As you might have gathered from my last post it felt like a long road to actually setting the date for our wedding, but after the first big decision was made everything just kinda fell into place. So here’s a step by step on what happened next and the awesome wedding suppliers we picked.
The Wedding Dress
I knew that I wanted to wear black and ideally it would be by a designer whose work had inspired me. So, whilst “North of the wall” I popped into Vivienne Westwood in Glasgow and with the help of a wonderful staff member within 15 minutes I had my dress, it was the last one left in black and it was in the sale, it truly felt like it was meant to be.
On our return to London we dropped in to see my family near Manchester and took a trip into town to have a look at shoes. With some persuasion from my cousins, I found my dream pair of Jimmy Choo boots, which were my first pair of designer shoes and a very generous contribution by my mum.
I know that what to wear is a huge stress for so many brides but I put aside any worries about what other people might think and went with something that was 100% my style and that I knew I would be comfortable in. My only regret is not having enough time to order a Crown and Glory veil cape. I’m really into the idea of looking like a superhero bride but as they are handmade and we planned so last minute it just didn’t work out.
The Wedding Reception
Next we had to work out a location for after the short ceremony, we both started to get muddled and over complicate things again but of course we ended up going for our first choice of The Dead Dolls House in Islington. Not only was it totally on brand with our goth vibe but was also within spitting distance of the registry office.
I’m going to go into the reception in more detail in my final wedding post but spoiler alert, these guys do a great job.
The Rings
The rings were a no brainer for us, my favourite shop of all time is The Great Frog so we went along together to add to my collection and to start Pablo’s.
I knew that the ring I really wanted from their wedding collection was way over our financial means but honestly I was happy with anything from the store. Despite our budget being tight the staff still treated us like royalty and patiently helped Pablo pick out his first ever ring. We went for matching bands which I thought was a nice little touch.
The Photographer
One thing I was more than willing to splash out on was a photographer. I think, big or small, capturing memories is important. We needed someone who understood our style and wouldn’t create forced looking images so of course we hired the incredible Kaye – Fordtography. Just look at those shots!!!
The pictures were everything we were looking for and she was so quick that the photo section of the day did intrude on our time at all.
I’m hoping that this is just the start of shooting with Kaye and when my store grows I’d love to have her onboard to shoot some awesome product images.
The Cake
This was something we went back and forth on for a while, I eat plant based so it seemed that our choice was to get a boring rubbery vegan cake or one that I couldn’t eat.
That was until I came across Vida, a vegan gluten free bakery with ALL the personality and taste! Daniella (owner of Vida and master vegan baker) enthusiastically sat us down with a bunch of samples and planned out a cake that was 100% us.
The final design was black, with the added touches of ‘fancy piping’ and Till Death written on top. This cake was not just aesthetically pleasing, the inside was just as incredible as the gothic outer shell. The bottom layer was red velvet and the top layer was a vibrant rainbow cake which contrasted beautifully with the jet black icing and the guests had no idea it was vegan.
Daniella was an absolute dream to work with, her enthusiasm was contagious and it was such a fun collaborative effort designing our cake together.
The Flowers
You might have guessed already that “pretty” isn’t really our vibe so we wanted to find a florist who could create something wild and edgy.
Grace and Thorn were perfect for us, describing themselves as a ‘rule breaking florist’ and have an awesome selection of wildflowers and low key decorations. I selected one of their ready to wear bouquets and a selection of jars but they were happy to make a few changes to make them unique to us.
As small business owners we both really wanted to hire local wedding suppliers for as much as possible, and I’m so glad we did.
Each supplier not only did their job but absolutely excelled, making our planning much easier and our day feel extra special.
Going local meant a little more research but I would highly recommend taking the extra time and getting the right people for your big day.
* All pictures by Fordtography
