Camilla and Jos had been together fifteen years before deciding to get married, so the day felt less like a beginning and more like stepping into a story already in motion. They didn’t want a wedding that relied on a single theme or colour palette. They wanted something that matched the way they move through the world together. Camilla likes cities and noise. Jos prefers quiet places and the outdoors. They leaned into that difference instead of trying to smooth it out.

When Camilla revisited The Wind in the Willows, she kept returning to its river motif. “I felt it spoke to the way two people can change yet remain constant, moving forward together,” she said. So the wedding became a riverbank at dusk. Not a literal recreation, but an atmosphere and a feeling. Romantic without being too theatrical.

The Flower Appreciation Society brought in branches of spring blossom cut that morning and turned the ceremony room at Town Hall Hotel & Apartments into something between a meadow and a quiet hideaway. Guests walked in to birdsong and the sound of running water. A friend composed the entrance music as a gift, setting lines from The Tempest to music.

Camilla found her The Vampire’s Wife dress at their closing down sale. “I queued from 5am to snag that silver dress!” she laughed, “It was luminous.” Her chapel-length veil, made by Lauren Mizon, was embroidered with birds, frogs, spiders, reeds, and a tiny water vole holding a heart. Guests spent the drinks reception quite literally huddled around it, trying to take in every stitch. Their ring box was a pigeon-shaped handbag! Also to match the theme, Jos wore an evening suit with a bow tie made of duck feathers and his cufflinks were badgers.

There were no formal speeches. Instead, Camilla welcomed everyone and invited anyone who wished to give a toast to stand whenever the moment felt right. “The dinner turned into a loving roast of us as a couple and as individuals”, she explained, “it has given us memories we will treasure forever.”

The bride loved most of wedding planning, but the one part she didn’t enjoy was navigating the civil ceremony system. It was unclear what could and couldn’t be included, and she found herself sending a fully timed script with stage directions to the registry office, asking for confirmation in writing. “I felt like such a bridezilla doing it but I was at my wits end! Our vows ended up being the standard ones because I never got clarification over whether we could change them. While the individual registrars, Anita and Tejal, were lovely, the actual Tower Hamlets office were incredibly unclear and unhelpful about what we could do.”

If she could redo anything, she’d allow more time for photos, especially with her mum. And maybe hire a table stylist. She and Jos spent the night before the wedding slicing and melting candles to fit holders and adjusting table settings until nearly midnight. However it was all worth it in the end. “I was brought to tears several times by the incredible amount of love in the room”, she concluded. “My advice to other couples would be to make it meaningful but also have fun with it… Oh and set up a totally different email address just for wedding related stuff – not just RSVPs but vendor research, too. It would have made things so much easier to keep on top of!”