imperial war museum tibetan peace garden blessing + wedding reception at the swan

Okay, so I've categorically been rubbish at blogging this summer. I always start with such good intentions, but when wedding season kicks in, time seems to disappear at an alarming rate and suddenly it's Autumn and nobody told you the leaves were already crunchy underfoot. BUT, I do have a beautiful Autumn wedding to get you in the mood for those cool, crisp mornings, and a playlist curated by my partner Tom (biggest music geek I've ever met) that will make you fondly remember golden colours and woolly scarves.

Caroline and Epos' wedding day was my last of 2015, and it was surprisingly summery for mid-October. Which frankly, worked out pretty damn well because the ceremony was held outside in the Tibetan Peace Garden at the Imperial War Museum in the late afternoon. It wasn't an official ceremony because they were already married, but they made it completely their own, with Epos' sister performing the blessing and Caroline and Epos writing their own vows. Only close friends and family were invited to the peace garden so it was a beautiful, intimate ceremony as the sun was setting behind the trees. I'm not sure what we would have done if the weather hadn't been so accommodating, but Caroline and Epos were so chilled I'm sure they'd have taken everything in their stride. The garden made for some beautiful portraits as well; it was full of colour with the flowers in full bloom and gorgeous afternoon light.

They headed to a nearby house for a celebratory drink before the reception at The Swan restaurant by the Globe. Given the different cultures coming together (Caroline is American and Epos is Albanian), the reception was definitely not your average; speeches were a free-for-all and probably more than 10 people stood up to say some wonderful words about these two! It was refreshing that the whole day didn't follow a strict plan or timetable and everyone seemed genuinely happy to be there enjoying the day.

It was a wedding that managed to be perfectly stylish and unique without the couple ever getting bogged down with the details; they embraced the fact that the only important thing was that they were together with all their friends and family and everything else seemed to fall effortlessly into place. (Also, did I mention there were Jimmy Choos? <3)

JNP