IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE PLAY ON

IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE, play onHannah and Nick’s wedding was a theatrical masterpiece

Images courtesy of Kristian Leven Photography

Hannah Nisbet and Nick Metcalf met through friends at university and got talking a few years later on Facebook; where fate would have it that they were both taking part in an outdoor charity swimming event in 2011. At the time, Hannah was living in Leeds and Nick in London, but a ‘quick drink meet up’ in London (when Hannah was visiting friends) turned into a whole evening. “We just couldn’t stop talking and really just hit it off, and we’ve never looked back since!” shares Hannah.

The idyllic Kent countryside set the scene for their March 2018 engagement when the pair were staying in a gypsy hut on a farm. It was a complete surprise to Hannah (she didn’t think Nick wanted to get married!) when Nick asked her to marry him with Hannah’s late grandmother’s engagement ring – it fitted perfectly!

Following the ecstatic ‘yes’ the big date was set, 28th July 2019 with Wilton’s Music Hall setting the scene. Here Hannah tells us more about their day...

Wilton’s has always been a really special place to us. We first came across it during a London open house weekend. We’ve been to see some great performances and comedy there and just fell in love with the feel and style of the place. It was the first place we thought of when thinking of where to get married.

Boulevard Events specially made Welsh cakes and Bara brith – a nod to my Welsh roots.

All our flowers, plants, bouquets and buttonholes were arranged by our friend, Jamie, founder of (ohhdeer.com). He went above and beyond and created the most stunning arrangements. Around the venue we had a mixture of ‘cottage garden’ style flowers, herbs and even vegetable plants.

Our cake was three tiers of chocolate, lemon drizzle and Victoria sponge, our favourite cakes it didn’t disappoint on the day!

I was keen on having protea in my bouquet and Jamie created the most beautiful arrangement, I was blown away. The bunting we used in Grace’s Alley was actually backstroke flags ‒ a nod to Nick’s competitive swimming days!

Our wedding favors were a white fan (it was incredibly hot on our wedding day!) and a pack of mint Polos ‒ something I always has on me and am renowned for! It’s also a nod to my late grandmother who always did the same. All our guests were also able to take home the flower arrangements and plants at the end of the night. We love getting updates from family and friends about how they are doing! All the confetti we used was lovingly grown and dried rose petals from my mum’s garden.We also purchased some chalkboards and a friend of ours came on the morning of the wedding to design and write them for us ‒ he has an incredible talent for free-hand writing!

Myself, the bridesmaids and my dad arrived in a new white electric London taxi, which was provided by London Corporate Cabs. We chose to have beers by breweries that are favourites of ours and also local to where we lived or grew up. Nick is a coffee snob and worked with the lovely people at Origin Coffee to provide coffee on the day. They were great and very accommodating for what was the first wedding they’d provided coffee for!

From our very first tasting to post-wedding pick up arrangements, Lizzie of Boulevard Events was professional and incredibly helpful. The food was high quality and they accommodated little changes we wanted to make with ease. All planning for the food, drink and furniture was really simple and we were really impressed. I purchased my dress from Gillian Million in Teddington, London. I wore Ruby by Anna Campbell. Gillian’s boutique is incredible because every dress is completely unique and all styles and sizes are covered. I definitely wanted to be wearing something that would be in keeping with the style of Wilton’s – not too flashy but beautiful and understated. I wanted to feel feminine but also dance all night and not be restricted in any way! I definitely felt all these things in this dress.

I wore a custom-made veil and hairvine made by Gillion Million which featured pearls that were the same as the bodice of the dress. I’d like to mention the beautiful embroidery that featured on the bow of my dress that was custom done by Nick’s mum. She is a fantastic sewer and altered the length of my dress and added these beautiful touches of our initials and the date of our wedding day to make it completely unique. I cried when I saw it! It was so lovely.

My make-up artist Olivia was recommended to me by a friend. What stood out to me immediately when looking at her website was how all her brides looked very natural. She did such an amazing job and I honestly felt so wonderful all day.

The bridesmaids wore the Karlie Knot Front Jacquard Dress by Monsoon, and initial necklaces by Rachel Jackson London. I loved the Art Deco font and it was very similar to our stationery typography designed by Nick!

The necklace I wore was a wedding day gift from Nick. It was a vintage Frank Gehry designed Tiffany pendant that he had tracked down. Frank Gehry is an architect we both admire so it was an incredibly thoughtful and romantic gift.

Nick wore a Hackett three-piece blue suit, with a custom shirt made by Cad & the Dandy for the day and a ‘grandad’ shirt by Marks & Spencer for the evening. He wore brown brogues by Barker, and Nick and the groomsmen all wore paisley ties. Music is a big part of both of our lives and to have live music was incredibly important both because Wilton’s is a music hall and I’m a musician and professional arts fundraiser!

The groomsmen wore their own suits but each wore a custom shirt from Cad & The Dandy.

Russell Pusey, a jazz pianist, played while I sang My Baby Just Cares For Me by Nina Simone. We were absolutely blown away by how incredibly fun, entertaining and energetic No Limit Street Band were. They absolutely brought the house down and all of our friends and family were up dancing all night long. So many people have told us just how much they enjoyed them.

I think giddy would be the best word to describe how I felt. It was incredibly special to have all the people we loved in one place and just have a lot of fun. “I was nervous but excited, we’d put a lot of effort into creating a day that we’d both enjoy, and it really couldn’t have gone better.” – Nick

We played a game called ‘Sit down if...’; our MC and close friend Myles Usher read out funny and interesting anecdotes about people, or groups of people which then allowed them to sit down, it lasted around 15-20mins but really helped to start the wedding breakfast off on a fun and positive foot.

Whilst we followed a couple of traditions we wanted to ensure that we did a joint speech during our wedding breakfast. This gave us chance to both jointly thank friends and family and each say some nice things to each other too (which we’d kept secret) so it was a nice little surprise for both of us! A special moment though was just the two of us together alone right after the ceremony, it was just perfect. It allowed us both time to really let the significance of the day sink in and realise we’d just got married! We’d met Kristian, our photographer, at a friend’s wedding and loved the way he captured the day without being imposing. When we received our wedding photos we were just blown away with how stunning, romantic and candid they were, we still can’t get enough of them.

LITTLE WHITE BOOK

Venue, Wilton’s Music Hall, www.wiltons.org.uk | Photographer, Kristian Leven, https://kristianlevenphotography.co.uk | Bride’s dress and accesories, Gillion Million, www.gillianmillion.com | Hair and make-up, Olivia Mills Hair & Make Up, www.oliviamillsmakeup.co.uk Bridesmaids’ dresses, Monsoon, www.monsoonlondon.com;| Necklaces, Rachel Jackson London, www.racheljacksonlondon.com Groom’s suit, Hackett www.hackett.com, Cad & The Dandy www.cadandthedandy.com | Ring, Crystal Palace Jewelers, 020 8653 7507 Cake, Katie Cupcakey, www.instagram.com/katiecupcakey | Transport, London Corporate Cabs, https://londoncorporatecabs.com Ceremony and reception music, City String Ensemble www.citystringensemble.com, Silent Cities www.silentcitiesmusic.com, Russell Pusey http://russellpusey.weebly.com, No Limit Street Band http://nlsb.co.uk | Catering, Boulevard Events, www.boulevardevents.co.uk Coffee, Origin Coffee, www.origincoffee.co.uk | Breweries, Gipsy Hill Brewing Companyhttps://gipsyhillbrew.com, Charnwood Brewery www.charnwoodbrewery.co.uk | Accommodation, Cable Street Inn, www.cablestreetinn.co.uk