Your London Wedding - May/Jun 2019 (Issue 65)

REAL WEDDINGS 43  E mma and Jonny met in Thailand while both travelling prior to a working holiday to Australia and New Zealand respectively. “My friend Rosie and I sat down next to these boys from Yorkshire at a crowded beach bar and got chatting,” Emma reveals. “Jonny and I clicked, he was hilarious, lovely and so interesting to talk to. One afternoon turned into two weeks travelling together as a group and our first kiss. Funnily enough, Rosie also hit it off with one off with Jonny’s friends, Darren and they’re still together too!” As the two groups of friends were ultimately destined for separate countries, they parted at the end of the fortnight but Jonny quickly changed his plans. “He arrived in Melbourne in February 2011 and we haven’t left each other’s side since,” admits Emma. Fast forward seven years and the couple were back in the UK at Glastonbury when Jonny popped the question at the top of Ribbon Tower. “I was totally shocked and after lots of photos and tears, we couldn’t wait to get back to our friends and celebrate,” says Emma. On their return from the festival, the pair quickly agreed on a London wedding and set about hunting for their dream venue. “A few people mentioned The West Reservoir Centre, which is close to the first flat we lived in together,” explains Jonny. “We loved the industrial feel and the fact it was a blank canvas.” Having secured a reception space, the rest of their plans quickly followed – with the nearby Hackney Town Hall providing the perfect ceremony space and their local pub an ideal location for their drinks reception immediately after their ‘I dos’. THE PERSONAL TOUCH The couple were keen to honour their relationship history through their décor, commissioning an Australian designer to create a welcome sign featuring the Ribbon Tower, naming their tables after their favourite areas of Glastonbury festival and making limoncello to give out as favours as a reminder of their favourite holidays. Walthamstow-based florist Sweet Pea Rosa worked with a colour palette of pink, yellow and green to create stunning bouquets and buttonholes as well as wrapping beams with foliage and supplying potted succulents to jazz up the photo station. A neon sign, hired from God’s Own Junkyard, lent colour and personality to the space. Emma and Jonny hired in rustic-style banqueting tables, keeping the table décor simple in order to leave space for their sharing platters. “Food was hugely important to us and one of the reasons we opted for a dry hire venue,” says Emma. “I met Deanna from Platter & Slate at a Christmas party – the food was superb so Jonny and I arranged to meet her for a chat. She was so Emma and Jonny chose a blush pink colour scheme to soften the industrial vibe of their Hackney big day Images courtesy of Alice the Camera T R A V E L COMPANIONS