NATURAL ROMANCE

Lorena and William celebrated their big day at Richmond Hill Hotel

Images courtesy of Amanda Forman Photography

Lorena and William met at university. “Although a little cliché, William played for the football team, and I was a cheerleader who would dance at his games,” says Lorena. “We often crossed paths, and one day in the gym, he asked me out on a date, and the rest is history.”

William proposed on 22nd November, 2019. “I joined William on one of his football scouting trips in Prague,” shares the bride. “He said we would be in the VIP area of the football ground, which got me very excited, but it fell through, and we ended up in the outdoor stands. After the game, we walked through a lovely park, and I felt slightly paranoid and convinced myself we were being followed by a stranger, so I insisted we leave the park. William was adamant we couldn’t leave, which was weird and almost caused us to argue! After a lot of walking, William stopped at the top of a hill, where we had a full view of the city. He told me this was a lucky spot where people threw pennies down the hill and make a wish. He passed me a coin holder, which I bought him years back as it was the same one my grandfather had. I opened it and an engagement ring was inside. He then got down to one knee and proposed to me!”

Here she shares some of her favourite moments from their big day...

We tied the knot at St Andrew’s Church and chose Richmond Hill Hotel for our reception because it has breathtaking views across Richmond Park, a luxurious interior and modern accommodation. We wanted to embrace that it was a COVID-19 wedding, so a month before, we sent everyone personalised face masks and hand sanitisers to use on the day. The men had emerald green masks to match the bridesmaids’ dresses, and the women wore light pink versions. Both the masks and the bottles had a personalised logo with our initials and wedding date on.

Our table plan was particularly easy to organise as we only had five tables. We wanted to make things as personal as possible, and the limited numbers allowed us to do this. As part of the rsvp process, we asked people to take a selfie of themselves holding the card and send it to us. What they didn’t know was that we printed out all the photos and used them on our seating plan.

I didn’t want anything too complex for the centrepieces, so we chose fairylight gin I bottles and floral arrangements placed on wood log slices, surrounded by green eucalyptus and olive branches. We had candle holders filled with water and a floating euca candle on the top. Our top table had one long wreath of eucalyptus and olive branches cand d cand with beautiful white roses from Holly & the Ivy.

The cake was made by William’s mum, who is a very talented baker. I’m not overly fond of cake and would choose chocolate chip cookies over any dessert, but William likes it, so we compromised and had a beautiful cake, but the inside was all cookie dough! gThe ballroom can seat around 180 people, but we only had 30, so we had to get creative and make the room feel more intimate. We, therefore, hired fairylight screens that were three meters high and cut off more than half of the room. It was actually quite beautiful as the entire wall was white and sparkly!

The one thing I wanted to make sure of was that the guests were taken care of and didn’t need to drive between the church and the venue. We hired a mini-bus that picked up the guests and my dad, mum, maid-of-honour and I had a limo from Surrey Limos pick us up from the house where I was getting ready.

I wore my mum’s wedding dress, which she designed and had personally made when she got married. My mum and I went to Sigitas Dressmaking & Alterations and had the sleeves removed and the corset redecorated. I honestly fell in love with the dress, and I don’t think I could have found one like that in a shop as it was very unique! It didn’t have a long train, so I went for a long veil that had intricate decorations at the edges. I wore pearl earrings and a necklace that my nana wore when she got married, beautiful hair accessories that my mum bought me and gold Jimmy Choo shoes.

y William chose an elegant Hugo Boss tuxedo from Moss Bros. He had a white shirt, a black waistcoat underneath the jacket, patent leather shoes and a bow tie. The groomsmen wore Ted Baker matching tuxedos, white shirts and emerald green cummerbunds.

Richmond Hill Hotel did the catering. The food was amazing, and I’d highly recommend it! We went for a set menu for all guests with the option of vegan or non-vegan. We then printed out menus for them so they could see what they were eating once they sat down.

At the church, we had a live string quartet called Olympia Ensemble who played beautiful music. It set the atmosphere, and I couldn’t recommend them enough. At the reception, we had a live jazz band. We originally hired The Rockets Collective to play as a six piece, but due to restrictions, we weren’t allowed to have any singers, and the band size had to be kept to a minimum. I was thrilled when The Rockets Collective told me they offered a jazz trio, and it was absolutely perfect! They set the mood with chilled and upbeat music, and my only regret is that I didn’t hire them to stay until the end of the night because the music was fantastic. After the meal ended, we had a playlist as background music and streamed the England VS Scotland game, which started at 8pm! 51

We felt a bit of everything – excited, emotional, tired and relieved! We were just so happy to be getting married after the disappointment of having to postpone. I think we were also a little amazed by just how well everything turned out. We were worried things wouldn’t quite come together, or we would have some challenges with transport/ restrictions, but everything went perfectly, and everyone had a really good time! We live-streamed the ceremony for our families, who we were unable to invite due to the restrictions. About 130 people logged onto the stream and watched the wedding, and we received a flood of messages after the ceremony congratulating us and commenting on the service.

Our parents surprised us with a video of my entire American and Italian family wishing us a happy wedding day. I cannot imagine how long that must have taken as there were many people involved. It was one of the most wonderful things that anyone has ever done for me, and I was very emotional watching my family on the big screen. Just before the speeches, they also arranged a slideshow of photos of us growing up. My mum also planned a surprise flashmob. Towards the end of the night, all of the ladies stood up and started dancing the Jerusalema dance, which I joined in! Saying our vows in the church was a memorable moment. Things kind of stood still as we knew everyone was listening and the focus was on us.S

Walking into the reception room as a married couple and everyone clapping was wonderful. We just remember smiling and feeling really happy. The speeches were also phenomenal and unforgettable. We felt so loved at that moment, and we will never forget the things people said about us.

For our honeymoon, we went to Crete for 10 days. We hired out a villa by the sea, and it was beautiful! My biggest advice to anyone planning their honeymoon is to organise something relaxing. We were shocked by how tired we were, and it probably took us a good three days to catch up on sleep and recover from the emotional few days leading up to the wedding! LORENA AND WILLIAM’S CONTACTS

Venue and catering, Richmond Hill Hotel, www.richmondhill-hotel.co.uk | Photographer, Amanda Forman Photography, www.amandaforman.co.uk Dress alterations, Sigitas Dressmaking & Alterations, www.facebook.com/sigitasdressmakingandalterations | Bride’s shoes, Jimmy Choo, www.jimmychoo.com | Hair and make-up artist, Kristina Gasperas Makeup Artist, www.kristinagasperas.com | Groom’s suit, Moss Bros, www.moss.co.uk | Bridesmaids’ dresses, JJ’s House, www.jjshouse.co.uk | Flowers, Holly & the Ivy, www.hollyandtheivy.com | Transport, Surrey Limos, www.surreylimos.co.uk | Stationery, Printed.com, www.printed.com | Entertainment, The Rockets Collective, www.therocketscollective.com; Olympia Ensemble, www.bandsforhire.net | Sound and light hire, Magic Event Hire, www.magic-event.co.uk