Real Wedding

Alejandro and Kevin’s Wedding at Notley Abbey

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A Wedding with a Vivien Leigh Theme at Notley Abbey

Vivien Leigh’s biggest fans, Alejandro and Kevin, tied the knot at Notley Abbey with a theme dedicated to bygone eras

About the Couple

After a whirlwind romance, Alejandro and Kevin got engaged during October 2014, but decided that they couldn’t wait any longer to tie the knot. They immediately went hunting for their perfect wedding venue and ended up booking a summery July wedding date for the following year. Alejandro is a huge fan of the late (and hugely popular) actress Vivien Leigh, so as soon as he found out that it was possible to get married at Notley Abbey (the previous home of Vivien Leigh), the couple jumped in the car and went to the first available open day weekend that they could.

Choosing the Venue

Although Kevin wasn’t convinced that the couple should choose the first wedding venue that they’d seen, Alejandro’s passion and the detailed visit to Notley Abbey that the couple had experienced with Annette, convinced them both that this was the only wedding venue that they would end up viewing. Both Kevin and Alejandro decided to splash out on their big day and have an unforgettable experience at Notley Abbey.

The Wedding Theme

As lovers of bygone era’s and vintage Hollywood glam, the couple decided to re-create the golden age of when Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh once lived at Notley Abbey. The venue was decorated with an art deco theme and the couple invited all of their guests to dress in anything from the 1920s to 1950s era. This unique wedding theme turned out to be a huge success and the guests loved all of the Vivien Leigh memorabilia and decorative touches that surrounded the historic wedding venue.

The Wedding Day

Both Kevin and Alejandro wanted their wedding day to run like clockwork, and even though they are both very particular about everything being perfect, they decided to delegate lots of smaller wedding jobs to friends and family, so that everything would be done in a relaxed manor, and in plenty of time.
The wedding ceremony in the Abbot’s Hall was full of emotion and Kevin in particular was unable to hold back his tears of joy. The room was decorated with white roses, as they were Vivien Leigh’s favourite bloom!
After the confetti shot and drinks on the patio outside the front of Notley Abbey, the wedding party enjoyed a fine banquet before the newlyweds cut through their beautiful and minimalistic, three tier, art deco themed wedding cake. The cake had been created by a friend of the couple and featured a tier of Victoria sponge, a tier of red velvet and the most popular of the three, almond with Dulce de Leche.

just married wedding car

Wedding Entertainment

To stick with their vintage Hollywood wedding theme, the couple hired a young jazz band and their very talented friend Sarah Cohen. She serenaded the newlyweds as they danced their first dance to a blues version of Madonna’s ‘Crazy for You’ – which also happens to be Alejandro’s favourite song. Later she performed Judy Garland’s all time classic, ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade’ and a ballad from Dick Tracey called ‘Sooner or Later’. A band then took to the scene and played dozens of up tempo music to get the wedding party started.

The Honeymoon

The couple decided to plan their honeymoon around the places that they’d travelled to in the past together and loved the most. It was a ‘best of both costs’ trip to the States that started out in New York where they saw Madonna in concert, followed by a trip to California where they visited the San Ysidro Ranch near Santa Barbara, the venue that Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh got married 75 years previously.

Advice for Future Harper Couples

When asked if they had any advice for couples getting married with Harper, Alejandro and Kevin said, “You can do lots of things yourselves, but know when the time is right to start delegating, so that you don’t have too much to do leading up to the day, and on the day itself. Enjoy every moment of the day as it all goes so quickly.”
However, so that he didn’t miss a moment, Alejandro decided to stay awake for the full 24 hours so that he made the most of this once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

Alejandro and Kevin's Wedding Suppliers

Photography: Nina Kozlova / Dario Lopez
Wedding Suits: ASOS
Wedding rings: Tiffany & Co.
Wedding Stationery: Elinor Rose Wedding Stationery
Flowers: Hand-tied by friends and family
Wedding Cake: Karen Trundle
Wedding Venue dresser: Maria Celia and family members
Videographer: Nina Kozlova
Entertainment: Music Students for Hire
Wedding Singer: Sarah Cohen

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