Harriet + Chloe by Zara Staples

We wanted the feeling that we’d just invited everyone around for a nice lunch.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Harriet is a photographer, and Chloe is a dancer. We live together in London with our two cats. We love all the usual things, cooking, seeing friends and family, trying as many London restaurants as we can and relaxing at home in our little flat. We are both freelancers and work away a lot, so we really appreciate the time we get together.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

It’s a rather long, multifaceted story(!), but to summarise, we met at a friend’s wedding in Turkey. From the moment we met, we had an undeniable sense that we needed each other in our lives; we just didn’t yet know how. Fortunately, it didn’t take us too long to work it out!

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

We wanted the feeling that we’d just invited everyone around for a nice lunch. The house and garden are so beautiful that they did most of the work for us. We didn’t want anything too fussy, and our modest budget meant we had to be selective about the things that really mattered to us. The ultimate aim was for it to feel relaxed but still special, which is a tricky balance to find!

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

We just wanted to celebrate the beauty of the house and the garden, so the small style choices we made were to continue its traditional yet relaxed look. The house is owned and lived in by Maria Cristina and her husband, and it has been her family’s home for generations. The fact that it was steeped in family history gave it a timeless energy and felt like it fit with the values that we wanted to celebrate. We knew the food was going to be the focal point of the table as we were doing sharing plates, which we served on collected vintage platters. Eating ‘family style’ was really important to us as it’s how we serve when we host at home, food brings people together, and we like the interaction this brings.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

Write a guest list first; once you know how many people you need to feed, it makes some decisions for you! After the guest list, we sat down and set out a list of the things that were the most important to us and then the least. Luckily, we were very aligned on ideas, and it was really helpful to do. It meant we knew we were focusing on the things that mattered first and didn’t waste time on things we ‘should’ do but didn’t really want! When you find vendors that share your vision and understand how you want the day to run, you feel immediately at ease, and if you are planning the wedding yourselves, like us, it really takes some pressure off. We actually really enjoyed doing the table plan. We had such a mix of people from different places in our lives, and we loved the puzzle of platonic matchmaking!

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

Bar Versini, our caterers, were the absolute best! We propositioned them on instagram after a long search and asked if they would be up for doing a wedding, as they usually do smaller bespoke events. We had a chat over Zoom, and they excitedly agreed. The whole process with them was a dream; they understood our vision exactly and even helped design our invites. Our Italian is completely lacking, so we were reliant on them to help with the other Italian vendors, and we completely trusted them to make decisions on our behalf. The food on the day exceeded expectations and was a real highlight for us.

Also, of course, Zara and Jared (photographers) did an incredible job capturing the day, as you can see! We went in with no preconceived ideas of the pictures we would get and just wanted them to capture the vibe. They did this seamlessly, discreetly, and they are just such beautiful souls.

Last but certainly not least was Maria Cristina (venue owner). I think a huge part of the day’s relaxed energy was down to her. She went above and beyond to help us, and in the search for 15 vintage table cloths, she offered to ask the local nuns if we could borrow theirs! In the end, she found and lent us her own family tablecloths to use, which felt extra special. We are so grateful she let us into her beautiful home and garden; it was the real star of the day.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?

Harriet’s outfit was from Kamparett. After trying on a few dresses at home in London, she gambled and ordered it from San Francisco to arrive 2 months before the wedding, without trying it on! Thankfully, she loved it and felt she’d found something that really felt like ‘her’.

Chloe has always loved design and sewing, and so it felt fitting to design her own dress. She took style inspiration from tutus from the romantic era and also designer Danielle Frankel. After deciding that making it herself might be a little too much of a challenge, she asked a seamstress friend to sew it. Malgosia was amazing, and the whole process was so much fun.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

Harriet proposed with a ring she had designed and had made by an independent brand, Ruya. The brand is run by our friend Amber, through whom we met, and she works exclusively with a jeweller in Turkey, so it felt extra special to make the ring with her. Harriet wanted a cooler stone to complement Chloe’s colouring and eye tone, so Amber suggested salt and pepper diamonds, which worked perfectly.

Chloe found Harriet’s antique engagement ring in the Brighton Lanes (also with Amber!), and she found one with citrine stones, as she wanted something warmer and less traditional.

We then both bought antique wedding rings in Brighton Lanes, both individual to complement our engagement rings, as they are very different styles.

What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

Food and our guests! These sorts of go hand in hand, our biggest expense was the catering, and this was because we wanted it to be delicious, memorable and for everyone to be there. Picking the right photographer was important to us, too; we wanted someone who wouldn’t just take a good picture, but someone who would find those moments that would trigger memories and feelings when we looked at them years later, and luckily, we found two people who have done that for us.

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

Our ceremony was so special; we were already legally married, so we could really just have fun with it. Our beautiful friend Twyla led the service, we had readings from both our mums, and two friends told the story of how we met. We even threw in a song sung by Chloe, complete with kazoos. It was just a real celebration and felt really unique to us.

Another memory that sticks in our minds was later in the evening on the dance floor – just to see everyone we love, chatting, laughing and dancing, families and friends all mixed into one is a moment that will stay with us always.