Barbican Conservatory wedding | Bethany & Luca

Barbican Conservatory wedding photographer

Modern, minimalist wedding

Nurit Hen wedding dress

St Peter’s Church Clerkenwell

Bride Bethany wore a stunning bespoke Nurit Hen wedding dress, a Cathedral length veil from Etsy and Zoe and Morgan geometric earrings …

“I knew I wanted a Latin inspired lace dress and definitely one with sleeves. I shortlisted: Berta, Liz Martinez, Inbal Dror and Nurit Hen, before heading to places where they stocked those designers. I walked away with a Nurit Hen, a couple of dresses in!”

“The thing that drew me to Nurit Hen was the designer’s surprising openness for you to customise and tweak her existing design. The gowns are also made-to-measure which really appealed to me – I’m curvy and never thought a backless piece would be possible!”

“I loved the weight and opulence of the lace, but my favourite feature was the directional detailing of the big circular cuffs. I also liked that the sheer cut-out features at the sides, alongside an open back, helped to transform a traditional lace dress into a more dramatic and modern piece.”

“Maybe it’s being a child of the 80s, when Madonna was basically everything, but I’ve always loved veils, so never doubted I’d make one a feature. With a long aisle to walk down and a fitted lace dress, I thought this style would best complement the drama of the dress and the church setting. It is really important to consider the style of your dress and location of your day. Cathedral length is quite heavy so requires specific hair-styles to take the weight and it is a little difficult to walk around with – so be sure you want to commit to it! For me it was worth it, but you do need bridesmaids to help re-position it. I chose a vendor from Etsy who made beautiful, quality pieces by hand and opted for a cathedral length veil with a wide lace scalloped trim, from the elbow.”

“I wore some geometric earrings from Zoe and Morgan, the same designer that I commissioned to create my wedding band. They were a gift from my mother and fit nicely with the gold geometric accents we used for the décor.”

…and Bethany’s make-up was airbrushed, delivering a flawless finish without the need for regular retouches

“I used a make-up artist who specialises in airbrush make-up and I couldn’t recommend it enough. With application by a skilled make-up artist, Ana Milena Ospina, it looks natural but you can get an amazingly flawless finish. And the best bit, I didn’t have to do a single re-touch – even after many rounds on the dance floor, numerous hugs and a few tears.”

“Anna Baker, from Errol Douglas was my hair stylist. I wore my hair down, centre parted, with lose waves and a couple of bits clipped up. I wanted a slight 60s reference and nothing that looked too obviously ‘done’. Because of the weight of the cathedral length veil (and because my hair is naturally quite slippy) I had a section at the back pinned up so the veil could clip in to that section and stay put.”

Bridesmaids were gifted with necklaces to suit each, but still in keeping with the wedding themes of simple, minimalist and gold geometric shapes

“We gifted each of the bridesmaids in the morning of the wedding with a necklace to wear on the day. I chose two different styles (one with a long chain and one with a short chain) to suit each bridesmaid. Both styles however were consistent in terms of them being simple and minimalist with gold geometric shapes, to match the theming of the day. I loved the way they subtly lifted the very simple dresses.”

“I wanted bridesmaids dresses that were full length but at the same time wanted something very simple and minimalist, which felt cool and contemporary. Their dresses were from ASOS.”

A St Peter’s Italian Church in Clerkenwell ceremony, followed by a Barbican Conservatory wedding

“We chose to have our wedding day in London because it’s the city where we live and because we really loved the idea of having our wedding in venues that were familiar and significant to our lives.”

“Our ceremony was held at St Peter’s Italian Church in Clerkenwell – the perfect setting because it is so familiar to our lives – the groom was christened there even! It really is a hidden piece of Italy, nestled on a Clerkenwell road with a simple townhouse style frontage.”

“It was such a cool surprise for guests, as they entered through its simple iron doors and found themselves in a beautifully ornate and impressive basilica style church.”

“We held our reception in The Conservatory at the Barbican. We both frequently visit the Barbican for art exhibitions, the cinema and theatre etc and have always loved a Sunday visit to The Conservatory – a serene, tropical oasis in the heart of the city.”

“Aesthetically, The Conservatory at the Barbican really appealed to us – the super high glass ceilings make it so light and airy, while the tropical plants against a backdrop of brutalist concrete, provide a modern, architecturally minimalist backdrop that we both love. With a wedding in October, it felt like we had a huge and impressive outside space, but without the weather worries.”

Gold geometric shapes were the key inspiration for the wedding décor, which included geometric terraniums and potted succulents

“We used gold accents and geometric shapes to inspire most of our décor. On the tables we had a large gold geometric vase positioned as a centre piece, and around it several wire geometric shapes. We hired in gold cutlery from Classic Crockery, to replace the traditional chrome colour, which we felt was simple yet really impactful and worked with our other gold accents. Around the venue, we placed large gold and glass geometric terraniums which we filled with large grey candles.”

“Our wedding favours doubled up as place names and also table décor. We potted succulents and cacti into minimalist small concrete pots for every guest. Each pot had a planter with the guests name on it. We purchased the plants via a seller on Ebay, as well as the concrete pots.”

A Latin band, a Daft Punk first dance, and a DJ set from the Groom

“For the canapé reception we had a Latin band perform, which was a nod to the groom’s Colombian heritage. In the evening the groom did an hour long set, followed by a DJ who kept the dance floor full and sweaty!”

“Our first dance was to Unstant Crush, by Daft Punk and Julian Casablanca. We’re both big fans of The Strokes and also Daft Punk so it was a nice hybrid of musical styles. It is also a song that has nostalgic significance to us as a couple.”

Advice to brides: try to not get too carried away with the planning of the day, prioritise professional hair and make-up … and think about your wedding underwear

“I think perspective is really key when planning a wedding. It’s an amazing day and no doubt will be one of the best of your life, but much of that is because all the people you love are together in one room to celebrate with you. It’s good to remember that it’s just one single day of your life, so try not to get too obsessive or, dare I say it, spoilt. It’s so easy to get carried away and feel like you need to be very extravagant – but remember all your guests are there to celebrate with you and not to pick holes in any of the details, many of which they may never even notice!”

“For me having professional hair and make-up on the day really helped to make it lovely, calm and stress free on the morning of the wedding. It also lasted the whole day perfectly, so I didn’t need to worry about touch ups at any point later in the evening or when having photos – it just allows you time to really enjoy the day.”

“Really think about your wedding underwear – it sounds like the last of your worries but getting the right underwear can really help give the right lines and make for more flattering photos too! Definitely worth investing some time ahead in trialling different options with your dress at fittings.”

“We were so impressed Tim. You worked tirelessly all day to get such interesting and varied shots. We wanted reportage style and loved your portfolio. The pre-wedding shoot at the National Theatre was amazing as it meant you got a sense of our style and tastes, and most importantyly meant we were so relaxed and comfortable on the day. We absolutely love the photos, they are stunning! Thank you so much”

— Bethany & Luca