Rosie says…
We chose RSA House only 4 months before our wedding date, we were being very indecisive! We had one other venue in mind but for some reason we put off confirming, I think it was because we weren’t 100% sure. I decided to do one more online search, we had quite a few requirements and our budget wasn’t huge for a London wedding! We didn’t want anything too formal but with guest travelling from Hong Kong, Singapore and LA we wanted it to still have a wedding feel to the day but slightly more relaxed and modern. I visited the venue on my own and fell in love with the details, the classic London Victorian building, a variety of rooms to use throughout the day and a beautiful food menu.
I stumbled across the dress I wanted on instagram, I’m normally very indecisive and thought I would struggle to find my dress but I knew as soon as I tried it on that it was perfect. Pippa at Bon Bride was so relaxed and reassuring about everything and put all my worries at ease, she helped me customise the dress to how I wanted it and her amazing team turned it around in just 12 weeks. My shoes were from Rupert Sanderson, I knew I wanted an emerald green velvet and I just happened to walk past them in the window at Bicester Village, they were just what I wanted and had these before my dress!
My bridesmaids wore an emerald green multiway maxi dress by Oasis for John Lewis, I searched high and low for something in an emerald velvet but as one bridesmaid was in Hong Kong it meant off the peg was a must so that we could order for her to try on and return easily if there were any issues. The other of my two bridesmaids was pregnant with twins, we just didn’t know how big she would be so we got the dresses about 4 weeks beforehand. They both looked beautiful and the dresses fitted both bridesmaids perfectly with no alterations which made everything so easy. Kieran wore a hired dark grey suit from Moss Bros., he wanted to choose his outfit to be a surprise like my dress was for him, however we did purchase the green ties to match the dresses and for keepsake.
I work for Nikki Tibbles Wild at Heart and have seen so many beautiful wedding and event flowers over the last four years that I have loved so I thought it would be hard to choose what style I wanted, however I knew exactly what I wanted. An abundance of rich, warm burgundy flowers with a touch of blush/peach/apricot tones. These colours worked so well in the venue; the Benjamin Franklin room is neutral and elegant which meant anything and everything would work. The Great Hall, where we ate, had the most beautiful mural painted on the wall which was picked out by the warm floral tones and gold accessories. Our name places were made from glass coasters which we personalised with glass pens which also doubled up as favors. The final room which was for the after party was in the Vaults; a modern and intimate brick walled space, which was dressed to make the most fabulous photo back drop, keeping it modern and wild with seasonal foliage created a modern twist on a flower wall. Every room had its own personality and identity which seemlessley flowed from one to the other which made it exciting for the guests when they moved through the house throughout the night.
It may sound biased but Wild at Heart are truly the most amazing team of florists, everything they create is perfect and the attention to detail is second to none; from lanterns throughout the venue to the carefully placed crab apples on the dining tables and every napkin spritzed with ‘White Tea’ by True Grace. I knew whatever I wanted would exceed all my dreams and it was the one thing I didn’t need to worry about for a second.
The cake was made by a lovely lady called Anne Cadle who was recommended by the florists, she did such a beautiful job, we had a 3-tier, semi-dressed cake consisting of carrot, salted caramel and lemon, all three layers were so moist and the guest could graze through the after party.
Our photographer was recommended by my brothers photographer who was already booked for our wedding date, she was AMAZING! On the day Rachel captured everyone and you didn’t even notice that she was snapping away, I hate having my picture taken but she made me and all the guests feel so comfortable throughout the day. We had a selection of about 20 images back within about 4 days which was such a lovely surprise and the rest within about 3 weeks which was super fast.
Best part of the day
The best part of the day was being in a room with everyone we loved and watching them enjoy the day as much as we were.
From one bride to another…
Do not stress, everything will be perfect because its what you want and your day, all that matters is your with the people you love and the rest will all fall into place.
Venue RSA House
Photography Rachel Takes Pictures
Flowers Nikki Tibbles Wild at Heart
Catering CH&CO
Dress Bon Bride
Shoes Rupert Sanderson
Hair Duck & Dry, Mayfair
Make Up N Aesthetics
Bridemaid’s Dresses Oasis for John Lewis
Suit & Shoes Moss Bros.
Knitted Tie Marks & Spencer
Registry Office Old Marylebone Town Hall
Invitations Media Ace
Based on a weekend wedding in August. Includes food and drink.