Emily wearing Sassi Holford Marylin for a London Gherkin Wedding

Our wedding today comes to you from our beautiful capital city, with our bride and groom getting married at the top of The Gherkin with an incredible view over the London Skyline.

The dress

Emily wore the signature dress from Sassi Holford‘s 2016 collection, the beautiful floral wedding dress, Marilyn. The gown features a soft organza overlay covering a stunning floral patterned full skirt, with pretty shoulder detailing over an illusion neckline.

Emily tells us more about her dress;

“I’d first seen the dress in an interview Emma had done in Brides magazine – I fell in love instantly. Classic in shape and style, yet an unexpected twist with the floral skirt. If it looked as good on, I knew it was going to be the one. I hunted down Miss Bush and it was the first dress I tried on with my mum – it was indeed the one.

On the day everyone commented on how unusual it was, but at the same time how it looked like it had been designed especially for me. Everyone knows my love of flowers. I honestly felt on top of the world. I even got a round of applause once I’d walked down the aisle!”

“My favourite part of the dress shopping experience was trying on so many beautiful dresses – getting that unexpected moment when something you don’t expect would suit you, does, is really uplifting!

With a dress like the Marilyn I had to go with the matching veil – it really set the look and the dress off with the beautiful floral edging.

I had a simple pearl and diamond necklace (a present from Matt for my 30th birthday), pearl bracelet (Matt’s present to me on the wedding morning) and pearl drop earrings (my something borrowed from my mum).”

Instead of pashminas my bridesmaids and I went for leather jackets – my mum had a maroon leather jacket that went perfectly with my dress that I borrowed and my girls each wore their own black leather jackets. A little bit of fun on the day.

Comfort was essential for my shoes – I went for some beautiful high heeled Rachel Simpson t-bar shoes that incorporated some sparkle and pearls. The leather is so soft and I lasted in them until 11pm!

Finally, we all had flowers in our hair to add that natural element.”

About the day

Emily and Matt’s theme was ‘Spring in the city’ – with a little added sparkle.

Emily tells us more;

“When trying to determine a venue we had a drink in the Sky Garden at the top of the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building and knew that we wanted to have views of London on our big day. We both live and work in London, and see the Gherkin every day – so it became the obvious choice. We even did a ‘skyline guide’ for guests so they could pick out the iconic buildings across London on the day.

We both love spring and all the flowers it brings, especially cherry blossom, and are keen gardeners. Flowers were always going to play a big part in the wedding – not least in the dress! We wanted a natural vibe to contrast against the corporate-ness of the building so used a lot a natural cherry blossom displays and spring flowers. We headed off to Japan on our honeymoon specifically to see the cherry blossom so this was a nice tie too.

We used gold throughout to add some sparkle – on the cake, the tablecloths and the invites. And had little London touches with the Taxis’ and postbox.”

“Music was a big part of the day too and this was something that Matt organised himself (…he’s a classical pianist). We wanted the ceremony and drinks reception to be quite sophisticated with classical music from the string quartet, and the party in the evening to be where everyone could let their hair down! Everyone danced all night.

Our favours were important to us – we donated to Target Ovarian Cancer as I had ovarian cancer 4 years ago. We always support them where we can.

Seeing all the bits you’ve spent so long envisaging, all come together is amazing. From your dress, to the flowers and the suits, to the cake and food – you just want everyone to enjoy it as much as you hoped. It’s very special to see everyone so happy – including us!

Having our ‘party in the sky’ evening reception at the top of the Gherkin was pretty special too – my little brother Max (14) even did a short DJ set.”