After postponing their wedding 4 times, Emily and Elliot were finally married in late September, with a romantic, intimate candle lit ceremony at the gorgeous Asylum Chapel in Peckham. Emily wore the soft, sleek 940 wedding dress, which features an elegant, flowing skirt and delicate ruffled shoulders. It was the perfect choice for their relaxed day, which ended in a small celebration at one of the couple's favourite pubs, The Camberwell Arms in South London.
Read on for more images of the day, and some words about the planning process in Emily's own words.
Jesus Peiro 940 wedding dress
I went for the Jesus Peiro 940, but I loved the material of the 946 (mainly because the crepe was so soft and comfy) so Emma suggested I get it made in that material, and it was perfect. I knew that I wanted something minimalist and modern, but I absolutely loved how unique it was. I’d never seen a wedding dress like it, I loved the soft flutter sleeves and the open back and as soon as I put it on, I felt great in it.
I brought my Mum and my three bridesmaids with me when I first found the dress. I tried on quite a few styles before we got to this one, which was so much fun, but none of them were jumping out at me or made me feel as elegant as I did when I put on the 940. They all adored it and they said it was very much me. But I am pretty indecisive so I went away to think about it and then a few weeks later took my brother, who has an excellent eye and knew he’d help with the finer points. When I put it on, I knew it was the one, and my brother and Mum said I didn’t need to try on any others! It felt so nice that we were all in agreement.
Dress Shopping
I’m so glad I went to Miss Bush so early on, on the recommendation of quite a few friends who absolutely raved about the whole experience. And they weren’t wrong - my expectations were certainly exceeded, it was wonderful. Before coming to Miss Bush, I’d struggled to find a dress that felt like my style, but Emma knew what would suit me and she totally understood the vibe I was after. I loved trying on all the dresses, especially the incredible Jesus Peiro sparkly 'Paniculata' dress with a cape that had just arrived in the chapel! Emma was so chilled and fun, and the appointments didn’t feel rushed at all. The chapel is such a lovely place to go dress shopping, and it’s so nice having the whole place to yourself. I really can’t recommend it enough!
The Miss Bush team were absolute pros at making me feel looked after throughout. They genuinely care and constantly made me feel calm. We re-arranged our wedding date 4 times, so that was a lot of changes to my dress-fittings, particularly when my final fitting was suddenly the night before our wedding! Jo and Rosie went above and beyond to make sure my dress was perfect and ready for me. Thank you so much to Emma, Rosie, Jo, Liz and team for everything throughout.
Styling
I wanted a classic, elegant look, but with a modern twist. I decided to go for a simple veil, so you could see the sleeve and button detail on the back of the dress. I chose mother of pearl earrings from Wolf and Moon as I loved how different they were, and a beautiful Miss Clemmie gold and pearl hair comb which worked really well with the earrings, and perfect against my hair. I also wore a gold bracelet which was my great grandmother’s, it was a very last minute ‘something borrowed’ from my Mum and I loved it!
My shoes were from Harriet Wilde - I searched high and low for blue, block mid-heels, which were super comfy, and these were a dream! I loved them being my ‘something blue’ and they also tied in so perfectly with the flowers and bridesmaids dresses. They were great - can’t wait to wear them again!
An intimate wedding at Asylum Chapel, Peckham
Our original goal was a relaxed, barn wedding surrounded by beautiful countryside, with a delicious feast, great music and plenty of booze, and some finer details that brought our personalities and relationship out. But when we realised our postponed wedding in October wasn’t going to happen, we decided to re-think the plan, as we both knew we 100% didn’t want to postpone it again. It had been so heartbreaking and stressful up until this point that we couldn’t bear to think about it anymore, and we knew the most important thing was to get married and make the best of the situation. All things considered, we were happy to have a small wedding, but we didn’t want to have it in our original venue as it would have felt like a huge compromise.
So we decided to go in the complete other direction and have a wedding in Peckham, where we lived for the past 5 years. Our priorities still remained very much the same, and we wanted a day that represented us as a couple.
