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WPC Real Wedding: Lauren and Ed's Intimate London Wedding
Today we have the pleasure of sharing the stunning London wedding of real WPC couple, Lauren and Ed. Like so many of our couples they had to drastically adjust their original wedding plans, adapting from a 200 guest wedding to a 27 guest wedding to be in line with the restrictions imposed by Covid-19. With Bride, Lauren, being from Texas they had added complications when it came to planning as her American family had to quarantine in the UK for almost a month before the wedding. All their effort was well and truly worth it though. They went ahead with their ceremony in the spectacular Brompton Oratory (as originally planned) and then travelled on a vintage London Bus to their intimate reception and dinner at The Connaught Hotel. Read on as Lauren shares her brilliant wedding suppliers, and her top tips for adapting and planning an intimate wedding that is in line with Covid-19 guidelines.
What has been the highlight of your experience with The Wedding Present Company?
We loved the showroom experience! Browsing presents with Nyetimber was so special.
How did The Wedding Present Company support you through the changes to your wedding plans?
Everyone was so helpful throughout. They held our wedding list until we figured out how our wedding was going to evolve, they helped us narrow down our list for to accommodate a smaller wedding and offered advise at every step of the way.
What were your favourite brands available at The Wedding Present Company?
Why did you choose The Wedding Present Company for your wedding list?
We love Georgie Evans - the MD, and we've consistently heard great things from friends and family that have used them!
Your favourite wedding presents?
Engagement Story
I came home from work and Ed was acting overly excited for a Friday at 6pm. I asked where my class ring was that went missing earlier that day and he thought it was the perfect opportunity to swap out the engagement ring for the class ring. As I reached in to grab my class ring, I noticed that it felt a little different (in a very good way...) I then had to remind him that he needed to get down on one knee!
Your original plans for your wedding?
A big celebration at the Royal Hospital Chelsea with 180 guests, dinner in the Great Hall and dancing into the early hours!
How did you have to adapt your wedding to be in line with Covid restrictions?
We got married on the 12th of September. We went from 180 to 27 guests (just family). We still held our wedding ceremony at the Brompton Oratory (as planned) but moved our reception and dinner to The Connaught Hotel. My family from Texas managed to make it over and my grandparents quarantined in a flat across the street from us for 18 days! We had our nearest and dearest zooming in from the States and the UK to join us.
Décor and Flowers
We had warm pink and white roses. The Connaught is a beautiful space that didn't require much additional decoration.
Bridal Fashion
My wedding dress from Le Sposo di Gio. I chose a classic fitted shape with a beautiful off the shoulder design. I wore Valentino pumps and accessorised with pearls my mom gave me for my 16th birthday and a veil borrowed from my Bridesmaid in Dallas.
Hair & Make Up
Raymond Bryson from Lockonego did my hair and SJ Wai from Charlotte Tilbury did my make up.
Your Partner's Fashion
Ed's trousers from Oliver brown, his waistcoast from Sirplus and his tie from Hermes was passed down to him from my Papa. He wore a traditional Morning Coat which he already owned.
Bridesmaids, Flower Girls & Page Boys Fashion
They all looked divine! The girls' dresses were from Next (shh....)
Caterer
The Connaught Hotel did all of our catering. For dinner we had Langoustine Dumplings for starter followed by Beef Fillet with Potatoes. We had an excellent Cheese course and then enjoyed our Wedding Cake for something sweet.
Wine/Cocktails/Other Drinks
We had Champagne to start and delicious Red and White wine for the main meal. Espresso Martinis somehow crept in before dinner ended...!
Photographer & Videographer
Chris Jelf was our wonderful photographer and Frances Madell from Reel Love Films made our beautiful video. Both captured beautiful moments and life long memories of the day.
Are you planning on having another wedding celebration in the future?
We are yet to decide. We may do a couple of Barbecues next year to celebrate.
Did you live stream any of your wedding for guests that weren't able to attend?
Yes, we live zoomed it. Ahead of the wedding we sent all our Zoom wedding guests the order of service so that they could follow along. We also included a link to our wedding list with this email as a lot of guests had still been asking us for details of our gift list, even though they weren't able to attend in person. We were so touched.
Stand Out Moments
Seeing a big gold band go onto Ed's finger at the altar was a definite highlight! Walking through a shower of confetti thrown by our nearest and dearest as we left the ceremony. Hopping on the double decker to The Connaught. My dad's speech which made me cry and Ed's speech which made me smile. We eventually headed back to the Goring at 3am, and it was so amazing to see our friend had decorated our room with petals and Champagne for us!
Top tips to couples currently navigating wedding planning?
Do what makes you happy and don't worry about anything else! The day flies by (as everyone says) so remember it's just a day and that you get to spend the rest of your life with this person. We would have loved to have all our friends and family there but we had to adapt and couldn't have been happier.
Suppliers
Wedding List: The Wedding Present Company
Church: Brompton Oratory
Reception and Catering: The Connaught Hotel
Bridal Fashion: Le Sposo di Gio & Valentino
Groom Fashion: Oliver brown, Sirplus, & Hermes
Photographer: Chris Jelf
Videographer: Reel Love Films