Lucy & Ollie Tie the Knot at Kew Gardens in the Accessible Wedding of Dreams
Five years after they got engaged, Lucy and Ollie said 'I do' in the dreamy conservatory at Kew Gardens in an accessible wedding ceremony with a singing surprise...
Hitched Featured Suppliers:
- Wedding Venue: Kew Gardens
- Wedding Celebrant: India Bel Ceremonies
- Wedding Suit: The Groom's Room (gifted)
- Wedding Transport: White London Taxis
It wasn't that long ago that we spoke to TV presenter and disability activist Lucy Edwards about planning a wedding as a blind bride in her incredible #AlreadyWeddingReady story.
After hearing about hers and Ollie's wedding planning process, we couldn't be more excited to hear how the actual wedding day turned out. The team here at Hitched, along with many others (we're sure!) have been eagerly waiting for details of Lucy and Ollie's gorgeous Kew Gardens wedding, and we're thrilled to say it's finally here!
Lucy & Ollie's Magical Wedding Day at Kew Gardens
On Thursday 31st August, Lucy Edwards married her partner-in-crime Ollie Cave in a dreamy ceremony held at Kew Gardens.
The day was full of love, laughter and some incredibly sweet details and moments - as well as a few surprises the bride wasn't even aware of - and we're so excited to be able to share all the details with you.
But before we get onto the day itself, let's remind ourselves how this love story began...
The Proposal of Dreams
Ollie proposed to Lucy on July 3rd 2018, more than five years ago now, and there's a reason it had to be that specific date, "He asked me to marry him on 3rd July because that was the date we became friends on Facebook. At the start of our relationship we were never not on Facebook messenger talking to each other," Lucy explains.
Although they met when they were young, Lucy always knew Ollie was 'the one'. She says, "I have known I wanted to marry Ollie for years. He brought me this locket once with the words, ‘Make love your goal’ on it, which are lyrics from a Gabriella Aplin song.
"Ollie saved up change from every bit of money his parents gave him to save up for that birthday present. He loved me when I didn't love myself anymore when I first went blind."
And Ollie made all of Lucy's dreams come true when he asked her to be his wife whilst on holiday together.
"When he proposed, we were in Tenerife. He took me to the private beach at our hotel as the volcanic sand there was sparkly and he knew I could still see sparkles at that time. Ollie proposed as we were both lying down in the sun - it was beautiful.
"I loved that he didn't go down on one knee, because I wouldn't have been able to see it - it was just very 'us'."
And Ollie chose a corker of a ring for Lucy - it couldn't have been more perfect, or better suited to her.
"I love my ring - it's princess cut, because I am a princess (hehe!), and has one diamond on it. Ollie chose that with the help of Alice so that even if I couldn't see it sparkle anymore, I could still feel it. And even now that I don't really have light perception anymore, I can confirm it still feels beautiful!"
Lucy's Gorgeous Wedding Ceremony Look
In true princess fashion, Lucy wore two beautiful gowns from Eleganza Sposa on her wedding day, one during the wedding ceremony and breakfast, and an evening gown which she changed into for the reception.
Her first dress was a dreamy chiffon gown with all the details. Explaining why she was so drawn to this particular gown, Lucy told us, "I was attracted to this dress because of the amazing embroidery that covered the skirt and bodice. It made me feel like I didn't need to see what I looked like, because I could feel it.
"Having the textured material also meant I didn't have to see the sparkle, I could feel it instead."
Lucy first chose a wedding dress when she featured on Say Yes to the Dress with Gok Wan a few years back, but her and Ollie's wedding was delayed due to the pandemic. On this, she explains, "I did first pick a dress with Gok, but this is 2023 me, and I adore it."
"My veil matched my dress and had loads of textured flowers on it - it was really long, too, and I wore Jimmy Choo shoes."
And if the dress wasn't lush enough on its own, Lucy accessorised to perfection.
"My sister Alice added rhinestones to my cane (we filmed it for TikTok!) so it matched my dress - it was so glam. I wore Swarovski earrings bought for me by my mum, and a garter which my sister and I bought together from Boux Avenue - it was my 'something blue'.
