Tell us a little about yourselves!
We met in May 2012 at a mutual friend’s house party in a converted church in Angel, London whilst both studying at UCL. It was quite late in the evening and exams were over, and most of the party were singing along to guitar hero (not sure if that still exists?!) I could see how much Rob was hating it, so I struck up a conversation with him, and we’ve been together ever since.
I am from Manchester, and Rob is from North Wales, and we lived together in London until this year, when we relocated to Brooklyn. Rob works in advertising and I work in sustainability for a fashion company.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Rob was fortunate to grow up in one of the most beautiful places in the UK, the Vale of Clwyd, and it was a no-brainer to host it on the family farm where he had once built dens on as a kid. We loved the backdrop of the moody mountains against the pinks and oranges of the Cosmopolitans, Negronis and Aperol Spritz we served.
How many guests did you have?
130 day guests, 50 additional evening guests and one welsh corgi!
Tell us about your outfits.
I spent hours looking for dresses and trying on options which were all totally different, I didn’t have a clear idea in my head about what I wanted, and I didn’t have a big budget. I ended up with a simple, one shoulder dress from Solace London with a thigh split - I was reallydrawn to the silhouettes of Solace. Due to the simplicity of the dress I was able to contrast this with a statement veil and flowers.
I loved Virgil Abloh’s veil for Hayley Bieber, and knew I wanted to have a message embroidered into the veil. I chose the words “Am Byth”, which means “Forever” in Welsh. Rob’s first language is Welsh and he went to a Welsh-speaking school and speaks it with his friends and family - unfortunately I can’t speak Welsh, but knew this phrase meant a lot to him so surprised him with the message.
For the evening, I wanted to be able to dance, so changed into a feather trimmed dress from Jane and Tash. I wore Gucci heels, a blue Gucci ring my brother and sister bought me for my “something blue”, and pearl earrings from Monica Vinader.
Our wedding was largely informal, but Rob knew that he wanted his and the groomsmen’s outfit to be classic, timeless and Hollywood-style black tie. His velvet blazer was bought from Reiss, then
tailored, with tux trousers from Suit Supply. His loafers were the limited edition G.H Bass x Fred Perry collab.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
We didn’t want it to be about us. I wanted bridesmaids to feel comfortable and be able to show their individual style, so my only request was for them to wear orange or pink. Our best friend married us in a fabulous pink suit and black pussy bow shirt. Our wonderfully talented friend DJ’ed and Rob’s sister’s choir sang Welsh hymns and a cover of Shania Twain’s “You’re still the one”. Rob’s aunty made our cake, and for place names we wrote individual messages to each guest in a tiny envelope, which everyone loved.
The food was served ‘family style’ on long tables, and everyone had a shot of baby guinness to start the party. We mixed up our seating plan and spent time thinking about who our guests would get along with who they hadn’t met before - this was definitely daunting for guests when they first sat down to eat, but by the end of the evening everyone had loads of new friends!
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
My mum collected vases and candle holders in different shapes and colours from charity shops to put on our tables. We collected foliage from around the farm to decorate, and used a florist who sourced locally grown flowers (with nothing air freighted). Since our engagement, I’d been collecting petals from bouquets I’d bought during the year to dry out to make confetti, and I had an army of friends and family doing the same. Sadly, a couple of week’s before the wedding, one of our family friends passed away, and she had been one of the first people to give me the petals she had collected. We shared this with our guests in our ceremony, and we saw the confetti toss as a moment where our friend could be with us, even though she wasn’t there in person. It was really special.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Google docs are your friend! Don’t try to do everything. Don’t do something because you feel like you should. Things that matter when you first start planning will not matter the week before. Do your speeches before you eat, so everyone doing a speech can enjoy their meal with no nerves.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Powerplant Flowers - Vic is a creative genius, and we had so many compliments on our flowers, I was in awe of them. She made my vision come to life, all in a sustainable, fun and colourful way. She was a joy to work with!
Sarah Joy Landon - Sarah made us feel at ease throughout the day and shared so many different ideas for images with us. We loved the use of film, flash and motion photography.
Photographer : Sarah Joy Landon Photography @sarahjoylandon | Ceremony + Reception Location : Llandyrnog, Wales | Celebrant : Benjamin Garrison @garrisonbenjamin | Entertainment : Origins Sound @armand.origins | Marquee Hire : Peak Marquee @peak_marquee_hire | Flora : Powerplant Flowers @powerplantflowers | Makeup : KLMA @klma.makeup.academy | Catering : Outside @outsidegourmet | Bar : Hops + Scotch @hopsandscotchbars | Cake : Rob’s Aunt Rhian Williams @siwgrasbeis | Stationery : Designed by Groom | Dress : Solace London @solacelondon | Second Dress: Jane + Tash @janeandtash | Rob's Outfit : Reiss @reiss Blazer (tailored) Suit Supply @suitsupply Trousers | Engagement Ring : Rachel Boston @rachelbostonjewellery | Wedding Rings : Grandmother’s own | Charlotte's Shoes : Gucci @gucci | Rob's Shoes : GH Bass Weejuns x Fred Perry Loafers @ghbass | Veil : Sash and Veil @sashandveil | Earrings: Monica Vinader @monicavinader