
I love an elopement and Ara and Alistair’s Chelsea Town Hall Elopement Photography was a really wonderful ways to spend a few hours.
Old Chelsea Town Hall is a really popular venue for London elopements and intimate weddings. It has pretty rock and roll credentials with everyone from Judy Garland to Roman Polanski tying the knot there, along with a whole host of amazing restaurants on the doorstep, so there are loads of options for post elopement celebrations.
Ara and Alistair live in Chelsea so their London elopement, which will be followed up with a big party in Spain, was held close to home and involved just their parents, along with Alistair’s Sister and her partner. It was beautifully intimate and relaxed.
After their ceremony we walked through the streets of Chelsea, stopping for pictures and congratulations from well wishers along the way, then they popped back to their flat for some pictures at home, before heading off to spend the afternoon eating lunch and celebrating.
You can read about the day in their own words below.
The Beginning
We met through work. Ara was working in Brussels, and we met at a meeting (although only Alistair remembers!). We then dated from Brussels to London for 18 months, and Ara moved to London two years ago. Alistair proposed to me completely out of the blue this February, with a really amazing sustainability sourced diamond! (I work in a sustainability department of a jewellery company so this is important to me!)
Scroll down to read more about Ara and Alistair’s Chelsea Town Hall Elopement Photography.
The Ceremony
We wanted a small ceremony in the UK, as I have a large family in Spain. We will have a bigger celebration in Spain the future. The Chelsea town hall was therefore prefect, it is a beautiful venue, close to our house and had some amazing small rooms for the ceremony. The choice for lunch (The Medlar restaurant) was easy-it is right next to our house!
The Outfits
Alistair chose his suit at Austin Reid and his shirt and tie for Gieves and Hawkes. He wore Church consults with the suit.
Ara chose a Spanish brand, Intropia, with beautiful detailed gowns. Shoes were also from a Spanish brand, Paco Herrero.
The Styling
We were looking for simple and natural details. Amanda Austin, a few minutes away from home, made a beautiful yet simple bouquet and table decoration that enhaced the dress and room, without making it too overelaborated.
We also purchased the deco from The Wedding of my Dreams, an excellent blog with plenty of ideas.
The Ceremony
We kept things simple as my father doesn’t speak much English and we thought that it would be easier for him to follow simple vows. I said parts of it in Spanish though (and I think Alistair understood!)
The Photography
We loved Laura’s work. She was very professional, and made all our guests feel very comfortable having their photos taken. We particularly liked that we didn’t have to spend all our time posing, but could be natural. The photos we have seen so far are amazing! We would definitely use Laura again.
If you’re looking for elopement planning advice or ideas, check out these posts:
London elopement ideas
Elopement planning
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