Mar 16, 2020

Putney Town Rowing Club Wedding | Emma and Sam

Emma and Sam’s Putney Town Rowing Club wedding with arrival by boat

If there’s one thing I love, it’s a chilled AF DIY wedding in a venue that has bags of meaning for the couple and this Putney Town Rowing Club Wedding is exactly that. And what’s not to love about a bride sticking her wellies on and hopping into a vintage wooden boat to row from the church to the reception venue. Amazing scenes!

Working with Lifeline Photography

Hannah photographed our friends’ wedding and the photos were just too beautiful for us not to book you! Working with Hannah was totally fabulous. She fitted in like one of our friends and put everyone at ease, while being totally professional at the same time.

Hannah helped the day run smoothly and helped us avoid that ‘boring bit of weddings’ where the bride and groom are whisked off for hours for photos. The photos are absolutely stunning. We still look at them regularly a year on.

A church wedding and a rowing club reception

We knew we wanted to have the party at our rowing club. It’s where we met and the Putney Town Rowing Club crowd are our second family. As rowing has played such a big part in our relationship we wanted to embrace it and go the whole hog. This included getting in a rowing boat in my wedding dress.

We chose the church partly because it was close to the club, but also because it’s such a beautiful building. We used to walk past it regularly and always admired it. Peter, the vicar, was so lovely too.  He instantly put us at ease when we went to chat to him.

A Marks and Spencer Suit and a Timeless Chic dress

Sam & best man wore M&S suits, with a Collier and Robinson Putney Town Rowing Club blazer. The 
groomsmen -wore their own suits, with Navy spotty ties. Emma wore the Ivy Lace dress, by Timeless Chic bought from Cutting Edge Brides. Shoes were spotty wellies from Joules and Converse for dancing. Bridesmaids wore ASOS dresses, with their own shoes and accessories. Annie Botta was on hair and makeup duties.

DIY details and floral help from Aunty Chris

Aunty Chris did our flowers.  We had tulips as they’re Emma’s favourite flowers (and her Mum’s). They’re so bright and colourful and just make us happy.

Our cake from Papa Flynn had 3 tiers. The bottom tier was his famous fruit cake, the second tier was lemon and the top tier was gluten-free chocolate. The middle tier was blue, the other 2 were white. It had a rowing Sam & me on the top! We also had a cheese tower and a pork pie tower which were served as our evening catering.

We made all of the stationery ourselves. I spread it out over the course of the year and it was really enjoyable (and I hate craft!). I deliberately chose a super simple design. Top tip – triangle hole punch = easy bunting and it works really well if you hole-punch a map.

Personal Touches

We DIYed everything, which I’m so pleased about. So many people were involved and it felt so personal, rather than a typical venue churning out another wedding. Having it at the club meant it was really special to us and allowed us to invite more of our friends.

We wanted a ceilidh because it’s impossible to have a bad time when there’s a live band and you’re being flung across the dance floor. Everyone gets involved regardless of age and taste in music. Even my brothers danced.

The lovely Joe, our good friend, played the saxophone in the Church which was really special. We didn’t give him a song list, we just trusted him to choose the right songs.

The Food

How Can We Help You did our catering.

We used them because they cater the club annual dinners so I was very used to working with them. We went for a really informal hog roast but served family-style to avoid long buffet queues. It was nothing fancy but it was hearty and delicious and fitted with our informal atmosphere.

Top tips for other couples

Do little and often so it never builds up.

Expect something to go wrong. If it does, you’ll be the only person that notices so don’t worry.

Our favourite memory from the wedding

It would be impossible to pick – we loved every moment. We’ve honestly been sat here typing then deleting as we can’t decide which bit would be our standout.

We did travel down the river in a rowing boat – a pretty cool entry to a wedding reception, I think.

 We also had a G&T bicycle bar as our welcome drink for everyone with a ‘his and hers’ G&T choice. Sam’s was sour and lemony, mine was sweet & fruity. Not that it matters but mine won.

If you’re looking for a photographer for your Putney Town Rowing Club Wedding I’d love to chat, so do get in touch.

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