As we said the other day, our lovely Ismay is getting married this summer, and as she has great taste and has read more wedding blogs than anyone ever, we thought we’d pick her brains about her plans.
The Venue
After seeing it on a blog, and making the quick trip from London, we decided to get married at The Lobster Shack in Whitstable. The relaxed atmosphere and the fact that the venue is right on the sea made this the easiest choice of all. We’ll be getting married upstairs on the mezzanine and then popping downstairs for a BBQ and champagne.
The Dress
Well, obviously I can’t show you the actual dress as my other half might see it. However, my friends will tell you that there have been quite a few dresses along the way. Going to wedding fairs with Patchwork meant there was a LOT of temptation. I was looking for a not very wedding-y dress, at a reasonable price. I found it. But along the way I was tempted by Charlie Brear, Free People, Reformation, and ASOS.
The Invitations
We loved the idea of sending our save the dates via email – saving effort and money is always a plus when you’re planning a wedding, and with all of the beautiful Paperless Post designs to choose from, it didn’t feel any less special. Plus, being able to keep track of who’d opened them/replied was really handy. When it came to our invites we worked closely with our lovely, talented friend Caro who came up with these beautiful designs, and then we had them printed by Moo on the most amazing paper. The printing process couldn’t have been easier.
The Rings
As we’re talking marriage, it’d be fair to say that Patchwork is my wife, and my jewellery company – Paper & Chain – is my mistress. I run it with my best mate Naomi, who made my engagement ring for me. She will of course be making our rings. If I didn’t have a Naomi I would’ve been very tempted by something from Laura Lee Jewellery or Catbird.
The Photographer
There are so many wonderful wedding photographers around, we were really spoiled for choice (especially living in London). But when I saw Babb Photo’s work I fell in love pretty much instantly. Laura and her team are super talented, and they take vibrant, colourful photos that are full of life. We can’t wait to see what she does with our day.
The Suit
If he hadn’t been tempted by a friend (read: discount) at Paul Smith, my husband-to-be was really taken by the beautiful suits at Beggar’s Run. Cian makes super cool ‘suits for men that don’t like suits’ – I’d highly recommend giving them a look.
The Photobooth
We weren’t going to go for a photobooth initially, as we didn’t think it would fit in at our little venue. But then we discovered the brilliant London Lightbox and their Obscura – the first photobooth to strip back all the plastic, the wasted space, even the booth itself. It’s just a very cool looking box on a tripod, from which you can print and share beautiful personalised photos.
The Flowers
Again, with such an abundance of incredible florists around, this was a tough choice. But after meeting Charlie & Jess of One Flew Over, we knew what to do. Having seen their beautiful set-ups at the Most Curious Wedding Fair a few years running, I knew they were the florists for us. Beautiful flowers, and lovely girls to boot.
The Tableware
Thanks to seriously lovely images from wedding planning superstars Knot & Pop, I had my heart set on gold cutlery and linen napkins. I found our cutlery, as well as some really nice glassware from Classic Crockery Event Hire. The rough, heavy linen I was after was way out of our price range, but thanks to a tip-off from Knot & Pop, I found the perfect alternative from Just4Linen.
Music
Because we really wanted to get our friends involved in our wedding day, we asked a couple of friends to DJ in the evening. One of whom will be driving all the way from Glastonbury festival that morning to see us, donning his red silk suit, and DJing on top of the lobster tank. This is something I can’t wait to see. (Thanks, Wilf.) If we didn’t have such musical friends, we would’ve gone for wedding DJ legends the Wedding Smashers, or our favourite new find, Business Fish Disco.
The Cake
This is another part of the day where we’ve called in the help of a friend. Our friend Harriet (Taart Bakery) is going to create a selection of delicious puds for us, including our favourite – pastel de nata. Yum. And then instead of the traditional wedding cake, we’re going for a cake made of cheese from The Cheese Shed, which will feed our evening guests. If we didn’t have Harriet, I would 100% go with the fine folks at South East Cakery, who made the cake for our Patchwork launch party. I’ve never tasted a brownie quite like theirs.
The Gift List
Patchwork, duh! We’re not the traditional department store gift list types. Also, it’s possible I’d get the sack if I didn’t make a patchwork. We decided, as we have most of the things we need for our home (we’ve been living together for 8 years) that we would create a honeymoon fund for our dream trip to Mexico & New York. We had a lot of fun coming up with all of the bits and pieces we wanted to include in the patchwork and it was a great opportunity to plan all of the things we want to do while we’re away.
If, like Ismay, you want to ask friends to get involved in your wedding day, making a patchwork is a great way to pull in favours and keep track of who’s doing what. Ask a friend to DJ, make the cake, design the invitations, or just bring a bottle of wine. See our readymade ‘Make & Do’ wedding patchwork and our Eat Drink and be Merry patchwork for inspiration.