"I wore my nan's pearl ring which is so special to me, and I also had a bracelet that I have matched with some of my bridesmaids so we can all wear something together. It's very tactile and gorgeous."
Her hair and makeup, by Kirsty Martin MUA and Pamela Docherty Hair, was equally as stunning as the first outfit: "I went for something similar to my normal look. My sister Alice and I LOVE a good winged eyeliner, and I used most of my usual makeup."
You can see Lucy’s full makeup list here.
Ollie's Dapper Wedding Day Fashion
Ollie rose to the occasion and looked completely dashing as a groom.
He wore a smart grey suit from The Groom's Room in Essex, and when describing his shopping experience, Lucy shared his first reaction to wearing his groom's suit: "Ollie just loved it.
"He tried it on, went outside to look at it in the natural light and thought to himself 'I look good!'
"I went to one of his fittings and felt the suit on him. He chose one that was quite light as we got married in a conservatory in August - even though the forecast was thunder and lightning."
Ollie tried on three different suits before deciding on 'the one', but found choosing his waistcoat trickier.
He accessorised with some special items, including a pair of Hugo Boss cufflinks which Lucy bought for him as a wedding present.
Ollie paired his wedding suit with a Hugo Boss shirt, Moss Bros tie in a paisley pattern and a buttonhole with bunnies tail to match Lucy's bouquet.
A Very Special Wedding Party
Lucy and Ollie's wedding party meant a lot to them, and they both had really special moments on the morning of their wedding getting ready together.
"My sister was my maid of honour," says Lucy, "There's only 18 months between us, and she's everything to me. She is my eyes, and she walked down the aisle with Miss Molly, my guide dog."
Lucy also had four of her best friends as bridesmaids; Connie, Beth and Vibbie who she met during secondary school, and her work bestie Shaaba, as well as her sister in law Phoebe.
The girls had a lovely morning together, as Lucy explains, "I wore a feathery dressing gown from Eleganza Sposa to get ready in. I was so excited to wear it as it's SO extra. The morning was amazing - we were all buzzing around having croissants and drinking Moet.
"I created baskets for my bridesmaids which had jewellery for them to wear, and white pyjamas from The White Company so we could all match while we got ready.
"The bridesmaids wore gorgeous satin sage green bridesmaid dresses from ASOS which glimmered in the light."
Ollie had very important people by his side on the day, too. His oldest friend Jonny was his best man, and Ajay, Olly, his brother Alex, and Shaaba's husband Jamie were all part of his wedding party too.
"They are all such important friends to us," explains Lucy.
His wedding party wore suits, also from The Groom's Room, which matched Ollie’s, but without the waistcoat.
The Celebrant-Led Wedding Ceremony
Ollie and Lucy tied the knot at the Royal Botanical Kew Gardens. They chose to get legally married a few days before and have a celebrant-led wedding ceremony on the day so they could make sure it was completely bespoke, and accessible to all.
"We blindfolded everybody and there were audio descriptions of the bridesmaids as they came down the aisle.
"Miss Molly walked down the aisle with my sister and wore a bespoke collar with flowers going up her harness to match my dress. Guide Dogs UK sent us a new harness for her that was bright white to match me.
"They walked down the aisle to the Glasgow theme tune from Love Actually as it's my favourite song ever - little did I know Ollie had a surprise for me linked to this at the end of the ceremony.
"I walked down the aisle to The Arrival of Birds. I chose it because it's from The Theory of Everything and it's the last monologue that Stephen Hawking does about his life and how he views the world.
"It's almost him accepting his disability, but also not accepting it, whilst being a tiny speck on this planet. I really resonate with this story - it makes me cry."
Lucy and Ollie decided to blindfold everybody for the wedding party procession, and once Lucy and her dad were at the altar, the guests were able to take their blindfolds off.
When Ollie took his blindfold off, he was absolutely speechless seeing Lucy in her wedding dress. Before removing his blindfold, he audio described her gown which was a moment which had everyone in tears.
