Wildflowers and gospel! Julia and Gareth are practising Christian who married at their local place of worship and had their elegant reception with long banqueting tables at London Banking Hall. It’s such a gorgeous city wedding that truly celebrates this couple’s relationship with their families and faith.
Words by Julia. Images by Rubie Love Weddings.
My wedding gown was beautifully altered and the train custom made by Ingrida Allen, the bridal alteration specialist at London Bride Couture. The gown is by Gemy Maalouf and I thought it was so light and delicate and unique. It was like nothing I’d see before.
My headpiece and the gorgeous bridesmaid dresses were from David’s Bridal and my veil was also custom made by Ingrida Allen, the alteration specialist at London Bride Couture.
My dad is a guitarist and I asked if he would do a custom recording for us… He recorded a version of In My Life by The Beatles for us to walk down the aisle to. It was amazing.
We wanted flowers that were wild and romantic that just felt natural. Because we did long banquet style tables, we wanted arrangements that had some height but also felt like they flowed down the table. We were so happy with their work – The bouquets, buttonholes and table arrangements were beautiful!
When it comes to styling, we did what felt natural for us and tried not to overthink it! We were only engaged for 4 months before marrying, which made it much easier for us to make decisions!
We gave each of our guests a scalloped edged brown paper bag (Rastall and Daughters on www.notonthehighstreet.com) with customised ribbons (from Altered Chic on www.notonthehighstreet.com) that said Mr&Mrs McDowell that filled with:
A copy of John’s Gospel, which we got on www.10ofthose.com
We also gave out chocolate hearts from Hotel Chocolat and sunflower seeds in a customized seed packet from Wedding in a Teacup on www.notonthehighstreet.com
We are Christians and it was our hope and prayer that the gospel would be shared and celebrated at our wedding. We wanted the gospel of Jesus to be central to the ceremony, reception and favours for our guests. We were married at St Helens Bishopsgate, which is the church family we are an active part of and also where we met in 2014.
Banking Hall is just a short walk away from the church, which worked wonderfully for all of our guests (my family having come in from NY and Gareth’s from Northern Ireland) to be able to easily get there from the church! Banking Hall was wonderful- the service was fabulous and the process was so easy. They took care of everything reception related for us and the day was absolutely perfect!
Taking the vows was the most memorable moment!! :) We were both overjoyed! The whole day was wonderful. We enjoyed every minute of it!
Aside from the vows… I think the speeches were actually one of the best parts! Our fathers and brothers each gave a speech – and they were all amazing! They were beautiful and genuinely hilarious. The guys did an awesome job!
If we could advise other brides and grooms, we would say…
Don’t sweat the small stuff! The day goes by so quickly… enjoy every moment of it!
Missed yesterday’s vintage chapel wedding? Follow the link.
wedding credits / photographer: rubie love photography / wedding venue: st helen’s & london banking hall / brides dress: gemy maalouf via london bride couture / brides veil: london bride couture / grooms suit: charles tyrwhitt / brides shoes: jimmy choo / grooms shoes: / bridesmaid dresses & brides headpiece: david’s bridal / bridesmaid shoes: / hair & makeup: gems bridal makeup / florist: that flower shop / wedding cake: candlestick bakery
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So Beautiful!!
This is fantastic – love the look of these images :)