Perry & Ollie by Mary Parker - Together Journal -

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

We first met when living and working as actor/musicians in London.

Ollie is both a voiceover artist and producer/frontman of the UK’s premier 50’s rock and roll band the Bluejays. After twelve years treading the boards in theatre, I recently switched careers and have been working as a private PA. I come from a dance and fitness background and love all things interiors and design. Ollie is mad about music and whisky and we share a mutual obsession with travel and gastronomy.

Back in 2012 Ollie needed an actor for a scene he was shooting, I got involved through a friend of a friend and off we went one late summer’s afternoon, did a bit of filming, went to the pub, talked about Rome and wished each other luck with our next adventures. Coincidentally, a year to the day later Ollie had just returned from a tour across Australia & NZ and asked if I fancied a drink… We had great wine, ate great food and discovered we shared so many passions.

A unique aspect of our relationship is that due to the nature of our jobs we often spend long periods of time apart. Unforeseen circumstances with work and travel commitments once meant we were separated for an entire four-month period. It was a painfully testing time, I still don’t know how we did it, but it made us unbelievably strong. Our favourite spot will always be at home in front of the fire.

Six years, endless touring, a proposal on Trolltunga, a house in the country and a baby bump later I am so proud to now call Ollie my Husband. He is kind, handsome, talented, spontaneous and somehow manages to convince me his secret additions to an ever growing guitar collection are always absolutely necessary.

Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details…

Autumn- it’s when we fell in love. Seasonally, the colours don’t get much better and one can never rely on the weather here in the UK, so for us it was a no brainer.

Ollie has played at more private events and weddings than he can count, so something unique and different was always going to feel right for us. We specifically chose venues where we weren’t put on a conveyor belt, where it didn’t matter if it rained (or snowed) and where we could create a cosy, relaxed atmosphere for our nearest and dearest. Having a free bar, good booze, good food and lots of live music were really important elements to us. We found two beautiful converted chapels within a five minute walk of one another in Frome, a quaint and bohemian town in the heart of Somerset. Combining our greatest passions, along with the fact that we both plan/produce events for a living, we knew we’d make a great team. A whisky bar was a necessity and as for the paella- it was simple, different and so delicious. Ollie took charge with all the live music, booze, food and I managed the styling, logistics and everything else.

Our wedding was a true labour of DIY love… I knew exactly how I wanted the day to look and feel, as opposed to having a specific style in mind. I was in my element designing, making, choosing every detail of our day from the invites, planning all three of our spaces and choosing each of the flower stems. A close friend very kindly helped me design and hand-make every single piece of day stationary, from over 100 invites to all the canapé flags, A boards, banner the lot. I loved every aspect of planning our day. The flowers were such an important element, I wanted an installation for the ceremony which could be transported and reused in the dining room. I started drawing up images and ideas of what I loved and how we could make it work. Jess from Flower and Land, quite literally, made my floral dreams come true- both her and Chloe from Juniperu were saints. They even wheeled the installation through town on a 6ft clothes rail! For me this was my absolute favourite detail. For months we collected everything and had both mothers’ eyes peeled for all things wicker, glass and brass- together we had a gargantuan collection. We used the fresh Eucalyptus and Leylandii from the the in-laws’ woods and my mum foraged all the pampas for the aisle vases and picked the rosemary from her garden.

It was such a team effort from start to finish and we are so grateful to our family and friends for their support throughout. Also to The Rye Bakery and family friend Katherine who helped coordinate the day, enabling us to let go and enjoy it all.

Tell us about your main outfits:

For me it was always going to be Rue De Seine- they make the dresses of dreams. Luckily, I was one of Leonie Claire Bridal’s last brides before she closed shop in Hove. The Ash gown is the perfect mix of classical with an edge- I could’ve hiked up a mountain in it I was so comfortable, as were the velvet platforms from LK Bennett- it’s so worth investing in shoes you’ll wear over again and not just on the big day!

Ollie- In pursuit of the perfect blazer we searched far and wide for the right tone and fit. Wanting to go for a relaxed and more informal look as opposed to morning suits and tails, I ended up choosing flannel trousers from Suit Supply and we eventually found my brown herringbone blazer from Feraud. It matched the green herringbone for the boys perfectly. RM Williams boots were the obvious choice of footwear for the gents, being so comfortable and all…plus, we all happen to own a cherished pair of Australia’s finest! Who wouldn’t?!

We spent a lot of time sourcing ushers and maids attire- making sure everyone felt good and comfortable was paramount.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?

Ollie – Reminiscing now, the day sort of spins round and round like slides in a carousel projector. Before one memory settles for too long, the next image comes flying into focus. The most cherished moments were during our ceremony. Seeing Perry walk towards me down the aisle; then uncontrollably welling up with a wave of pride as we exchanged vows; my band mates playing “In My Life” by the Beatles and Bob Dylan’s ‘If Not For You; my sister’s beautiful personalised reading and my 90 year old grandfather finding us outside the ceremony hall and sharing a quiet moment with the two of us.

As we walked into the reception after our photos with Mary, one of my friends played Booker T& the MG’s ‘Green Onions’ on the chapel organ in the Rye bakery. We then made a beeline for the gypsy jazz trio, allowing ourselves five minutes to process the magnitude of the day, have a well deserved drink and take it all in! Perry’s father made a weighty and emotional speech which I was entirely unprepared for, it completely knocked me over and left me sobbing my eyes out. But more than anything else, having all your favourite people under one roof, celebrating with you your love for one another, left us blown away and feeling euphoric.

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?

If you’ve found the one then you won’t need much advice. But cherish every moment of your journey together, big and small, take it all in and do what feels right for you both. It’s all about teamwork, delegation and celebrating your love.