Bride and groom sharing a kiss in front of wedding guests. Bride is wearing long pink tulle dress with gold headband and groom is wearing black suit with gold foil detail. Pampas and disco balls are styled around the surrounding beams. — Bride & groom sharing a kiss in front of their wedding guests.

Written by Helen-Louise Dudney

Photography by Lauren Elliott Photography

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When you see that the bride & groom decided to ditch the first dance and have a guitar hero battle instead, you know that’s a wedding you wish you’d been a guest at!

It was back in 2011 when Matty and Emma met through a mutual friend on a night out in SOHO. Sharing their love of rock music they got to know each other more over time as they navigated their way round all the rock pubs in London, and the rest as they say is history!

Bride and groom playing guitar hero instead of having a first dance. — Emma and Matty making their own traditions, by having a ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ by Guns N Roses Guitar Hero battle instead of a first dance.

The proposal.

After a rough start to the year Matty and Emma felt like 2021 was kicking their ass! But on their 10-year anniversary they took their pug for a walk in the forest, a place that Emma loves, especially in Autumn. Matty had planned to propose for a while, but Emma had no idea. However, on that perfect day, surrounded by the dreamy autumnal leaves and with their pug by their side, Emma said YES!

Bride and groom wearing black and white outfits, in the forest with their pug where they got engaged. — The bride and groom with their pug in the forest Matty proposed and Emma said YES!

Their plan.

This couple are so on the same page that after 10 years of being together neither Matty or Emma wanted a long engagement. It took less than a year (49 weeks to be exact, from the proposal to the big day) for them to bring their awesome mood boards to life, creating the wedding THEY wanted. And what they wanted was for their wedding to feel like they were having a party at a gig, where everything was informal, and everyone felt relaxed. From choosing food trucks to cater their sit-down meal, to ditching the groom’s speech and first dance, Matty and Emma felt NO pressure to follow any traditions that didn’t suit them as a couple, so threw the ‘rule’ book out the window.

Giant prop unicorn with the bride wearing her long pink wedding dress stood next to it and the groom wearing his black suit with gold foil detailing sat on top. — Groom sat on awesome unicorn prop whilst the bride is stood next to him holding her bouquet.

Authenticity rather than a theme!

The Canary Shed was an awesome find as they offer wedding weekends, which allowed Matty and Emma to celebrate with family and friends over the entire weekend. The venue was the perfect canvas for the couple to achieve their vision. Their planning and attention to detail shone throughout their wedding. Through a beautiful hybrid of colour and themes, from mythical creatures and Halloween to pastel colours and rock n’ roll topped off with a shit load of glitter and gold, they created a vibe to reflect their personalities perfectly. It is of no surprise that Matty and Emma brought the fun from the start. It was in the planning stage of their wedding when they found and purchased a life size unicorn prop. And surprisingly (or maybe not) it fit right in alongside the pastel skulls, pumpkins and crystals.

Inside the wedding venue: The Canary Shed, Essex. The wooden clad room is set out with wooden tables & chairs multicoloured paper birds suspended from the ceiling. Streamers, gold stars, skeletons & a neon lightning bolt — Inside The Canary Shed, Essex venue.

The outfits.

What did stand out were the bride and groom’s STUNNING outfits. We’re going to need to take a moment here to acknowledge just how incredible Emma’s dress was. Emma was inspired by Aphrodite and knew she wanted a romantic, feminine dress and that’s exactly what Rebecca Punter created for her. The handmade A-line, pink glitter tulle dress had flutter sleeves and a detachable train and Emma completed her vision with the most perfect gold headpiece.

The bride in her Aphrodite inspired wedding dress.

Matty’s suit from Twisted Tailor was just as sensational. The black suit with foil gold detail was paired with a plain black shirt and black bow tie and he completed his look with a mega pair of metallic gold boots.

The groom is stood inside the wedding venue. He is wearing a Twisted Tailor suit which is black with gold foil details. Behind him on the panelled wooden wall are stars and a neon pink thunder bolt sign. — The groom wearing his Twisted Tailor suit.

The gold theme continued with the bridal party, as the bridesmaids wore long black dresses with gold flecks and the groomsmen wore shirts which matched Matty’s suit. As for the flower girls, Matty and Emma had their family dogs who looked gorgeous wearing floral corsages which complimented the bride’s exquisite bouquet.

Matty & Emma’s pug wearing a gorgeous floral corsage to tie in with the rest of the wedding party.

Personality in every detail.

Matty and Emma’s personalities oozed throughout every aspect of the day, with table names inspired by mythical creatures and skull place card holders, along with sweets in skeletons and crystals scattered around the venue. Emma even had teeny rose quartz crystals included in her bridal bouquet. And we can’t not mention the incredible florals. Peach Tree Flowers created the perfect punky pastels with the bridal bouquet being bold and yet soft, filled with pampas, roses and eucalyptus . A beautiful blue hydrangea centred in Emma’s bouquet was also used within Matty’s buttonhole to tie the two together.

Budget.

Despite what they had hoped to spend, Matty and Emma realised their original budget was unrealistic. However, having the suppliers they wanted was way more important to them than the money. The awesome Foil Events, who can also be found in our Book Of Love, were involved in the planning and styling, with Tahnee being present as on the day coordinator. From the delicious food produced by Street Food & More and Olive and Ivy Essex to the Coyote Party Band who rocked out through the evening, it was all captured from start to finish by Lauren Elliott Photography and Joyce Elordi Films.

Matty and Emma wish they could do it all again as the day flew by way too quickly. They both said they enjoyed every second of the most magical day of their lives and why wouldn’t they, their wedding ROCKED! Not only did it (and they) look awesome, but there was SO much love and fun surrounding them.

Bride and groom sharing a tender moment on their wedding day. — The bride and groom captured sharing a moment.

Advice.

Matty and Emma love going back over their “amazing photos and badass video” and recommend getting a videographer if your budget allows, as “there is something so special about being able to WATCH your wedding day back and you get to see all the moments you miss as you’re so busy on the actual day”.

And their most important bit of advice “Don’t worry about what others think! It’s your wedding day and choose whatever the hell makes you happy. Anyone that loves you will embrace your ideas! Quite frankly the people that don’t like it know where the door is and can SUCK IT” and we couldn’t agree more!