Beauty journalist Tori and finance director Aaron tied the knot in May with an effortlessly stylish, honest, relaxed and intimate city celebration. These two knew early on that the traditional big wedding wasn’t for them. Instead, they chose a quiet and meaningful day, marrying at Old Marylebone Town Hall before celebrating with close family and friends at their favourite local pub.
Tori wore a short puff-sleeve wedding dress by By Watters, paired with statement pearl block heels and a soft glam look that reflected her years of beauty expertise. The couple walked down the aisle together to a modern piano track, shared simple vows, and spent their day side by side in every moment.
This beautiful, honest and fuss-free wedding was captured perfectly by the lovely Benjamin Stuart who we are delighted to recommend. Enjoy!
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We wanted a laid-back pub-style wedding that still felt elegant and special but our main goal was having a relaxed, modern and intimate wedding. We both wanted and valued getting married in a way that felt ‘us’, more than we wanted a big white wedding. Having a non-traditional style was a high priority for me as I’d never imagined myself in a wedding gown. That’s why a London wedding and editorial-style photos with Ben, was a dream.
As a beauty journalist who writes about fragrance for a living, scent was a very important decision for me. I chose this scent before we’d even got engaged. I chose Mizensir For Your Love Eau de Parfum, created by master perfumer Alberto Morillas, who I’ve been lucky to meet. This scent is light, romantic and relaxed; designed to capture ‘olfactory sensations of a passionate kiss’. For Aaron, I chose Jo Malone’s Cypress & Grapevine Cologne Intense, which the team kindly engraved with his initials. This was less about the story and more because it’s an incredibly handsome scent!
The Ceremony
Aaron and I walked down the aisle together. We wanted to stick together for the entire day; that meant getting ready together, interviewing together and walking down the aisle together, which felt so special and meant we had zero nerves.
We walked down the aisle to Insight VII by Julient Marchal (a beautiful, short track for a beautiful, short aisle) and walked out to Just Like Heaven by The Cure.
We wanted a non religious ceremony and chose a modern script vows and didn’t tailor them. Instead, we chose to do private vows to each other.
I think there’s often quite a lot of pressure to tailor vows and do readings. We wanted to be as relaxed as we could and enjoy the day as much as possible, keeping the ceremony free from nerves – which included sticking to the simple vows. Doing this privately can be just as special.
Photography
We first met our photographer, Benjamin Stuart, at our dear friends’ wedding and remember his upbeat, easygoing nature; something that was very important to us.
His photos are beautiful, capturing the story of a wedding day without the need for awkward posing and lengthy photography sessions.
Ben’s kind, funny energy was exactly what we needed on the day and our pre-ceremony photo session with him was one of our favourite parts of the day.
We’ve recommended Ben to at least three friends already and tell everyone he’s part photographer / part wedding planner because he helped so much with the vision of the day. A true professional that we were incredibly lucky to have on our wedding day.
My favourite part of the day was waiting in a beautiful room together at the town hall and having five minutes together to reflect and be present before going into our ceremony to get married on our 13th anniversary. I was proud of us for celebrating our day exactly how we wanted; prioritising us as a couple, doing it exactly as we’d dreamt of. No fuss or frills, celebrating our love in a quiet and meaningful way.
How They Met
Aaron and I met in school in 2007. We had been friends for years and finally started going out in 2012. We decided in 2023 that we wanted to get married, so we planned the engagement together. Aaron designed the ring based on what I liked and then we hopped on a plane to Dubai and got engaged.
We didn’t tell anyone our plans, making it really special having that time together, just the two of us, before telling our friends and family. We were engaged for 18 months before our wedding. We got married on our 13th dating anniversary.
The Reception
We went to the Wilton Arms pub after the ceremony and had a private room. They were incredible, so accommodating and had such fantastic energy. We opted for a Sunday lunch given it was a Sunday (and we love a roast), which suited our relaxed day well. Lots of fun and great company.
We kept the decor super simple with gold candlesticks and Jo Malone Oud Bergamot candles, personalised menus and ribbons.
Branching Out Florists in Wallingford, local to us. Cannot fault them, such fantastic service. I had no idea what flowers I wanted so they were entirely designed by the team based off my very limited guidance and they designed a stunning bridal bouquet, buttonhole and a mini bouquet for my niece.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
It seems cliché, but do it that way you both want to, not how you think you should do it. Sit down together and discuss how you both feel most comfortable and feel will celebrate your day as the couple you are. You don’t always need a crowd to feel celebrated and loved.
Many of the decisions we made were based on questioning if we ‘had’ to do things a certain way. I.e. Getting ready together in the morning versus spending the morning apart. It made no sense for us to spend the morning apart, so we didn’t. Don’t let traditions pressure you into doing things just because ‘that’s the way it’s done’.
We didn’t have a strict budget per se but spent in the region of £5,000 for the day. We did have a party a few weeks later with our friends so wanted to keep costs low for the ceremony day without sacrificing luxury on things like the hotel room (we stayed at the Landmark).
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