Second-Hand Wedding Dress For Stylish London Rooftop Wedding With Fireworks

I mean these two - ALL the heart eyes. Sarah looks utterly incredible in her gown (a second-hand Pronovias number don't you know)! And her savvy shopping meant she could wear a second gown for the evening, because let's face it, those accessories deserved another dress to adorn. As well as ticking all the sartorial boxes, this pair had, (and this is possibly one of the best ideas I've ever seen at a wedding), a DJ battle, complete with ring-entrances, boxing gloves and robes. I know, epic right? As well as knowing how to save money and throw an incredible party, this duo are awesome at selecting a photographer too. They opted for the amazing Jason Mark Harris, who we are biggggg fans of here at RMW towers. Not only did Jason shoot their day beautifully, but he shot their film too which is just so much fun and absolutely worth a watch on this fine Saturday morning...

Second-Hand Wedding Dress

Sarah & Craig: As a sustainability-conscious bride, I was quite uncomfortable with the idea of having a wedding dress that I will only wear once, so I made the decision very early on to buy a second-hand dress. I fell in love with the Pronovias Vicenta gown on Pinterest and found someone selling one on Still White (a second hand website). The dress was obviously tailored to fit the previous owner but luckily my Aunt is a fantastic seamstress and agreed to alter the dress to fit me perfectly. It was a labour of love for her and made the most fantastic wedding gift for me. Whilst on my hunt for a dress, I found the Fern & Foxglove Bridal boutique on The List and popped in to try on a few styles. I LOVED a vintage sequinned dress which she’d sourced from Texas and I knew it would be perfect for the evening. I felt Oscar-worthy in the dress and knew I would be able to wear it for New Years Eve parties and black tie dinners in the future as it was in no way a “typical” wedding dress. I took a similar approach with my jewellery opting for large, statement earrings rather than a more classic demure bridal look. Discussing the accessories (tiara, earrings and ear cuff in the evening) with the girls at Halo & Co was one of the most exciting parts of wedding planning. I wore the earrings every day on honeymoon afterwards; I just need to find an excuse to wear the tiara again! So after some real determination (the process of second hand wedding dress shopping isn’t for the faint hearted – there’s no charming shop assistant offering you champagne with floor to ceiling mirrors and lots of natural light. Likelihood is you are in a stranger’s bedroom, looking at your reflection in a mirror that’s balancing on top of a pile of books, still sweating from your tube journey) I had found myself two incredible wedding dresses for less than the price of an average wedding dress and a look that made me feel a million dollars on the day.

The Bridesmaids

The bride shouldn’t be the only one that gets to wear her dream dress on her wedding day. The brief for my bridesmaids was: choose something that makes you feel fantastic. Any colour, any style; just something you want to wear time and time again because it’s the best you’ve ever felt. In the end, my three leading ladies opted for similar styles: full length and fabulous. Our bouquets brought the look together – they were expertly made by a very talented friend of mine. She completely got my vision and went all out to source the most amazing blooms: hydrangeas, roses, peonies and lots of eucalyptus.

The Venue

Coq d’Argent is a French rooHop restaurant in the financial district of London. Charlotte, the events manager, won me over at the mention of fireworks but in truth it was the perfect venue for us in so many ways: from the delicious vegan menu for me and Craig, to the panoramic views over the city of London. The ceremony was close by at the Church of St Etheldreda. It’s the oldest Catholic Church in England with breath-taking stained glass windows and a professional choir.

The Photography

I’d lusted over Jason’s wedding photography on RMW from the moment we got engaged. His style is so cool and he really made us look our best on the day. He also saved me from the wedding blues by sending across a preview and full gallery when we landed home from honeymoon. I designed all our wedding stationery myself using the beautiful photos he took on our connection session/engagement shoot on a beach near my hometown on a grey day in March. Jason also shot our film alongside his associate photographer Dean, under his new film brand Together We Roam, aimed at smaller intimate weddings and elopements.

The Planning

I’ve known brides to tie themselves in knots over unimportant details like favours, cake toppers or chair covers. So a poignant ceremony followed by lots of food, drinking and dancing was our simple goal. No drama, no stress, no arguments. We stopped wedding prep 2 weeks before the wedding so that we could enjoy the run-up to the big day rather than arriving at the church reeling from last minute changes. If you’ve left a task until the last week then it clearly wasn’t important otherwise you’d have completed it sooner. So strike it off the list knowing it won’t make or break your wedding day, and concentrate on relaxing and looking your best for the Big Day.

The Element of Surprise

Try not to plan everything yourself (easier said than done, I know!) Leave a few elements for your friends and family to surprise you with. On the morning of the wedding, it was these things that I was most excited about. Not knowing which wedding car my dad had booked (a fantastic classic Beauford convertible) nor which suit Craig had chosen made me so excited and definitely helped with the nerves.

DJ Battle

We both loved our wedding day from start to finish but the clear highlight was a DJ Battle between Craig and myself in the evening. The rules were simple: 5 tracks each, 2 minutes per track. We were both feeling quietly confident with our song choices and our friends (who doubled up as our DJs) created some phenomenal mixes. But what Craig hadn’t bargained for was how committed I was to a BIG entrance. My walk on RAISED THE ROOF! Our friends went nuts for all the tracks but the entrance sealed the deal for my overwhelming victory. Creating unique and inclusive moments like this are what takes the day from amazing to unforgettable. So many of our guests are still talking about our wedding day and describing it as the best wedding they’ve ever been to (the free bar probably helped with that too!)