Alex & Peter
England
July 6th & 7th
A LITTLE BACKSTORY
Alex & Peter approached us shortly after their idyllic Cotswolds engagement over Christmas. Peter, the groom, grew up in England and they knew from the start that they wanted to their friends and family, mostly traveling from the States, to experience the British culture and summertime via their destination wedding.
Alex & Peter decided to base their guests in West London, with the Welcome Party taking place in the city - at an old judge's house turned restaurant known as Sessions Arts Club - and their Wedding taking place the following day at an estate in the countryside known as Hedsor House. Hedsor is an Italianate-style country house overlooking the River Thames dating back to 1166.
Alex & Peter chose these locations to give their guests the best of both worlds between city chic and the quintessential English countryside. The ceremony took place in the manicured gardens of the estate's south lawn, overlooking the rolling hills of the valley beyond. The ceremony was followed by a lively cocktail hour, intimate dinner, and dancing all throughout different areas of the estate.
A primarily neutral palette of off-white, cream, wood and green mixed with pops of wildflower yellows. When using metals, gold was the default.
THE COLOR WAY
THE LOCATIONS
Day 1 - Sessions Arts Club
Day 2 - Wedding Day - Hedsor House
THE VIBES
Cocktail Hour and Evening food inspired by Groom's culture- both Greek and British
Wildflowers inspired by the English countryside
Old world party mood
Touches of British summertime EVERYWHERE
x marks the {ceremony} spot!
x
07.06.23
One thing that was really important to Alex & Peter from the start was that guests had the opportunity to experience both the city and countryside. Early on in the planning process, we decided to base all guests in West London and therefore, they were local to the Welcome Party and a short shuttle to Hedsor House for the Wedding Day. Their wedding website was filled with recommendations on what to see, do & (obviously) eat/drink in their free time.
Sessions Arts Club is a hidden gem in the city - it holds old warm charm whilst being sophisticated in style. The evening was filled with Champagne toast, small bites and speeches from Friends & Family.
As the interiors speak for themselves, we kept additional design details to a minimum this evening in order to slowly build up to the Wedding Day.
THE WELCOME PARTY
PEEK AT THE PLAYLIST
The Floral Direction
We knew florals would be a big chapter in this weekend's story. The idea from the beginning was to pull inspiration from the British countryside, we wanted the house and gardens to feel very organic. There was no one better for the job than, Aesme. Sisters, Alex & Jess, were a shoe in... one glance at their Instagram will tell you why... They marry city chic with countryside charm all too well... they even grow all flowers on their very own farm in Hampshire.
Together with Alex & Jess, we spent the winter months putting our imagination in summer and creating a design that felt organic to the garden itself. We'll get to that more when we cover the ceremony...
Whilst we floral variety freedom to Alex & Jess, we knew wanted designs which were very floral heavy (minimal grasses) and for there to be varying leading flowers throughout, especially in the Bridal & Bridesmaids bouquets.
A MOMENT FOR THE FLOWERS...
THE WEDDING DAY
07.07.23
Getting Ready
Having stayed in London on the night before the wedding, we arranged for a private transfer for Alex and her 6 bridesmaids as well as her mother and mother-in-law on the morning of the wedding... destination- Hedsor's iconic Bridal Suite, one of the largest in Europe!
Once to the venue, the ladies slipped into chic silk pajamas, sipped a local English Sparkling Wine and relaxed into Hair & Makeup.
For lunch, we organised a spread of smoked salmon bagels, turkey wraps, a cheese board and a variety of salads.
WEDDING DAY
Guest Arrival
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Whilst the ladies we're busy sipping Champagne, jumping on the bed and doing hair and makeup, the guys spent the morning in London town opting for a long breakfast at the hotel. Once to Hedsor, they caught up on the fun, transforming one of Hedsor's suites into the 'Groom's Room' where we arranged a leisurely lunch... with Champagne and beer. Once the guys were ready, they took to the croquet course for a little fun before guests arrived... this made for playful and fitting Groomsmen portraits.
No fun was had in the Bridal Suite...
When the Americans take over the croquet lawn...
Guest Arrival
We never turn down an opportunity to conceptualize guest fashion moods for the wedding website, and today's brief was semi-formal garden party. As you can see from the images above, the guests absolutely nailed it!
Wedding day
Throughout all of our weddings, one thing that is really important to us, is dividing the wedding into chapters and slowly revealing those throughout the day and night. When arriving to Hedsor, the grandeur of the house is remarkable so we really wanted to allow guests to enjoy that moment, explore the sunken garden (which isn't used at any other point in the day) and have time to capture portraits with the house in the background prior to entertng the ceremony.
