Inspiration

Sit back, relax and let this delicious array of fine art photography by Cecelina Photography wash over you. From the delicate pastel colour scheme to the romantic florals and decor, every last detail will fill your heart and inspire you. But when the bride works in the industry, and has a wealth of talented contacts you expect nothing but perfection. Donning a stunning, embellished gown, she looks every bit the beautiful bride and by her side, her gorgeous bridesmaids looking heavenly in separates from Needle & Thread and Oasis.

Our Story

Laura the Bride: We started our search for a wedding venue in North London as Andy and I had moved to our first flat in Golders Green many years ago. We love Hampstead and the surrounding area and have many happy memories of living near there. We came across Burgh House whilst walking around Hampstead village. We loved the intimate feel of the venue and its location which was convenient for friends and family to travel to. We wanted the ceremony and wedding breakfast to have a relaxed and romantic feel to it but decided to move on to an evening venue for a proper party in a nice local pub. The North London Tavern in Kilburn was recommended to us and after we went for a drink there we knew it would be a great location. Ian the manager was very accommodating and open to anything we wanted to do for the evening reception. We hired an old London Routemaster bus to take us and our guests to the pub which was great fun.

Bride

I wore a bespoke version of the ‘Fluer’ gown by Ruth Milliam Bridal Couture. I had the pleasure of living with Ruth at university whilst she was studying Fashion Design and I was studying for my Photography degree. Ruth was the obvious choice when deciding on what dress to go for, I loved her unique and romantic style and really wanted to wear something special. Instead of a veil I opted for a headpiece designed by Ruth that matched the detail of my dress.

Florist

My very good friend Angus Pelletier was our florist. We met whilst working for a designer florist in London and have remained good friends ever since. It meant the world to me that he could arrange our flowers. He is such a talented florist and made the most stunning arrangements for our wedding day. It was great fun meeting him at dawn for a trip to New Covent Garden Flower Market where we chose the flowers for my bouquet and those we arranged in little bud vases placed on the tables and dotted around Burgh House. I wanted an elegant, feminine, country-style feel to the flowers, with beautiful peonies, sweet peas, and sweet avalanche roses.

The Stationery

For our wedding stationery I knew I wanted to design something myself. I searched on Pinterest for inspiration and came across a layout I liked. I then purchased a similar font for the copy on our invites. Next, we needed to find an appropriate image to place on the cards. I never really had a set theme in mind for the wedding but always thought a vintage image of a bird or flower would work well. I contacted visual artist, Nina Fraser, an old primary school friend and now a successful artist in Lisbon, Portugal. Nina’s Bird Song Limited Edition prints were perfect for our stationery. It was fantastic to get in touch with Nina again and to use her work as it added another personal touch to the wedding which made the day feel even more special.

Cake Maker

We decided not to have a traditional wedding cake and went for a cake table instead. I love cake, so thought it would be fun to have all our favourite flavours set out after the main meal. A friend of a friend made the cakes for us, Dawn Golding.

Bridesmaids Dresses

I didn’t want all the bridesmaids to match but knew I wanted some in long tulle skirts. The skirts were from Needle & Thread and the cream tops from Oasis. Two of my bridesmaids wore pink maternity dresses from Seraphine and Tiffany Rose.

Jewellery

Andy proposed to me during a romantic weekend away at Lulworth cove in Dorset. He knew I always wanted a close friend of mine to make my engagement ring after I had dropped a few hints over the years. My stunning ring was made by Ellinor Stenroos (EVStenroos) a Finish born jewellery designer now based in Calgary, Canada who was another close friend from university. Her designs feature luxurious, bold fine jewellery. Our wedding rings were made by jeweller and silversmith Jennifer Kidd. Jennifer’s style is contemporary yet elegant with bold shapes, clean lines and subtle details. Jen made a flat edged, platinum band to sit alongside my engagement ring. For Andy she created a curved edged, matt brushed silver wedding band.

Photographer

As a wedding photographer myself, I knew I wanted a familiar face to shoot our wedding day. I absolutely love Cecelina Photography’s style and had worked with her previously. I was so excited when she said she was available for our wedding day as I knew the photos would be stunning. Her romantic, fine art style is why I love the timeless feel of her photography.

Videography

We weren’t sure if we were going to have a videographer but after speaking to married friends who had chosen to use a videographer I’m so glad we decided to have both video and photography. Sophie Shaw did an amazing job. I have worked with her frequently, she is great fun to work with and very passionate about what she does. Everyone said the day would fly by, it definitely did for us which is why we were so glad to have a wonderful film that captured the highlights.

Entertainment

We decided to have the main entertainment in the evening. We listened to a lot of music samples on the internet before we finally came across Rupert Stroud and his band. We liked his strong-hearted, beat driven acoustic rock, inspired tracks. Rupert played acoustic guitar for us during the drinks reception and then he and his band played in the evening at the pub.
Lorna Shaw

Written by Lorna Shaw

Film: Sophie Shaw Photography | Dress Designer: Ruth Milliam Bridal Couture | Bridesmaid Skirts: Needle & Thread | Bridesmaids Tops: Oasis | Maternity Dresses: Seraphine | Tiffany Rose | Venue: Burgh House | Stationery: Nina Fraser | Entertainment: Rupert Stroud Music

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