This super adventurous pair met when Katie moved from Warwick to start her first job after university at a small software house in London. “I was allocated a desk next to a guy call Tom and 8 years later here we are!” We asked them to tell us all about their gorgeously stylish London wedding and their Patchworked adventure honeymoon to Norway.
How did you get engaged?
I was running a trail marathon in Andorra, Marato Dels Cims and even though he was injured, Tom came along to support me. The day we arrived Tom was very keen to go for a drive high into the mountains to take some photos. Although we drove past some signs warning us of rock fall, I was persuaded to continue and we reached the top. After hiking a short distance to a lovely spot right on the border with Spain, despite being mid-recovery from knee surgery, Tom got down on one knee and proposed with a beautiful view and not a soul in sight.
That’s so sweet. What kind of wedding did you plan?
We wanted it to be fun, casual with lots of personal touches. London was the obvious choice as that is where we met and still live. In looking at venues, we wanted somewhere that would take care of most of the organising but we also wanted the flexibility to add our own personal touches.
What was your first dance?
Good Together by Honne.
What was your favourite part of the day?
Katie: The speeches, the dancing & just the wonderfulness of having all of our favourite people under one roof.
Tom: Seeing Katie looking stunning all day, getting the speeches out the way and partying with everyone!
Why made Patchwork the best gift list option?
We wanted a site that looked awesome, was easy to use and that would provide us the flexibility to add the activities we had planned for our honeymoon without committing to certain suppliers.
What did you ask guests to contribute towards?
We asked our guests to contribute to activities that we wanted to do as part of our honeymoon to Norway, this ranged from Kyaking and climbing to a traditional Norwegian meal and a few nights stay in a hotel. Every activity was £10 and our guests could choose to multiply the quantity to reach the gift amount they wanted.
How did you feel when you set off on your travels knowing everyone had helped make it happen?
This trip was extra special for us as it was something we had planned for the previous year but when Tom injured his knee it was not possible. As Norway is so expensive we would never have been able to afford to do all of the activities we wanted to. In the end it was these experiences that our guests generously contributed to that really made the trip special.
What was the best bit about using Patchwork?
It was easy to track who had contributed, we could thank people at the time but then after the wedding we pulled together photos from the trip to make up our thank you cards and Patchwork allowed us to personalise our thank you cards according to what our guests had bought us.
What did your friends and family think?
They all loved the ability to pick what they could contribute to and they all wrote awesome comments as well.
And now you’re back, would you recommend your trip to other honeymooners?
We loved our honeymoon because, just like our wedding, it reflected us as a couple. It was amazing to travel to a country that we had never been to before, starting the trip with a trail running race, the Tromso Sky Race, then picking up a car and exploring the Lofoten Islands. We stayed in a variety of locations and accommodation, from a traditional fisherman’s hut, to spending 5 days hiking and camping, to a swanky city hotel in Oslo. The activities allowed us to meet locals and learn more about the area as well as sometimes pushing us to our limits – climbing ‘The Goat’ was very high up! We also surprised ourselves – surfing in the Arctic Circle was not something I was too keen on but turned out to be one of my favourite days.
Thank you so much Katie & Tom for sharing your lovely memories and awesome photos with us!
If this has inspired you to make your own patchwork, find out how here. You can customise one of our readymade patchworks or create one from scratch.
Finally, here’s a list of the many lovely suppliers and people who made their day extra special:
Ceremony Venue: Museum of London
Party Venue: St Bart’s Brewery
Dress: Needle & Thread
Katie’s Rings: William White
Flowers: New Covent Garden Flower Market for the flowers arranged by Jackie Jackson (Katie’s Mum!)
Cake: Katie & her good friend Charlotte
Wedding Photographer: Rachel Manns
Honeymoon Photographer: Tom Wilsher
Band: Penfold
Decor and other details can be seen on Katie’s Pinterest Board: Summer City Wedding
P.s Listen to Katie and Tom’s first dance song in our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couple’s first dances.