When I wore my wedding trousers in this post last week I was asked by several people to post photos from my wedding.
So I thought I’d share a few with you and give you a little bit of background about the event as we did things somewhat differently…!
When: January 2006
Where: Chelsea Register Office, Kings Road, London UK
Who: Me, Mr. Summers and about 28 immediate family and close friends
Points to note: This was my second marriage and I’d already had the big white wedding, plus Mr. Summers isn’t the type to want a big shindig so a very informal, no frills affair suited us both. There were also only six weeks between the proposal (mine, to him) and the wedding (I’m an impatient woman), so all the usual “extras” went straight out the window… I wasn’t bothered about them anyway.
Total estimated cost: £1,000 (or US $1,500); that was everything, from rings and wedding licence to hotel for the night). Saving money is my not-so-secret superpower.
The outfit in its entirety… bar my feet. I’m afraid I have no full-length shots with the fur coat on, sorry! This was taken just before leaving the house. The coat, tops and trousers were all bought in the January sales and I wore a pair of shoes I already owned that were perfect. I absolutely loved the texture of the coat (faux fur of course) with the lace and all the shades of cream and ivory.
I think the fact that we did things our way (as opposed to what most people expect at a wedding) is what made it so special and memorable for us:
- I’d bought my outfit the week before in the January sales and tried on whatever I liked the look of. Plus it was January… a great excuse to wear a fabulous fur coat.
- We travelled to the register office on the tube (London Underground). Yep, in our wedding outfits. You can wear anything in London and no-one bats an eyelid. We had a right giggle on the journey there.
- On the way I stopped to buy a single rose from the famous florists at Michelin House (which is in the same building where we first met and worked together), rather than having a bouquet.
- When we arrived at the register office we were ushered into a room to sign paperwork (no time to even say hello to anyone); as our families had never met before, they all had to introduce themselves to one another while we were signing papers.It was a great ice breaker apparently.
- We all walked down the road together (in the drizzly rain) from the register office to the bar-restaurant where we had a sit-wherever-you-like buffet reception… no vintage car or transport.
We basically decided what was most important to us and only organised those things: venue, clothes, and the get together afterwards. We decided to forgo a cake, car, bridesmaids, hired suits, favours, bouquet, photographer, etc. as they would have been more to organise, more to pay for, more to worry about.
I totally get that this would horrify most women – myself included if it had been my first marriage! – but we simply wanted a fun day that everyone would enjoy and not have to worry about, so no speeches at the reception for example. Likewise I didn’t ask my niece (who is also my goddaughter) to be a witness in advance as she would have got into a right tizzy about it and not enjoyed the ceremony… we simply asked her on the spot and she agreed, so then she had only sixty seconds of panic rather than a few weeks.
“Something Old”: my diamante hair slides
“Something New”: shrug, trousers, coat, bag
“Something Borrowed”: my sister’s brooch
“Something Blue”: I struggled with this so I painted my toenails a pretty blue (no pics of them though, sorry!)
I also did my own hair, make-up and nails.
On the steps of Chelsea Register Office – the same place where many celebrities, including Roman Polanski and the beautiful Sharon Tate, got married. You can see news footage of their wedding below – check out how stylish Joan Collins and Candice Bergen looked!
Above: My second favourite picture from the day (see my no.1 favourite below) – it shows just how informal the reception afterwards was! It was my first drink after the ceremony and someone thrust a pint of beer into my hands… so unladylike π
My favourite picture from the day…! This was the obligatory selfie that we do everywhere we go, whenever we go on holiday or out for the day somewhere. We were in the park where we used to have lunch when we worked in Chelsea – this was before the ceremony and before seeing any friends or family. (We didn’t get married in that enormous church behind however!) It was nice to have a bit of a walk around our old stomping ground and reminisce for a bit before saying I do.
And so that was my wedding, I hope you liked the pictures! As we didn’t have a professional photographer we simply used all the photos from friends and family – and that suited us just fine. In fact I’m glad we had only six weeks to organise it; it shaped the way the day played out and it was perfect – less organisation meant there was very little that could go wrong! If anyone wants to know more details about how we did a wedding on a budget, then let me know if you’d like a post about that. But that would be my last wedding-themed post…!
Happy weekend everyone xoxo
P.S. Just so everyone knows: I’m certainly not saying that brides shouldn’t have all the extras I mentioned at their wedding if they want them – far from it! I just meant that we did ours the way we wanted, which was to cut out a load of stuff we didn’t want to have to organise. Every couple should do as do as much or as little as they want and can afford π
Thank you for sharing this Catherine!
I love you outfit & I totally agree with the no fuss approach – why spend thousands & thousands of dollars on just 1 day??
I like the idea of a wedding in Vegas with Elvis π
the coat was an amazing touch, i love it.
Thank you so much, Megan! C xoxo
They are wonderful, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
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Glad you like them, lovely Sacramento xoxo
Loved your post and your beautiful wedding attire! Your coat is beautiful and now you have wonderful memories when you wear it! You certainly looked the blushing bride and you two make quite the handsome couple.
My hubby & I eloped too. We live in the US, in rural east Tennessee, but are from Kentucky. We went back "home" to get married in his godmother's backyard under a huge oak tree. She and her husband served as our witnesses. They surprised us and bought us a little wedding cake. I brought my camera for them to use during the ceremony, so we actually have a shot from our 1st official kiss as Mr. & Mrs. and photos of us "cutting" the cake too. It was much less stressful and definitely in our budget than your typical wedding.
Thank you for sharing photos of your happy day!
