WWW readers Laura and James tied the knot on Saturday 4 July 2015 at the stunning Asylum Chapel in London. Laura grew up in Singapore while James is half American, so it was only fitting that their day had an international flavour. They wanted to base their whole day in London where their home is and opted for fun travel touches in the chic décor.
They went for white and greens throughout with the most strikingly beautiful florals, romantic candlelight and DIY brown paper stationery.
Laura chose an elegant gown by Pronovias which flattered her perfectly, James went for a navy suit with tan shoes and the pretty maids wore mint frocks. Such a stylish wedding party.
Many thanks today go to the amazing Marianne Chua for sharing these delightful photographs.
THE PROPOSAL | James and I may appear to be a very British couple, but we do have an international twist! James is actually half American and I grew up in Singapore. The first time I took James to the place I grew up was in 2013, when we travelled back to visit my parents for Christmas with the rest of my family. Two days before Christmas, we stayed in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, one of the most spectacular hotels in the world, most especially for it’s roof top infinity pool and restaurant. We had spent the day relaxing in the hotels beautiful atmosphere, and dined with 360 degree views of Singapore. After a gorgeous meal, we were relaxing looking over the country I grew up in and James slid down off the sofa onto his knee and pulled out a Tiffany box with the most beautiful ring I could have imagined. There was lots of tears, and I’m not sure if either of us completed full sentences during the proposal but all I remember is I said yes and we were on top of the world. We then went to the casino and I frantically tried to facetime my best friends in the UK while James blew off some steam… and a few hundred dollars!
THE VISION | Although we are international, James and I met in London and with family all over the world we found a home together here. We began looking for picturesque countryside venues, but early on realised that London is our home and where we wanted to celebrate our marriage.
THE PLANNING PROCESS | We planned the wedding together, it was a real team effort. We used our individual strengths to our advantages, I plan projects for a living so naturally had schedules and pages of documents with every detail imaginable! James although now a director, studied graphic design at university and designed all our invites, menus etc. We were planning for a year and a half which can definitely become all consuming, but we were in it together and it made it such an enjoyable process.
THE VENUE | Wedding Ceremony and Breakfast – Asylum Chapel, Caroline Gardens, Peckham.
Caroline Gardens was only the second venue we found, but we knew it was the one instantly for a few special reasons. We knew we wanted some beautiful, unique, interesting and in London. We found online an old chapel which was dry hire, we could have a civil ceremony and was 10 minutes drive from our house – it seemed perfect. When we looked closer however, we realised it was in the middle of an estate in which James dad lived! We knew the chapel, but had never been inside and didn’t even know it was used for anything. Once we step inside it all fit into place. In actual fact, we already pencilled in a date before we saw it. And to make the story even more perfect, the only date that worked for us with its availability was the 4th July – American Independence day! Fitting for James who is half American.
Evening Venue – The Pepys, Mansion House.
As Asylum Chapel is located in a residential estate, the curfew was 9pm. We decided that we wanted to take our entire wedding party on somewhere to carry on the festivities and what more London than a pub! My parents found The Pepys, a pub located on the north side of the Thames, over looking the Globe, Shard and Tate. How could we get more London than Peckham, the City and the Thames! As it’s a city pub, its not used on the weekend so you can hire out the whole thing for a minimum spend.
THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | I wore a dress from Pronovias, Tiffany earrings that were a first year anniversary present, my grandma’s blue ring, my best friends bracelet and the most sparkly and comfortable (!) Roland Cartier Shoes.
FINDING THE DRESS | My dress was the first one I tried on. I actually had a feeling it was the one before I put it on so knew it had to go on first! I went to three other shops that day and although I found lots of other beautiful dresses, I had a special feeling about this one. To help me decide, I went home and asked James what he imagined me in. His description was spot on and it sealed the deal! I think you can over think some things when getting married, really at the end of the day wedding dresses are all beautiful!
GROOM’S ATTIRE | James wore a Moss Boss suit and believe it or not, it was the first one he tried on as well! We went to Canary Wharf for a wander one weekend and he thought he would have a little look. Put on a navy blue suit, white shirt and brown shoes and he ended up buying the whole outfit, size, shoes and all.
THE READINGS & MUSIC | The music was really important for our wedding, especially for me as I work in the industry. Early on I had one person in mind, and I was terrified she wouldn’t be able to do it and I wouldn’t be able to choose anyone else. Her name is Abimaro and I worked with her a couple of years ago when she was a trainee music leader for the organisation I worked for. Luckily, she was free and agreed to be part of our special day!
