Wedding | Aimée & James

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We met when I was 19 and James was 22. We were both really into raving at the time and met through mutual friends and many, many nights at Fabric. It definitely wasn’t an instant thing and I think we were both pretty uninterested in each other at the beginning. 

As a natural extrovert and him an introvert, it definitely took us a while to realise we had a connection. It wasn’t until we both attended Outlook Festival in 2013 and discovered our shared love of Pharoahe Monch’s ‘Simon Says’ that we started to get to know each other. Fast forward 12 years, a 2-year hiatus, James moving halfway across the world, and Covid—and somehow we’ve ended up married!

We both didn’t really see marriage on the cards. I was definitely very anti-marriage in the beginning, but seeing our friends get married over the last few years and a job offer overseas meant that we had to make the move! 

Initially it was planned, with us both heading on various trips to pick out rings in Hatton Garden. But James did actually propose, and on the day we secured our Glastonbury tickets, we went on a walk in our favourite spot in the Surrey Hills and all of a sudden he was down on one knee! I couldn’t believe it! But it was so lovely and very low-key, which made it all the more special.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We had 3 months to plan our wedding, which meant we were fairly limited in what we could do and where. Ensuring we got all of our family in attendance, it made sense that we would do it local to us, so we decided on the Old Courthouse at Kingston. I had always loved the idea of a courthouse wedding—both lovers of anything from the 60s, it definitely felt like something out of that time period.

Initially, we were both quite happy to do a quick courthouse and a meal at the pub, but as many weddings do, the scope kept getting bigger. With it being February, we got really lucky with the reception venue. It’s a gorgeous hotel that is directly opposite Hampton Court Palace and looks over the river. Surprisingly, it was within budget and they were able to do everything in-house, which was great considering the lack of time. 

The Mitre was roughly 15 minutes from the courthouse, but we wanted to travel in style, so we arranged for a red double-decker bus to take us on a scenic route between venues. This was probably the thing we were most excited about, and we arranged for tinnies on the bus, along with drinks menus that we made ourselves. It was one of our favourite parts of the day for sure, as it meant we could mingle with our guests properly!

How many guests did you have?

We had roughly 40 for the ceremony, a few extras for the meal and then around 100 in the evening.

What was your budget?

We didn’t have a strict budget and initially thought it would end up being around 10k but it probably ended up around 20k, minus outfits and accessories.

Tell us about your outfits.

I never imagined myself in a big wedding gown. I’m only 5”2’, and I felt that it would drown me, so I knew it had to be a mini dress. Obsessed with 60s weddings—as I’m a huge fan of Priscilla Presley, Pattie Boyd, and Sharon Tate—I had been fawning over pictures of their weddings on Pinterest. 

My nan got married in 1969 and made her own wedding dress (which was a mini) whilst pregnant with my mum, and I really wanted to pay homage to her as well. I wanted something simple and very of that time, so after many hours of trawling the internet, I went with this dress from Odd Muse. I had it altered to fit properly, and considering how inexpensive it was, it ended up being perfect. 

As the dress was so simple, I decided to go all out on the shoes and treated myself to these Prada slingbacks, which went with the look so perfectly. For the veil, I honestly found this one of the hardest things to find and ended up buying one second-hand for £30 on Vinted.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to do two looks, but the bigger the wedding got, the more I wanted one! I knew I wanted to sparkle on the dancefloor, and when I walked into the Annie’s Ibiza shop in Carnaby Street just before Christmas to try on one of their Clio Peppiatt dresses, I fell in love with it instantly. Although it was definitely a splurge, I figured you only do this once! I went with Prada heels again, but this time platforms… as they are perfect for dancing!

James and I shopped for his suit together, and we settled on this corduroy brown suit from Moss Bros. I thought it would go perfectly with my dress and had that vintage vibe which felt very courthouse appropriate. He changed into a dark brown shirt in the evening just to break things up! He looked great!

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We really just wanted our guests to have a great time. With the move on the horizon as well, we figured this would be the last opportunity to get everyone in one room and celebrate with them. For James, it was really important that everyone enjoy plenty of drinks, and we tried to accommodate this within the budget. The bar tab ran out at about 10 p.m., which was pretty good going.

