Sophia & Sam

Photography

Sophia The Bride: Neither of us photograph well normally in posed shots and we both weren't keen on lots of group line ups. We spent a while searching online until we found Emily and Steve and loved their relaxed style and fun biography. We've had endless amounts of compliments on the photos since and love the candid shots that really captured our day.

Dress

I just wanted something simple and elegant and when I found my Pronovias dress online I knew it was exactly what I wanted so I sourced it online, went to The Bridal Room, Reigate boutique, tried it on and bought it! My hairdresser was a local lady called Karen Clarke who I found online, but now visit regularly! She was amazing and was great at helping me choose a relaxed style that wasn't my usual scruffy topknot!

Groom Attire

A navy suit from Reiss teamed with his work shoes - wear them in before you wear them out!

Bridesmaids

The bridesmaids dresses are Ghost and it turns out they are pretty popular so I could source them all second hand on eBay one by one!

Flowers

Liz Moray (a friend who is a Web Designer and part time flower enthusiast) took time off work to help us source and arrange all of our flowers and did the most incredible job!! I wanted lots of greenery with hints of white so Liz got some quotes from wholesalers, made an order online and then spent hours the day before (with a few helpers) filling the venue with beautiful flowers. She also made some motorway lay-by stops to source the dream branch to make an amazing overhead centrepiece for the front of the church. It was amazing to have a friend put so much effort into making our wedding such a beautiful day and this will be a lovely memory when looking back.

Decoration

We wanted to keep the industrial theme of our venue in the feel of the wedding. My dad and brother run a scaffolding company and spent the day before making us banquet tables from scaffolding board and poles. We made the table decorations ourselves from concrete, although as the wedding drew closer we outsourced more and more of the work to family and friends. We draped lights and greenery from the ceiling to make the space feel more intimate.

Venue

Eight months prior to our wedding, the venue was a derelict department store and as far from a wedding venue as you could imagine. It is now a functioning Church with a few of the 'derelict quirks' still remaining, which was perfect for the relaxed, minimalist theme that we wanted! We got married in the church on the first floor and then simply headed upstairs to use their space for the reception. One of our best friends Alex runs the church and having him take our ceremony in the church that we attend regularly was really special. We also saved on transport by just heading upstairs!

Caterer

Sam was insistent on there being pizza at some point in the wedding but it had to satisfy my mums more refined tastes. The Mobile Pizzeria gave us the perfect balance of casual pizza and fine dining with delicious anti pasti, pizza and salads. And enabled us to use a venue with no catering equipment by bringing their wood fired pizza oven with them.

Entertainment

Our friend Flip Giles provided music during the signing of the register and evening music was provided by The Hot Pinks. Sam had heard them at a wedding the year before; they are a group of friends who play the occasional function but they are great at getting the party going.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we wanted a fun and chilled out day with our friends that wasn't too fussy, and that's exactly what we got! We had an enormous amount of help from friends and family and this made the day so much more special.