The Bride Wore Vintage Galliano, Custom Sinéad O’Dwyer and The Philippines’ Coolest Designer For Her East London Wedding
While many couples have a crystalline sense of where they’ll say “I do” from the moment they’ve exchanged engagement rings, Kristian Kragelund and Nicole Coson did not. For over half of their two-year engagement, the prospective location of the two multidisciplinary artists’ big day flitted about the globe, with the pair puzzling over where, exactly, would be the most appropriate place to tie the knot. “We took our time making the decision,” Nicole says. “I’m from the Philippines, and Kristian is from Denmark, so we initially considered venues in both Manila and Copenhagen.”
In the end, though, they settled on London – a “neutral ground”, sure, but also the city they’ve called home for their more than a decade together; not to mention where their story began, with the pair first meeting as students on the BA Fine Art programme at Central Saint Martins. “We wanted the celebration to feel deeply personal, a reflection of the life we’ve built together here,” she says, “and share our version of London with our guests, many of whom had travelled from overseas.”
An integral feature of their version of the city is food. Self-professed epicureans – with Nicole previously hosting pop-up dinners at storied restaurants including London's Lyle’s and Manila's Toyo Eatery, no less – the pair began by plotting a list of the restaurants that most faithfully spoke to their relationship with the city, “narrowing it down to the few that could accommodate a larger group (my family, by English standards, is huge).” “St. John Restaurant was the natural choice for the reception,” she continues. “I remember going there with Kristian on one of our first dates back in 2012 and thinking, as we walked in, that the space felt like a chapel devoted to food. We’ve been returning ever since.”
With the reception locked in, thoughts turned to where they’d actually seal the deal. Wanting a non-religious ceremony close to their shared home, they settled on the Town Hall Hotel – a tastefully converted former civic centre in Bethnal Green. “We’ve both had studios close by on and off for the past decade, and feel a deep connection to the area. When we discovered that it was available on the days we’d blocked out, we booked it immediately,” says Nicole, noting the spiritual importance of the dates they’d settled on: “We’d chosen two beautiful spring days in May that were especially auspicious in the Chinese calendar – an important detail for my family.”
With a globe-spanning guest list flying in for the occasion, though, a multi-day affair was par for the course. The night before the big day, the happy couple casually held court at another of their favourite east London dining spots – Brat X Climpson’s Arch, the chicly ramshackle wood-fired restaurant nooked beneath the railway tracks by London Fields. “It was a perfect setting to break the ice,” Nicole says. “There’s nothing that says ‘we’re family now’ quite like the smell of open-fire cooking, shared platters of whole roast pig and fish, and their signature cocktails to keep things flowing.”
The next day – revived by thoughtfully prepared hangover packs – guests descended on Bethnal Green for the main event. It was here that the first of Nicole’s suite of wedding day looks was revealed, a sleeveless gown with a subtle cloche skirt by Filipino-British designer Carl Jan Cruz, featuring raw seaming and a deconstructed back that peeled open to reveal its delicately layered composition.
As one of the designer’s oldest friends, Nicole has long been a staunch ambassador of CJ’s work, regularly seen in his designs at her exhibition openings worldwide. “His pieces have always felt like a kind of beautiful armour, and so I knew that it had to be him to create the looks for both my welcome dinner and the ceremony. Each was made of delicately layered sheer, natural Filipino fabrics resulting in something that felt both innovative and traditional,” she says. “For the ceremony, he created a gown from four layers of abaca, pineapple fibres and silk shantung, which gave the bodice a timeless, ethereal structure. It fastened with a single knot at the back, revealing all the layers, and a mulberry silk slip beneath, subtly visible through the opening. I felt like a gooseberry – in the best way possible.”
Punctuated by tumbling floral arrangements by south London-based floral design studio Yinari, the venue’s light-filled former council chamber set the stage for the day’s most formal moment. At 4pm, everyone was in place – “the space actually seated exactly the number of guests we’d invited – a small, serendipitous detail that made it feel perfectly tailored to the moment,” Nicole notes – and the couple entered hand in hand, the artful timelessness of Nicole’s look complemented by Kristian’s: an exquisitely cut, single-breasted Prada suit in grey grain de poudre, paired with a crisp white shirt and a black tie.
“We entered to ‘Surrender’ by Suicide, one of our favourite bands,” the bride says, “and after a brief exchange with the registrar, rings by Japanese jeweller Noguchi Bijoux, and signing the legal documents to Brian Eno’s ‘By This River’, it was done. We turned to a room full of tearful, clapping faces, then walked out to ‘Dream Baby Dream’, also by Suicide,” before heading to a side room to privately exchange their personal vows. “It was a quiet, unfiltered moment, one of the most moving of the day.”
