CELEBRANT-DIRECTORY-ARCH-white

How to style a romantic wedding with historical elements

B95A2736-2

Choosing your style for your wedding is one of the first things you will discover when planning your special day. This may change or evolve throughout your planning journey, especially if you spend most evenings on Pinterest or Instagram!

Romantic style weddings are the most popular trend year on year, so when the fantastic Jenny of Juno Weddings shared with us this gorgeous concept, we were so excited to hear about her vision which she describes as: “a romantic Victorian inspired shoot to inspire those who are looking to incorporate historical elements into their wedding day but in a modern and elegant style.”

Accompanied by The Celebrant Directory member, Nikki Wood Perfect Words Ceremonies who conducted the most dreamy wedding ceremony with a personalised unity candle ritual for the couple. It’s the perfect inspiration for anyone planning a romantic style wedding ceremony.

The venue

“I drew on the Victorian history of the National Liberal Club and took inspiration from the Victorian period but translated their styling into a modern form asI didn’t want the wedding to feel old fashioned. From stunning jewellery, to exquisite dresses and beautiful flowers there were many amazing finer details that can energise your wedding plans. Steeped in history, beautiful architecture and amazing views over London, the National Liberal Club is a great city wedding venue and is new to the wedding market. 

The dress

One of the key elements to creating this look was the beautiful dress from Tatiana Porembova, which fitted so well into the Victorian setting of the club. The dress is corseted with off the shoulder sleeves which was a modern interpretation of the Victorian dress style. Coupled with a double veil which Ehrin wore whilst walking down the aisle it added to the atmosphere and was a nod to the more traditional elements of a wedding. In addition to the dress, the beautiful shoulder piece which was supplied by Rachel Sokhal really complimented the dress and added a different and unusual element to the bridal look.

There were two dresses used during this shoot with the second dress being slightly more modern with a detachable stunning long skirt, which would appeal to modern brides and you can have two looks with one dress. The larger skirt looked stunning during the outdoor photos but if brides detach the skirt the dress would be perfect for dancing the night away with their guests on the dance floor!

The Celebrant

Nikki Wood, from Perfect Words Ceremonies created a beautiful script for the shoot which included a Unity Candle Ceremony. The beautiful candles were made by Candles 2 Cherish and the burgundy ribbon was chosen to complement the colour palette. The Unity Candle ceremony is a beautiful, symbolic representation of the joining of two lives. Ehrin and Alfie both lit their separate taper candles from the tea-light. Their separate, lit candles represented their individual lives before their wedding day and the love and wisdom their families have shared with them. 

The central pillar candle represented their relationship, it symbolised their marriage; the joining of two hearts, two lives, two souls and the light of two people in love. Ehrin and Alfie used their taper candles to jointly light the central candle and Nikki reminded them that as they did so, they remember the promises they have made to each other. 

A Unity Candle Ceremony is such a beautiful addition to a wedding ceremony. Nikki used beautiful words throughout the ceremony to explain the symbolism. 

“Although you have entered into a union, you still retain your individuality which will allow you to create and strengthen the relationship of your union. Therefore all three candles will remain alight. Your individual candles represent all that makes each of you the wonderful and unique person the other admires and respects. The Unity candle in the centre symbolises the union of your lives, families and friends as well as your commitment to each other, and to a lasting and loving marriage.”

The cake

Cameo jewellery became increasingly popular during the Victorian period so both the cake and the invitations drew on this element with a silhouette of the couple being used as a centre piece on the cake and the handmade invitations. This added an elegant and historical element to the look and was a nice link to the couple themselves. 

The stationery

I wanted the shoot to be more female and bridal focused, so I commissioned letters and poetry from Sally Wilkes who wrote a poem based on the couples real love story which brought a tear to everyone’s eyes when they read it to each other. The letters were written in a Victorian style as if Ehrin was writing to Alfie whilst travelling, as female travellers became more prominent during the Victorian era, I wanted to draw on the strong and independent female travellers and the letters from Sally incorporated this element into the shoot narrative. 

The main colours for this shoot were burgundy, dusty rose and cinnamon rose. The National Liberal Club has quite dark furniture and décor elements inside so I didn’t want the colour palette to make the rooms feel too dark but equally a lighter colour palette wouldn’t have worked in the setting due to the light. 

