Victoria and Ryan’s Modern London Wedding by Elly Mac

As you know I love a rustic wedding, there is nothing more I like than a few hay bales, some wild flowers and a tipi! BUT believe it or not I also love a modern minimalistic wedding. I love clean lines, smooth edges, simplistic features and yes sometimes less really is more. Today’s London wedding is one of those such wedding, it is simple, uncluttered and beautiful! Set in the London Institute of Contemporary Art and captured by Elly Mac the bride wears THE most gorgeous dress from The Vintage Wedding Dress Company and the couple have really focused on keeping the day relaxed.

‘Laid back and relaxed sophistication, Our main priority was having a stress-free day where we got to really enjoy the company of all of our friends and family – plenty of food, wine, good music and dancing!’

The Lovely couple are Victoria and Ryan who were married on 22nd September 2012 at the London Institute of Contemporary Art. ‘We wanted something beautiful and classically London, we had 75 guests, we were engaged for 15 months before the wedding, but we were actually planning the wedding for about nine months.’

How they met
We met through some friends on our first day at university, and started going out some time later. We have been together for just over 10 years

The proposal
We were having a picnic on Primrose Hill in June when Ryan proposed. We had taken a day off mid-week just to have a fun day out in London, and when he turned around with the ring it was a complete shock (I’m sure everyone says that but I was genuinely stunned)! It was a beautiful sunny day and we drank champagne all afternoon in the sunshine, celebrating with fish and chips for dinner. It was perfect.

Vintage wedding dress compnay wedding dress and Jimmy Choos

Why did you choose your photographer
I wanted to avoid the traditional photography style and was looking for a photographer with a more natural approach. My friend recommended Elly Mac, and as soon as I saw her images I knew she was exactly what we wanted.

The dress
The dress is from the Decades Collection by The Vintage Wedding Dress Company, and I bought the brooch and headband from the same place (the head band is actually by Jennifer Behr). My shoes were Jimmy Choo.

The suit and bridesmaids
Ryan’s suit was from Leonard Jay, and I ordered the bridesmaids dresses online from J Crew. It was a bit of a risk buying them online, but all the girls loved them and luckily they all fit!

bride in The Vintage Wedding Dress Company wedding dress

Theme or Colour scheme
We wanted to a very clean look to our wedding, but we didn’t want an obvious theme or colour scheme. Although my dress was a vintage design, I didn’t really want a vintage style wedding, so we decided to keep most of the flowers and decorations quite simple.

Flowers
The flowers that I wanted, such a peonies, ranunculus and anemone, are all out of season in September, so our florist achieved a similar look by using different flowers such as hydrangeas and David Austin roses. We opted for pale creams and whites, with small amounts of pale pink.

Decoration
As the venue is so classically beautiful, we didn’t want to have too much in the way of decoration. Our main aim was to create a very soft and warm atmosphere, which we achieved using fairy lights, candles and small flower displays. The venue also had pink and champagne coloured uplighters which gave a really nice feel to the rooms.

wedding ceremony at London Institute of Contemporary Art

Food
Starter – Newlyn crab and smoked salmon parcel with spring leaves
Main course – Herb crusted free range chicken with grilled courgette, thyme and tomato
Deserts – Elderflower and Chapel Down jelly, candied basil and vanilla fromage frais or
Tiramisu with shaved hazelnuts

Entertainment
We thought about having a DJ, but in the end I put together some playlists on my iPod. It took two solid days of sorting through songs, but it was worth it as we had exactly the music we wanted (and we thankfully managed to keep everyone on the dance floor)!

Personal / DIY touches
I’m not much of a craft or DIY person, and so the style of our wedding was deliberately very simple. The only elements which we did ourselves were designing the invitations and putting together all of the music. The music was really important to us and was a big part of the day, so I’m very pleased that we were able to make it really personal.

Advice
I’m sure it’s the same advice that everyone gives, but I think it’s really important to enjoy the whole process and remember what is important. For some people that will be lots of craft projects and homemade touches, but for me it was having a very relaxed attitude to the day and enjoying the planning with friends and family (drinking lots of bubbles along the way!). Organising our wedding really was stress-free, and I think our approach played a huge part in creating the relaxed party atmosphere we had on the day.

wedding reception at London Institute of Contemporary Art

Special moments
There were so many special moments of the day it’s hard to choose just a few. Mum and Dad trying not to cry (unsuccessfully) while they gave me my something old, new, borrowed and blue; my brother giving me a pearl bracelet the morning of the wedding; having a glass of bubbly with my bridesmaids before we left; watching all my friends and family dance to Notorious BIG. But ultimately, seeing Ryan for the first time at the end of the aisle, and having our first glass of champagne together after the ceremony, are the absolute highlights.

Biggest surprise
The biggest surprise of the day was how excited I felt. I expected to be really nervous and for the day to pass in a blur, but actually, I just felt incredibly happy and really did enjoy every single second.