Gemma in Sassi Holford Esther for her laid back, relaxed London wedding

We absolutely loved seeing these gorgeous images from Gemma and David’s fun and relaxed London wedding! This adorable couple were married in Spring this year, starting with an intimate ceremony on a boat from Kingston to Putney Embankment, followed by a reception at the London Rowing Club, Putney. The brollies were out for a typical March day, but there were still smiles around for what looked like a wonderful, happy wedding.

Gemma wore Sassi Holford’s Esther – a showstopping gown with elegant off the shoulder straps, fitted bodice and a structured high low skirt with the added feature of fab pockets pockets.

Gemma told us all about their day, and how she found her gorgeous dress…

Sassi Holford Ester

It was a thing of beauty – it was as if it was made for my shape, which in theory it was as it was a couture. I loved that it played to my shape beautifully – enhanced the parts that I wanted to, yet didn’t draw attention to the bits I wanted to hide, as such.

The detail of the dress was gorgeous – the buttons on the back, the hemline, the high-lo skirt (which most of my guests had never seen before) and allowed me to buy some sassy shoes.

Also, I felt so secure and confident when wearing it – I knew the straps weren’t going to slip, nothing was going to ride up or down so I could concentrate on the most important thing – the day and having a good time! It fit me like a glove, a custom-made one, that is.

Dress shopping

Initial try on was with my Mum and Ester was actually the first dress I tried on, thanks to Emma! There was no initial gasping or tears; however, it was also the last dress I tried on during that appointment and it was soon pretty clear that it had to be ‘the one’. We came back again with my Mum and my ‘Aunty’ Betty, who is effectively my Granny, and seeing her face with me in the dress just confirmed that there was no choice – it had to be that one. It’s lovely to have your loved ones with you, as it is such an important decision, their reactions and responses quickly confirm what you were thinking all along.

I think my second appointment was my favourite – I was pretty confident that the Ester was for me but wasn’t totally sure. We came and I spent a lot of time with it on, trying on a gorgeous array of jackets and accessories. Emma even did my hair in a more bridal style, apparently my ‘just out of the shower, scraped-back pony’ wasn’t cutting it! For the first time, I imagined what I might actually look like on the day. I was able to walk around and spend a great deal of time in the dress, sit down and even check I could pull off a dance move or two. The chapel is such a gorgeous setting to do this in and the mirrors let me see every detail of the dress. I knew then, it was perfect.

Styling

I took a lot of advice from Emma and Rosie, when thinking about everything from shoes to jackets to even my underwear! And then a lot of Instagram and Pinterest inspiration.

I knew I wanted some sort of jacket as the weather could surprise us, which it did with floods of biblical proportions! Having tried on a gorgeous Suzanne Neville option, Emma advised me to keep looking so I did. The shoes did the rest of the work. I knew from my appointments at Miss Bush that I wanted a ‘proper’ heel and the high-lo skirt meant they had to be pretty special. Hours spent, pounding the pavement in London – I actually chanced upon the shoes in Aldo! Also, a friend bought back some Kate Spade glitter platform trainers for me to change into in the evening, to party the night away.

I knew I wasn’t going to go for a bridal jacket/bolero as it felt a bit formal for a boat ride down the Thames so I tried on a whole range of pashimas and scarves, even leather jackets but found the pink suede version in Guildford. Instagram inspiration inspired me to customise it and I ordered the ‘Mrs A’ transfer from Etsy all the way from Canada. As I’m a teacher, it was especially funny to all my friends as that was my new name to be called all day, every day. It certainly was a talking/laughing point on the day.

My hairdresser is very talented at ‘hair up’ so we had been planning my hair for a while and the florist gave me some flowers to have threaded through which I hoped would add a little something special as I wasn’t having a veil or tiara etc.

All the jewellery was my own – earrings were a gift and the necklace from when I was a bridesmaid.

A relaxed London wedding

We wanted a laid-back, relaxed, fun day where people could enjoy themselves. We weren’t having lots of the traditional elements of a wedding so it felt natural to do away with lots of the formal norms.

My neighbour collected me, my mum and Aunty Betty in his vintage Rover, driving us to Kingston where David was greeting guests to get on the boat. Several of them had no idea that they were getting on a boat! We had done tickets for the cruise, including a challenge of 10 things to do aboard, such as eye spy, wear a pirate hat etc. to try and help people mingle. The torrential rains and high tide made getting on the boat a challenge and I had to get lifted on by two guys – so much for making an elegant entrance.

Our other friend then performed a short ceremony which we had written ourselves, David’s sister did a reading and we exchanged rings. It was informal, yet special and gathered everyone together. We then had drinks and general mingling all the way to Putney.

We walked with brollies along the Embankment to the Rowing Club and even managed some hilarious group shots outside, even one without brollies, before escaping to the Rowing Club for fizz and hot canapes which served as our first course. We then had some more photos taken. Then, we sat down for a quick toast and then main course. As we didn’t have a best man etc. we did a quiz instead – with team captains per table and people reading out questions. Whilst it was a little hectic at times, it was hilarious and everyone got chatting and laughing altogether. The winners got medals and the losers a wooden spoon.

More drinks followed, we had an Magic Mirror and a live band which got everyone partying. We had a show-stopper cake, sweet stall and enough cheese to sink a ship which kept the non-dancers busy.

We made a lot of stuff ourselves, from the table plan, to order of the day, sign to welcome etc. This was the only surefire way to make sure that it was exactly what we wanted and helped thread the rose gold theme through the day – from the scratch-card wedding favours to my shoes!

The best bits

Walking from the boat to the Rowing Club which may sound totally crazy in the torrential rain but it was so much fun! David and I were together, just the two of us for the first time that day – huddled under a brolly, covered in confetti, laughing, with all of our friends and family behind us. We were walking along Putney Embankment (something I’ve done countless times before) but in a wedding dress, having the time of my life!

Advice from the bride

Trust the experts! They are experts and know their stuff. Even though all of your friends will offer you countless bits of advice, listen to the ladies which do this all day, every day.

Also, be as honest as possible beforehand and during the fittings. I’d filled in the pre-appointment form and made reference to being rather top-heavy…Emma had picked out a perfect mixture of dresses, even letting me try on her own wedding dress to prove to me that it would all be ok! Ask questions as you go, it’s very reassuring.

In general, you can’t plan for everything. We knew that getting married in March may mean rain, snow, sunshine or all three. In the week before, everyone was preoccupied with the weather but that was the one thing I couldn’t control. So we gave in to it, approached the day with a smile and had the best time. Seeing you relaxed, relaxes your guests and everyone can concentrate on what they’re there for – a celebration. Personally, the rain made our day in a funny sort of way.