in a line, and have a heavy dislike of pictures of wedding dresses in windows. He accepted the challenge. He destroyed the challenge. His photos win in life.

Lorna Shaw

Written by Lorna Shaw

Sacha's Dress: Ted Baker | Lisa's Suit: Kooples | Bridesmaids Makeup: Meghan Evely | Sacha's Shoes: LK. Bennett | Ceremony: Islington Town Hall | Restaurant : Lyle's | Florist: That Flower Shop
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