With surnames Walker and Smith of course it had to be a crisp themed wedding (why don’t other couples do this, it’s cheap, fun and saves on favours and snacks!) Instead of normal centrepieces, Amy and Martin had a bowl of packets of crisps on each table – not something the fancy Hampton Court Palace venue had seen before! I was sat at Monster Munch 😉
Amy and Martin are so much fun, and their wedding day was full of laughs and silly faces – I challenge you not to smile along with them! Amy even wore Anne Boleyn pants (Martin was supposed to wear Henry VIII pants but he “forgot” them 😉
They did a “fish kiss” as their first kiss, and did the Polish tradition before dinner of each being given a shot – one water and one vodka – and both having to keep a straight face (or both pull a yuck face!) and see if anyone can guess who was given the vodka! I think it’s clear in the photo who it was!
The dancefloor was full a good hour before the first dance (if you need a wedding playlist guaranteed to get everyone dancing, ask Amy for hers!) and as I left, I was given a parting gift (a view that my eyes can never take back) by the guest who I’m assuming won the “most drunk” award at the’ awards ceremony’ later on! It was one of the most fun weddings I’ve had the pleasure to shoot.
Here’s Amy and Martin’s story:
“Martin and I met over 10 years ago at uni and lived together for 4 years in grotty student digs but were ‘just friends’. We only became an item two and a half years ago – thanks to the power of alcohol! [their friends at the wedding told me how weird it is even now to see them kissing after they’d all been just mates for so long!]
“Martin proposed with a haribo ring on a boat in front of Hampton Court Palace. It was sweet (boom boom!)
“We wanted a fun party vibe – which is why we chose Anna as our photographer! We loved that Anna’s photos look like everyone is having the best time and captures the feel of the day! We had previously met at a friend’s wedding, so we knew Anna would fit right in and be one of the guests!
We have done away with any traditions that don’t fit with us and made it as personal to us as possible! For instance I didn’t want to wear white, so chose a pink dress instead. We didn’t get a cake as Martin can’t have dairy – so what’s the point of paying loads for a cake if the groom can’t enjoy it? But then we did want to include other traditions, such as the Polish tradition (Martin’s mum is Polish), where the bride and groom are presented with a shot each (one vodka and one water) and you do not know which is which and when you neck them at the same time you’re not meant to show which you have, but whoever gets the vodka wears the trousers!
The crisps idea came from a chat over combining our surnames (rather than just one of us having to change our name we thought we both would) and we realised we would become our own crisp empire and how funny it would be to make them the centrepieces, rather than fancy flowers, or candelabras! This silly comedic take on everything (with a quiz over dinner and an awards ceremony at the end for most drunk, furthest travelled, best dance moves and best dressed) we hope will make our wedding personal and fun!
“Amy – is most looking forward to the vows and having a boogie! Martin – can’t wait to have everyone together we love in one place.
“We did a fair bit of DYI – such as stamping a million table label names by letter!! We also spent hours putting together our playlist – and think we’ve created THE ultimate playlist! Our main top tip is use the help of your talented friends! We had a colleague of mine make our seating plan, another altered my dress, another friend is playing the violin for us and another friend is filming it all – so ask your talented friends for help!! And make sure it is fun and enjoyable planning by doing what you love and making it personal!”
Dream team:
Dress: BHLDN // Suit: Reiss // Hair and make up: Friend Emma Jones // Florist: Violets and Velvet Bespoke Florist // DJ: Prelude Entertainment DJ Ash // Catering: Ampersand // Violinist: Emily Roe // Historic Royal Palaces events team
