Our 1st Wedding Anniversary

On this day one year ago, my best friend and love of my life Mackenzie and I got married. I can’t even believe how fast the time has gone! It seems like just yesterday that I was in London, frantically putting the final touches on everything for the wedding. After months of planning, it turned out to be the best day we could’ve ever dreamed of. It’s so much fun looking back at all the photos (I just re-watched the video here, and started blubbing all over again!), and there are so many other pics I have yet to share with you. Today in celebration of our 1st anniversary, I’m showing you the whole album from our big day! Thank you for being part of our journey, we are so grateful for you all.

Getting ready! I trialled my makeup before the big day with my babe Rachel Toledo and PRIV to make sure it was just what I wanted it to be. I wanted to feel ultra-feminine, timeless, and confident, so we went for super smooth skin with just a touch of peachy color on the cheeks, a shimmery cheekbone, a thick black eyeliner with a flick, worn with big, voluminous lashes, and lastly, a nude lip.

I helped design my dress with Atelier Pronovias. I absolutely fell in love with this Spanish house’s intricate lace designs from their runway show, and ended up attending multiple fittings in Barcelona to get the dress just right.

We created a removable capelet to go along with my dress that I wore for the ceremony, then removed for the party! I love the idea of doing an outfit change for the reception, but I loved my dress so much that I wanted to wear it for as long as I could. This removable piece was enough of a transformation to make it feel like a new dress for the party, and it was actually the one piece of the dress that I kept (the dress itself was donated to Brides Do Good).

My bridesmaids were my best friends from both the UK and LA. They looked absolutely gorgeous their white crocheted-lace Self-Portrait dresses, and I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the whole process without them.

Adding the finishing touch to my look with these beautiful Stuart Weitzman heels.

Mum and I before we left for the ceremony. I loved her lilac ensemble, but particularly the hat. Did you know that British hat etiquette dictates that the mother of the groom should not have a hat larger than the mother of the bride?! I love English wedding etiquette (read my blog post on it here).

Posing for a quick portrait before it was time to head off to the Chapel. My flower bouquet for the ceremony was inspired by Grace Kelly’s, consisting of lily of the valley, stephanotis, and ruscus foliage.

Meanwhile… Mackenzie and his boys were getting ready elsewhere. How sweet is this candid group shot? They’re all wearing Reiss suits.

Here, Mackenzie and his best man are preparing our getaway car for after the service. We were originally meant to have a white bridal car, but at the last minute the company had a problem with it. We ended up getting this bright red replacement last minute, and I loved it ten times more! It was so fun and unique, and made for the most epic photos.

First down the aisle were our bridesmaids and flower girls – our nieces – looking completely adorable in their mini Monsoon white dresses and wreaths of skimmia leaves and ivory piano roses.

Dad walking me down the aisle at Eton College Chapel to the sound of Pachelbel’s Canon in D. This place is very special for Mackenzie as both his parents worked at Eton and he grew up doing homework in the chapel.

Although many modern brides and grooms today prefer to see each other before the ceremony, for myself it was absolutely out of the question for Mackenzie to see me or my dress before I walked down the aisle toward him. It was such a beautiful moment walking towards him, and I felt so much calmer than I thought I would.

Mackenzie and I leaving the Chapel as Mr and Mrs Hunkin! Our guests sprinkled us with rose petals collected by Mackenzie’s mum from his late grandmother’s garden.

A quick portrait of us outside the incredible old buildings of Eton College.

We raced off through Eton to our reception in the most amazing retro red MG convertible – probably the highlight of Mackenzie’s day, LOL. Our 142 guests followed on classic red double-decker buses while sipping on cans of Pimms.

Our reception was held at the nearby Dorney Court, a 15th-century Tudor manor house and home of the Palmer family for more than 450 years, passing from father to son for thirteen generations.

As guests arrived they were greeted by cocktails on the lawn, created by the genius Adam McVay of Holy Water. Adam also gave us the recipe for the most epic spicy grapefruit margaritas – which you can find on my blog here.

At the reception I switched my flowers from my ceremony bouquet to this bouquet that had a more English countryside feel, including wax flowers, green bells, olive and white scabiosa, and delphinium. Since I wasn’t changing dresses, I thought it was a fun alternative that added a little twist to my look.

Another photo op, this time outside the historic Dorney Court with my best friends.

Our array of signature Holy Water cocktails. Featuring Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas made from our favorite tequila (of course!) and Old-Fashioned’s.

The bars were set up with peonies, fresh rose petals and my favorite pineapple pots.

I love the feel and look of rustic family-style dining, so we settled on long tables, and the rest of the decor was inspired by our love of Italy – Mackenzie spent a lot of time there as a child. We chose copper-colored flatware, soft candles, natural linens, and garlands made from kumquats, olive, skimmia, rosemary, and ruscus.

Keeping with the rustic Italian theme, we had mini loaves of olive, rosemary and feta focaccia with placards attached as our guests’ place settings.

Our reception menu was create by Mackenzie’s friend, Steven Edwards of Etch catering and restaurant. This was our second course.

This delicious cake was made by my friend and sensational cook, Juliet Sear. It was a “naked cake” adorned with kumquats, which I have a bit of an obsession with!

Here we are cutting the vanilla sponge cake – everyone cheered as we sliced it.

Mackenzie and I did our first dance to Sade’s “By Your Side” – the words mean a lot to us. It was such a romantic moment, it makes me tear up seeing these photos again.

Happy anniversary, Mackenzie – to many more happy years together, I love you!

Photos by Amy Fanton and Polly Alexandre for Martha Stewart Weddings

xx,