Her and her lovely guitarist welcomed our guests in, sang me down the aisle to a gorgeous acoustic rendition of ‘You’re the one that I want’ from Greece (look up the Julia Stone version for an idea!) She sang ‘I want to Grow old with you’ from The Wedding Singer as we signed the registrar and walked out to a song from Juno. It wasn’t intended to be a movie themed music wedding, but they were the songs that fitted! To add to the coincidence, James’s sister read ‘The Circle of Life’ from the Lion King and my mum did an extract from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Sometimes movies just do say it best.
BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | I had 6 bridesmaids and 3 flower girls. My sister was my maid of honour, I had four friends from various points of my Singapore childhood and one friend from university. James and I also have 3 nieces and they made the most beautiful flower girls. My bridesmaids wore mint green dresses from Untold and the flower girls wore summer white dresses from Zara.
THE FLOWERS | Being in London means you have a pick of the most amazing suppliers. We found the Flower Appreciation Society and their natural, wild and varied bouquets were right up our street. We went for Greens and Creams to complement the darker tones of the Chapel and they were arranged in lots of lace-lined glass jars that James and I had collected.
THE CAKE | Our cake was from Marks and Spencer’s, we couldn’t quick justify the money on something more extravagant but I was balled over by how easy the process was and delicious the cake was! We had a double chocolate three tiered cake and were super happy. To make it our own, James made Laura and James cake toppers out of Fimo to put on top, and we surrounded the base with fast food rubbers, why not!
YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Our photographer was the amazing Marianne Chua. We found her after lots of research online and we loved her fun website and her pictures were so natural, capturing the emotion and joys of weddings in a very special way. To make it an even better fit, Marianne is Singaporean, although never lived there it was a deal sealer for us! She was fantastic on the wedding day and I still don’t know how she managed to capture so many amazing moments.
THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | We went with a very natural décor, focusing on greens, creams and browns to bring some of the outside world into the chapel. We had lots of fun designing the menus, stamping our serviettes and putting our style into the day. Our tables were named after all the countries that are important to us and the favours were confectionery from those countries. We had a really strong idea of how we wanted it to look, and luckily we brought the amazing Sama from Utterly Wow to make sure it looked as we imagined. It was so amazing to be able to hand it over to her the week before and know she would make it as perfect as we imagined it. Planning a wedding in somewhere like Asylum Chapel does come with its complexities as it is a blank canvas and you do need to bring everything in, but well worth it as the space is magical.
We took all our guests to the evening venue in two London red buses and had a ball singing wheels on the bus, waving at children and driving over London Bridge. At the evening venue, we took some key elements from the Chapel to dress the space but The Pepys has recently been refurbished and is a beautiful space. We had a Photobooth for our guests to take snaps in and they had a whale of a time, they may seem expensive but they are definitely worth it!
THE HONEYMOON | James and I said that our dream honeymoon would be Disney, Vegas and a cruise. Now we didn’t go to Vegas, but we did go to Disney and on a cruise and there was a casino on it so technically we nearly ticked all the boxes! We spend 2 and half weeks in Florida in glorious sunshine, drinking cocktails, eating crazy American food and having lots of fun!
MEMORABLE MOMENTS | Walking into the Chapel holding hands as a newly married couple, and to see all our friends and family from around the word in the room just as we had imagined it – sunny, laughing and happy. They all gave us a standing ovation and it was an emotional and surreal moment. Looking back at the photos, I’m sobbing and James is laughing – a true reflection on how we express happiness in our own ways!
ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Enjoy the process of planning, it can get a bit much at times but be in together and then you will never feel the full weight because you’re a team. Also remember that this is the gateway to your lives together, and that is why you are doing it. The small bits don’t matter in the end, and actually on the day you really don’t care if something isn’t quite as you imaged it. Although really… you actually don’t even notice if its not!
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Photographer | Marianne Chua
On the Day Planner | Sama Hemsley Utterly Wow
Day Venue | Asylum Chapel
Evening Venue | The Pepys
Flowers | The Flower Appreciation Society
Laura’s Dress | Pronovias
Caterers | Warburtons Catering
Hair and Make Up | Christina Jessel
Such a happy and fun day.
Thanks so very much to Laura and James for sharing their wonderful wedding story today xo Lou