Loui + Jimmy by Harriet Clare

We really just wanted to give all our friends and family the best dinner party ever.

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

Loui: I’m a creative director working in advertising, and Jimmy is a menswear designer. We live together in East London with our little girl Goldie in a little Victorian terrace house, with two cats, brothers Teddy & Grey. We’re both very creative in our day to day lives and that definitely seeps into home life too – we spend a lot of time talking about fashion, TV, film and interior design. We love to travel and make as many memories as we can, even more so now we have Goldie! We also love to tick off restaurants on our ever growing list of places we absolutely must eat at.

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

Loui: We met at a gay pride pool party on the roof of Shoreditch House! I was wearing a red bikini and Jimmy had rainbows painted over his nipples! It was 2017 and we had both just come out of long term relationships so even though we had a little snog that day, it actually took a year until we really went on a ‘date’. I thought he was too cool and good looking, and I didn’t think it was going to go anywhere… until I realised I was completely falling for him.
Jimmy: Loui had caught my eye from the other side of the pool. It took until the evening after a very boozy afternoon for me to finally introduce myself. Although this first encounter was brief, when I finally took her on a date a year later I was hooked. She was beautiful, funny and intelligent. Luckily the feeling was reciprocated and many dates followed…. which led to a house, a baby and our finally our wedding.

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

Our idea of perfect is a long al fresco dinner party in the sun eating pasta, so that’s exactly what we did. It just made sense for us to have our dream wedding in Italy. Our favourite food, with our favourite people, in one of our favourite places.

We wanted everyone to be eating pasta and drinking wine on long family style tables, followed by Tiramasu, limoncello shots, and plenty of cocktails, chatting long into the night before getting up and dancing. Down to earth but impeccably styled, lots of delicious Italian food, and of course there had to be a free cocktail bar serving everyone margaritas and negronis long into the night. We wanted to keep the tables quite simple and modern, with mainly black and white details to match our outfits and the bridal party, with lots of candles, fruits and black ribbons. And we knew we didn’t want a traditional cake but a champagne tower, because a glass of fizz is a way better way to get the party started ! We really just wanted to give all our friends and family the best dinner party ever, we were so grateful that everyone we love had travelled to Italy just to celebrate with us. Most people turned it into a holiday too, so everyone was on top form – sun kissed, relaxed and happy.

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).

Our venue was a 17th century Masseria in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by vines and olive groves. It was very rustic and understated, and it was really special to get married amongst the groves with the endless views over Puglia. It’s become one of our favourite places in the world. Our amazing florist and stylist turned the groves into a stunning ceremony area with linen drapes hanging from the trees and a linen covered pedestal with a beautiful floral display, and our guests had white parasols for shade. Our two long tables for dinner were set up in the walled lawn area, surrounded by charming antipasti carts for the starters, and the florist styled the tables with ribbons, fruit and flowers – exactly how we imagined them. That is maybe what was made it so special, how charming and rustic the Masseria was, paired with the modern styling of the ceremony and tables. And you tend to get married later in Italy because of the heat, so it means you get a beautiful sunset during the long relaxed dinner.

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

Loui: I enjoyed it being over…!! I’m joking..! We didn’t have a planner, so it was a lot of work, but very rewarding too. My favourite bit was actually right at the beginning, finding our venue and locking the date down. And then finding my dress, making mood boards and planning all the little details. And of course the tasting day with the caterers, we turned it into a little weekend away. Go hungry (and thirsty!) My top tip would be to insta-stalk your favourite weddings from the venue or in the surrounding areas – they often tag their suppliers. That’s how we found our amazing photographer, florist and cocktail bar. We did have a coordinator on the day, which I would say if you’re planning it yourself, it’s an absolute must!! Also don’t forget about the legal part of your wedding if you’re getting married abroad. We decided to do that in London a few days before we flew to Italy – and being much smaller and much more low key, it was really fun to plan and with way less pressure.

Jimmy: Unsurprisingly I had far less responsibilities than Loui. I only had to plan the music, outfits for my groomsmen, and then turn up on the day. I will say that the music hunt should be started early, as lots of good artists and party DJs get booked up very quickly. The tasting day with the caterers is a great experience, and really special too. A long afternoon trying lots of beautiful Italian food and wine that you will serve to your friends and family. I’ve had worse days.

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

Harriet our photographer. She also shot our London ceremony, and our pizza pool party the next day. It was like

having a friend with us all the time! Rotondo our caterers, JoeBar our cocktails, and Babel Bloom our florist. We had some of our guests saying it was some of the best wedding food they’ve ever had.

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

Loui: I wore a simple backless slip dress and cape by The Own Studio. I actually didn’t do a single wedding dress appointment. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I was lucky enough to find both at a sale they were doing in Hackney when they were moving warehouses. So they were the first and last bridal pieces I tried on! For the party I changed into a Jacquemus dress – also a sale purchase where the last one left was in my size. Both felt like fate! And I absolutely loved wearing them both.

Jimmy: My suit was from Mr Porter from the brand Officine Generale, which needed very little alteration. It was a black double breasted suit jacket in a lightweight cotton seersucker material. It was also the only one I ordered, and loved it. I paired this suit with a simple white shirt and black Acne studios loafers.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

Loui: Jimmy actually designed both of mine with the amazing designer Katie who owns Crux. My engagement ring is a chunky gold bombe ring with a yellow sapphire and a diamond on each side. The wedding band is also quite chunky, and has 4 different shaped diamonds. I honestly couldn’t have designed either of them better. He really nailed it.

Jimmy: The design process was super fun, being a designer by trade I felt that it had to be a custom commissioned ring. Working with Crux, a great jewellery designer, she was able to take my ideas and mood boards and create a beautiful ring. There were a few stages of ideas, stone sourcing and and then finally seeing the final render prior to the ring being made. The process felt super special.

My ring was from a jewellery designer called Seb Brown, A silver signet inset with stones.

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?).

We wanted to spend money on the food and drink, and the venue. We skipped certain things that felt like a waste of money to us – like the cake, wedding favours, wedding stationary, planner and even a videographer. A free bar all night was super important to us, as was hosting our friends the next day with a pizza truck by the pool.

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

Loui: Walking down the aisle was such a highlight for me. One of my bridesmaids couldn’t make the wedding as her baby caught chickenpox and wasn’t able to fly, so it meant my twin sister as the only bridesmaid had to walk down the aisle with both flower girls, my daughter Goldie and her daughter Noa. Two toddlers to wrangle on her own, and I made her take her bouquet too! She didn’t have enough hands to get them as they were walking (running!) off in different directions, it was absolute chaos and I couldn’t stop laughing (and neither could our guests). And of course getting to the end and seeing Jimmy all teary eyed. And when I asked Jimmy at the end of the day what his favourite moment was, and he said “the antipasti carts” !!!

Jimmy: The antipasti carts really were a highlight but my standout moment was turning to see Loui walking down the aisle, She looked beautiful in her dress, and even though we were legally married I had an overwhelming feeling of joy (and a few tears) because this is the person that I get to marry.