Inside: An Ultra Stylish London Wedding

Thomas, 31, and Alex, 35, met a number of years ago when they both worked at Christian Louboutin. In April 2019 the couple got engaged in New York, a very special place to them both. Thomas had arranged for Butter Love & Hardwork to fly in a bespoke breakable chocolate heart from LA, it was Easter, and by the time Alex had broken into the heart to discover a note inside saying ‘Will you marry me?’ Thomas was on one knee with a Cartier ring. To celebrate they visited their favourite bar at The Carlyle followed by Restaurant Daniel. The next evening, Thomas surprised Alex by arranging for some of their closest friends to fly in from London to celebrate – a moment they will never forget. Thomas is a Client Ambassador for Cartier and Alex is the Head of Operations (Northern Europe) for Christian Louboutin – so it’s no wonder their London wedding had serious style credentials.

The best part of our day was..

The Pandemic was no kinder to us than anyone else – having moved our day three times – this was the first moment in a long stretch of time to have our favourite people in one place. This made it truly special – people flew in from New York and Paris and across the UK, to show their love for us and this moment – there was a lot of love in the room that day.

We choose to get married at..

The Marylebone Town Hall, followed by a reception at The Club at The Ivy via a Green Route Master. We wanted to create something that felt quintessentially London as we are both so linked, personally and together, to the city we fell in love within. The Club at the Ivy feels like home, having been going since it opened. The stained glass windows, heritage and wooden panels feel like a warm embrace. Greeted by a champagne reception with a pianist reminds us of many of the Jazz moments we cherish.

We knew we found the perfect suits when..

Although we had many ideas of what we wished to wear each time it was planned, we resisted committing until we were closer to the date (our wedding moved from spring to summer to autumn) – as we knew our minds would change with the seasons. We both share a love of sharp tailoring and began our searches via Maisons that we loved/trusted and truly reflected us – Saint Laurent, Maison Margiela and Daniel W Fletcher. The most important aspect being that we felt confident in what we were wearing.

The most enjoyable part of the wedding planning process…

Choosing aspects that reminded us of special moments in our journey – pianists playing recitals of Jazz that we have heard in New York at the Bemelmans Bar, at the Carlye (which we visited when getting engaged) or drinks that are our shared favourites, readings by friends that truly had deep meanings – written by Tracy Emin, who also has art installed at The Club at the Ivy. Our Cakes were made by Luminary Bakery in Stoke Newington, which we have always supported due to their Charitable mission of giving opportunities to Women who have had a social or economic disadvantage. Everything was connected and meaningful and we think this made it all the more special.

The hardest part of planning was..

As we are quite specific in what we like we approached this wanting full control, choosing to plan and execute it ourselves. This was eventually very stressful – especially when we had to rearrange the whole day three times due to COVID. Our best men were our saviours and stepped in to assist us with final planning and execute operations on the day – so we could step back and fully enjoy the moment.

Our bridesmaids and best men wore..

We wanted everyone to feel great in what they were wearing so we decided that our wedding party would only have one criteria – to wear suits or tuxedos (or version of) in black. We didn’t want to create a complete uniform, letting them choose individually to reflect their personality – some wore tuxedos by Tom Ford, Daniel W Fletcher and Bella Freud, others wore tuxedo dresses and the result felt so elegant but authentic to each individual.

Our top three tips..

Think about who will execute your ideas on the day so you can both relax and take a moment to enjoy this special day you have been preparing for. Do the things that you love and are personal to you, it’s your day and your guests will love when it truly feels authentic to who you are as a couple. Surround yourself with small details that you find comforting on the day, for example we chose our favourite scented candle, favourite foods and cocktails that were personal to us.

If we were able to do it again..

We wouldn’t change anything about our day, the more we reflect the more we realise each decision we made was the right one. It felt intimate and yet large enough, we certainly wish we could have had more loved ones there but due to timing and travel restrictions it wasn’t possible. Otherwise perhaps a wedding planner to truly take all the pain away!