Jo & Sebs London Underground Wedding…

Many of you will know that my number one obsession is polka dot, so when I saw that this lovely bride Jo had decided on handmade polka dot dresses for her bridesmaids I squealed with delight!

The Polka dot wasn’t the only thing that caught my eye, the fabulous London underground features are a fabulously unique theme. Tables with the names of the famous underground stations and a table plan designed in the style of a tube map it couldn’t get any more original than that!

Enjoy!

Jo & Seb married back in April at the Forty Hall Banqueting Suite in Enfield, here is what this gorgoues gal had to say about her wedding day. “We chose the Forty Hall because of the wonderful history that surrounded it. The wedding was held in the banqueting suite which was originally the Jacobean Coach House for Forty Hall. We couldn’t help but fall in love with the simple but stunning space and the surrounding parkland.

We chose a London Transport theme, because we really love the iconic design and thought it would lend itself to various elements of the wedding. Each guest had a name badge, created to reflect a tube roundel- we also named each table after a tube line and the table plan also reflected the theme.

I designed much of the decor myself, as a designer-maker I wanted the styling to reflect my work. Each table had a handmade gingham centre mat, with both potted Violas and country-style blooms in vintage milk bottles adding the floral element. To add a touch of whimsy I also chose white balloons. Each table also had recycled jam jars, trimmed with lace with heart shaped led lights inside. The flowers were arranged by a dear friend Jayne Barr, she did a great job of incorporating my favorite flowers -Anemones and Ranunculus.

I wore a simple elegant empire line dress purchased online from Oxfam’s bridal range. I was astounded by the amount of second hand dresses out there, OXFAM were great for their bridal selection and their delivery service was excellent too. I chose a 1950’s lace jacket with a Peter Pan collar and bought the shoes from Monsoon. I wanted to follow some traditions so I decided that my something borrowed would be a Belle and Sebastian badge that I pinned to my underskirt given to me by a close friend. Seb wore a 3-piece suit in a subtle British Blue Tweed. He and all the groomsmen wore white Converse High top shoes and bow ties – they wanted to make a little Dr.Who reference. I had the bridesmaids polka dot dresses handmade by friend Lynne Clayton, who is also a dressmaker.

We had great help on the day in the shape of my friend, designer-maker and wedding co-ordinator Katie Wagstaff, she is the founder of Oh Squirrel (ohsquirrel.co.uk) and amongst lots of paper craft items makes amazing vintage inspired hen party kits.

On the day with personalised clipboard in hand she arranged all of the ceremony seating and decor, and was the go-to girl when anything went awry. If something was untidy she stooped in her vintage frock to straighten it and when the balloons threatened to fly off she chased them and pinned them down. Most importantly she was the first face I saw when I arrived at the venue, reassuring me that all was in hand and that nobody was around to see the bride before the ceremony. She is the kind of person every bride needs on her big day.

I was also lucky enough to have a lovely bridesmaid that was also a humble cake maker, she created a gorgeous three tier Victoria Sponge with sugar dusted berries. The toppers were playmobil wedding figures.

Our photographer was the incredible Hannah Millard. From the engagement shoot, to the final wedding photos Hannah was wonderful. Meeting Hannah was like seeing a friend, she worked in a relaxed fashion, making everyone feel at ease. Hannah took on board all of our image requests, captured all the essential moments and then through her discreet photography captured everyone having a fantastic time. Hannah was really good with people, even managing to cajole the children into posing for the group shots.

If I could give any advice to couples getting married it would be to Listen to advice from people who have had the kind of wedding you admire and ignore the rest. Plan your wedding together as a couple and don’t be afraid to add unexpected elements that reference your hobbies and shared experiences.