“We loved the details you picked up on. We got to see our wedding from a totally new perspective. It’s great to work with someone who clearly loves their job!”

Stour Space Wedding Photos | Hackney | London

Chris proposed over Katie’s birthday lunch at the Sky Garden in London. They went straight to Hatton Garden, chose a ring, then stopped off ‘for a quick drink’ at their favourite local pub. Once inside Katie found all of their friends waiting! Chris had told them it was her surprise birthday party. Everyone was surprised it was for a different reason! Well played Chris, well played.

They got married on a beautiful summer’s day in August. The ceremony was at Hackney Town Hall and the reception took place at Stour Space Art Gallery in Hackney Wick. Here’s the day in their own words.

What was your Stour Space wedding inspiration?

Relaxed, joyful, colourful, fun, bright.

Describe some of your favourite wedding details and how you came up with them.

The huge ‘LOVE’ letters were made by us in the few days before – to decorate an ugly hoarding that had gone up outside the reception venue.
We made ice lollies to serve at the drinks reception as people arrived – they were welcome refreshment on a hot day and possibly slowed down the alcohol consumption for a few minutes at least…

Why did you choose Stour Space Art Gallery as your venue?

We only saw one venue, and booked it straight away! Stour Space is an art gallery and has huge high ceilings, lots of natural light and was a blank canvas that we could imagine making our own. It is right on the canal with decking looking out over the water towards the Olympic Stadium; there’s loads of graffiti and street art all around the area; it could not feel more ‘London’.

Tell us about the dress.

I actually had it made for me. That sounds totally extravagant but it worked out cheaper than any off-the-peg dress I tried on. Once I knew what would suit me, I went to Nina Furness in Cheltenham. All I wanted was a huge 50s style skirt to swish about in (there are TWO petticoats underneath!) and Nina delivered. Added bonus of shorter dress length: just look at the shoes. Groom’s attire was a blue three piece suit from M&S with floral tie and pocket square from PoserClub on Etsy.

Any advice for those planning their wedding now?

1. Don’t get sucked in to the ‘wedding industry’ insanity. It is ONE DAY in your life and no one will remember what colour the napkins were. Do as much as you can yourself, it will feel more personal. Choose a photographer who will be able to capture the atmosphere of the day.

2. Remember during the day to take a moment away from the madness, as a newly married couple. It’s an insanely fun, intense day. Just don’t lose sight of the fact that it is about you two and the massive, exciting commitment you have just made to each other.

What did you want from your wedding photographer?

We wanted someone who got to know us as a couple and wouldn’t try and fit us into a particular mould, someone who would seek out the less ‘obvious’ wedding shots. Every wedding is unique but many sets of wedding photographs look weirdly formulaic.

The details Jonny picked up were amazing! Things that we didn’t notice until we got the pictures back, and got to see our wedding from a totally new perspective. He also understood the relaxed vibe we wanted on the day, and was able to ‘go with the flow’, getting some amazing pictures of unexpected moments as they happened. Our guests and families also said he seemed to be really enjoying himself. It’s great to work with someone who clearly loves their job!

STOUR SPACE WEDDING SUPPLIER SHOUT OUTS

Make up artists: I did my own makeup, but my sister and I had an excellent (free) wedding tutorial at the Bobbi Brown store (then we had a little splurge on makeup…)

Hair – Topshop Oxford Street has a ‘braid bar’ in the basement, where we all pitched up first thing in the morning to get our hair done – then dived into an Uber to dodge a freak rain shower on the way back!

Florist: Me, my family, friends and my bridesmaids! We made over 200 beautiful paper flowers to decorate the venue – it was actually good fun and not as time consuming as you’d think. The extra special huge paper roses my bridesmaids and I are holding were made by my mother in law.

Cake: My incredibly talented sister who is a teacher but clearly missed her calling as a cake artist (if that’s a thing?) She hand made all the sugar flowers and it took her weeks. We loved it, it was so special.

Catering Company: Stour Space has its own café – the queues are out of the door on weekend mornings because their food is delicious. So that was easy.

Entertainment: Our friend Tom is a musician and also runs Moozi which provides live music for parties and events of any scale – so he helped us pick an amazing band. The dance floor never emptied, and when the band had to stop we just plugged in an iPhone and kept going!

Transport: We travelled on the London Overground from the wedding to the reception – all 120+ people together as a huge, noisy group. Getting on public transport in a wedding dress was a one off experience.. check out the photos…

LOOKING FOR A LONDON WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER?

Thinking of getting married at Stour Space or Hackney Town Hall?  (or anywhere else for that matter) and you feel that my style doth butter your parsnips, please do check my availability and request an eBrochure.

I limit my diary to around 30 weddings per year, so don’t drag your feet.

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