The Bride Wore Black For Her High Fashion Wedding In Mayfair

The big day itself unfolded over a brisk, bright October Sunday in central London, opening with an intimate ceremony at Marylebone Town Hall in the company of a select gathering of close friends and immediate family. In keeping with the casual spirit of their story so far, Jamie and Jodie swerved the formality of vows and readings. “Neither of us loves public speaking, so we instead opted for a ring warming ceremony,” with the ceremonial bands passed among the loved ones present to charge with their well-wishes. With rings on fingers, and papers signed, the happy couple left the room to “It’s A Sin” by the Pet Shop Boys, exiting the building to a cheering audience of family and friends.

Granted, prior to their exit, passers-by would have been forgiven for mistaking the wedding party for a funeral – not for the collective demeanour of the guests, but rather the unanimously sombre palette of their looks. This, however, was a subliminal homage to the bride’s signature style. While there wasn’t an official dress code, the couple’s wedding party – comprising an It-list of the art and fashion circles the pair work in, among them model Kiki Willems, Climax Books founder Isabella Burley, gallerist Antonia Marsh and designers Charlotte Knowles, Aaron Esh and Alexandre Arsenault – knew the memo by instinct. “I’ve never particularly felt comfortable wearing white… or dresses, so a ‘white dress’ was too overwhelming,” Jodie says. “I decided very early on to wear black, as I wanted to be able to wear everything again. As someone who lives in jeans and a T-shirt, wearing a top and a long skirt made the most sense.”

For the ceremony, Jodie worked with New York label Commission on a figure-skimming corseted blouse and mermaid skirt in a gossamer, matte silk-cotton crepe. “Our dear friends Dylan and Jin offered to design my ceremony look; we started with looking at clothes of theirs that I already had and loved, and pulled some pieces from my own closet,” Jodie says. ”I think the fabric is what really brought it together – it was cut on the bias, and the way it moved and held to my body was so beautiful.” Stood opposite, Jamie cut a sharp figure in a subtly sheened, peak-lapelled Dunhill suit, anchored by classic black Church’s.

Harley Weir Worked With Dilara Findikoglu On Her Fairytale Irish Wedding Dresses

43 Photos

By Alice Newbold

View Gallery

For the jewellery, Jodie wore an eye-catching diamond bracelet by David Yurman, along with heirloom-calibre diamond and pearl earrings from Australian pearl jewellers Paspaley, lovingly gifted by her mother, along with the black sequined Chanel flap bag that Jodie had long coveted from her wardrobe. The pair’s wedding bands were cast by jeweller Steph Le of Mass, while Jodie’s spike-studded heels were, as the red soles tell, from Christian Louboutin.

Jodie’s fresh face was the work of Joel Babicci, while her sleek, centre-parted coif was seen to by John Allan. “We went for simple, sexy and smoky,” she says. “I was already very nervous about standing in front of everyone and being in the spotlight all day, so we chose to leave my hair down as a sort of privacy barrier, which I could hide behind at times.”

Once the happy couple had filed down the Edwardian civil monument’s staircase, the wedding party continued on at the Guinea Grill in Mayfair, where guests clinked flutes of black velvet and pints of the black stuff. Jodie, meanwhile, snuck around the corner to a suite at the 1 Hotel Mayfair, the decadently appointed hotel on Berkeley Street, to change into her second look of the day: a svelte, sheer gown by Simone Rocha. “My plan was to start the day very covered and then slowly reveal more skin throughout the night,” Jodie explains. “I’ve been a huge fan of Simone Rocha for a long time, but have always found myself between sizes in her ready-to-wear. I thought our wedding was the perfect opportunity to ask her to make something custom, and I was so happy when she agreed to make my reception look.”

Amply fuelled and in jolly spirits, guests made their way around Berkeley Square to Park Chinois, where they were greeted by cocktails and a jazz in the restaurant’s resplendent Shanghai ‘30s dining room. “My old driving instructor Dominic Howells also plays double bass in a jazz band, so I asked them to play at the reception as guests arrived,” Jodie says. “He transcribed a few of our favourite scores, including the theme song to Taxi Driver by Bernard Herrmann, which they played as Jamie and I walked into the restaurant.”

Once seated, rollicking introductory speeches were made by Osman Ahmed and Julian Williams, followed by a traditional three-course Chinese banquet consisting of dim sum, Peking duck pancakes, wagyu bavette and black cod served with steamed rice and greens.

Inside Alana Hadid’s Backyard Wedding In LA – Where Sisters Bella And Gigi Were Barefoot Bridesmaids

53 Photos

By Emily Chan

View Gallery

After heartfelt speeches and the cutting of the cake – or rather, a metre-long fresh blackberry tart, made by Louis Thompson and Nicholas Andreadis – guests descended to Park Chinois’s basement venue, Club Chinois, while Jodie returned to 1 Hotel Mayfair to slip into her last – and, materially speaking, least – look of the day: a black lace minidress by Saint Laurent.

Down in the basement, guests sipped martinis, swaying and whirling to post-punk, ’80s synth wave and hardcore tracks mixed by DJ Braden Wells. “When Jamie and I first started dating, we would send each other Braden Wells’s NTS playlists,” Jodie reminisces. “A few years ago, she moved to London from LA, so we asked if she’d DJ the wedding party. Our first dance was to ‘Love You To Death’ by Type O Negative.”

As the clock struck midnight, entertainment duties pivoted to the guests – at their will, of course. “After dancing in Club Chinois, our friends Fiona Hartley and Zac Klein hosted Anthem Karaoke,” the if-you-know-you-know singalong soirée that’s quickly become a calendar highlight among London’s fashion crowd. “Jamie and I opened proceedings with a duet of “I Know A Girl Called Johnny” by Rowland S Howard featuring HTRK’s Jonnine Standish,” followed by a series of daring performances by those still standing.

Those that were were amply fuelled, though. “When I was growing up, my parents franchised a McDonald’s, so having the mix of Chinese food and McDonald’s was a must for me,” Jodie says. “They kindly sent us 150 cheeseburgers as a late-night snack,” carrying the night on into the early hours.

While memories of the night may have been a little hazy for some, guests all departed with a grail-worthy memento of the evening: a custom baseball cap by Aaron Esh, a regular collaborator of Jamie's, “embroidered with the first line of the song of our first dance and the date of our wedding”.

Looking back on the day, the couple wouldn’t change a thing. “It was incredible having all of our friends and family in one room, especially as so many of them had to travel from all over the world to be there, and everything went so smoothly, especially thanks to producer Victoria Pugh of VP Projects, who helped us pull together the final components and see us through the day. Looking back at all the pictures, everyone genuinely looked like they were having the best time,” Jodie says, underscoring the importance of following one’s intuition in the planning process, rather than trying to appeal to others’ tastes. “Planning our wedding was very easy because we both wanted the same thing. It was important to us that every decision that we made was made in our best interest, and not to get caught up in the expectations of friends or family. We knew that if we were having fun, then everyone else would be.”