Leigh & Luca’s Petersham Nurseries Wedding

The venue in today’s real wedding was where I popped to if I was feeling fancy and grown up, only now I look back and realise how bloody lucky I was to live so close to the incredible Petersham Nurseries. It’s an Aladdin’s cave of botanical wonder and I’m smitten with how Leigh & Luca styled it for their big day.

Happy Monday folks!

Leigh says…

We share a love of nature, so Richmond seemed like the perfect London location for our wedding.

The ceremony started nice and early at 10am and was held at York House in Twickenham. After the ceremony, the wedding party headed into the gardens for photos. The reception was then held at the stunning Petersham Nurseries in Richmond, followed by the afterparty at Revolution.

Petersham Nurseries looked like something out of a fairy-tale. Bobby (Head of Events at Petersham Nurseries) and his team, did an incredible job, and worked closely with Adeel Belorf, the Wedding Manager, to ensure that the day ran smoothly and that all the guests were taken care of. Bobby even had sunscreen on hand for the me and guests!

I grew up in a creative household and was taught to sew at a young age by my mother, who also made her own dress for the wedding. I had been designing dresses for as long as I can remember and since finishing university I have worked in the fashion industry as a pattern cutter. I knew that, when the time came, I would design my own wedding dress. After months of sketching and draping, and with the help of two of my colleagues, Zaneta and Amelia, I was able to create my dream wedding dress.

The dress was styled with a pair of diamond earrings, which my parents gave me for my 21st birthday, and a large gold cuff bracelet from Whistles.

Luca knew he wanted to wear a blue, tweed three-piece suit but struggled to find anything he liked on the High Street. Finally, he discovered Jennis & Warmann, a small independent shop offering bespoke tailoring in Stoke Newington. They had exactly what he was after and coincidently they are located just around the corner from where we met!

Whilst we both currently live in London, we were actually born on opposite sides of the globe. I’m from Australia and Luca is from Brazil, which meant most of our family and friends, including the bridesmaids and groomsmen, flew in for the wedding. The distance made co-ordinating the outfits for the wedding party quite a challenge. I chose a burgundy dress from an Australian label, Shona Joy, with my mother orchestrating the bridesmaid fittings in Sydney. Luca wanted the grooms to feel truly comfortable so didn’t set anything other than not wearing ties with blue suits and left them to organise things between themselves. They all looked fantastic!

There were 3 flower girls, 2 of which are Luca’s nieces, Alice & Bel. They all wore a cute, white lace dress with a burgundy ribbon around their waist.

We spent a long time searching for the right venue, and when we found Petersham Nurseries we completely fell in love with its laid-back, rustic feel. At the recommendation of Bobby, we contacted Kate Ridyard Calligraphy for our table plan and place cards. Kate did such an incredible job that a number of the guests took home their place cards as souvenirs.

Luca happily let me take charge of the flowers. I trolled through Pinterest looking for colour schemes and inspiration, and when I came across Daisy Ellen’s website I knew she was the perfect choice to do the bouquets and button holes. After I briefed Daisy & Tom on the colour scheme, which was Autumn hues (to match the bridesmaids’ dresses), bright whites to contrast and a pop of vibrant fuchsia to give a Springtime feel, I left them to their work. And the results were stunning! The bouquets were absolutely beautiful and Tom did an incredible job at the venue. The centrepieces were amazing and so unique. We went back the next day and took as many home as we could carry!

As you would expect, Petersham Nurseries chefs’ did a fantastic job. The menu was light, fresh, colourful and absolutely delicious! We love that the nursery is a family run business and that most of the food is grown locally by the owner’s son at Haye Farm near Devon. Since they only use organic and fresh ingredients we knew we could trust the nurseries to provide an amazing array of scrumptious dishes that would complement the wine, beer and champagne selected.

Irene Yap was an obvious choice. As soon as we came across her website we knew she was the one, and after meeting her in a pub in Notting Hill we couldn’t book her quick enough. We both love the candid nature of her photography, and how Irene is able to beautifully and creatively capture those magical, intimate moments between the bride, groom and their guests. Everyone agreed that she did an amazing job and that each photo captured the love and energy everyone felt on the day.

Photography Irene Yap

Florist Daisy Ellen

Ceremony Venue York House

Reception Venue Petersham Nurseries

Bridesmaids Shona Joy

Groom’s Attire Jennis & Warmann

Stationery Kate Ridyard Calligraphy