Marry now, party later was definitely a trend on last year’s list and that’s exactly what Lewis & Laurel decided to do. With national lockdown starting 5 days before their original wedding day, their plans changed numerous times. However, love and some careful planning found a way, and they finally married at The Old Parish Rooms, Essex, with their closest loved ones. We catch up with Laurel who tells us all about how they met and how they planned a wedding in a national pandemic, and of course, we see their beautiful wedding day captured by Grace Elizabeth photography…
How Did You and Lewis Meet?
“We actually met through online dating. We’d both got to a point where we were ready to make a deeper connection with a potential partner and found meeting people in bars etc. wasn’t fulfilling that need. In speaking to each other online we were able to really get to know each other for a few weeks before finally meeting in person.”
The Proposal
“Took five years in the making! I had told Lewis that he was starting to lose the element of surprise after such a long period together. We finally went on our first proper beach holiday together and on the second night, Lewis said we should view the sunset on the beach with our proper camera, but typically I took forever to get ready and by the time we got to the beach it was pitch black! It was the next day after a long day of island hopping we went back to the beach for a quick dip in the sea that Lewis gave me his phone, which was playing our song. I turned around and he had a tissue in his hand. He opened the tissue which held the most simple, beautiful, perfect ring. I cried for a solid three minutes before I even said yes!”
Planning The Wedding
“We had a few challenges, to say the least! Lockdown was enforced five days before our wedding day. We knew a lockdown was a matter of when not if, so two weeks before our original date, we decided to postpone to April 2021 and left it at that. However, once the restrictions eased, we decided we didn’t want to wait, and we just wanted to be married so we brought it forward and cut our list from 65 to 30 guests. Two weeks later we had to reduce it to 15. It was very difficult, uncomfortable conversations, a lot of tears, stress and sleepless nights, but we decided to stick with parents, grandparents and a few others who have been there for us throughout our lives. We had considered a small wedding before all of this, so it actually ended up exactly how it was meant to be.”
The Location
“We spent many weeks searching and my mum stumbled upon it by coincidence, even though she lives five minutes up the road! As soon as we saw it, I knew it was “the one”. Lewis had to visit before he was convinced, thankfully he loved it too. From the traditional windows to the light and airy feel, plus the beautiful light feature, it just has so much character. Plus Laura is just glorious to deal with, so lovely and helpful. We were a bit worried at first that it may be just a little too small for our original wedding of 65, and then maybe too big after cutting down to 15 guests, but it turned out perfect. For the reception we had a gorgeous large trestle table in the middle of the room directly under the gorgeous light fitting I became obsessed with.”
The Dress
“I personally have never been that bothered about “the dress” so I didn’t spend much time looking for one. I saw a dress on a high street website, ChiChi London that I loved the skirt element of. I decided to purchase the dress, get it altered so it was just the skirt and found a gorgeous designer on Etsy, SeniDey, who were able to make a custom made lace top and a camisole to wear underneath. I did the measurements myself and sent over to them via their website. It was so simple. I was a bit worried apprehensive due to the risks of doing it remotely, but the pieces arrived quickly and fitted perfectly.”
The Suit
“Lewis is very particular in what he likes and doesn’t like, especially in clothing! He knew he didn’t want black but didn’t know much more than that. He decided to browse the Moss Bros. sale for something he liked and found a gorgeous eco suit with a checked pattern. We did have quite a bit of debate about what accessories, tie, no tie, tie or bow tie, braces, no braces, what colour should the bow tie be. He finally settled on burgundy, but literally two days before the wedding decided he also wanted a pocket square – he was fussier than the bride! He was so happy with how his entire outfit came out and he looked so handsome.”
The Details
“I decided to bake the cake myself. I stuck to a simple two-tier cake, one carrot cake, one chocolate, with salted caramel buttercream, covered in some simple flowers. For flowers, we hired the incredible Charmaine at CTaylors Floristry. Although we had cut down to a very small wedding, we kept the same amount of flowers and foliage from the beginning and the reception table was covered, it looked so much more beautiful than we imagined! She also added in adorable white pumpkins to the table to tie in with autumn.”
“Gather & Feast were the caterers for the wedding, who provided incredible food and gorgeous details such as burgundy napkins to tie in with the colours, gold-rimmed charger plates, gold cutlery etc. We used PeachyPrints for our table cards/menus. They looked gorgeous against all the other details and something our guests could keep.”
The Best Part of the Day
“When the curtains opened to reveal my now-husband standing there waiting for me still brings me to tears now. And then after when we were sat at the table just watching our guests chatting, drinking and laughing. It was the best medicine after a really difficult year of not being able to go out and having to stay home.”
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Words of Wisdom
“If you’re thinking of planning an intimate wedding, just do it! There were so many other benefits that came with it that we didn’t know of. For us, we really just wanted to be married to each other already after waiting for so long. However, there was something just so magical and special about being surrounded by those closest to us witnessing our special day. On top of that, it was SO nice not to have to do the walk around to speak to every table and as many guests in the space of a few hours, as we only had one table, everyone was able to get involved in conversations and jokes, it was just pure heaven. Plus we get an extra celebration when restrictions ease and everyone is desperate to hug, kiss and dance again.”
The Team – Marry Now Party Later; Intimate Wedding At The Old Parish Rooms
Photographer – Grace Elizabeth @graceelizphoto
Dress – ChiChi London @chichiclothing / Shoes – Jenny Packham Debenhams @debenhams / Top – SeniDey @seni.dey / Florist – C Taylor’s Floristry @ctaylorsfloristry / Make up/Hair – Gemma Peace @gemmapeacemakeup / Grooms suit Moss Bros @mossbros / Venue – The Old Parish Rooms @theoldparishrooms / Caterers/Bars- Gather & Feast @gatherandfeastevents / Menu/Placecards – PeachyPrints @peachyprints.uk / Mr & Mrs Balloons – RG Balloons @rgballoons
IF YOU LOVE THIS WEDDING MARRY NOW PARTY LATER VIBE WHY NOT ADD IT TO YOUR WEDDING PINTEREST BOARDS
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