LONDON WEDDING AT SYON PARK : REBECCA & JAMES
Photos By Holly Clark Photography
Rebecca & James’ wedding was set in London at the breathtaking Syon Park. As they reside in Canada they wanted a UK wedding venue where they could bring all their international guests together and that had an essence of an Italian destination. A place very close to their heart as it’s where they went on their first date!
Rebecca initially came to me as being outside of the UK she needed lots of help and wanted someone she could trust to execute her visions for the day and help with all the complex logistics. Working with Rebecca was such an exciting collaborative journey, she has amazing style and had a clear vision but had no idea what was possible, it was so rewarding seeing our process come to life.
The entire design was centred around Rebecca & James’ first date, which was the beginning of their love story. We turned Syon Park into an Italian courtyard with bistro chairs, parasols, statues, wrought iron furniture, festoon lights, and wild floral installations with a colour palette scattered with pastel blues and ochre yellow which perfectly complimented the impressive glass-panelled conservatory backdrop and stone floor.
Conscious that after the previous few years Rebecca and James hadn’t been able to see their close family, they wanted to spend as much time enjoying the day with them. We, therefore, planned for the family and couples portraits to take place at Syon House and its beautiful grounds pre-ceremony. This meant as soon as they were married the couple could enjoy all their time at the courtyard drinks reception with their 120 guests whilst being serenaded by Violinist Sally Potterton. Aperol and Limoncello spritz alongside Italian-inspired canapes were served amongst the manicured courtyard.
Guests then took the twilight walk from Syon House to The Great Conservatory. They entered via the Catus Room and found their names via an escort table situated under a white parasol. As they sat down each guest opened a small envelope and a personalised note from the couple, it was a beautiful stand-out moment of the day as lots of guests had tears in their eyes at the thoughtful gesture.
On the tables we wanted that restaurant look and feel, we used simple white linen and plates adding a touch of colour and texture with the crystal yellow water glasses, an individual flower stem and pink pashminas that hung on the backs of the bistro chairs. The floral arrangements by Blume Studio were gorgeous and brought in the English Garden style with British-grown blooms mixed in with larger glamourous reflexed roses.
Guests dined on an Italian Cicchetti feast, beginning with a pumpkin and orange blossom risotto, then onto terracotta sharing plates of Caprese salad, arancini, meatballs, polenta chips and aubergine dishes, their dessert was a pistachio and Sicilian lemon doughnut or Nutella chocolate mousse. Guests also drank the wine from the couple’s favourite winery they love to visit together!
At Syon Park the room guests dine in is also the room they dance in which means suppliers have to turn the room around efficiently, we therefore took guests back to the cactus room for a glass of champagne and to listen to the speeches. On their way back into the party we had removed all the tables, dimmed the lights, opened up the bar, and had a live sax player play them back into the room whilst Rebecca and James poured their champagne tower next to one of the huge floral column installations.
As we had asked guests to give a song request as part of their online RSVP system so other than when the sourdough pizzas were served it’s safe to say no one left the dancefloor!
EMILY WENT ABOVE & BEYOND
”Just hire In Awe Weddings - you won't regret it! As an international bride I could not see our wedding venue before we booked so I needed a planner that could visualize what to do with the space (a dry hire venue) to bring it to life. Style is very important to me so I needed someone I could trust to do this. Emily took my many terribly worded descriptions and countless random images to create a coherent vision for the look and feel of the day. She of course also handled all the admin (which is no small feat) of our wedding planning too.
I have no doubt that Emily put in more hours than we expected or was quoted for. On the day, she handled everything seamlessly and went above and beyond, always adding a thoughtful touch. Every guest had a story or comment the next day on what Emily had done for them and how impressed they were. We can't thank her enough!'“
