KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS

of hearts KING AND QUEEN Stef and Freddie’s day was brimming with colour and Italian vibes

Images courtesy of Craig Williams

Freddie’s best friends with Stef’s cousin, so the duo knew each other and were Facebook friends for a long time before becoming a couple. “He plucked up the courage to message me back in 2009, and after a couple of meetings at birthdays and on nights out, the rest was history,” says Stef. They’ve been together ever since!

Freddie proposed on Christmas Day 2019, a few weeks after their 10-year anniversary. “I’d always thought Christmas Day proposals were a little corny, so he knew I’d never expect it!” she says. “We agreed we weren’t going to do any presents that year, but he surprised me with a box full of little presents and hidden at the bottom was a ring I’d seen a few months before that I’d fallen in love with from Niza Huang,” she adds.

A couple of years later, their big day arrived and here, Stef tells us all about it…

I fell in love with the huge bow on my dress. As soon as I tried it on, I felt like myself and the team at Exclusive Alterations in Angel made the sleeves for me whilst making the alterations. As the wedding was in August, Freddie wanted something light in colour. He wore a doublebreasted seersucker suit in a pale pink/beige colour that looked really cool. He accessorised with a plain pair of white leather trainers that suited our laid-back vibe. Our bridesmaids each wore midi, satin dress in a shade of lilac. I wanted them all to be comfortable and knew we’d struggle to settle on the same dress for all of them, so I was happy for them to pick.

The groomsmen wore beige linen blazers from M&S, their own black chinos and loafers and the same linen tie as Freddie from Moss Bros. We both work in Islington, so we always knew we wanted Islington Town Hall for the ceremony. We knew pretty quickly that The Depot was perfect for us – it was big enough for all of our guests, catering and drinks were in-house and the staff were so friendly and easy to work with.

Freddie and I have matching King and Queen of Hearts tattoos, so this started a theme for the day. One of my best friends designed our invites for us – a playing card, with illustrations of Freddie and I included. I used the template throughout our styling.

My auntie is an amazing florist, so we always knew she’d do our flowers. I wanted lots of colour and displays filled with hydrangeas, anthuriums and orchids, and minimal foliage. The bouquets were so perfect - I didn’t put mine down for a very long time!

For our centrepieces we used smaller arrangements and bud vases along the tables.

We had dried and faux flowers, mixed with fresh, to create bigger installations behind the top table, on the bar and by the entrance. For our favours we sourced small bottles of Aperol Spritz to go on each place setting – they tied in perfectly with the colour scheme and went down a treat.

We finished off the tables with coral linen napkins and coloured dinner candles. My parents have a vintage Fiat 500 that was being refurbished. We had it sprayed white and driven to the venue in the morning and it worked as a great photo opportunity in the courtyard. For our cakes we had a delicious Victoria Sponge with buttercream icing and an incredible gluten-free chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and salted caramel fudge, topped with edible sugar pearls.

Throughout the day, my parents’ old friends Claudio and Raffaele played the guitar and accordion. They even played at my parents’ wedding nearly 40 years ago! It was something different for a lot of our friends and they loved the old Italian vibe. Freddie’s named after an old British cyclist, and he’s a big cycling fan. There’s a bike shop just around the corner from the Town Hall, so we just had to have some photos taken there and they’re some of our favourites from the day.

Our good friend Tony Perry was our DJ for the evening. We’d never have even considered another DJ but it was brilliant.

One of our best friends Ross was our Master of Ceremony. He surprised us with a personalised game of Mr & Mrs which had everyone in stitches. Definitely a standout moment of the day. All of the speeches were so good – funny, perfectly timed and so well delivered.

STEF AND FREDDIE’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK

Ceremony venue, Islington Town Hall, www.sayidoislington.com | Reception venue, The Depot N7, https://thedepotn7.co.uk | Photographer, Craig Williams, https://craigwilliams.net | Dress, Rebecca Vallance, www.rebeccavallance.com; Exclusive Alterations, https://exclusivealterations.co.uk | Jewellery and accessories, Soru, www.sorujewellery.com | Hair stylist, Hair by Cristina, www.hairbycristina.co.uk | Make-up artists, Goddess Beauty, www.goddessbeauty.co.uk; Toni Cameron Creative, www.tonicameron.com

Groom’s suit, Suit Supply, www.suitsupply.com | Flowers, Aria Flowers, www.ariaflowers.co.uk | Rings, Niza Huang, www.nizahuang.com Venue styling, Studio Dine, www.studiodine.com | Photo booth, My Selfie Moments, www.myselfiemoments.co.uk