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Benessamy Weddings: London Town Hall Wedding - Jess and Ben

Today we’re taking it right back to one of the hottest days of the year last year. Not one, not two but three incredible venues and a big red bus!

First stop, Islington Town Hall for their wedding ceremony, then Somerset House for a fabulous lunch at Spring. The final stop, The Standard, London for an epic party at Sweeties!

We invited Jess and Ben to share a few details about their wedding with you so hold tight!…it’s a good one!

Val x

Outfits : Tell us a little about your outfits

Jess

I found the Wedding Dress shopping process harder than I thought - mainly because all wedding dresses are so beautiful(!) but I was struggling to find one that I felt like myself in, rather than ‘dressing up’ in costume as a Bride! When I initially tried on the Jessica Bennett  Alexa Midi Dress at The Fall Bride in Dalston it was a ‘wild card’ and not in the running. However, as the wedding day plan began to take shape and we decided on a Town Hall London wedding it quickly became the obvious front runner.

I felt like I was taking a bit of a risk, wearing a midi dress that was so far from the conventional wedding dress look I always expected to wear, but I have absolutely no regrets! The big bow was so fun and I worked with an incredible tailor local to us (Paul Moreland in Canonbury) who worked tirelessly to ensure it fitted perfectly on the day.

An extra special touch my Mum treated me to was a Rebecca Anne Designs veil which was beautifully embroidered with our name and wedding date. It’s something I know I’ll keep forever and hope to find a way to display it somehow in the future.

Ben

I wanted to wear something a little less traditional too so I worked with Cad and the Dandy to create a green linen three piece suit. It was perfect, although quite ‘toasty’ on the day when it turned out to be such a hot September Saturday!

It was my Birthday two days before the Wedding Day so we went to Tiffany & Co. for some beautiful cufflinks and Gucci for some lucky socks! It was great fun working our way down Bond Street and being treated to a glass of Birthday / Wedding celebratory champagne everywhere we went!

I chose Jess’s Engagement ring from Boodles so we continued working with them to create our wedding Bands - Boodles also kindly lent Jess a beautiful pair of Vintage Diamond Drop Earrings to wear on the day. Jess - It felt like such a special treat to be wearing such a timeless piece of jewellery for my Wedding Day!

Venues: What made you choose your venues?

We live in Islington so it felt like the obvious choice to marry in Islington Town Hall.

We then got a routemaster bus to Spring at Somerset House for lunch. The food at Spring was incredible and we were so lucky to benefit from the iconic courtyard at Somerset House for our photos.

After that we hopped back on the bus which took us to The Standard in Kings Cross for the party at Sweeties. We love The Standard and it’s cool and quirky decor, plus the amazing views across London. I’m so grateful that we now have these three landmarks that will always be so special to us and we can go back to on anniversaries to relive the happiest day.

We stayed at The Standard the night before, in one of their suites, which has an amazing terrace overlooking Kings Cross St Pancras where we hosted our parents and the Wedding Party for drinks before heading to Decimo for a fun dinner. It was the perfect room to get ready in the next morning too, with lots of space for Hair & Make up and an iconic backdrop for photos. We were so lucky with the weather - it felt like we were abroad!

Some of Our Key Memories About Our Day

We had such a fun and happy day! The sun was shining, and the blue skies instantly put everyone in such a joyous mood, our guests all looked so cool with their shades on standing outside Islington Town Hall on Upper Street.

For our Ceremony at Islington Town Hall we had written certain aspects of the Ceremony and this added such a personal touch and made the service feel really unique and special to us. It ended up being one of our favourite parts of the day.

The Routemaster bus was great fun - we had a big cool box filled with canned cocktails so everyone could immediately get into the party spirit! Especially on the way from Lunch to the party - our Master of Ceremonies got a big group singalong going and I almost wish the journey had been longer so we could have continued that moment!

Once we got to The Standard for the Party, and were joined by more friends, I felt like we could completely relax! I changed into my Party Dress earlier than planned, just to be a bit cooler and free to dance - I’ll always be grateful for the sunshine but the extreme heat did add some unexpected new challenges to the day! The cocktails at The Standard were incredible and Stylus Live provided the Party vibes of my wildest dreams with a roaming band of singers, a saxophonist and percussion working their way around the dancefloor to get everyone going!

Overall we wanted the day to feel relaxed and informal, with a balance between it feeling like a wedding but without a lot of the ‘traditions’ that didn’t fit with our personalities or vision for our day. I couldn’t be happier that we managed to achieve this!

Our Benessamy Experience

Val & her Team were absolutely wonderful, we couldn’t have done it without her. In the weeks leading up to the wedding day Val took complete control of all the final details, communication with suppliers and questions from guests which was such a welcome relief as the stress levels began to rise!

On the day, having the peace of mind that Val was there meant we could truly relax, and didn't have to worry about anything. We had an action packed day and Val ensured everything ran to time and without a glitch. Val had everything covered, plus lots of thoughtful touches that helped immeasurably - i.e. handheld fans(!), keeping track of cards and gifts and packaging everything up so perfectly at the end of the night so nothing got lost or forgotten.

You can’t put a price on the reassurance of knowing there’s someone there for you on the day doing everything in their power to make sure you have the best possible time and you’re shielded from questions or any hiccups, only exposed to the fun and joy surrounding you.

Val’s incredibly thorough approach and calm demeanour worked perfectly to counter my Type A traits and I was so grateful to have complete trust in her that she understood my vision for the day and executed it to perfection.

Our Wedding Team

Photography and Videography: Loved up Films |  Planner: Benessamy Wedding & Event Design  
Ceremony Venue: Islington Town Hall | Lunch Venue: Spring Ldn at Somerset House | Party Venue: The Standard, London
Dress: Jessica Bennett Bridal | Veil: Rebecca Anne Designs | Weddings Shoes: Dior | Jewellery – Boodles | Party Shoes – Loeffler Randall
Hair: Brandon McGrath – Hikari, London | Makeup: Cat Parnell | Ben’s Suit: Cad and The Dandy 
Flowers: Dansk Flowers | Bridesmaid Dresses: Reformation | Party Dress: Jane and Tash 
 Guest Transport: London Routemaster Hire 
Entertainment: Stylus Live  | Photobooth: SmartPics | Audio Guestbook: Calleo

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