Their flight down the Old Town Hall’s steps under a cascade of rose petals prefaced the most characteristically London moment of a very London day, with a procession of vintage Routemaster buses waiting outside to transport guests to the reception at St John. Nicole, however, had a detour to make. “While guests boarded the double-decker bus, I drove back to our apartment with a group of my oldest high school friends to change into my second dress for the reception.”
As guests mingled in the Smithfield institution’s lofty bar and bakery area, a string quartet played covers of ’80s pop songs, building to an unexpected crescendo. Perfectly timed to the weeping strings of Britney Spears’s “Toxic”, Nicole entered in her second look of the day: a columnar, bias-cut gown with slashed detailing and a tweaked mandarin collar – more specifically, look 40 from John Galliano’s spring/summer 2000 collection for Christian Dior – paired with Bottega Veneta sunglasses and Jil Sander shoes.
“My friend and stylist Emman and I searched auctions and archives until we found the perfect vintage piece,” Nicole explains. “The dress had really unique architectural features including a long diagonal back slit detailed by a suit-inspired lapel. Its silhouette also echoed a Chinese qipao, which felt like a fitting nod to my Chinese ancestry. Though it was initially a little bit big for me, and proved difficult to take in due to its unique asymmetrical seams, it was a challenge that only seamstress Christine McKay was brave enough to tackle, and she did it fearlessly and beautifully. We both teared up at the final fitting.”
After a tearjerking welcome speech by Kristian – “which caused one of my cousins to faint – though it was likely from jet lag, we like to think that she was overcome with emotion!” – guests ascended to St John’s whitewashed dining room for a hearty nose-to-tail banquet, including the bone marrow on toast with parsley salad, whole turbot, and chicken and ox tongue pie. Guests then re-entered the glass-ceilinged bar area to a serenade-cum-singalong by artist and composer – and Nicole’s current piano teacher – Nicky Harris, before fellow artists (and moonlight DJs) Michael Ho and Jack O’Brien took to the decks to deliver a nostalgic, synth-driven whirl of ‘80s Italo disco classics.
The uptick in tempo prompted Nicole’s third and final look, with “Sinéad O’Dwyer, Freddie Powell, and I slipping away for a quick change. Freddie generously opened Ginny on Frederick – his gallery just around the corner – to give us a quiet space for my final outfit of the night,” a custom puffball-hemmed white minidress with intricately beaded criss-cross webbing at the bust and midriff by the London-based independent designer. “She also collaborated with shoe designer Tabitha Ringwood to create handmade white leather knee-high boots with square toes and kitten heels to wear with it. The look was finished with a silk garter adorned with charms bearing my and my new husband’s initials.”
A constant across Nicole’s fashion triptych was the hair – worn in short finger waves expertly executed by hairstylist Hiroki Kojima – and a light-touch make-up look by Mee Kee Song. As for the jewellery, save for her wedding band, Nicole intentionally refrained on deeply poignant grounds: “I did not wear a single piece of jewellery on the day,” she shares. “My only accessory was my late father’s watch.”
Back at St John, the evening had unfolded into an all-out celebration, with guests bundling into a custom photobooth, and twirling the night away to the DJs’ body-jacking set – “all fuelled by St John’s infamously strong Fergronis,” Nicole adds. “When the venue finally closed, our friend Sammy invited everyone back to her nearby flat for wine and karaoke. After that, the night softened into a blissful, joy-filled blur.”
Granted, pulling off a city centre wedding so seamlessly is no small task – luckily, though, Nicole and Kristian found a planner with both proven chops and an intuitive understanding of exactly what they wanted (and how to pull it off) in Liz Linkleter. “Finding a wedding planner who truly felt like the right fit wasn’t easy, but Rose Easton – who runs her eponymous gallery, and is a fellow Bethnal Green stalwart – had married the year before and recommended Liz emphatically,” Nicole says. “She was flexible, intuitive and made the entire process feel effortless. When our work schedules intensified, Liz and her team stepped in effortlessly. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I was between a show in Manila and Art Basel Hong Kong, while Kristian was in Los Angeles for an exhibition at Clearing Gallery. Despite the chaos and unanswered texts, they handled everything for us with calm and precision.”
Though the rose petals may have since settled, and the Fergroni buzz worn off, Nicole and Kristian haven’t felt anything close to a post-wedding comedown “Above all, we feel deeply grateful,” Nicole says. “What unfolded was a celebration of our life in London, of the people who shape it, and of those who had travelled from far and wide to be part of it. It was a rare moment when friends and family from every chapter of our lives gathered in one room, sharing company and witnessing firsthand why each person present means so much to us. Seeing our entire lives reflected in the happy faces around us was pretty extraordinary.”
Taylor & Porter1/53The weekend’s opening look by Carl Jan Cruz, worn at our welcome dinner.
