Inside: A Chic Winter Wedding In London

Indiya Pountney (30) and Matthew Pountney (32). Matt and Indiya met at work four years ago. What they say is true, it happens when you least expect it.

They went on a road trip around Scotland in the summer of 2021. Their last stop was Isle of Skye and they visited a place called Fairy Pools. The couple decided to stop and take in the beautiful scenery. Indiya sat on a rock and saw Matt rummaging through his backpack. She asked if he was okay and he said he was looking for a chocolate bar. Indiya was confused as he had already eaten three! Turns out Matt was getting the ring out of his bag and there he was on one knee!

The best part of our day was….

Everything. There is nothing better than being surrounded by your closest friends and family. We even added a little magic to the party with a magician. Definitely a must if you fancy a little sparkle! I hired Vince for my 21st birthday, it was really special to have him back on our wedding day.

We chose to get married at…

We got married at St Paul’s Church in East Molesey. It was perfect and was a short walk to The Mitre down the Thames. We were lucky with the weather in November so our guests took a nice stroll after the ceremony.

We had our wedding breakfast and celebration at The Mitre – Hampton Court. We actually went there for our anniversary the year before. Little did we know that this would become such a special place for us. Matt and I wanted something that would replicate an intimate, magical dinner party.

We hired the orangery and terrace which was beautiful. The terrace had just been made into a winter wonderland which was great timing!

I knew I found ‘The One’

Andrea Hawkes is a must for any bride. The service and care they provide is incredible. I felt so special every time I went to visit.

I always dreamed of designing my own wedding dress and that’s exactly what I did with the lovely Siobhan and Rebecca. From Andrea sketching my vision to piecing together each little detail of my dress- the process was so special. I’ll forever be grateful.

I always loved the idea of a high neck and statement sleeves. My inspiration came from Spanish bridal designers. I can’t remember how I stumbled across them but their creations are so beautiful (Castellar Granados).

The most enjoyable moments of planning

We met some really lovely people along the way. Our food tasting was definitely a highlight. It also meant that Matt and I got to spend the evening together getting excited about what was to come.

I also loved designing the flower arrangements and putting together all the bouquets the night before our wedding. I did this with my bridesmaids and would highly recommend. It’s lots of fun! I also made our confetti using large pale pink roses. We found that the bigger the petal the better!

We also sourced all of the candles, ribbons and made our own table names. We used corks that we had saved from special occasions and printed pictures of us in countries that we had visited as our table names. Such a fun thing to do and was also sentimental.

The hardest part of planning was…

Nothing was difficult. We had such a fun time planning the day.

Food highlights

There were too many wedding menu highlights. The food at the Mitre is unbelievably delicious! To start we had either tuna bang bang salad or creamy buratta. For our mains we had sharing platters of grilled Atlantic lobster and beef ribeye steak. All of our friends and family were taken away by the quality.

Finally desert was either ‘boozy’ strawberry eton mess or chocolate torte. My goodness it was delicious.

Our first dance song

Was to September – Earth Wind and Fire. This song is very special to us.

My top three tips for any couple would be..

Embrace the whole adventure.

Doing things yourself can help to minimise costs and also make the experience more personable. Don’t be scared by the prospect of this, I promise it’s really fun.

Remember what’s important to you and don’t be swayed by lots of different opinions. Stick to your gut and your decisions will be easy!

Finally – smile always, you’ve met your soulmate and get to spend the rest of your life with them!

For our honeymoon we chose…

We decided to go on a mini moon before heading on our Honeymoon in January. We went to The Pig for our mini moon, we absolutely love it there. It’s a great UK staycation.

We went to South Africa for our honeymoon and travelled the garden route, it was absolutely beautiful. Cape Town, the vineyards and down to the best beaches. Highly recommend.