We never miss a beat when it comes to presentation... we brought in green scallop trays for servers to use for welcome drinks + canapés.
Food & beverage was a top priority for Alex & Peter so it was important throughout the day to not only have a plentiful menu but a diverse one too. We mixed up canapés during the Welcome Drinks so that guests would have something entirely new to try during Cocktail Hour.
A glimpse at the menu...
Caramelised onion tart with feta and honey
Steak frites with bearnaise sauce
Cornish crab croquettes with saffron mayonnaise
Just a stones throw away from Hedsor House sits Harrow & Hope, a beautiful vineyard famous for their English sparkling wine. We opted for the sparkling rosé for guest arrival or lemonade with a lavender straw and dehydrated lemon slice.
Every day of Alex & Peter's wedding week called for rain EXCEPT on their wedding day where it was nothing but pure sun and HEAT! We brought in white paddle fans for the guests to use throughout the ceremony and white paper umbrellas for the VIPs.
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We eased guests into design with the welcome drinks opting for a ribbed curved bar, cream linen and small bowl arrangements on high tables. Since we really wanted people to be free to explore and say hello, and because this section of the day was relatively short, we opted to save all lounge furniture for Cocktail Hour.
The ceremony
From our first site visit, we knew wanted to transform Hedsor's Italianate Garden into the ceremony location. Together alongside Aesme, we worked on a design whereby guests were seated around the garden and engulfed with florals including a beautiful running aisle of wild flowers. It came together perfectly.
wedding day
the CEREMONY MUSIC
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After the ceremony, Alex and Peter went directly to start their Champagne tower (more on that next) but we couldn't move along without expanding on these jaw-dropping photos from the ceremony location.
A string quartet welcomed guests to the space and created the perfect ambiance for 'I do's'
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD by Louis Armstrong
RIVER FLOWS IN YOU by Yiruma
HERE COMES THE SUN by The Beatles
THERE SHE GOES by The La's
Alex & Peter opted not to do a first look and instead, see each other for the first time when Alex descended the Drawing Room stairs- it made for the most magical moment.
We designed the ceremony to encompass them, they had family & friends from every circle of life so with guests sitting like this, it truly felt like a halo of love and support. Along with the floral aisle and gardens, there was a perfect backdrop to every angle- from one side, you can see the rolling hills of the English countryside and from the other, the perfect backdrop of Hedsor House.
Hedsor have these beautiful urns on the South Lawn which are normally empty- we knew they were calling out for a standout arrangement and Aesme were up for the task!
Just like with all of our events, we timed the entire wedding party's walk and had assistants at each checkpoint to flag the next. For Alex, we purposefully timed her walk to that she would have 15 seconds at the top of the steps to take it all in, stop for the photo and of course see Peter for the first time. It was truly perfect.
tastes & tipples
wedding day
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In addition to the scone cart, we knew we wanted one other interactive station so when At Home presented the idea of the Bruschetta cart, we were sold! We opted to have a chef stationed here so guests could have fresh parmesan or cracked pepper atop their bruschetta.
We decided to have At Home put their homemade jam (which guests were having with their scone) into little jam jars. We then ordered cute yellow and white gingham tops and designed labels to feature guests' names and their table numbers. It was the perfect treat.
For the bar, we opted to have a selection of beet, wine, spirits and of course some of Alex & Peter's favorite cocktails...
Dirty Vodka Martini, Blue Cheese Olives
Espresso Martini
Negroni
Old Fashioned
Bramble
Aperol Spritz
Lychee Bite Mocktail
We love playing into both the setting and the couple's heritage when it comes to catering on the wedding day. It goes without saying, we had to bring in afternoon tea in some way. We decided to take a modern take on this concept and create a scone cart where guests could come and not only get a scone but also find their seat...
The goal of the day was to give the {mostly} American guest list, a taste of British Summertime... one of the best ways to do that is through food & entertainment. On the menu you ask? In addition to the live action stations (you'll get to those further down, we had a canapé feast of ...
Crab and salmon tartare, spiced feta cream tart with toasted sesame
Crispy ponzu scallops topped with wasabi mayonnaise
Crispy chilli beef wontons and dip
Wild mushroom arancini dotted with truffle aioli
Chicken souvlaki skewer drizzled with tzatziki dip
Spanakopita
Live action stations...
cocktail Hour
wedding day
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Whilst Alex & Peter were doing the Champagne tower, we quickly moved the string quartet from the ceremony space to near the croquet lawn which is where they played modern garden/Bridgerton vibes for the remainder of Cocktail Hour.
