Peckham Wedding

Ready for infectious smiles and a lot of love? Me too. Let’s take a look at the gorgeous Peckham wedding of Scott and Sophie, shall we? They were hitched on the 12th September 2020 at The Asylum in London followed by a reception at Little Brother Marcus.

COVID-19 disrupted Scott and Sophie’s original wedding plans, but they decided to take control and have two weddings. Oh yes! In came stylish outfits, pretty blooms and ingenious ideas. They had Facetime set up for loved ones that couldn’t be there, an outdoor reception and a lovely mini-moon post-wedding. It really turned out to be such a personal day, which was ever so happy. I defy you not to smile as you browse these lovely images.

A huge thank you to Kirsty Mackenzie Photography for sharing these really epic shots with us. Enjoy.

The Proposal

After 12 years, we finally got engaged! Scott was working on Good Friday but he finished at 10am so after he came home and napped, we walked to Battersea Power Station as he had booked us a meal. It was a boiling hot day but he persisted on wearing a jacket (Obviously to hide the ring!).

We had a lovely meal at No.29 Power Station and then walked back through Battersea Park. There is a nice garden area with some benches that overlooks Albert Bridge so we parked ourselves in there and watched the sunset. It was pretty packed with every bench taken but eventually we managed to secure the front bench by the river.

We spoke about the future and plans for 2020 before he took the knee and asked me to marry him!

The Vision

When we started planning our wedding we decided we wanted to enjoy the whole process. Straight away we chose to have our wedding in London, where we live. One of our favourite things to do is explore the city and this is what we wanted to get across in our wedding. We chose our food from street food vendors, decided on a wedding reception in Brixton and the ceremony at Chelsea Registry Office. We even came across our band when we went to Glastonbury.

Our original date was the 4.4.20 but when we were getting closer and closer, due to Covid, it felt like it was not a sensible idea having lots of people in one room. On the 16^th March 2020 we decided to postpone our wedding, which was actually a relief. All our suppliers were amazing and so supportive and agreed on a new date in September.

As the year carried on, it was looking more and more unlikely that we were going to be able to have a big wedding that we planned. We made the decision that we really wanted to get married and we would move the party to next year.

Due to the size of Chelsea Registry office, we were only allowed a strict number of guests which would leave out some of our family, so we started to look at larger venues where we could get everyone to be safely socially distant. We knew about The Asylum in Peckham so we enquired about getting married there and amazingly it was available for 2 hours.

Once we had this in place for 12pm and gave notice of marriage again to our local council we were able to start planning another wedding day. We were able to have our ceremony and then stay in the venue for a little bit afterwards so we purchased some glasses and champagne for this. We then started looking for somewhere we could go as a group of 23 in covid times which was a little tricky. I have followed Brother Marcus on Instagram for years so enquired and they were amazing. We met one of the owners and he let us hire the whole place for the afternoon/evening. It meant we had outdoor space and could be safe.

Why not take a look at our ultimate wedding planning checklist?

The Ceremony & Music

We love going to see live music so the soundtrack of the day was really important to us. Scott spent a lot of time on three playlists – one for when Sophie walked in; another for when we were signing the registry book and atmosphere for drinks at the Asylum; and then a third for when we were at Little Brother Marcus. This was more of the party one!

The main differences with our wedding ceremony was that we had a limited number of people so we could be socially distanced. All of the guests had to wear face masks too, as did the registrar, but fortunately Scott and I didn’t have to.

My grandparents were unable to travel to the wedding but we made them feel part of it by buying an iPhone holder and attached them to a chair at the front. My sister Facetimed them five minutes before I walked in so they had front row seats of the day! It worked really well and I was so happy that they were able to be a part of it.

Don’t forget to check out our first dance song and wedding readings ideas!

The Venue

The Asylum in Peckham is an incredibly beautiful venue which we never thought we would be able to get married in. It is an old chapel that has a capacity of about 120 people. There were 23 of us, plus Steph, our photographer, and the registrar from Southwark council. It was so intimate and amazing to have the space.

Wedding Reception – Little Brother Marcus, Balham. LBM is a restaurant that serves Eastern Mediterranean food. For our wedding we were served grazing plates for when we arrived and then ‘posh’ kebabs later in the evening. The venue is split into two so has an indoor and outdoor dining area. The weather was really nice so we were able to spend most of the day out the back. The staff were incredible and topped the day off.