We chose the Asylum Chapel which we’d actually viewed when we first got engaged, before opting for the countryside wedding, so we came full circle! It actually felt meant to be, and it was better than we ever imagined. Poppy, our florist filled the chapel with the most gorgeous blooms, and the candles were stunning. We were a bit worried it would feel empty as it’s a pretty large space for only 30 people, but it didn’t matter at all. We chose some of our favourite music for the ceremony which made it feel so special.
For the meal, we chose one of our favourite pubs in the area, The Camberwell Arms. They have a private room upstairs and it was just what we were looking for - an intimate, stylish, light filled room, and we knew we could trust that the food and drink would be delicious - they definitely didn’t let us down! Not forgetting the London bus which took us there, that some family surprised us with on the day - that was a definite highlight!
We re-planned the whole wedding for the first week in October, but when a week before, the government changed the restrictions yet again, we both said we couldn’t make any more sacrifices to our day, so we called all our suppliers and guests and miraculously brought the whole thing forward by a week, which was honestly just mad, but amazing! Everyone went above and beyond to make it happen and be there for us, including our florist who went to the Vauxhall Flower Market at 3am the day before in order to create the most beautiful flowers, and our friends who created the amazing place names until 2am the night before the wedding! We were blown away.
Despite all the compromises we had to make, I can wholeheartedly say that we ended up having the most perfect day (in it’s own weird and wonderful way!) and we would not change any of it. There was something so meaningful about only having our 25 closest people to us there,, and you could literally feel the joy from everyone that we'd finally managed to get married and have an amazing, memorable day. We really do think it was so much more special as a result of all the twists and turns we'd been through to get there!
The best bits
It was all so magical, but honestly, my most favourite part was the ceremony. Finally walking down the aisle with my Dad and seeing Elliot (in tears!), then saying our vows in front of our closest friends and family, I have never ever felt happiness like it and I just couldn’t believe it was finally happening. It was so surreal - it was such a rollercoaster and especially crazy 36 hours before, and I think the photos of the ceremony show that we were still in complete disbelief!
Beforehand, I was worried the ceremony would feel very dull and rushed due to restrictions on what we could do, but our registrar was absolutely amazing and put everyone at ease straight away. He made the whole thing feel personal and a proper celebration.
The speeches were amazing too, not forgetting when my brother played a few songs on his guitar at the end of the evening and everyone joined in with the singing and Elliot and I had a little dance - it was so special, especially when we couldn’t have a proper party.
Emily's Advice
Postponing and rearranging a wedding multiple times is so unbelievably devastating, especially when you spend so much time planning something that literally gets taken from you. But hold onto the love you have for one another, and don’t forget the support you have from your friends and family, and your suppliers! We were so touched by how incredible and kind everyone was during this crazy year. If you lean on friends and family, it’ll feel like a real team effort when it all comes together which is the best feeling!
Remember what’s important and try and roll with whatever is thrown at you… and if that’s having a small wedding, go for it! They’re so great. I never thought I would be happy with it, but it really was so special. And you can always have a big party at a later date and wear your dress again!
All our suppliers were fantastic and I can’t recommend them enough - Jay (our photographer) was a legend, and ended up being a wedding guest and sitting down for the meal, and he got on with everyone so well, plus of course capturing the day so perfectly.. Carolanne is an absolute dream, she was so patient with me with all the chopping and changing, and she made my sleep deprived and stressed face look like a bride! Poppy is the most talented, thoughtful and dedicated florist, I will never forget how beautiful they were.
Suppliers
Photographer: Jay Rowden
Ceremony Venue: Asylum Chapel
Hair and Makeup: Carolanne Armstrong
Florist: Poppy Wild Floral
Bridesmaid Dresses: Rewritten
Shoes: Harriet Wilde
Hair comb: Miss Clemmie Bridal Accessories
Reception Venue: The Camberwell Arms
Groom suit: Beggars Run
Earrings: Wolf and Moon
Pyjamas: Made your day