Speaking about this moment, Lucy said it was just so special.
As well as blindfolding the guests, the couple decided to do a number of special ceremonies throughout, including ring warming, a special moment with the first ever gift Ollie bought for Lucy - an Oathing stone, and a flower ceremony with their families who all picked a flower that means something to them.
Though they had plenty of surprises in store for their guests, the biggest surprise of all was one that Ollie had planned for Lucy, with the help of their celebrant India. Knowing her favourite film is Love Actually, Ollie organised for the gospel choir from the film to get back together especially for their wedding and perform at the end of the ceremony.
Speaking about the surprise, Lucy said, “I still cannot believe he surprised me like that! I have the best husband on planet Earth.”
At the end of the ceremony, all the guests put their finger print into plasticine which will later be sealed and turned into a massive piece of art for their wall.
Accessible Wedding Details
Ensuring the wedding was accessible for herself and all of the couples guests, Lucy enlisted the help of Navilens.
"I approached Navilens as I have a long term relationship with them and we created codes everywhere. They made coasters with all of my blind guests bespoke codes on, so we all knew which drink was ours if we put it down.
"All of our toilet and bar signs, table talkers, entranceways and doorways and our table plan were coded and there was an audio description of the room, too.
"Mary was the audio describer at Kew and made me feel SO included right from the viewing. She described everything for me."
The couple chose Kew as their venue for a number of reasons, the brilliant accessibility being one of the main ones.
"We loved that it was all on one level, and there are paths everywhere so it was easy to navigate for both wheelchair users and those with a long white cane. It was big enough for us, and so open, so no one had to wait around, everything was already set up.”
A Delightful Menu
Food is a huge part of the wedding day for many couples, and Lucy and Ollie were no exception.
When asked what food they served on the day, the immediate answer was, "Loads!"
Detailing the menu and the process of coming up with it, Lucy told us, "We worked hard with our caterer to make sure that our canapes weren't spillable for me and my other blind guests.
"An example of this was the sushi. It was served on a spoon, but they mixed more syrup into the sauce so it was a glaze and stuck more.
"Our taco shells were made in more of a cupped shape so they were less likely to spill and can be eaten in one small mouthful. They sound like little details, but they were so important to me!
"The caterers (Matt Blythe at Palette Events) were so accommodating. They asked what they could do to better support blind guests, and offered different glassware sets so the bottom stem feels different, allowing people to distinguish between a champagne flute, gin glass, wine glass etc."
The menu consisted of bruschetta to start, and a hearty main of lasagne and stuffed conchiglioni (which is a Hairy Bikers recipe the couple love) - they couldn't choose, so they had half and half.
Dessert was chocolate brownie with strawberries - delish - and for the evening food there was a cake made from tiers of cheese for guests to enjoy, along with their actual wedding cake, made by Rosalind Miller, which comprised of three tiers - one was red velvet, one was Victoria sponge and the top tier was cardamom and rose with pistachio - yum!
“At our tasting with Rosalind Miller, she showed me how to make the sugared flowers - I made loads with her - it was such a tactile experience for me.”
Another culinary highlight on the day was the unique cocktail experience. "We had molecular experience balls - which was a cocktail experience we first tried in Valencia, and we wanted to bring this tactile experience to our wedding.
“We also had Piaff Champagne and two personalised cocktails using Blur 69 Vodka, ‘Lucy Goosey’ and ‘Ollie Gets Trollied’ which were organised by the amazing Victoria Halliday Consultancy who did so much for us in the planning process.”
Gorgeous Decor & Little Details
Although Kew Gardens has plenty of natural décor, Lucy and Ollie used flowers to put their own spin on the space. “We wanted our flowers to look like they were meant to be there, like we picked them from the garden. We had lots of very tactile flowers arranged by Greenery and Co who drove down from Birmingham to do this for us.
“We had flowers going all the way up the aisle, all with different scents. It went from stocks to white roses, making the scents intensify as you walked up the aisle, so as I walked towards Ollie, the scents became stronger,” explains Lucy.