Your Outfits

Scott – Sophie’s sister got married a few years ago and her husband recommended Jack Bunneys, in Upminster. They are a family run business and were so passionate about their suits which I loved.

Their knowledge was exceptional which really helped me as I naively walked in not knowing what I wanted. It was a mistake as it would have been a lot easier for everyone if I had something in mind! I left the first visit with more of an idea which helped me when I went back a few weeks later and picked my suit.

I don’t wear suits for work so I wanted to treat myself and spend a bit more on a tailored suit which I will hopefully keep for a long time and can wear again – as long as I don’t put any timber on!

Sophie – I decided that I really wanted a dress that I would never normally buy, that I could potentially wear again in the future and I did not mind what colour it would be. As our wedding was in London and we were moving around on the day, I wanted something simple, comfortable and did not touch the floor. Me, my mum and sisters went shopping in central London and tried on some beautiful dresses in Liberty but they did not feel like me. We went to Selfridges and came across my wedding dress and it was white, I loved how simple but beautiful it was. From the designer Camilla and Marc.

As my dress turned out to be white, I decided I wanted bright shoes that I could walk in but this is not easy to find. We ended up back in Selfridges, the week before lockdown and found the perfect pair from the brand who what wear.

I found my earrings on Instagram from a brand called Chalk Jewellery and thought they were perfect. I got in contact with Malaika the owner who was really lovely and we arrange to meet in Notting Hill so that I could see them and try them on. I loved them and I have kept in contact with Malaika as my Grandparents wanted to buy me some jewellery for the wedding so I now have a matching necklace and bracelet.

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

We are both not great with photos! Despite being together for 14 years, we barely have any snaps together! This made us want a photographer that would slot in and capture the day. After a facetime call with Kirsty, we felt that she was exactly what we wanted on our day.

Sadly, when we moved our wedding, she already had another wedding booked in so Stephanie Green was the photographer for the day and Kirsty still managed the booking and edited our images. Steph was amazing on the day, she made us all feel at ease and fitted in with our family and friends. The photos are incredible and we even snuck in a photo trip to Battersea Park in-between venues. The photos at The Asylum are beautiful and we will cherish them for life.

The Styling & Decor

We decided to keep things pretty simple with no colour schemes and the venues we decided on we did not need to do a lot to them.

My sister’s friend works for Gardenia of London so I met up with her to do my bouquet and Scott’s buttonhole. She will also do our flowers for the party later this year. I really love flowers so they were an important part of the day so I sent Lucy pictures of flowers that I liked and left her to use her expertise. She dropped off my bouquet in the morning and they were absolutely beautiful.

There are things that we have not been able to share yet, such as a sign designed for the party by Bee Davies Illustration. This will be used in front of the venue for our party this year. We also decided on not having a wedding cake and getting a lovely dessert. We have hired Nonna’s gelato to bring her ice cream bike for the evening so everyone can have freshly made ice cream.

The Honeymoon

Due to everything going on we had to postpone our honeymoon to September 2021, we are hopefully heading to Kenya for safari and then Zanzibar for a beach holiday. After our wedding we went to the New Forest for 2 nights at The Pig Hotel and then spent a few nights at my parents as they live by the sea, in 2020 it was nice to get away.

Memorable Moments

Sophie – When the back doors opened for me to go in, the beauty of the room just hit me. All the people I loved were in one room that we have not been allowed to see for months and all the emotions of getting married at last. It is a moment I will never forget.

Scott – For me it was standing at the front of The Asylum with Cinematic Orchestra’s To Build A Home playing. The room fell silent and the sun shone through the stained glass windows. It was a perfect peaceful setting. My face lit up when I saw Sophie walk through with her dad – not because I didn’t expect her to but because a wave of emotion went through the room as we were all able to escape from the horrendous year! I think it was a realisation of how lucky we were and to be around the most important people in our lives.

Advice For Other Couples

Our advice is do exactly what you want to do and make it the wedding you want. Far too many go with the usual wedding template and it can feel like you’re just on a conveyor belt. Make it personal to you and enjoy the process. We loved planning the whole thing together and would recommend making your wedding longer than just the one day.

In these current times, don’t be afraid of holding a small intimate wedding rather than postponing to have the huge celebration. If getting married is important to you then you can still do that with the important people and hold a celebration on a different occasion. We felt that there was no pressure, we were both so relaxed and absolutely loved the whole day.