alix & rikki

we're off to london town!

to avoid this becoming the longest blog post in history i'm going to have to be clever with my wording, as alix and rikki put so much of themselves into this wedding (alix quite literally) i could go on for hours!

to start with: as far as brides go, let's just get the sheer amazingness of alix out the way!
she made pretty much everything, and when people say that you think 'ok invites table decorations maybe...' but alix put us all to shame and made not only the invites (which were amazingly cool festival tags complete with hand drawn pictures, directions, times, and a little map! they were brilliant) but also the guestbook (a beautiful poster of a tree you finger-stamped your own leaf on and then signed your name) the decorations, the games, hand painted jam jar tea lights (with a little help from us girls!) the bouquet, the cake - yes i did say the cake, and her dress
- yes i did say her dress!
another highlight was a newspaper sheet they'd created that alix had written and put together called 'the bagel'
i've never seen anything like it at a wedding, it was superbly written with an account of the couple, columns about various guests which included more than a few hilarious jabs, info on the day itself, shockingly accurate horoscope predictions from the bagels resident 'claire-voyant' and even some celeb quotes! it had everyone in stitches the second they picked it up, and was a fantastic keepsake for everyone to take home.
alix really went above and beyond and it was astounding. there was so much detail in absolutely everything and the dress itself was incredible, let alone that she had made it from scratch. and before you all start wondering... no she is neither a seamstress, a writer, or a baker! she's just apparently superbride.

the day itself started the night before with a lovely meal out (written about in my last bog) then afterwards myself and the bride and groom, best man and bridesmaid (also alix' sister) headed off to russells of clapton for an early night. russells is an absolutely gorgeous b&b run by a lovely lady called annette who was so welcoming and sweet. she really made us all feel like we were staying at a friend's (exceptionally gorgeous) house for the weekend!
getting up and making my way down the landing i thoroughly expected it to be like every other wedding morning especially with most of the wedding party in the same house: everyone running about like crazy, alix in mild panic and rikki nervously pacing up and down, but no! it was one of the most relaxing wedding mornings i've shot to date which set a really nice tone for the rest of the day; especially remarkable as it included an early morning trip to the venue to decorate! but aside from battling with 9am london traffic everything went really well. i was also assured by the gentlemen present that the full english was definitely a highlight!

we arrived at the exceptionally stylish islington town hall where most of the guests were either milling around chatting or having a drink or two at the pub across the road. it was really lovely having everyone together talking and laughing before the day had even officially begun. alix and rikki walked down the isle (as it were) together, which i loved, to la llorona by beirut. their ceremony was everything you wanted it to be; genuine, meaningful and to the point, and the atmosphere in the room was great.
i took a few shots of them both in the building as the marbled corridors were so beautiful, and then went outside (greeted by mass confetti throwing) to take the rest of the photos, including some in front of and inside the traditional london double decker bus they'd hired to take everyone to the venue, which was an amazing touch!

we all arrived at at the newly renovated big chill house in kings cross which was a fantastic venue for a nice relaxed reception. the whole place was filled with little snippets of alix and rikki, from the personalised dj booth to the home made games ('guess you' anyone??) retro card games, and little photos of the couple dotted about - not to mention the makeshift photobooth complete with moustaches and hats!
the food was delicious and let's not even get onto the cocktails! and once everyone had settled for a while it was time for the speeches. there had been a huge amount of build up for the best man's speech, mainly as i think it's fair to say he's not exactly known for mincing his words! poor rikki's expression of mild terror once subsided when darren (hamill/best man) had pulled his first few punches, and it turned out that - albeit most definitely a roast - his speech was a really well thought out dedication, full of as much love as there were insults.
this was closely followed by rikki's speech which was pretty much a five minute long ramble about how much he adored his new wife and how beautiful she looked (to which we all agreed!) and also how happy it had made them both to have their closest family and best friends in the world from all over the country together in one room on such a special day. the party that night was nothing short of fantastic, including a rather spectacular drum and bass dance off, several guest dj sets, probably slightly too much cocktail mixing, large portions of the delicious chocolate wedding cake and a lot of dancing on chairs!

so i think it's fair to say, everyone had a thoroughly amazing time...

this wedding was one that will stick in my mind forever for a number of reasons, but mainly because of the sense of togetherness; everything was planned and carried out as a pair and i really loved that.
at most weddings, the emphasis is on keeping the bride and groom separate until the bride is given away to her new husband, and that's when they truly become a couple. but for this wedding the emphasis was on quite the opposite; there was no big sense of joining them together needed, as alix and rikki very much already were.
they left for paris that morning in exactly the same place they had arrived two nights before, just with the addition of two beautiful rings and considerably bigger grins.

all my love to you both, you truly put on an unforgettable day xx