London, UK Vegan Rock'n Roll Wedding in London Fields | London Non-Traditional Wedding Photographer
London, UK Vegan Rock'n Roll Wedding in London Fields | London Non-Traditional Wedding Photographer
These two adorable humans’ wedding was featured in Rock’n Roll Bride Print Edition!
This intimate vegan wedding in London Fields, London was beyond my wildest dreams.
Sometimes, I get out of nature and document intimate weddings in cities for very special people. Flo and Matt flew me out to London, UK to document their love at their wedding. Their love was not only for each other, but how much they love and admire everyone within their circle. These two welcomed me with open arms and trusted me with their day, and I am still feeling honored. I did not expect to leave London feeling like I was part of another family. This wedding was wholesome, natural, and had a touch of Van Gough throughout with sunflowers everywhere. It was pretty D.I.Y. in order to give everyone a little piece of the pie and be able to help create pieces of their wedding.
Their wedding day was unique, thoughtful through every single detail, and intimate. It started out in Hackney, a neighborhood in London that I ended up sort of falling in love with. It is quirky, fun, and has some really great food. (You know I love me some good food). We started at the grooms’ twin brother’s apartment where all of his buddies were there to drink beers and cheer him on. The place Flo got ready in was the swankiest, coolest Airbnb I have ever been in. I felt like I was back in Florida in the 1990’s. After she got ready, we made our way to the Islington Town Hall, with its regal red carpet and wooden walls. It was possibly the most beautiful indoor place I have ever documented a wedding in. The ceremony was BEAUTIFUL, totally made me cry (which would be the first time all day I ended up crying). They decided to have the ceremony be a bit more special and have 3 important people to them read poems of their choice. Everyone was in tears, Flo and Matt held onto each other the entire time, and then they were officially married.
We made our way to the reception, which was in London Fields at The Wringer and Mangle. It was filled with amazing decor, homage to Van Gough, ducks, and vegan food.
Tiny yard games were played outside on tables, everyone had some snacks and laughs. During the reception the speeches were all tear jerkers and for the first time ever in my over a decade of dementing weddings, I got a shout out and a little handmade gift from Flo’s mom, Jan. I cried. It was so thoughtful. I know we are supposed to be in the background as the photographer, but it was really touching that I was even thought about. After the speeches, the two cut their vegan rainbow cake, which was a nod to Flo’s LGBTQ+ Identity. Dinner was served, we all stuffed ourselves silly. Then the band played! Matt’s twin brother Benny had his band play. It was a real England Rock’n Roll wedding. As a little surprise, Flo’s dad, Ray, jumped up on the guitar with that band. Everyone lost their minds. Then we danced until we had to leave. Best wedding of the century.
See what the couple had to say about their day, the planning, and their feelings after the fact in order to help others in their planning!
What did you love most about working with Zakas Photography?
Honestly, everything about working with Zakas Photography/Steph was wonderful. Steph was so helpful in the run up, the questionnaire was actually really great for us to fill out as it kind of put our thoughts in order as well as it being helpful for Steph. On the day, Steph was a total breeze, she whizzed around the place, most of the time completely unnoticed by guests and getting the best shots. She was also totally flexible but stepped in when time was getting away (everyone always tells you the day goes quickly but OH MAN it flies!). I wish that she could photograph every life event because as well as being awesome at her job, she also lights up a room and makes everyone feel at ease.
How did you personalize your wedding? What about your wedding was most unique?
We were both aiming for our wedding to be as eco-friendly as possible, so a lot of the details were things that we borrowed or already owned and the work was done by ourselves and our families. Our friend Paul (paulturnerdesign.co.uk) designed our wedding invitations, which we sent out digitally to cut costs and also save trees. The name-cards were origami ducks made from a recycled book, the bunting was made by Flo's Mum out of old lace curtains from my childhood room, we used old wine bottles for flowers (which were bought from a supermarket) and made the rest of the decorations ourselves. There were a lot of duck and pigeon motifs as they are our favourite birds and Matt is from Nottingham, where duck is a term of endearment.
All of the food and drink that we provided for guests were vegan! The prosecco, wine with dinner and all of the food were provided by the Wringer and Mangle, who worked with us to ensure that we were totally happy. They created a bespoke vegan menu for us which went down an absolute treat and the vegetable tempura, fries and mini sliders in the evening were unbelievable. The amazing Vida Bakery on Brick Lane made us a gorgeous 3 tier rainbow cake which we happily ate for breakfast for the week after the wedding.
Something that's pretty unique is that we did it all in 6 months! Matt proposed on our two year anniversary and we set a date a few days later. We are both super organised (hello, Virgos!) so we knew that we could handle it!
Anything you would have done differently?
Flo - It took me until about 10pm to actually relax but I think it's so difficult when there's so much going on and you just want everyone to be having the best time, you kind of forget that it's about you! But every minute of the day was gorgeous and it honestly was the best wedding that I could have possibly imagined. We also massively underestimated how long the speeches would be so we ended up eating later than planned but clawed it back after!
What details are you most proud of?
There were actually so many little details! We had table top games for the outside courtyard which guests really enjoyed, pre and post-cocktail. We chose to have a gin cocktail reception instead of the more traditional champagne, as mostly we tried to steer away from tradition as much as possible.
Flo made the table cards which were all tributes to our favourite artists complete with quotes from them on the back. Ray, Flo's Dad, made the seating plan and it looked totally beautiful presented on a canvas and easel.
We also made our own guestbook and used a suitcase from a charity shop for cards and presents. We spent very little of decoration as the venue was so beautiful anyway, we just added a few personal touches so it felt more like us.
What particular moment of your day will you remember most?
Flo - I know it's cliche but the moments before walking in to the ceremony, my heart was pounding and I had my Dad on one side and my Mum on the other. Walking into the most beautiful room with Matt standing there and our friends and family all around us. And then my brother presented the rings on a tiny plastic dinosaur! We had readings from our other siblings, which they chose themselves and we cried through them all. Our ceremony was gorgeous and short but I'm glad as Matt was squeezing my hand so tightly...
My Dad playing with Albion (the band) was the best wedding present of all! We go to every show they play and to see my Dad on stage for the first time was pretty magical - I've only ever heard stories from the seventies. I think that the whole day really showed how we're all so woven into each others lives and I was so overwhelmed by everyones kindness and generosity, it hit home how lucky we are to have such wonderful people around us.
Best advice for another couple?
Plan plan plan. And then, LET GO! Everyone that had jobs to do knew what they were a couple of weeks in advance and had individual schedules, we made sure that they were spread evenly so that people didn't have too much to worry about. Rope people in to help you because you cannot do it all yourself and guess what...people actually want to help because it's a bloody big deal and it's awesome! On the day, enjoy yourself - it's easy to say don't get stressed but you will, it's impossible not to, but honestly everyone will have an amazing time just because they are there.
What was the biggest surprise of your wedding day?
Flo - In the morning I felt so calm. I didn't sleep that well and I thought that I was going to be so so anxious but actually it felt weirdly normal and I was just excited and couldn't wait to see Matt!
Venue: Wringer and Mangle
Band: Albion
Dress Designer: Rue de Seine
Hair Stylist: Beautiful Brides
Gown Boutique: Leonie Claire
Florist: Dansk Flowers
Cake: Vida Bakery
Stationary: Paul Turner