Oranges And Lemons Say The Bells Of St. Clement’s.

Ana and Jon married at St Clement Danes Church on a very sunny spring afternoon in central London.

Photography today is by Mark Alesky, Mark also made comment on the weather saying that his lasting memory of Ana and Jon’s day is of the perfect light-filled atmosphere, as well as some seriously good hair and make-up and of course Jon and his ‘crew’ decked out in their military finest.

It is a military affair today then folks, we have venues steeped in tradition, stunning architecture and a warmth from the family and friends in attendance that pours from this set of images.

Let’s All Go Down The Strand

The marriage ceremony was at St Clement Danes Church on the Strand, followed by a reception at the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn.

Jon is a Captain in the British Army, and his paternal grandfather was in the RAF so we were very lucky to be able to get a licence to marry at St Clement Danes through his military connections. The church was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and it is absolutely beautiful inside. It has an extremely wide isle and is very ornate interior so we decided not to have any flowers or other embellishments in the church – the design and architecture of the building did the work for us. The vicar delivered a really lovely service and this was by the best part of the day for both of us.

I am training to be a solicitor, so we chose a reception venue steeped in legal history and tradition. Gray’s Inn is one of the 6 Inns of Court and Elizabeth I used to be its patron!

Our choice of venues mirrored what we do, but also reflected our love of history.

 

A Petite Frame

I wore a Pronovias dress – from their 2012 Costura Collection called ‘Pergola”. I have quite a petite frame so I needed a dress that would make accentuate my best features without making me look silly next to Jon who is a whole foot taller than me. It was also important that I found a dress that equalled Jon’s uniform which was handmade to fit him! The Royal Wedding and Kate Middleton’s choice of dress definitely helped my cause because I wanted a dress sinched in at the waist!

Old School Vintage

As my dress was quite big so i decided not to have a veil. A big dress coupled with a petite frame would have resulted in a very swamped bride. So instead I had one comb in my hair which I bought from House of Fraser. It was quite simple and relatively inexpensive.

I was going for an old school vintage look so again I chose jewellery that complimented my dress – simple and elegant.

Skyscraper Heels

I wore skyscrapers because without them Jon would have towered over me! He is 6″2 and I’m 5″1! My shoes were my top bargain find! They were £20 from New Look – plain ivory satin platform heels and surprisingly comfortable. I bought a pair of stud earrings from Claire’s accessories and sewed them onto the top of the peep toe. They looked great, did the job and were comfortable enough to wear well into the evening!

Mrs Doubtfire

Finding someone to do my hair and make up was one of the most difficult tasks! I had lots of trials which were a complete failure – one hairdresser made me look like mrs doubtfire! But thanks to my wonderful photographer I was introduced to Kaz Fernando, a specialist wedding make up artist who also won the make up artist of the year award in jan 2012. I wanted a vintage look that combined the old school glamour of the 1940s with a modern twist – a young Elizabeth Taylor meets Dita Von Teese. Kaz instantly grasped what I was after and did exactly what I wanted! Never mind the dress – on the day everyone was complimenting my hair and make up!

Daffodils And White Tulips

I wanted the flowers to replicate the season in which we were getting married so I chose daffodils and white tulips. They are very small flowers and most people thought I was a bit odd to want these flowers for my wedding but the end result was brilliant and much nicer than I had expected.

I was very lucky to come across Victor from the London flower shop inside old street tube station. He was just amazing. He listened to all my ideas and made very honest recommendations. I didn’t see my wedding bouquet until I got to the church and it was perfect. Victor did a great job and I can’t recommend him highly enough!

A Classic Look

Our groomsmen wore classic morning suits with burgundy ties to match with Jon’s maroon beret. As Jon is in the army we also had guards of honour who wore their number one dress complete with swords and gloves!

My bridesmaids were in light yellow dresses in two different styles – a strapless and a v-neck. I was very lucky to find these dresses as they were from completely different shops bought a year apart. I was dead set on yellow so I couldn’t have been happier with the end result!

Sash And A Sword

Jons outfit was probably the easiest part! He wore his number one uniform complete with a maroon sash and a sword. He was very handsome and walking down the isle to see him standing there was by far the most amazing part of my day.

The Essence Of Our Day

Jon and I wanted someone who would capture the atmosphere of our day without just taking a load of posed shots. Mark Alesky was the perfect person for the job and we both thought his online portfolio was impressive. It was an easy choice. The best bit was actually seeing all the photos (which we got only 2 weeks after the wedding) after the big day. Mark captured the essence of our day beautifully and we couldn’t have been happier with the end result.

 

A Hightsteet Treat

I chose a very practical solution for our cake and went with the M&S assorted 3-tier. It was delicious and did the job perfectly.

I also had cake tables (my friends and family made the cakes) on various cake stands so I wasn’t too fussed about a fancy wedding cake when there was so much other delicious cake about! Yum!

Folk Dancers

I come from Former Yugoslavia so after the cutting of the cake we had traditional folk dancers (irish river dance meets Greek dancing) who performed for the guests. They did two sets and we had a break in between where all the guests got a chance to join in the folk dancing. It was fun and something a bit different for everyone – it also meant that my family could really join in and celebrate!

We also had a live band called Los Devitos. They were absolutely brilliant and got everybody dancing – young and old!

 

Champagne For Everyone

We decided not to have favours as we both felt that the money would be better spent elsewhere, such as unlimited champagne for guests!

Leaf Your Mark

I had a wedding tree where all the guests left a “leaf” finger print on our wedding tree. It ended up being a lovely piece of art and a very personal momento of the day.
I also had a cake table. Many of my friends made cakes so there was a big selection to choose from. Guests could also take away a piece of cake from the selection!

The Best Party

Your wedding day is a once in a lifetime opportunity to have all your favourite people, family and friends in one place celebrating your happiness. That’s what’s special and unique about the day. Your wedding should be the best party you’ve been to – so make the most of it and enjoy every minute of it because it flies by in the blink of an eye!

Venue – Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn

Dress – Pronovias

Haircomb – House of Fraser

Shoes – New Look

Make-up and Hair – Kaz Fernando

Photography – Mark Alesky

Cake – M&S

Band – Los Devitos

Loving the yellow colour scheme, bringing a little bit of lemon to the bells at St.Clement’s.

Ana and Jon mixed tradition and vintage influences with subtle decor in such a way that nothing was overpowering and stole the show. The colour scheme really tied everything in together and brought the sunshine in from the strand into the prestigious venues that they had decided upon.

The dress suits Ana perfectly and Jon ands his men looked flawless in their uniforms. As Mark Alesky commented – there was probably a good few hours of spit and polish in preparation for the occasion.

Adam.