Wedding No. 1 - The Registry Office

Wedding No. 1? Yes, that's right. Wedding No. 1 out of 3.
Like I always say, there's no point doing something unless you are going to do it properly!

So, on Friday June 24th, my beau and I tied the knot at the ultra glamorous (!) Enfield Registry Office. Marylebone Town Hall is so last year.

It was an emotionally charged day, with tears all round. Tears of joy, I'm sure. My tears began as soon as I started walking down the aisle. With my Grandfather on one arm and my Father on the other, and with my beau waiting for me in the distance, it was really quite overwhelming.

Lucky me: Two of the greatest men the world has ever seen, standing on either side of me.

My top lip is quivering...hold it together...

I've reached the end and now my beau is the one in tears! I love this shot...

Before we knew it, we were pronounced husband and wife:

And with the blink of an eye, we were a Mr & Mrs, with everyone around congratulating us. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I wish I could do it all over again...in slow motion!

No wedding is complete without confetti in your eye!

See, Enfield Registry Office is really quite pretty.

The obligatory groom carrying bride photo...which all brides love. And all grooms dread!

I don't think we could look much happier!

And there you have it. Our 'official' wedding. In and out in 30 minutes. Good job there were two more to go! How other brides have just one wedding is beyond me ;-)

Now, down to the best bit. The clothes. 

My handsome beau had a three-piece suit tailored in Hong Kong. It was charcoal grey with a black satin collar and was based on a Dolce suit I'd seen in a mag. The tailor did rather a good job I think.

I opted for a white column dress from Notte by Marchesa, which I teamed with gold sandals from Jimmy Choo (can be seen in pics above), and a diamond and sapphire jewellery set that was a wedding gift from my grandparents (erm, how amazing!).

And to top it off, a beautiful bunch of fuschia Peonies. My fave!

Following on from this, my beau's parents held a lunch for 120 people, followed by a reception for 500. Like I said, this was a very small wedding!

At 11pm, we set off together for our first night of marital bliss, in to the Hertforshire countryside.

Marital argument no.1.
Following bad directions in the dark is very hard. Men just don't seem to get it.

Anyway, once we finally got there we had a lovely night as Mr & Mrs. I won't show you the other outfits from the day ;-)

Next morning, it was an early start as we had to return home for the next set of events.

For my first outfit as a married woman, I chose Paris as my inspiration:

Well, sort of.

Right, bed time. 'Til tomorrow...

Mrs Magpie
xxx

Wedding preps - Magpie style

Becoming a 'Mrs' is pretty hard work!

In the lead up to the wedding, there were so many things to be done - hair trials, make-up lessons, waxing appointments, nails, dress fittings, wearing in all my new heels... All of that on top of the actual organisation!

I wanted to give some much deserved credit to the people who helped me out with all of this...

HAIR

For my registry office wedding, I wanted to keep my look classic and elegant. After much hunting around, I found the man for the job at Coco in Cockfosters.

If you ever need your hair putting up, the Turkish guy who doesn't speak English (can not remember his name - oops) is a genius. I have a LOT of hair, but he managed to get it all up with little fuss (though lots of back-coming) and with no pain for me - a winning combination!

www.cocohairstudio.co.uk/

The other hairdresser I must mention, for her incredible blow dry skills is Suzy at Art Hair Gallery in Finchley Central. She's a genius when it comes to breathing life in to hair!  020 8371 0300

NAILS

Another research heavy job was my nails. I have not been blessed with good nails - in fact, all they ever do is chip, break or peel. No matter what I do to look after them, they just don't listen. So, I was forced to opt for nail extensions. I know, I know, they're not good for me, but in all honesty, my nails couldn't get much worse, so it was no big deal.

After much investigation, I decided to go with WAH - well known for their amazing nail art and not extortionate prices.

I chose acrylic extensions as they tend to be more hard wearing, and covered them with a gel top layer, to give a more natural finish (well, as natural as fake nails can ever look). True to my name, I went glittertastic. I think they turned out pretty well and were a great alternative to the done-to-death wedding French Manicure.

Give WAH a try yourself: http://wah-nails.com/

WAXING

The less said about this the better. Let's just say that the waxing lady did not know where to stop. And I'm not even talking about there (I know what you are thinking). How about this for shocking - back and belly!!

If you too want your whole body to feel like a baby's bottom, head to Shahnaz in Finchley Central, 020 8349 9911.

MAKE-UP

You may not have noticed this yet, but I'm a bit of a control freak. So, when it came to my wedding make-up, I couldn't face letting anyone else do it for me (pun intended). Instead I headed straight to Jo Reid at Blush, for her expert instructions on how to get the perfect finish.

I then spent a fortune buying lots of new make-up.


www.blush.uk.com/

SHOES

Obviously, I had a new pair of shoes for every occasion (I'll fill you in on those in the next few days), but there are a couple of pairs of golden oldies I had to include in my wedding trousseau. Two of my beautfiul Loubys were feeling very sorry for themselves and needed some serious TLC. I headed straight to Classic Shoe Repairs in Tufnell Park, where they replace your red soles, with new ones, direct from the Louboutin factory. They're not cheap, but only the best for my Loubs will do!

Classic Shoe Repairs, 020 7485 5275

So, there we have it - my little Black Book of wedding saviours! 


Tomorrow...the outfits!


Love Mrs Magpie
xxx

MRS Magpie has arrived...

So, there's a totally valid explanation for my whereabouts (or lack there of) over the last couple of months. Just the small matter of my wedding and our big move to Hong Kong. Nothing too life-altering or time-consuming then. 

I am now a Mrs indeed. After three wedding ceremonies (I'll get to those later) and ten events (and those), I can safely say that I am definitely, 100% guaranteed a married woman. See...

Hmm...now where do I begin to tell you about our wedding? It was the best two weeks - yes, that's correct - of my life EVER. I was literally, the happiest girl on the planet. I still am!

Several events in London, including our Registry Office, were followed by a weekend in Marrakech with 205 of our closest family and friends, sharing in our Indian wedding and White wedding celebrations.

To give you a brief idea of what went on, here are some pics:

THE REGISTRY OFFICE

(photo courtesy of Hannah Barton Photography)

INDIAN "MANDVO" CEREMONY, MARRAKECH

INDIAN WEDDING CEREMONY, MARRAKECH

(Photo courtesy of Joe Lasky Photography, www.joelasky.co.uk)

WHITE WEDDING, MARRAKECH

(Photo courtesy of Joe Lasky Photography, www.joelasky.co.uk)

POST-WEDDING POOL PARTY & BRUNCH,  MARRAKECH

(Photo courtesy of Joe Lasky Photography, www.joelasky.co.uk)

There you have it - a quick summary of my, I mean 'our' wedding. Over the next few days, I'll be breaking it down, so that you can experience the whole shebang for yourself: the outfits, the shoes, the settings, the details...and maybe even the tantrums! 

Stay tuned for more...

In the mean time, pay a visit to Joe's (my fab photographer) blog http://joelasky.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/a-sneak-preview-of-the-hot-marrakesh-wedding-weekend/

And to www.boutiquesouk.com - Rosena & Fred are the best wedding planners you will ever find. Fact!

Love MRS Magpie

xxx