Taylor & Porter2/53Brat’s burnt Basque cheesecake – a nod to my bachelorette trip to San Sebastián with my childhood friends.
3/53Pio Abad, my sister and Frances Wadsworth Jones.
4/53Kristian welcoming the Danes to London.
Taylor & Porter5/53BJ Pascual, one of the many guests who flew in from Manila, my hometown, for the occasion.
Taylor & Porter6/53An arrangement of oyster mushrooms and orchids by Yinari.
Taylor & Porter7/53While they weren’t mandated, many guests instinctively got the sunglasses memo.
Taylor & Porter8/53It isn’t a celebration without oysters!
Taylor & Porter9/53Family and friends mingling over a wood-fired feast.
10/53Me and my childhood friends. 23 years and counting!
Taylor & Porter11/53Carl Jan Cruz steaming the dress he lovingly hand-carried all the way to London from his Manila studio.
Taylor & Porter12/53The dress’s abaca and pineapple layers relaxing back into shape after their 20-hour journey.
Taylor & Porter13/53My final fitting with CJ – an incredibly talented designer and, moreover, a dear friend.
Taylor & Porter14/53Kristian and I at the entrance of Town Hall Hotel, just before the ceremony.
Taylor & Porter15/53Kristian, CJ and I in a styling train, minutes before we officially tie the knot.
Taylor & Porter16/53A moment of introspection ahead of our vows – a bouquet of snake’s head fritillaria by Yinari in hand.
Taylor & Porter17/53The former council chamber at Town Hall Hotel. Yinari’s gorgeous floral arrangements softened the formality of the space.
Taylor & Porter18/53Kristian and I, on the cusp of our lifelong commitment.
Taylor & Porter19/53Being showered in rose petals by the people you love most is a feeling few can beat.
Taylor & Porter20/53Newly-wed and basking in the post-ceremony sunshine. Relieved that the legal part was over and excited to celebrate!
Taylor & Porter21/53Then, the vintage Routemasters arrived – all aboard!
Taylor & Porter22/5325 degrees and sunny: as auspicious a London day as they come!
Taylor & Porter23/53Guests took the arrival at St John as an opportunity for an impromptu shoot.
Taylor & Porter24/53As you can see, their outfits warranted it.
Taylor & Porter25/53Love really was in the air!
Taylor & Porter26/53Yinari’s arrangements of tropical flowers and carnivorous plants struck a delicate harmony with St John’s industrial interiors.
Taylor & Porter27/53My arrival at St John, to the tune of a string quartet rendition of Britney Spears’s “Toxic”.
Taylor & Porter28/53The Galliano-era Dior dress getting the attention it deserves.
Taylor & Porter29/53A happy couple in their happy place – the St John bar.
Taylor & Porter30/53Our guests pulled out the stops when it came to the looks.
Taylor & Porter31/53As can be seen here!
Taylor & Porter32/53…And here!
Taylor & Porter33/53Everyone was brought to laughter, tears or both by Kristian’s poignant welcome speech – one of my cousins even fainted!
Taylor & Porter34/53Kristian and I sharing a moment before the crowd before everyone went up to take their seats in the dining room
Taylor & Porter35/53Whole turbot and chicken and ox tongue pie, shared family style.
Taylor & Porter36/53Finished off with sticky toffee pudding and rhubarb pavlova for dessert.
Taylor & Porter37/53Kristian and I sealing the deal with mini Guinnies (also known as half pints of the black stuff).
Taylor & Porter38/53Nicky Harris hitting the high notes of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”.
Taylor & Porter39/53And all of our guests singing along!
Taylor & Porter40/53Nicky’s set transitioned perfectly into Jack O’Brien and Michael Ho’s, who set up their booth beneath St John’s iconic “Bakery” sign.
Taylor & Porter41/53That’s when the party really started.
Taylor & Porter42/53Meanwhile, we snuck off to Freddie Powell’s gallery, Ginny On Frederick, around the corner to change into my final look of the evening.
Ottilie Landmark43/53My final fitting with Sinéad O’Dwyer, just a couple days before the big day.
Ottilie Landmark44/53Making the final adjustments at Sinéad’s studio.
Taylor & Porter45/53I couldn’t be happier with the final result!
Taylor & Porter46/53Reunited with Kristian, as the party hit full flow.
Taylor & Porter47/53While we didn’t ask people to wear black for the occasion, many did by pure instinct.
Taylor & Porter48/53Guests feeling the love.
Taylor & Porter49/53Dancing the night away beneath the disco ball.
Taylor & Porter50/53They really got down.
Taylor & Porter51/53Dancing in my Sinéad O'Dwyer dress, flashing a glimpse of te silk garter she made – and the sweetest detail: K and N charms that swayed with each step.
Taylor & Porter52/53The DJ summing up the mood of the weekend.
Taylor & Porter53/53Good night!
