Inspiration

There aren't many London venues where you can get married on a rooftop, have a separate ceremony and reception room, your own bar, and accommodate loads of guests too. Ace Hotel really is an iconic place to get married and Mei and Andy went on their first date in Shoreditch too, so it was only fitting that they held their wedding there. Mei looks ravishing in Catherine Deane and her bridesmaids in floral dresses look so happy. I love the flirty feminine vibe against the gritty streets of Shoreditch. The lovely Rebecca of A Thing Like That was on hand to take the photographs, I just love her natural, reportage style. Look out for the epic doughnut wall and palm leaf table plan...

Ace Hotel London Wedding

Mei & Andy: We thought venue hunting would be the hardest part, but turned out to be the easiest decision! We searched for a venue that felt informal and fun, where we’d feel we could still be ourselves on the day. Ace Hotel was only the second venue we saw, and as soon as we stepped inside we knew that was the venue. The style and layout of the venue ticked all the boxes and it had the added bonus of a beautiful terrace overlooking the city. Our first date was in Shoreditch, practically across the road from Ace, so it was meant to be!

Catherine Deane Bride

I had no idea what kind of dress I would like. I just knew I had to feel comfortable and still staying true to my style. I tried on a few dresses before stumbling across Catherine Deane on Instagram. Their boutique in East London was in the coolest warehouse and the first dress I tried on, I knew it was the one! In terms of jewellery, I am obsessed with gold so it was no brainer - gold shoes, earring and wedding bands!

The Flowers & Decor

We didn’t really have a theme. We loved the industrial chic décor of Ace Hotel and with that skyline, we really didn’t need to add too much. At the same time, we wanted to add our personal touches to the venue and put our own stamp on things. Our florist, Grace Mary complimented the venue with more greenery/foliage around fittings, chairs and on the tables. We also created a hanging flower wall from the bar. We brought flowers from Covent Garden Flower Market the day before and on the morning of the wedding, we used individual stems, hung from underneath the bar with fishing wire to create the display. One other thing we thought would fit with the look and feel of the venue was writing our table plans on big palm leaves! Something in the end worked really well, was different and a bit of a conversation starter. Our wedding favours were small succulents, which doubled up as table décor. We also had a selfie wall, where we left an Instax camera, a sharpie (for a personalised message) and pegs for guests to take and hang their photo. We also made our own doughnut wall. It was really easy to make and something fun for us to do together. All we needed was a pegboard, paint, dowels, doilies and of course the doughnuts, which we ordered from Krispy Kreme and Crosstown. It was a great centerpiece for the day and everyone seemed to love it, taking loads of pictures (and doughnuts)!

The Entertainment

We wanted guitarist to play during the ceremony and a couple of sets on guest arrival and during the reception drinks after the wedding ceremony itself. Andy works in event management so came across our guitarist, Super Tenants’ Dom Martin, whilst at an event. He’s a brilliant artist with a great voice and we asked him to play a range of tracks including 90’s nostalgia, Motown classics and current hits – needless to say, went down a storm with all our guests. Great vibe, energy and fitted perfectly with our wedding. 
 In the evening, we had a DJ to play out the party! Our man was through a friend of friend of Andy’s, AJ Moreno. Phonz, as he’s known to us, was again, the perfect fit. He’s DJ’d in some of the big clubs in Ibiza, at Bestival and has a residency at La Bodegra Negra in Soho meaning we had no qualms about him getting people on the dance floor and keeping the party going. We just gave him the genres we wanted, a mix of classics, some cheese, RnB, Hip Hop and old school UK Garage and he did the rest.

The Photography



The day was captured by A Thing Like That. Rebecca was recommended to us by Ace Hotel and having looked at her portfolio, we loved her style and the way she photographed her other couples. She was really easy to work with and made us feel really comfortable with the process as well as being really lovely as a person. Rebecca gave us great direction, was creative with shots and captured special moments throughout the day brilliantly. We also had her 2nd photographer, Heather, shooting with her and she was a joy to work with also.
Fern Godfrey

Written by Fern Godfrey

Bride: Catherine Deane | Earrings: Jennifer Behr | Wedding Band: Anna Sheffield | Shoes: Michel Vivien | Make Up : Emily McEwan | Hair: Victoria Ralph | Flowers: Grace Mary | Venue: Ace Hotel | Bridesmaids: New Look | Groom: Reiss | Groomsmen: M&S | Guitarist: Dom Martin | DJ: AJ Moreno
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