Today on the blog we catch up with Patchwork love birds Kat and Jamie. Kat is from London and Jamie is from Hampshire, but they met over a decade ago at university in Guildford. “We’ve been together so long, it felt like everyone around us was just patiently waiting for a wedding” says Kat “and then in the end we had two – a Vietnamese one at my parents’ house, and then the legal wedding!” To quote Kat’s dad’s speech: “here we all are…finally…” (even their cake topper just said “about time”). They wed at Battersea Arts Centre and hosted a beautiful sustainable wedding reception surrounded by their family and friends. Kat and Jamie invited their guests to treat them to experiences on their once in a lifetime honeymoon to Japan. MUST WATCH: Their gorgeous wedding video; if you ever thought you could do without one you might change your mind after watching theirs!

How did you get engaged?
Kat: We got engaged on the Hogwarts Express at the Harry Potter studio…! Jamie had planned to wait a bit longer and do it another way, but the ring was burning a hole in his pocket. I thought he was joking and walked off, and only realised what was happening when he didn’t follow!

What kind of wedding did you plan?
Our wedding plan went from big party, to microwedding (when we had to postpone, and then thought we might need to seriously downsize), then back to big party when restrictions lifted! All we wanted was a relaxed day, and with all our loved ones in one place. I know that weddings can be so full of single-use things and so much goes to waste, so we did a lot of planning with sustainability in mind. My dress was an ex-sample, shoes were second hand, Jamie’s suit was London-made, and we tried to use accessories we already had. Our wedding party’s suits were ones they’ve already worn again and dresses were from a company that are a member of the Sustainability Fashion Accelerator. Anything single use was compostable, we had seasonal foods and flowers, and a lot of our decorations were second hand.

Wow, that’s so brilliant. And did you have a first dance?
We did! At first we weren’t sure about having one, as we thought we’d be really uncomfortable dancing in front of everyone, but we ended up picking Sing by Travis. We both really wanted the song to be a part of the day, and it turned into such a lovely moment where we got a chance to be together, and then quickly be surrounded by all our friends and family singing along.
What was your favourite part of the day?
I don’t know about Jamie, but during the meal I just sat back while everyone was eating and looked around the room. Sitting next to Jamie and seeing all our family and friends together, smiling and enjoying themselves after everything that’s happened in the last couple of years was the best feeling in the world.

Ah that’s so lovely, and so true. And why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?
We found Patchwork at Most Curious Wedding Fair (shoutout to the lovely Becky!) and immediately knew it was right. Liv told us about Patchwork and it felt like we were just on the same page. It worked in terms of having a tangible thing for our guests to contribute to, but also our ideas around making a wedding a bit less throwaway.

What did you invite your guests to contribute towards?
We asked our guests to contribute towards our honeymoon to Japan. We’ve both wanted to go for so long, but it’s such a big holiday, and as we’ve been trying to save for a house deposit it was one we knew we’d struggle to save for ourselves.

So what was the best bit about using Patchwork?
Patchwork is so easy to use and customise and has such a professional end result. Rosie and Liv have been so sweet and helpful as well, especially as we had to postpone our wedding. The whole process was so stress-free.

Aw that’s our pleasure Kat! What did your friends and family think of your Patchwork page?
My friends and family loved it! They loved shopping around on our Patchwork and picking what they’d like us to do on our honeymoon, and so many mentioned to us on the day what they’d chosen and why, and that they want photos when we go!! The money we collected is now all sitting there, waiting for all the pandemic-related travel problems to pass so it can be put to good use!

Fingers crossed for you both! And finally, what’s your no.1 wedding planning tip?
Just that anyone who’s planning their wedding at the moment should enjoy it!! Seeing all your hard work come together into the happiest day is such a one of a kind feeling. I’ve spent the last few months thinking about what other parties I can plan…!
Ah, that’s great advice and so lovely to hear and of course, Patchwork is here for all your future party planning too! Thanks so much Jamie and Kat for sharing such lovely words and gorgeous photos of your beautiful day. If you’ve been inspired by Kat and Jamie and would like to create your own unique wedding cash gift list or honeymoon registry come over and join thousands of other happy Patchwork couples!
Here are some of the amazing suppliers who made Kat and Jamie’s day extra special:
Venue – Battersea Arts Centre
Photographer – Leah Lombardi
Videographers – G and T Productions
Flowers – Sam at The London Flower Company
Bride’s outfit – sample dress by Katya Katya London from Bridal Indulgence
Shoes – second hand from Depop
Veil & hair pins – from local sellers on Etsy
Hair & makeup – Jennifer Lo – it was important to me find someone who valued sustainability and cruelty free cosmetics, and Jen was just amazing, like a cousin doing my makeup!
Groom’s suit – King & Allen
Pocket squares – offcut Liberty fabrics from Etsy
Band – The Jets
p.s. You can listen to Kat and Jamie’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.