Thakns for your lovely comments, Ruby! I love the fact that in the US you can get married in the open air, in the UK you have to be married in a licenced building, or at least under some sort of structure that has a licence. So no beach or hilltop weddings… such a shame! (But then the weather is rubbish most of the time here!) Nice to meet you, hope to see you again! C xoxo
Fantastic post! My husband and I were married in a very similar way in Manhattan. It would have been fun to marry at the Register office though. You looked beautiful on your wedding day!
Oh Megan I would so love to say that I got married in Manhattan… but then to non-Brits I guess London's Chelsea is just as exotic!!! Thanks for stopping by, Catherine x
What wonderful photos, definitely a wedding to remember! Love that you bought your outfits in the January sale and you looked gorgeous!
Sadie xx
Thank you so much Sadie, you're such a sweetheart as always! Catherine x
Well done, for the right reasons. You kept it close to yourself. Most people have to live somebody elses fantasies with their wedding. Of course you looked good in your fur coat etc. You always know what to do with clothes. And you would also have looked good in a white dress. I totally missed my dress (circumstances…) 17 years ago and it is still a chip on my shoulder. Never mind, live goes on.
And I agree with Victoria: handsome guy. (I seem to be seeing a lot of good looking guys lately.)
greetjekamminga@xs4all.nl
Aww thank you Greetje… I'm not sure I should tell Mr. S about all the compliments about him, he'll get a big head!! ;)) Catherine x
thanks so much for sharing such lovey and personal pics Catherine. your wedding looks simply stunning, funnily enough my wedding and circumstances were extremely similar (hubs was previously married though) so we kept it totally simple. its our 2 year wedding anniversary in 2 weeks so may share π you guys look so happy and to me that is what a wedding day and a marriage is all about.
xx
Yes Rachel – please do share your pics too, it would be lovely to see them!! Thanks sweetie, Catherine x
Dear Catherine,
first of all, thank you so much for sharing those moments with us!!!
And I do agree you did the right thing organizing in your own way!!! Even if it would be your first wedding… :)))
PS Mr. Summers is very handsome! π
xoxo,
Victoria,
'The Wind of Inspiration' personal style blog
Aww thank you lovely Victoria… and I have to admit I think Mr. S is a bit handsome too, bless him!! Catherine x
Wow, I LOVE the trousers– very classy, very chic. You looked so beautiful!!
xoxo
Remy
http://www.mydailythreads.blogspot.com
Thank you, Remy – that's really lovely of you to say! C xx
I love that you didnΒ΄t wear wedding dress π this was wodnerful
Yep, that's the rebel in me, Dilan! Thanks so much xoxo
I loved reading about your wedding! You were a beautiful bride, and your wedding sounded so wonderfully low-key. Honestly, your wedding was basically what I wanted my wedding to be. I just wanted to go downtown to the courthouse and get married there, and then hang out with family and friends afterwards and eat pizza or something like that. But all the women in my family were so genuinely horrified at that idea, so they just planned the whole wedding for me so that there would be some normal elements. I did find small ways to rebel, though π I didn't have a bouquet, and we didn't exchange rings, and I made sure that we had ice cream sundaes instead of cake at the reception!
I love that you rebelled, Stacey!! I hope that it was still a wonderful and personal day for you though. And ice creams sundaes – SUPERB idea!!! Thanks for the lovely compliments, C xoxo
you look stunning even if you are not wearing a skirt or a dress.
simple is more, believe me.
Love, Ylenia from *Longuette*
Check on the Coccinelleβs clutch giveaway I am hosting
Thank you, Ylenia – although I'm normally a "more is more" girl, the wedding couldn't have been more simple! C xoxo
This sounds absolutely perfect!
Natasha ~ TashaDelrae.com
I know it would be a cliche to say it was, Natasha, but it kinda was…!! Thanks sweetie xx
Gorgeous, Catherine! What a handsome couple you are. And your wedding has a lovely personal feel. I echo the love for your furry jacket too : >
Thank you, lovely Patti!!! It was rather enjoyed by all I think π Catherine x
Beautiful! I love the whole vintage look to the photos, and that furry jacket is wonderful!
That's so nice of you, thank you Joni!! C xx
What a gorgeous couple you are! And your outfit was gorgeous. I love that you kept things simple and focused on what was important to you. Too many people stress themselves out trying to get everything "perfect" and overspend, overworry, etc. (We tried to keep things easy at our wedding too, though it was bigger: no assigned seating, rented dress, no matched attendants. (Half of the guests there were Morris Dancers, so as long as there was beer and dancing, they were happy.)
Guests who were Morris dancers – fabulous!! Did they do an impromtu dance? :)) Thanks so much for your lovely comments Pseu. C xx
A gorgeous outfit, and far more elegant than many of the traditional dresses. Really lovely pictures! Do you still have the fur coat?
Thanks Kaffe: yes I do still have the fur coat, but I have to admit I've only worn it once since. But I won't be parting from it :)) Catherine x
Could you be a more gorgeous couple?? I eloped. Whole thing cost under 200 pounds π Honeymoon was expensive but I was totally sick the whole time so we came home early. I couldn't bear the thought of a wedding. Each to her own, obvs, but the idea of being a bride totally creeped me out. And the idea of spending thousands of dollars on a party that everyone will criticize seems insane. I'd rather put that money into furniture or a down payment or a trip to Europe.
What a shame you were ill on your honeymoon, Kristin! We did splurge on our honeymoon – but we actually had to save up for it first, took us 3 years!!!! Had a week in NYC and it was fabulous. Thanks for being such a sweetie! C xx
You looked stunning! Such lovely pictures! And I completely agree, its your wedding and you should have it any way you want it. Lovely dress and I really like the brooch you had on!
x Aliya
http://www.hillsidestory.net
Thank you, Aliya so much!! C x