Oh good! Looks like were not the only ones who LOVE a good Cocktail Hour.
We simply couldn't resist using the Hedsor Lawn for a croquet green... we brought in an expert (in croquet whites and all) and it's safe to say, it was A. HIT.
One of our biggest struggles was keeping a divide between the ceremony and cocktail hour since essentially, it all happened on the same lawn. We really leaned on service and entertainment to help us move guests from one space to the next. So, as soon as Alex and Peter 'exited' the ceremony, we had them head over to the Champagne tower where all guests soon followed.
We kept furniture minimal to two lounge sections like this (which had a double purpose of separating ceremony & cocktail hour) as well as petit garden tables to line the croquet court and several large umbrellas to help with the incredible sun we had!
The Table Design
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Ribbed wine glasses + tumbler paired perfectly with vintage Champagne flutes.
We always have to keep service front of mind... since the plates for starters needed to be prepped during cocktail hour AND dinner plates needed to be in the hot cupboard, we had to use these plates for actual service...
Matt gold cutlery was used with a chalk urbane style cloth.
These textured plates added an ounce of modernity to the table and were the perfect base for the place setting guests walked into.
Menus doubled as name place settings... we added a hand-sketched flower to compliment the flowers which ran down the entire table length.
These cane-back chairs checked the style and comfort box... we opted for a neutral cushion & therefore leave all of the color to the florals.
dinner service
Where the entire day, so far, had been outside, there was something super intimate and refined about stepping into Hedsor's wood panelled Ballroom under a trio of crystal chandeliers. As the sun was so perfectly beaming through the windows, we decided to turn down all of the overhead lights and let the natural light, alongside hundreds of candles, flood the room.
As guests found their seats, they were welcomed with a choice of Champagne, wine or had the option of ordering another cocktail directly to the table. We always like to leave buffer in this part of the day, we find there are always guests who could happily stay in cocktail hour ALL day and night, ha and it's so lovely for people to find their seat without feeling rushed.
When guests sat down, they had fresh Focaccia bread and olive oil waiting on them.
wedding day
Heirloom tomato salad with burrata and black olive caramel
Fillet of beef, pressed potato terrine, braised leeks, spinach, beef jus and horseradish emulsion
OR
Fillet of line caught seabass, buttery mash, bouillabaisse sauce, baby spinach and rouille
Almond and orange cake with Greek yogurt ice cream
ON THE MENU
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Dinner service can often be like the swan of the day. As planners, we need to not only over see the service, speeches and entertainment but this is typically a big transition moment. For Alex & Peter, we knew we had to flip the Drawing Room into a lounge for the party, oversee rental collections from the ceremony plus give our final 'seal of approval on both the bar and the party space. It's no small task. OH, how must we forget those golden hour photos that typically happen right in the middle of all of the above...
Since there were quite a few speeches at The Welcome Party, we kept speeches on the Wedding night to Alex's mom, dad, sister as well as Peter's which made more than a few, to say the least, shed a tear. As the sun set over the valley, guests were invited to make their way to the dance floor... and of course, grab an espresso martini en-route.
The Dance Party
No one could take their eyes off Alex & Peter's first dance...
wedding day
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This column wrapped in foliage and dotted with roses can happily live in my dreams, rent free.
Here's the thing... we love to mix things up. Rewind (again) to our first Hedsor House site visit, though this isn't the 'traditional' placement of the stage and band, we knew the room was practically made for it to be this way. Our goal is to always take what's pre-exsisting whether that is architecture, a garden, natural landscape, etc and enhance it, in a natural and organic way and... we did just that.
Guests walked in, espresso martini in hand to The London Function Band revving up for the party. Their stage was beautfully lined with those incredible flowers from our ceremony aisle and we opted to add several metres of foliage to Hedsor's original, Italianate columns. Just like at dinner, we opted to turn off all over-head lighting and focus on lighting from the ground up, with the exception of those crowd pleasing moving heads.
Repurposed floral aisle from the ceremony....
One of the toughest decisions during the planning process for A&P was when and where to have their cake moment. In the end, we suggested having the cake on show throughout the day for guests but then during the party, sneaking away for 5 minutes to have an intimate moment to cut it, just them. It was truly perfect...
It wouldn't be the end of the evening without late-night bites... right? As a nod to Peter's Greek heritage, we opted for salt and vinegar halloumi fries, chicken tenders with Nandos suace (IYKYK), cheese & chili toasties + the wedding cake.
Last but not least, before guests boarded the shuttle back to London, they were offered salty or sweet popcorn for the journey home.
