Sam + Victoria by Natalie Wheat - Together Journal

We had an intimate ceremony at Marylebone Town Hall, and then our guests made their way to Crispin, just off Spitalfields Market.

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

Sam is Australian & I am English. Sam loves cooking, dogs, golf & cricket, and I love eating and anything creative: fashion styling, interiors, make-up, graphics and my Mary-Jane collection.

I am an illustrator & love typography; Sam is an auditor & loves Excel spreadsheets. Both of these things came in handy at the opposite ends of wedding planning: the creative vs the realist. I made all the menus, invites, envelopes, place cards, etc., which I also do professionally. Sam documented every inch of planning in Excel – including the seating plan and timings of the day, down to every 15 minutes. I am shocked that his speech wasn’t written there! I am certain one day, we will have a dog called Excel.

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

We met at the beginning of 2016 when we had both just turned 19. I was travelling around Australia before choosing a university degree, and Sam was on summer break from uni, surfing and playing as much cricket as possible. Coming from the countryside in Essex, watching Sam surf on Maroubra beach won me over instantly (like it was hard); he took a little more convincing as I am technically his friend’s younger sister!

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

We are asked this question often as we did five years long distance between Sydney & London. I feel like deep down we always knew, I went to Sydney every chance I had on uni break, studied and worked there and Sam came to London for Christmas as well as spending a long summer playing cricket.

The biggest challenge we faced was in June 2020, when my visa expired and I had to leave, not knowing when we would be able to see each other again. Sam wanted to move to London, and the process was, of course, delayed by Covid. When he finally moved, we hadn’t seen each other for 51 weeks! I think after that year and the struggle being so obviously worth it, we both knew we were it for each other.

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

Sam proposed in the Boboli Gardens in Florence in June 2022, with his and my family present. It was a completely perfect setting in a city we both love. We had visited the gardens together in 2018, and I (apparently) said to Sam, “This would be a great place for a proposal”. He remembered and got down on one knee exactly where I said it, very nervously reciting a well-written & memorised speech that I, unfortunately, can’t remember as I blacked out and only remember screaming, “Yes, yes, yes!”. After six years together, I was very sure.

I had spent all day trying to encourage our trip to the gardens to be in the morning, before the 38-degree, late afternoon heat set in, with our mum’s reassuring me that it wouldn’t actually be that hot (it was)! Something that means a great deal to me is that Sam was wearing my grandad’s favourite shirt, which he said I could gift to him before he passed away.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

We wanted our guests to enjoy the day as much as we did, and to us, that meant great food. We had an intimate ceremony at Marylebone Town Hall, and then our guests made their way to Crispin, just off Spitalfields Market. We are so happy we chose to host our reception at a restaurant; it made the planning so much easier, and the team there were exceptional. It was also important to us to have great photos, both our parents reminded us that when we get to their age the photos are how you remember the day, and we couldn’t be more pleased with how they’ve turned out. Thank you, Crispin & Agnes Black!

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

Not really, I am a huge worrier so this led us to be quite prepared for anything potentially going wrong. However, I did accidentally pour a full vodka coke down the centre of my hairline and into my eyes – but luckily, this quickly transformed into a perfect slicked-back bun and a makeup touch-up that probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise! Shout out to my friend Tom for taking me to the side of the dance floor and gently ruining his cuffs with mascara.

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

Sam is Paul Smith’s biggest fan, so another suit from there was only a matter of when. He gifted his groomsmen cufflinks and the signature stripe tie to wear on the day, which tied them all together… and that’s all the details I’ll get from him on that!

As for me, I really struggled to find a dress that actually felt like me. I tried a lot all over London & my bridesmaids were all very supportive of my indecision. I thought I’d wear a simple slip-dress if the day ever came. When trying some on, as my bridesmaids all agreed, they didn’t look quite ‘special’ enough, as an easy slip dress is often a go-to look for me. I was convinced I could find something online, but it didn’t work out either. A special thank you to the DHL man who took all the Net-A-Porter deliveries and returns.

I actually found my dress only three months before the wedding (to the day), and it all felt pretty serendipitous. I couldn’t sleep from worrying about it one night & while mindlessly scrolling on Instagram at 2 am, I saw @theownstudio had released a new collection. I immediately sent a crazy email begging for an appointment ASAP and managed to get in for the following afternoon. Even before putting it on, I knew it was the one, and I bought it there and then. The team, studio & quality of the dress were all outstanding; they were so kind, and it all felt very ‘meant to be’.

I bought the shoes from Zara to take to all the bridal appointments. They were so comfortable and were exactly what I was looking for (white, pointed sling-back), so I just decided to wear them on the day! Sam had a bracelet delivered to my room while I was getting ready with my mum & bridesmaids, which was such a nice surprise & perfect timing as I only had rings & earrings to wear. My mum lent me her mother’s ring, a blue sapphire, something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue all wrapped into one.