Catharine wearing Suzanne Neville Opulence for her St Pancras London Wedding

Our wedding today comes straight to you from the big smoke, set in an incredible iconic London location.

Catharine and Max were married at St Lawrence Jewry next to Guildhall church, followed by an evening reception at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

We’re delighted to share their beautiful images today by London wedding photographer Mark Bothwell.

The Dress

We can’t think of a better designer to fit Catharine’s London centric wedding than the brilliant and much loved British designer Suzanne Neville, and Catharine agreed, choosing to wear Opulence, an exquisite strapless ivory satin gown, with nipped in belted waist and matching sheer lace jacket overlay.

Catharine tells us more about her dress;

“I went for Suzanne Neville – Opulence in a slightly lighter shade of ivory than how it usually comes as it suited me better. It was a ‘big’ dress but I felt so comfortable in it. I also knew I wanted a ‘big’ dress for the aisle at the church and for the big staircase at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. It was quite simple in its design – a lot of the appeal was in the detail including the lace jacket, the ribbon around the waist (which meant I got the bow I wanted!) and the low V back.”

“I had a pretty firm idea of what I wanted from the very beginning. At my first appointment at Miss Bush I tried on a couple of dresses which were close to what I thought I would like but not quite right.

When I went to my next appointment, Corinne had brought the Suzanne Neville Opulence dress in for me to try and I knew pretty quickly that it was what I was looking for. My sister and two bridesmaids were with me at the time as my Mum couldn’t make the appointment – I told her immediately afterwards that we needed to get another appointment in the diary so I could show her the dress. We then went along – just the two of us – which is when I decided to go for it. I sort of anticipated (and hoped) my Mum might get teary but I think we were both a little bit in shock that I had actually found ‘the one’.

We went for lunch afterwards to let it sink in that I had finally found the dress I was going to get married in.”

Catharine accessorised with a full-length veil and a pair of sparkly Jimmy Choo shoes, finishing her look with some beautiful earrings that were a gift from her husband-to-be on the day.

“The chapel provides the perfect backdrop for dress shopping. I wasn’t keen on going to run of the mill high street shops but wanted to make the experience that bit more memorable and special. Miss Bush didn’t disappoint. Corinne was always so friendly and chatty whenever I went for appointments which put me at ease straightaway. She also knew exactly what I wanted from the word go, and helped me fine tune my vision as I tried on dresses. The dress I eventually went for wasn’t actually on the racks at Miss Bush so it really is all thanks to Corinne for suggesting I try it on and getting it in so I could. I really couldn’t have asked for more.”

About the day

Catharine and Max are a true Metropolitan couple, with much of their relationship taking place in and around London, so they decided to get married in their home city, adding lots of personal and creative touches.

Catharine tells us more about the inspiration behind their day;

“As our entire relationship had been very London-centric, we were set on a London venue from the beginning. Driving past the St Pancras Renaissance on our return from holiday after getting engaged, it struck us as an ideal place to have our reception. It was also just down the road from where we were living at the time, so we couldn’t really justify staying there but knew that if we got married there we could spend a night or two at the hotel!

The opulent surroundings spoke for themselves; we were very reluctant to introduce a lot of additional colours so kept everything very clean and simple with some subtle “London” touches. For example, we used the London Underground font for all our stationery, which Max designed.”

“I’m not sure I can single out one part of the day as my favourite as it was all so memorable. Seeing all the hard work and planning come together was satisfying.

Our families and friends are very important to us: sitting at the top table looking out at everyone talking away and getting along was very special. All my cousins were able to attend the wedding – some travelled from Canada and California – and it was the first time we had all been in the same room together for a very long time – over 28 years in fact.”

Final Words

Some words of wedding planning advice from our bride, Catharine;

“My number one aim throughout the process was to try my best to not get bogged down by the inevitable stresses of wedding planning. Try your best to enjoy it all. I was determined to get to the day and not be relieved that it had finally arrived but excited – thankfully that was the case. I had a serious case of post-wedding blues in the days afterwards! If I could do it all again, I would.”