Ene and Graham’s real weddings was just too beautiful not to share with our brides to be. Everything from her stunning lace gown, to the intimate ceremony, to the epic London back drop is just breathtaking. Douglas Fry has once again captured the love between the happy couple and their guests perfectly and has proved why London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Bride and Groom… Ene and Graham
Wedding date… Friday 12th July 2013
We met… At work in Vienna, Austria, shortly after we were hired as Managers (of different teams). I had a long-standing policy of not dating colleagues and also made it known to Graham who completely ignored it. He brought concert tickets, movie tickets, a sandwich for lunch every now and then when deadlines got too crazy, and kept asking me to join his squash group at the gym. And before long, we found ourselves spending all of our free time together.
The proposal… One autumn evening when we were walking down the vineyards near our home in Vienna, Graham suddenly stopped in the middle of the street and said: “I have a question”. That’s when it became clear what he was about to do as he had been behaving suspiciously all day like bringing me a huge bouquet of lush deep red roses first thing in the morning. And it wasn’t even my birthday. The flowers were so tall that I had to get creative to accommodate them.
We knew it was ‘the one’… Shortly after we went to see the movie “Exit through the gift shop”, Graham very nonchalantly handed me a photo repro of Banksy’s “Girl with Balloon”. I just knew. It now hangs framed in our house. Graham suspects the deal was sealed by my cat Miu Miu when she first met him.
Length of engagement… 8 months.
How did Confetti.co.uk help in your big day? We found the practical advice such as checklists, supplier information, planning tips especially useful as we did not hire a wedding planner.
My dress was… By a designer named Kristina Viirpalu, of KV Couture. My friend Aive pointed me towards the young designer known for über-delicate knitted lace dresses. The moment I put on her lace white creation, both Graham and I knew it was the right dress. You should have seen Graham’s face! I have never given out so many thousands of euros so happily! The party dress was created especially for our wedding party in Estonia and featured stylized Estonian folk motives printed on nude background.
Our wedding ceremony was… At the Queen’s House in Greenwich, London, UK . We had lovely readings, beautiful flowers, a lot of nerves, fantastic speeches and a towering cake. We held our civil ceremony in the circle of 23 of our closest family members to allow for some time for the two families to meet and get to know one another. Apart from saying “I sure do” and cutting the towering wedding cake, The guests (many from overseas) were then driven by an open-top Routemaster via a scenic route to the Royal Festival Hall for a dinner at the Skylon Restaurant. With the crowds cheering on all the way it was a great experience. Definitely something we’ll remember forever.
Our favourite part of the wedding was… When the registrar asked “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband,” I replied saying: “I sure do”, and everyone present burst out laughing. Graham says this sounded cool and enthusiastic, I felt it sounded extremely American. But yes, it does still reflect my state of mind!
Our wedding photographer was… Douglas fry
Our bridesmaids were… Graham’s 2 nieces, Ruth and Hannah, who performed the role with grace and style.
Our wedding theme was… Tea-rose pink. We wanted the civil ceremony to feel genuinely English, including the types of flowers chosen, style of the bridal gown, type of food served at the reception, and the fire engine red open-top classic Routemaster that drove everyone to the dinner venue.
Our Wedding Cake was… Prepared and served by Palette Events
Our wedding was unique and special because… Firstly the realisation that I’ve chosen the right partner for life was very powerful. Secondly our dear guests. Gratitude is the word that best describes what we felt welcoming our friends and family as most of them have been in our lives for decades. And that’s worth a big celebration! Thirdly the bureaucracy. The amount of red tape to overcome for an international marriage requires resolve to make it happen, on top of true love.
Did anything funny or unusual happen at your wedding? Sometime in the wee hours after the wedding party when we returned to our bridal suite and took our shoes off… Graham stepped on a hornet. We spent the remainder of our wedding night tending to Graham’s foot, keeping it wrapped in a bag of ice. Lesson learned: open window and lights on is not the optimum combination for an August night on the countryside.
Our honeymoon was… Two weeks enjoying the islands of Hawaii doing almost everything from climbing up to volcano tops to going underwater in a submarine, and of course surfing. We rounded up the trip with a few days of exploring San Francisco, which was the destination of our first holiday together.
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Kristina Viirpalu of KV Couture | Wedding Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo | Wedding Suits: Charles Thyrwhitt | Wedding Flowers: Palette Events | Wedding Entertainment: Lydia Hepworth | Wedding Photographer: Douglas Fry | Wedding Make-up: Katy Angelidi | Wedding Venue stylist/planner: Palette Events | Wedding Rings: Kevin P. Nedoluha
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