"I Do"

It has been a while since I have posted anything; however, I do have a good excuse! I was too busy planning my wedding! For those that do not know, I got engaged in September 2013, in fact it was a rainy and cold Friday 13th to be exact! So after Christmas and New Year we decided to get married. 

I always preferred spring season, when trees and flowers are in bloom,  weather softens and birds sing and since my partner did not object to a spring wedding, we set the date for the 26th March 2014. 

Before I share some of the wedding photos here, a few words about the actual wedding. Me and my partner wanted to keep our wedding personal, small and intimate, so only close family and friends were invited. Also, both of us did not want a traditional wedding and we did not follow certain aspects that are common in a wedding, such bridesmaids, best man, guest cards, white dress. We had a simple registry ceremony in the council followed by a cocktail party in a really atmospheric restaurant.

Also, I would like to mention that all photos were taken by Jack Hoyle for those who are interested. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who is looking for a quality photographer to capture their special day!

So the theme of the wedding was a slightly vintage steam punk Alice in Wonderland. It all actually started with the dress. I did not want a white dress, so was searching something in a different colour that expresses my personality and my love of detail and delicate fabrics...and as soon as I saw this dress, I fell in love with it. It seems black; however, it is not actually black. The dress is in fact a nude colour but has a layer of black embroidery and lace on top of it. The collar is high and is decorated with flower shaped sequins, while the neck has see-through embroidery. The back of the dress is gorgeous! It is open and the shoulders have see-through embroidery. Thus, the dress was a perfect cocktail dress for my wedding!

In this way, the vintage steam punk theme was developed. My partner had his cufflinks in the similar steam punk theme as well!

Since I did not want any fresh flowers for my bouquet, it was made to order for me in paper and used pages from Alice in Wonderland book with little decorations on top, which are also in Alice in Wonderland theme. Now this bouquet decorates my room and is a beautiful memory :)

Me and my partner also had custom made hats for us in steam punk/Alice in Wonderland theme. It took us a long time to find something exactly what we wanted. I had my outfit and look ready, the only thing  missing was a statement headpiece. Then, I found someone on Etsy and she was able to create these beautiful hats for me and my partner according to our preferences. I really love the birdcage on my hat. I did not want to wear a veil or a fascinator, so a little top hat with a cute birdcage was perfect to complete my steam punk vintage look. Same goes for my partner. The feathers in his hat, especially the peacock one add a nice edge to the hat. There are steam punk details on it as well!

With regards to jewelry, I only had earrings, since my dress has a high neckline and is sequined at the collar. So I chose drop earrings in the shape of a bat with a black stone, which I think adds to the dark Alice in Wonderland look. My partner decided to wear a three peace suit in charcoal colour, which was ideal since it coordinates lovely with my husky brown, grey, black nude colours of my outfit! He wore a Victorian style cream colour shirt underneath and a bow tie with a handkerchief in a brown flowery pattern. 

Above, the photos are taken in the registry. We are saying our vows :) In the photo it is also possible to see my nail polish. I did not choose a simple nude one, but decided to continue with the husky brown, black, nude colour palette of my wedding and so had the main colour of the nail painted in golden nude and the tip of the nail in black in "French manicure" style, just the darker version of it!

Above is the detail shot of my clutch bag that has similar sequin decorations as my dress and my shoes, the back of which are embroidered, so that they all coordinate with my dress! 

Then we also decided to have wedding favours for our ceremony. My partner made those himself. We bought simple artificial flowers, some black net, black ribbons and little charms in Alice in Wonderland theme. He really enjoyed colouring in the flower stems in black and creating these little pieces, which we gave out to our guests after the registry ceremony !!!

Following the registry, we had a mini photoshoot in the park near the Council. Unfortunately we did not have the spring weather that I was so much looking forward to. Instead of a warm sunshine, we had a chilly rainy day. Nevertheless, we had fun taking pictures in the rain with umbrella! Now that I look back, it was worth being cold and wet, since photos in the rain add a unique romantic feel to the whole day!!!

Me and my partner just had fun goofing around in front of the camera and made use of the umbrella ;) !

After a photoshoot in the rain, we headed to the venue. Regarding the venue choice, it took us a long time to find the venue that was according to our budget and had a real character! We had our reception and cocktail party at the Paradise by Way of Kensal Green. Fantastic venue! It had the exact vintage/gothic/steam punk/baroque feel to it!!!

One of the things I insisted we have on our wedding was a really otstanding wedding cake! I did not want one of those 5 tier white wedding cakes. I preferred something cute, small and different. So the option of having mini cakes and a main cake at the top was perfect for us! We ordered the cake from a Le Papillon patisserie outside London and it was worth it! The head chef, Neil Thornton, made our cake and it included tiramisu, banoffee cheesecake, black forest, tropical cheesecake, belgian chocolate mousse, tart aux fruits, chocolate and griotine cherry tart, strawberry cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake, strawberry tart, raspberry tart and the main vanilla chocolate cake at the top! Needless to say it was delicious and was gone in the matter of minutes!!!!

Since it was more of a cocktail reception, we had light cocktail food such as vegetable and cheese tarts, salmon tarts and sausage rolls.

This is me and my twin sister!!! She is holding the fresh flower bouquet, which was the one I threw to the single ladies and gents!

This is us dancing our first dance to the song "Wind of Change" by Scorpions. This is a special song to us :)

So that's that! I am a married lady now :) !!!

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