Like no other

Posted by Sarah Gallivan on 27 February 2023

Rebecca and David met in a local bar on Christmas Eve, so a seasonal wedding was always on the cards for them. "Linking our day to that time of the year was very special to us," Rebecca says.

"David was like no man I'd met before. We took the time to get to know each other and found that we were both attracted to what we wanted from life and how we were going to get there, and we share the same sense of humour, which helps!" she says.

Confetti It was during a holiday in Portugal that David proposed. "It was a complete surprise, as a few days before I'd joked that I loved a particular ring I'd seen while we were out shopping for last-minute holiday bits and David got upset saying that we couldn't afford it to throw me off the scent," she recalls.

"We'd rented a beautiful villa with our family, and I was getting ready to go to dinner one night when David called me out to the garden. All of our family were on the balcony looking over us and our son was standing next to me when the next thing I knew, David was down on one knee," Rebecca explains.

"The sun was going down behind us and it was a very special moment. I was in so much shock, I couldn't really take in what he was saying," she adds.

The duo tied the knot at The Old Marylebone Town Hall and hosted their reception at 34 Mayfair. "We wanted something small and intimate with a jazzy London vibe," says Rebecca.

"When we walked in, we knew it was perfect for our guest numbers. It had a beautiful bar with neon signs, a small space for dancing and for entertainment to perform and the staff were really friendly."

When it came to getting to the venue, there was a slight hiccup. "We hired a white wedding bus to take guests from the ceremony to the reception but there was a police incident in Westminster, which meant the roads had been shut off so it couldn't get to us in time.

Luckily it was only five minutes away so instead we all got black cabs or walked.

It'd just started to drizzle with rain but we made it work," Rebecca says.

Bride's Dress

Rebecca's dress was by Australian designer Jane Hill.

"I always knew what style I wanted. I loved square necklines and gowns with lots of embellishment," she says.

"I found a dress online called Benji and my son is called Bennie, so it had to be the one!

I found out that there was a trunk show at Halo and Wren, a small boutique in Hemel Hemstead and booked straight away to go and check out the collection," she explains.

After trying on four different dresses, she knew that Benji was the one for her.

"The dress was very bling with pearls and shimmer, so I paired it with small diamond pear-drop earrings and wore a pair of white patent Christian Loubiton court heels to keep the look simple," says Rebecca.

David and his groomsmen all looked handsome in black tuxedos with a satin lapel and black patent shoes.

Rebecca's maids of honour wore black satin floor-length dresses to match the theme.

Flowers Rebecca carried a beautiful bouquet of white roses and the flowers in the décor complemented that perfectly.

"For our centrepieces we had gold bowls that contained a mixture of red, blush and white winter flowers to reflect the deep colours of the room," she describes.

"We didn't opt for much décor, as the room was very colourful and dressed already. It had a beautiful Christmas tree in the corner with flowers and cute neon signs were placed around the space, which we loved."

The table plan was a large white textured card on an easel with black writing and gold wax R&D stamps and table names were displayed in simple gold frames.

These matched the place names, menus and invitations, tying the stationery together seamlessly.

"We had a two-tier white and gold flecked vanilla cake. It was simple but beautiful with a personalised gold mirrored Mr and Mrs Earley topper to add the finishing touch," says Rebecca.

For the favours, guests were treated to personalised white biscuits that were detailed with the duo’s married name and wedding date in gold lettering

Table setting The wedding breakfast consisted of burrata cheese to start, slow-cooked beef for mains and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. "It was all really lovely," says Rebecca.

"During the evening we had the most amazing performers who I found on Instagram. They sung our first dance song and then party music for two hours. I didn't want anything cheesy, and they were fabulous," Rebecca recalls.

The day was captured on camera by Heather Sham Photography. "Heather was brilliant. Even in the rain taking our couple photos we laughed so much, she just slotted into the day without feeling too intrusive," says Rebecca.

Family The newlyweds were nervous on their day but loved every minute. "It was the right time for both of us. We had our children there, had bought our house and this was our next step," says Rebecca.

"A standout part for us both was watching how happy our children were on the day. Our son cried in the ceremony, which was very sweet, and they both danced all night and had so much fun," she says.

"At dinner when we got the chance to sit next to each other and chat, we looked around the room at our close family and friends and we both got emotional at what we'd achieved. It was an amazing feeling."