Bohemian London Wedding

How can you top an amazingly hip couple with a classically bohemian wedding style? Oh yeah, you can’t. We’re lucky enough to have this wedding from Ellie Gillard (and with stunning floral arrangements from Rebecca Clarkson of Battersea Flower Station) and we’re ga-ga for all the details — like the dried flowers, the bride’s style, and the abundance of feathers and candles.

From the bride, Georgie: It was always going to be an East London wedding; it’s where we met and have lived together for the last 5 and a half years. We decided to play it safe, and opt for a winter wedding given how unpredictable British summertime can be. Keeping it personal was important, for example we took creative license when it came to traditions. So the church was a very old fashioned ceremony where we had to kneel, but we shunned other traditions like having a seating plan. Music was key. In fact, I think one of the first things we booked was the band (Fleetwood Bac – an amazing tribute band). They kind of became the inspiration for the look and feel of the wedding.

Bouquet recipe: David Austin roses, dried lavender, scabiosa, blush wax flower, wild forget me nots, dried wheat and cream spray roses.

Overall I would describe the theme as wild gypsy, bohemian meets Gothic, medieval. We had loads of handmade hanging feathers, dried wild flowers, giant dream catchers, ribbon garlands and hundreds of candles (500 to be precise!). Our friend designed amazing bespoke wedding invites that were three personalised tarot cards representing our past, present and future. We set up an old school type writer as a guest book. Another friend made us a beautiful personalised card box from an old suitcase. And there was a washing line of photos of us from babies to now, including shots of us with all the guests at the wedding. There was no colour scheme per se; we just wanted to keep it all quite muted and washed out, with accents of punchier, bold shades like my black cherry lipstick.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Be all over the detail, especially if you don’t have a planner. I work in advertising, so treated it in the same way I would a big production. I had pre-production documents, timing plans and a contact sheet for the wedding party with responsibilities. It just meant that on the day I was so chilled, we had done everything we could and if something went wrong it wasn’t my problem! Get friends and family involved and draw on their skills. Our pals were incredible — my friend Gina did my hair and makeup, Ben did our wedding stationery, another friend DJed, my Dad and Stepmum are chefs so did the food, and we had a gang help us set it up the day before and break it down after. We were super lucky to be surrounded by such talented folk.

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From the photographer, Ellie Gillard: Georgie and Andy are super stylish, and planned a urban bohemian wedding with a natural, elegant hippie flavour, in the blank canvas of London’s Tab Centre. Georgie had an amazing Charlotte Casadejus dress, and Andy chose to rock the teddy boy look with a suit from Sandro. The room was decorated with organic elements – corn, lemons and artichokes, as well as giant dreamcatchers, ivy and hundreds of candles.

Wedding Music:
Processional: Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
Signing of the Register: “Sea of Love,” Cat Power; “True Love Will Find You in the End,” Daniel Jonson (covered by our lovely friend Charlotte Hancock)
First Dance: “I Wanna Stay With You,” Gallagher and Lyle
Bouquet Toss: “All the Single Ladies,” Beyonce
Last Dance: “You Can Go Your Own Way,” Fleetwood Mac
I also made a number of playlists which I tried to compliment for the different moods for the day. For example modern string music for the church, beautiful folk-y tracks for straight after the ceremony, chilled 60/70s for the meal and some more uptempo 80s to see us into the night.

Wedding Location: London, England / Photographer: Ellie Gillard / Florist: Rebecca Clarkson of Battersea Flower Station / Ceremony Venue: St Leonard’s Church / Reception Venue: The Tab Venue / Wedding Dress: Charlotte Casadejus via Luella’s Boudoir / Headpiece: Pamela Love via Bona Drag / Wedding Shoes: Marni / Hair and Makeup: Gina Best (ginabest @ gmail.com) / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Free People / Bridesmaids’ Shoes: Fury / Groom’s Suit: Sandro / Groom’s Shoes: Prada / Caterer: The Good Eating Company / Band: Fleetwood Bac / DJ: David Russell / Dream Catchers: Sheriden Rochelle Walters / Lighting: LX Tricks Lighting / Wedding Invitations: Ben Edwards / Videographer: Mark Brown Films / Photobooth: LookLook