I spent about a month enjoying that newly engaged bubble before I allowed myself to start thinking about planning an actual wedding. As a woman in her late 30s, 13 years into a relationship, with countless friends’ nuptials and four years spent as the editor of a wedding brand under my belt, you’d think I’d have had my dream day mentally mapped out long ago. In reality, various wedding fantasies had flitted through my mind over the years: tropical beaches, Vegas chapels, elegant châteaux. But when my partner, Simon, popped the question one December evening over cocktails at Claridge’s, I knew that I wanted our wedding to take its cue from the proposal: simple, intimate and unmistakably us. And when it came to the location, there was really only one choice. London – the city where we met, built a life together and couldn’t imagine leaving.
We quickly settled on splitting the celebrations across two days. On the Friday, we’d spend the morning getting ready together at Claridge’s before exchanging vows in front of our immediate family at Marylebone Town Hall, followed by dinner and drinks at Mount Street – one of our favourite restaurants in Mayfair. The following day, we invited 80 of our closest friends to join us for a party at another beloved restaurant, this time in East London – Bistro Freddie.
Despite going the less traditional route, there was still plenty to plan and consider. Here’s how we pulled off our two-day London wedding, and my tips for anyone planning their own city soiree.
