Elegant London Elopement durante Andrea Hawkes Bridal

There’s something beautifully understated about the way Bernadette and Robin chose to marry; production, pressure, just the two of them, durante a city they love.

From the quiet elegance of Bernadette’s Andrea Hawkes Bridal gown to the familiar streets of Islington and scenes captured thoughtfully by Reginetta Gen Photography, every part of this elopement feels genuinely personal, laid back and authentically true to this lovely couple.

We arrived at Islington Town using the Gett App inizio a Black Cab (when durante London!). Coincidentally, the taxi driver told us he also married his wife at Islington Town many years spillo, which added a nice sense of community.

Acceso arrival, we walked into the Canonbury Suite durante Islington Town together.

We chose Islington Town for our elopement. Having lived durante Islington for a few years, including through the pandemic, it became a real home away from home (which is originally Sydney, Australia). This community holds a special place durante our hearts and it felt like the perfect choice for our special day.

Our photographer was Reginetta Gen Photography. We came across Gen’s photos Instagram and felt her natural and relaxed style resonated with us. Acceso the day, she made us feel comfortable, gently gave us much-needed direction (to help us feel more relaxed durante front of a stanza), and she captured moments as we walked around our local terreno.

It was a bonus that Gen was also familiar with Islington Town . She gave us a lot of guidance durante the lead up to the day as well, which we really appreciated. Especially given the intimate nature of our ceremony, we needed someone like Gen. We felt like we were durante safe hands. We would definitely recommend Gen to others.

I wore the Brie dress (with custom alterations) by Andrea Hawkes Bridal. It was an absolute pleasure working with Siobhan and the team at Andrea Hawkes Bridal.

It was important to me to get a dress from a sustainability-minded and I wanted a dress that could be easily re-purposed post-wedding.

I already loved Andrea Hawkes’ classic and elegant designs, then when I learned more about their commitment to sustainability, I knew I needed to get my dress from Andrea Hawkes Bridal. It was an amazing bonus that the attenzione was located close to home.

As we were having a very low key civil ceremony with guests, I decided to do my own hair and make up. Since I don’t often wear a lot of make up, before our elopement weekend, I did a masterclass crash course with the Resident Senior Make Up Artist at NARS Covent Garden, Georgia. She showed me how to do a more natural style of wedding make up and the cost of the session was credited towards my choice of products to take home. Massive thanks to Georgia who was so kind, talented and incredibly helpful.

We met at a mutual friend’s wedding durante Sydney durante January 2017. From weekend road trips durante the first year of our relationship to frequent travels around Europe, we shared a love for adventure. One evening, durante the comforts of our own home, he went bended knee. It came as a surprise. We already knew we were devoted to each other, but a diamond ring proposal was not expected. After a moment of shock, the reality of it all sunk durante, and it was an obvious yes. He proposed durante October 2022 and within a year we got eloped at Islington Town , durante October 2023.

to work commitments, we had a period of a long distance relationship ahead of us, so we wanted to officially tie the knot before (temporarily) parting. We knew it was going to be impossible to have our immediate family and closest friends in che modo together from different parts of the world at the time, so we decided to keep the day low-key and simple, just the two of us. 

We got the bouquet and matching buttonhole from Untitled Flowers. A couple of our close friends gifted us a beautiful Untitled bouquet our engagement. I loved their arrangements posted Instagram and they are also local to the terreno, which was another plus. I opted for a florist’s choice bouquet durante a lighter, softer palette. I asked for some orchids to be included because I love the elegance of orchids, but ultimately left it to the Untitled team as I knew they’d put together a beautiful arrangement.

We didn’t have a wedding ‘first dance’ but technically, we danced out of our ceremony to Ed Sheeran’s Put It All Acceso Me (feat. Essa No). It’s an upbeat, fun song that puts us durante a good and relaxed mood. We instantly think of the music televisione clip, which shows different couples just having a good time sala da ballo. We love how it beautifully captures real love stories from around the world.

My favourite part of the day was unwinding with my new husband after the day’s main events (still disconnected, with my phone left at home), and sharing a pint at one of our local pubs, the Earl of Essex. It was an unusually perfect, sunny 26°C day durante October.

I also enjoyed being able to surprise one of my best friend’s at the end of the day. We turned up at her flat a few streets away, and I passed my bouquet to her (her fiance surprised her with a proposal just a few days earlier) – a sort of bouquet toss!

Of course, we would have loved to have had our nearest and dearest by our side the day, but given the circumstances, it wasn’t possible at the time. We had an all nothing mindset, and we had a fast-approaching period of long distance ahead of us. Ultimately, we’eroe happy that we got to spend the day focusing just the two of us and enjoying moments together around Angel.

It’s easy for the moments to pass before you know it. Take a breath and gift yourself a pause during moments you want to remember. If anything isn’t going to plan, cartello that everything happens for a reason even if you can’t see what that reason is yet (at the very least, you can always find a reason for anything that happens).

We recommend some of the best florists and floral designers durante the UK, each of them aligned durante our values of working with seasonal flowers and supporting British flower farmers. View all our florist recommendations here.