We also wanted the day to feel true to our style. It’s very easy to get wrapped up in the madness of wedding planning, but we definitely had to hold firm on some things, and I’m so glad we did. Music was massively important—we spent hours curating playlists and picking songs for certain points of the day. James wanted an acoustic duo to play while our evening guests were arriving, and we had a DJ in the evening. 

It was also great having a smaller wedding during the day, as we actually had time to talk to people, which I don’t think we would have had otherwise.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

We didn’t know it at the beginning, but the bus ended up being a very important part of our day. It was an original 60s London bus, and we felt it brought the whole day together. Everyone seemed to love it and were really embracing all the photo moments, which was so special. 

We also wanted to have James’ niece be a flower girl and walk in front of me at the ceremony. I didn’t really do bridesmaids, but this was important to us. She’s only 2, and it was so lovely seeing her carrying her flowers in—she really took her job seriously. 

We, of course, wanted to make sure there were great drinks and had a personalised cocktail added to our bar tab, which seemed to go down a storm!

Any tips for couples getting married?

Don’t feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to do—people will always enjoy themselves when it comes to it. Stick to your decisions and hold firm when you get challenged! 

I would also say I absolutely loved planning it in the time we had. I feel like I would have changed my mind a million times if we’d had too much time. It encouraged us to make quick decisions and stick to them, and I actually really enjoyed the process. Also, everything always works out, so try not to get hung up on every little detail just before the day. By the time the day came around, I forgot about everything!

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

I was recommended to Sundari when I put a call out on Instagram for wedding photographers that specialise in candid shots and film photography. I knew from our first chat that she was the one for us. Her photos are not only beautiful, but she was so lovely and put both of us at such ease. I couldn’t actually believe it when I saw the final shots. I never thought I could look like that, and I will cherish the photos forever. Sundari and her assistant Charlotte also surprised us with our wedding video in Super 8, which was honestly the most special thing in the world. It really made the wedding feel like it was from another time, which was exactly what I wanted.

Being a makeup artist myself, I called on my fantastic friends to help me out on the day, and they couldn’t have been more amazing. I did my own makeup for the day, which I had debated over, but felt it was probably best considering how stressful a wedding morning can be. My amazingly talented friend Lauren did my hair and completely nailed the brief, which was a Brigitte Bardot beehive for the day and a more straight and down version in the evening. My other amazingly talented friend, Linus, did everyone else in the wedding party, including my lovely mum. For the evening, I called on my fabulous assistant Roseanna to give me a smokey eye and touch up my makeup, which I was obsessed with.

I was also recommended to Flora Collective by my lovely friend Linus, who did the most perfect floral arrangements and bouquets. They were honestly incredible and just took all of my inspo and came up with the most gorgeous ideas. We went for spring flowers, which were these beautiful whites and yellows, and this little round bouquet, which was so perfect I wanted to keep it forever.

Photographer: Sundari Ferris @onfilm.bysundari | Flora: Flora Collective @floracollective | Photography Assistant & Super8 Film: Charlotte Dormoy @charlottedormoyweddings | Ceremony Location: Kingston Council Register Office @yourkingstonlovestory | Reception Location: The Mitre Hotel Hampton Court @mitrehamptoncourt | Ceremony Space: Old Court House | Makeup Artists: Aimee Twist Artistry @aimeetwistartistry & Roseanna Hackett @roseanna_makeup | Hair Stylists: Lauren Bell Hair  @laurenbellhair & (Mother of Bride and Bridal Party) Hair by Linus Johansson @hairbylinus | Cake: Made by a family member | Stationery: By the couple | Entertainment: Soul Front @bandsforhireagency Festival Wedding DJ's @festivalweddingdjs | Ceremony Dress: Odd Muse @oddmuselondon |Reception Dress: Annie's Ibiza X Clio Peppiatt @anniesibiza @cliopeppiatt | Suit: Moss Bros @mossbros | Veil: Gigi & Olive @gigiandolive | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Ovadia @ovadiajewellery | Shoes: Prada  @prada | Wedding Party Attire: Moss Bros @mossbros | Wedding Bus: Red Routemaster