Grand Budapest Hotel Inspired Wedding at Lea Rowing Club

A very warm welcome to WWW followers Emma and Ray, who are kindly sharing with us their epic Wes Anderson, Grand Budapest Hotel-inspired wedding at Lea Rowing Club in London.

Their day truly came from the heart, with Vietnamese, British and Jewish influences from their heritage. They also chose Lea Rowing Club as it is close to their home, plus they brought along their cute pup Maple to enjoy the day alongside them.

There isn’t anything not to love about their day; there were gorgeous pastel tones, incredible flowers, homemade ceramics, a vintage iced wedding cake and the most amazing outfits. Plus much much more to be inspired by.

Thanks ever so much to Marianne Chua Photography for sharing with us these sensational images of Emma and Ray’s very colourful and joyful day.

Lea Rowing Club Wedding

The Proposal

We got engaged at Birch Hotel in Cheshunt, a little hotel outside of London we went to a few times before the pandemic breaks. It’s such a beautiful hotel with wellness activities, a pool, creative classes and some really incredible restaurants. We booked a New Year’s trip with Maple and some close friends. They all actually knew about the proposal, Ray did not.

It was a whirlwind but the actual proposal was very calm. We went on a dog walk with Maple in the beautiful meadow and to a little pagoda. We laughed and cried a little, Ray couldn’t stop giggling. It is one of my happiest memories!

Our rings we actually got after the engagement! We ordered them vintage from Etsy, Ray’s ring is this really cool magical black stone and mine is delicate with hearts and pink. I do feel really connected with wearing it, it reminds me of Ray and our love.

The Vision

Colour was always going to be a huge part of our wedding. That’s why we both love the films of Wes Anderson with their pastel palette. Our favourite of his is The Grand Budapest Hotel which encapsulated the look we wanted – pink and blue, quirky and orderly. We also took inspiration from the summer camp of Moonrise Kingdom.

We also wanted to draw from Vietnamese culture too, going back to Ray’s heritage.

We wanted to combine all of these elements to make a truly unique wedding.

The Venue

Lea Rowing Club! We always wanted to get married in London to make travel easy for friends and family and to be connected to where we fell in love.

We’ve lived not far from the canal in that part of East London for some time, even though it’s not too far out of central London it feels peaceful. Especially the marshes across the river and the beautiful Springfield Park is a sleepy lush part of East London.

Your Outfits

Ray’s Outfit

I wanted something unique and really ‘me’, as I’ve never felt fully comfortable in traditional suits.

I had a navy blue pinstripe Nehru suit made, both Asian and also something The Beatles have worn. I also hinted at the rock look with white Doc Martens.

Later on, I switched out of the jacket and shirt to just a Simone Rocha shirt that had a giant frilly heart on it. It was both fun, comfy and kept me cool during the hot summer evening.

Emma’s Outfit

I wanted to wear something that felt ‘me’ and despite wearing fabulous dresses for years I didn’t connect with the traditional wedding dress personally. I wanted to break the tradition whilst having a classic feel. When I came across both jumpsuits I felt torn about which one to wear!

One a square neckline, puff long-sleeved lace jumpsuit and one a silk Grecian goddess jumpsuit! I went with the lace jumpsuit for the ceremony paired with a Vietnamese lace headdress, a khan dong I customised myself.

For the rest of the day I changed into a silk jumpsuit with a floor-length cape covered in pearls. I added a silk rose to the jumpsuit neckline and a pearl chain belt. I wanted to feel like an anime magical girl, I’d say mission accomplished!

The Ceremony & Music

My husband is British-born Vietnamese and I have Jewish heritage, both cultures and traditional ceremonies are vastly different but we wanted to honour these parts of ourselves.

India (our celebrant) had loads of really thoughtful suggestions of ways to incorporate our backgrounds, one of which was involving the Vietnamese wedding tradition of envelopes but with a twist! Instead of the bride and groom being gifted these, we hand-wrote a special note for each guest in the envelope to thank them for being part of our day and for being a part of our lives.

We wanted to include my Dad as a bigger part since he didn’t get to walk me down the aisle. My Dad is known for going above and beyond, originally I’d asked for him to provide a reading and classically my Dad wrote the most heartwarming speech to go alongside the reading. The way India helped to provide feedback and coordinate my Dad really brought the ceremony together and there was not a dry eye in the house!

The ceremony itself included a hand-tying ceremony (tying the knot), personal vows and rows to our wedding party. The ceremony was wrapped up with a surprise letter from our dog Maple (written secretly from my husband Ray).

Ceremony music; we didn’t go for a traditional walk down the aisle and we had an eclectic mix playlist throughout with music close to our hearts. Everything from Spirited Away, Lord of the Rings, the soundtrack from the Grand Budapest Hotel.

For our first dance, we had a song from Evangelion; Hikaru Utada – One Last Kiss. Evangelion is our favourite anime and has a very nostalgic feeling for us as a couple! We danced like no one was watching; freestyle silliness as it’s not a formal sounding song it has a more dancy beat! It was so much fun and we’re so glad we went with something that felt ‘us’!

Our DJ we booked through the Female DJ Agency. We were keen to hire as many women and people of colour for our wedding as possible to feel aligned with our values! This agency is a small black-owned business with a fantastic list of varied DJs!

Your Photographer

Ray’s never been 100% comfortable posing for photos so he searched long and hard for the right photographer, someone who could capture candid moments and had a relaxed vibe. And also someone who had experience shooting fun and unique weddings.

That’s where Marianne Chua came in. She was amazing to work with and made us feel extremely at ease throughout the whole process (especially Ray). We loved every one of her photos, especially the small moments that could have been missed.

Additionally, our whole wedding party loved the photos! I think Marianne was able to capture every single guest AND every special moment! Even when our dog was jumping into the air from happiness after the ceremony! Marianne was both everywhere and nowhere, blending into the wedding but secretly capturing everything!

We felt so strongly about the photos we’ve even recommended her to friends marrying this year! We’re grateful for the sheer amount of the day that was captured. It’s like reliving the day when we look back!

The Honeymoon

We travelled the next week to the Lake District and stayed at Another Place Hotel. It’s dog-friendly so Maple was there too! We wanted to relax in nature after our wedding and it was the perfect spot. We went on a 5-hour hike to Aira Force waterfall.

The Styling & Decor

We were very fortunate to partner closely with our caterers the Dinner Ladies and our florist Design by Nature who both really understood our wild vision! Dinner Ladies were able to help put together our tablescapes and decor for the room to rent which was a huge relief!

We also bought lots of second-hand lanterns on Ebay/ Etsy and Vinted to fill the room. I personally made lots of ceramics inspired by the Grand Budapest Hotel to add some personal touches that guests could also take home at the end!