I used burgundy as a background colour with the accent colours being dusty rose and cinnamon rose as these really stood out against the darker burgundy background which helped to highlight key focal points such as the floral candelabra centrepieces and the bridal bouquet. The gorgeous original fireplaces where the ceremony and cake cutting took places in front of are dark wood with lots of detailing, so the lighter rose colours helped these features to not feel too dominant or heavy. 

The florals

The floral designs played a central role in enhancing the Victorian elements of the Club as we used installations on the fireplaces, stairs and table centrepieces. We used some unusual flowers such as Protea which has a really striking look with a large centre surrounded by pointed bracts, in the bridal bouquet, which created a more modern look against the more traditional elements of the dress and veil.

For the fireplaces the florist Louise Hartley, created a flowing look which hung beautifully over the edge of the main fireplace where the ceremony took place. We wanted it to feel effortless and elegant so there was a mixture of foliage, roses and other trailing flowers in both burgundy and lighter rose. 

I wanted to create a focal point of the staircase at the Club which is the largest unsupported marble staircase in Europe and truly stunning, so we used a lot of foliage which was placed on either side of the stairs, intermingled with hurricane lamps and a larger arrangement of peonies which was placed at the bottom of the staircase for the photos. These different floral arrangements coincided with the change of dress to the slightly more modern one, so we wanted the arrangements to be more modern but not formal, hence the use of a lot of trailing foliage. 

The styling

Candelabra were widely used during the Victorian period whilst dining, but I wanted the candelabra to be decorated and we decided to have foliage and flowers wrapped around the candelabra stem and trailing onto the tables. This created a beautiful centrepiece for the table-scape with foliage and roses being used to create the look and continuing the continuity with the floral designs for the fireplaces. The roses in this arrangement also complimented the vintage crockery for the place settings which heavily featured pink flowers including roses.”

The suppliers

Wedding Planner


Juno Weddings (Juno The Wedding Concierge)
Instagram
Facebook

Photographer


Photography by Petrina
Instagram
Facebook

Videographer


Timeless Videography
Instagram

Dress Designer


Tatiana Porembova Couture Bridal Studio
Instagram
Facebook

Hair and Make Up Artist


Rebecca Brown Make Up Artist
Instagram
Facebook

Models


Ehrin & Alfie Wren
Instagram

Cake Designer

Claire’s Sweet Temptations
Instagram
Facebook

Luxury Bridal Accessories

Rachel Sokhal Jewellery
Instagram
Facebook

Stationer

The Dandelion Art
Instagram
Facebook

Florist

Louise Hartley-English Floral Design
Instagram
Facebook

Furniture and Tableware Hire

Options Greathire
Instagram
Facebook

Table Linen Hire

Just 4 Linen
Instagram

Writer/Poet

Rhymes To Remember
Instagram
Facebook

Celebrant

Perfect Words Ceremonies
Instagram
Facebook

Men’s Formalwear

Cheshire Menswear
Instagram
Facebook

subscribe

drop us your email and we'll send you beautiful ideas to inspire your perfect celebration

Please enter your name.
Please enter a valid email address.
Please check the required field.
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

If you enjoyed this, check these out...

Handfasting cord colours: Meaning & Symbolism
The Handfasting cord colours you chose for your handfasting ceremony can hold particular meaning or symbolism for you and your partner, and since there's no rules on which colours to...
Read more > about Handfasting cord colours: Meaning & Symbolism
Modern Handfasting Ceremonies Explained
Modern handfasting ceremonies are more than just a pretty throwback to ancient Celtic traditions. They're an exquisite expression of love, commitment, and unity, infused with rich symbolism and personalized rituals...
Read more > about Modern Handfasting Ceremonies Explained
The Art of Handfasting: A complete guide to handfasting ceremonies
In the tapestry of wedding traditions, few threads shimmer with such ancient magic as handfasting. This captivating ritual, with its roots in Celtic and pagan customs, transcends mere ceremony. It's...
Read more > about The Art of Handfasting: A complete guide to handfasting ceremonies