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So today I’m introducing you to our third Bride to Be, Miss LL. A London girl with an upcoming November wedding. This will be a wedding with a mix of culture with a vintage vibe in the heart of London. Miss LL already has a lot sorted and two engagement rings (more about this in part two!) but still has a list with a gazillion things to do! So I’ll hand you over to the lovely Miss LL to take us on her wedding planning journey…..

A BIG hello to the whimsy readers, I’m the bride to be, Miss LL and soon to be Mrs LL!  I’m 31 and my toy boy fiancé is 29.  Me and the boy were in the same class at, wait for it……accounting college! Not very glamorous I’m afraid! He’s a typical accountant, whereas I live in the clouds somewhat….he saves, but I spend! After three years, we bought a home together and a few months later he proposed. The proposal was very out of the blue and very Chandler and Monica from Friends ~ candles all over the living room…ahhh.

The Date

We originally wanted an idyllic summer wedding in August 2012 to coincide with our four-year anniversary and also to make it a year since we got engaged. As well my sister is a teacher and I wanted her to help me in the week leading up to the wedding and since she can’t take annual leave, the wedding date had to be fitted around her term dates. There also had the *small* problem of the London Olympics… We ummed and ahhed about having a central London wedding during the Olympics, but there were just so many unknowns. The venue we have chosen is right outside Liverpool Street station which is a major transport hub and we weren’t prepared to budge on the venue choice due to the glass terrace of our venue for the ceremony, so we had to get married in November as this was the only date that worked out for the venue, registrars, term dates, weddings of other friends and of course, Olympic game dodging and I really didn’t want to wait until August 2013! Admittedly I was a bit upset at first, but now I really can’t wait for an autumnal / winter wedding, you can’t trust the weather in the UK anyway!  

However a bit of advice before committing to civil ceremony date, I’d recommend that all brides contact their local council as soon as possible to confirm if the registrar is available and that they also understand all the administration around giving notice. We’re getting married in a different council to where our wedding is so I had to pick up my certificates from one council and deliver to another and the opening times of the registrars are not always work-friendly hours!

The Venue

Choosing the venue has been the hardest of the planning so far. When we started we really wanted a barn-type venue in the countryside or seaside at a place where we could have the ceremony and reception under one roof and also able to bring in our own caterers as Indian food was also a must (as I am Indian). However, I got sent on a project with my employer which dictated I was away from home 4 days a week. This put a great deal of stress and strain on the planning and my spare time and on top of this we were having trouble finding a suitable location that fit our requirements as well. In the interests of not letting my wedding take over my life & weekends (ahem!!) we decided on a London wedding.

One evening, we were having dinner at the Cinnamon Kitchen. We commented that we liked their food because they combined the best of British with the best of Indian spicing. Mr LL’s family don’t really ever eat Asian food, so we thought the food there was ideal to suit the palettes of both sides of the family.  We got chatting to the manager and asked him if they cater for weddings, the answer was no. My heart sank a little. But then he offered a life line – they were in the process of applying for a civil licence, meaning if accepted we could get married there, if we were a little patient. Eventually, the application came through and we were the first couple to book! Hurray!

The venue has an amazing glass-roofed lower terrace with a view of the Gherkin. It is under this terrace that we’ll have the ceremony, which I can’t wait for. The ceremony is at 4pm, so the sun will be setting as we say our vows… We’ll then move to the upper terrace for the drinks reception.

The main dining room for the wedding breakfast 

And then on the dancing which will be in the Anise Bar  

The venue is so well decorated that we can spend minimal time styling it, which suits me just fine as the Indian touches are just what I wanted to bring my culture into the day.

Photography

We’ve chosen Jacqui Daly from Jacqueline Helen Photography to be our wedding photographer. I met her at The Vintage Wedding Fair in Chiswick. The fair was fantastic and non-stuffy, I also met Helena from Heavenly Vintage Brides there as well as other really friendly suppliers. Jacqui is really talented and her laid back style really suits ours. Plus she also lives in the same area of London as us, which can’t be a bad thing!  We’re looking forward to our pre-wedding shoot with her later on this year, we haven’t decided where this will be, but I’m getting my inspiration from these pictures

Jacqueline Helen Photography

Blackbox Photography via Love My Dress blog

Emily Quinton photography via Make-up by Katy blog

Since our ceremony is at 4pm in November, we’ve also decided to do a First Look shoot. I know this is not very traditional in the UK, but it is popular in the USA but it also means that we get to have some portraits in the natural light.

 Wedding Day Coordination

I was having a few nightmares about the day of the wedding… how would I coordinate the flowers, photographer, venue decor etc?  A few friends had offered to coordinate the day, but I felt uncomfortable with this as I wanted them to enjoy the wedding and not worry about anything. Then, along came the amazing Jenna! 

Lucky Sixpence Events is going to take over the admin for the day. As soon as Mr LL approved that we could go down this route, I felt a huge sigh of relief, and when I told my mum she was really pleased too!

Thanks for reading so far, if you like you can also read more about me in my blog, Lipstick Loves. Miss LL xx.

A big thank you to Miss LL for sharing her journey with us so far! Part two will be on Tuesday 14th (Valentines day if you haven’t forgotten already!) and it will include the details on ‘The Dress’, Bridesmaids and those TWO engagement rings……I’m excited already 🙂

Jo xoxo