Rosie + Joe by Marta Ilardo - Together Journal

We knew we wanted an elegant, black-tie city wedding that felt like a chic dinner party with our closest friends and family

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

We both live in East London with our French Bulldog, Papaya. We have lived in London for just over six years. I work in public relations and communications, and Joe in advertising. We love nothing more than to walk our dog to the park at the weekend, followed by a well-deserved trip to one of our favourite local pubs or breweries. If we’re not doing that, we love travelling to new places, listening to music, eating or going to the cinema. We love to celebrate and make a big deal out of occasions and to give everything a fun and unique theme – whether that be Christmas, birthdays, Halloween – or our wedding! As soon as we got engaged, we knew we wanted an elegant, black-tie city wedding that felt like a chic dinner party with our closest friends and family, and it was so much fun to bring this theme to life.

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

It’s actually a very funny and unconventional story! We both grew up in Yorkshire close to each other and initially met as teenagers because Joe was one of my brother’s good friends. We lost touch after I moved to Melbourne, Australia, with my family. Ten or so years passed, and we eventually crossed paths again when I moved back to the UK, and we have been together ever since. It’s safe to say we don’t remember our first impressions of each other, but that is probably a good thing, given the fashion trends at the time!

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

We wouldn’t say there was a defining moment, but once you know, you know! It would probably be during our years spent moving around and enjoying getting to know London together. For me, once I discovered Joe was happy to sit through ten hours of Real Housewives in one sitting without complaining, I knew we were meant to be!

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

Joe proposed when we were away for the weekend in the summer of 2022. We were staying in a beautiful treehouse in West Sussex. It was a complete surprise, and very perfect and private with us just and our French Bulldog Papaya (who we think was overwhelmed by the emotion as she took herself away and hid from the commotion!). We instantly Facetimed our friends and family and then celebrated all weekend. However, the proposal almost didn’t happen at all because Joe spent the evening before in hospital after a football-related injury that occurred at his best friend’s stag/buck’s party, and the trip was nearly cancelled. Thankfully, he was ok, and the trip went ahead!

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

We were lucky to work with so many truly amazing wedding vendors that each made our wedding so special. We chose to have some of our photography from our amazing photographer taken on film. These pictures are some of our favourites, and we’re so glad we did this. We would also say our food and drink! We wanted everyone to have fun drinking our favourite cocktails, which are Picantes and Espresso Martinis, and eating delicious food. It was also important to us that we loved and felt comfortable in our outfits. I knew I wanted a pair of statement shoes that would stand out in photos and that I could wear all night and again after the wedding! We also wanted everyone to enjoy the entertainment. We had an amazing harpist play during our ceremony to our favourite Taylor Swift song, which was special and personal to us, followed by a great swing singer for the reception and a DJ for the evening. All of this made the day so fun.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

Everything ran very smoothly on the day, but we would probably have to say our first dance. We put so much time into planning everything else in such detail that we totally forgot to plan and practice our first dance, other than choosing our song (Rihanna – Love on the Brain). We found a quiet area with just the two of us five minutes before it began and practised a few simple but not very impressive moves. We ended up with a lot of swaying and a few improv dips. It was perfectly imperfect and something we still laugh about often.

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

Rosie (bride): I wanted a chic, modern and somewhat untraditional wedding dress for our black-tie wedding. I had seen Halfpenny London’s Foxglove dress online and knew I wanted to try it on. As soon as I saw it in person at my first appointment, I loved it even more than I thought I would. Megan, the amazing Halfpenny London stylist, suggested I try it on with the Ellie skirt over the top for the ceremony. I instantly knew I had found two perfect looks – the full outfit for our ceremony and then removing the skirt for the evening. I ordered it then and there after my first and only dress appointment! I also chose the dramatic Halfpenny London Dandelion veil to complete my ceremony look, and it was perfect. I was actually the first bride to wear the Foxglove dress and the Ellie skirt together, which was very cool. It felt like I had two very distinct outfits. I chose modern Gucci shoes to complete my look and paired my outfit with a very classic peony bouquet.

Joe (Groom): I wanted to look good but feel comfortable in my outfit, so I went to a trusted tailor in London and got my dinner suit made to measure. I went for a classic black tux.