The Bride
I had two requirements when it came to my dress. I wanted it to be really comfortable, and I didn’t want to spend a small fortune on it (just for one day)! With that in mind, I went to Bromley’s
Wed2B store. They’ve got a great queuing system which means you don’t need to book an appointment and can just stop by and browse (no pressure and relaxed!) They have so many dresses, in all different sizes and at reasonable prices too! I chose the Gala Dress from their Signature Collection. After trying on a few dresses, I knew it was the one for me. I bought it there and then and took it home with me!
My friend
Lucianne Mitchell did my makeup, she’s the owner of Lucianne Beauty - which was handy!
The Groom
Koray wore a navy tailor made suit from
Moss Bros and shoes from
Jones. We wanted a relaxed feel that matched the Islington venue, so didn’t want the groomsmen matching and asked them to wear their own blue suits of varying shades. We got matching ties from
Thomas Pink in a pale grey/blue colour to match the bridesmaids. The guys outfits looked formal enough while steering away from the morning suit vibe which was in our view, too dressy for Farringdon.
The Bridesmaids
I liked the idea of all the bridesmaids wearing different dresses but in similar(ish) colours and despite the dresses all being completely different, they looked great when put together. The colours were purple-grey and complemented the autumnal colour palette of the flowers. The girls all chose their own dresses from various places on the high street as I wanted them to feel comfortable on the day.
The Venue
We are both from London, met in London and bought our first home together in Highbury, Islington, so we always knew it was going be a London wedding! We walk past Islington Town Hall all the time and always stop across the road to watch the weddings taking place over the weekends. It’s a beautiful venue and I particularly liked the circular ceremony room, so it just felt like the right place for us.
Islington Town Hall had a real touch of elegance, and was as classic and dressy as a church. The wood panelling and marble floors provided a formal setting even though we aren’t religious enough for a church wedding.
We didn’t want the reception venue to be too far away and wanted a relaxed, pub vibe. We visited
St Bart’s Brewery in Farringdon and knew it would be perfect. Big tall ceilings, split levels, floor to ceiling windows and 2 bars areas! Pam manages all the wedding there and she has got it down to a tee – she is fantastic!
We thought that Farringdon at the weekend was the perfect setting for a wedding as it’s not as busy as during the week, but central and accessible enough for all. It also meant our photographers were able to capture us in a few a locations around the area, without any people or traffic in the background.
The Decor
Koray is half Turkish so we wanted to include a few Turkish twists. Our table numbers and seating plan were all written in Turkish and we had Turkish music playing during dinner with a few songs playing in the evening for those wanting to show off their Turkish dancing!
With it also being a London wedding, we decided to have a big post box for our cards and we organised for two old London routemaster buses to take all the guests from the ceremony to the reception.
The Flowers
We had Lara from
Wild Renata Flowers, and she was actually recommended by our photographers. We love her vibe, and she just put together the most perfect colours for an October wedding. I didn’t want anything too ‘structured’ for my bouquet, and wanted the colours to be autumnal to fit in with the time of year, which was the autumn.
The Entertainment
We found
Kelly Barnes from Alive Network, she’s a very talented solo singer guitarist, and did a fantastic job! Kelly played until 10pm, and then we switched it up to a pre planned playlist when the party really got started.
The Food
It was really important that our guests enjoy the food. Luckily the food at St Bart’s Brewery is fab! We went to a couple of food tasting sessions and decided on a crab and avocado starter, beef fillet with a potato rosti and spinach main and cheesecake for dessert. We had so many compliments and it really was delicious – I wish I could eat it all over again!
We found
French Made on Instragam and loved the look of their cakes. We had a simple, semi naked three tier cake (coconut and Lime, Lemon and Victoria Sponge). It was so delicious. I purposely dragged Koray away from the party to try a piece of each and I’m glad I did as it all went! The whole lot!