Scent also played a huge part in the table decorations at the couple’s breakfast, as they had flowers and Jo Malone candles on each table, filling the room with beautiful smells for everyone to enjoy.
“Our tables were all named after space things, as the first conversation we ever had on Facebook was about astronomy. Our top table was called Sagittarius A*, and we had Instax cameras, an audio guest book and table games for our guests to interact with.”
When it came to favours, Lucy and Ollie opted for charity wedding favours supporting a cause close to their hearts.
“We donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind and gave our guests little guide dog pins as wedding favours.”
For entertainment, Lucy and Ollie chose a range of different suppliers to create a sound experience on the day.
They had a 3D immersive sound from Delta Live playing as Lucy walked down the aisle, Amie True playing the harp during the breakfast and DJ Suzie Mac provided an evening of tunes for the reception.
Wedding Day Reflection
Looking back at their day, Lucy and Ollie couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out.
When asked if they stuck to their wedding budget, they said, “No! Not at all. That went out of the window so quickly.
“So much happened on the day, we just can’t stop talking about it and reliving every moment. We wish we could do it a thousand times over.
Speaking about the most special moments, Lucy said, “Walking down the aisle was always going to be so emotional for me, as I haven’t been able to see for 10 years, but instead of not doing it, I just changed and adapted it, and that’s okay!
“I also cannot believe Ollie surprised me with the Love Actually choir and they got back together just for our wedding. I am still in complete shock. I wish I could relive the day over and over, it was the best day of my life.”
When it comes to advice for other wedding planning couples, Lucy and Ollie had some words of wisdom: “Just be you, and do not ever compromise on that!
“Don’t overthink things either - write down a list of your non-negotiables and go with your heart, prioritising what’s important to you.
Lucy & Ollie's Wedding Suppliers:
- Wedding Photographer: Philip White Weddings
- Wedding Venue: Kew Gardens
- Wedding Celebrant: India Bel Ceremonies
- Brand & Supplier Consultant: Victoria Halliday Consultancy
- Wedding Suit: The Groom's Room (gifted)
- Wedding Dresses: Eleganza Sposa (gifted)
- Wedding Cake: Rosalind Miller Cakes
- Wedding Flowers: Greenery & Co
- Wedding Catering: Palette Events
- Wedding Content Creator: The Wedding Guy
- Bridesmaid Dresses: ASOS (gifted)
- Wedding Candles: Jo Malone (gifted)
- Wedding Rings: Diamond Heaven
- Wedding Transport: White London Taxis
- Wedding Harpist: Amie True Harpist
- Wedding DJ: Suzie Mac DJ
- Wedding Choir: Young Guns Gospel Choir
- Immersive Sound: Delta Live
- Profhilo: Shaan at Aatma Aesthetics (gifted)
- Wedding Smile: Pain Free Dentistry (gifted)
- Pre-Wedding Facial: Medizen Clinics (gifted)
- Wedding Spirit for Cocktails: Blur 69 Vodka (gifted)
- Wedding Champagne: Piaff Champagne (gifted)
- Wedding Gin: Wolfcraig
- Wedding Tan: Fake Bake UK
- Wedding Nails: Monica Nails
- Wedding Hair: Pamela Docherty (gifted)
- Wedding Makeup: Kirsty Martin (gifted)
Lucy’s wedding makeup look, using all her usual products:
Skin: Nars Radiant Longwear Foundation, Nars Soft Matte Concealer, Charlotte Tilbury Cream Bronzer, Glossier Cream Blush, Laura Mercier Translucent Powder, Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Finish Powder, Benefit Hoola Bronzer, Dior Rosy Glow Blush, Dior Backstage Highlighter Palette, Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray.
Eyes & Brows: Anastasia Brow Powder, Benefit Brow Setter, Charlotte Tilbury Golden Goddess Palette, P Louise Wedding Wish XL Palette, Smashbox Liquid Eyeliner, Mac Extended Play Mascara, Love Those Lashes in LTL4.
Lips: Huda Beauty Lip Liner in Honey Beige, Charlotte Tilbury Wedding Belles Lipstick, Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb.
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