A super fun Hackney warehouse wedding, with meze for mains and lots of Turkish dancing at Hackney Showrooms.
Basak & Tomas had originally booked a former church hall in Islington for their reception, but quickly realised it wasn’t going to be exactly what they had wanted… not least because of the early curfew. To my astonishment, with only about 6 months to go they managed to secure an even more awesome venue, that was by chance still free on their date (the August bank holiday)! Hackney Showrooms is a hidden gem, and is great for those that want a completely blank canvas – it’s a warehouse venue (not often used for weddings) and has a great vibe to it.
Planning had been coming together slowly, but once Basak & Tomas secured their new reception venue at Hackney Showrooms we were all systems go! Basak was in the final throes of finishing her PHD when we met, so she had very little time to allocate to wedding planning. I helped the couple pull together some décor ideas, some supplier sourcing, and helped them visualise the space and their table plan layout.
The couple had an intimate ceremony with just very close friends and family at Islington Town Hall, and then invited their wider group of friends to join them to celebrate the rest of their wedding day with them at Hackney Showrooms. Team Devine Bride was at the reception venue getting started from 9am, laying the tables and arranging all the décor. Despite their intimate vows, they had 120 guests for dinner, with a further 40 expected in the evening, so it was a large set up from scratch in an empty room. The staff at the venue were amazing though, and helped assemble and arrange the furniture, and also hung all the bunting while I planned the system and pattern out from below. We had a slight change of plan though, around an hour before guests were due to arrive, when it started to rain…! We had to quickly switch up the paper bunting outside for the plastic bunting inside (one was much bigger than the other hence it was originally planned differently!), but we managed it just in time… and then the sun came back out for the couple’s confetti entrance!
Basak & Tomas are Londoners but Basak’s family are Turkish and Tomas has South American roots, so they had a relaxed fusion of cultures throughout the day – it was wonderful and so well thought out. Basak had spent hours hand arranging stems of wheat (her namesake in Turkish) for table centrepieces and they had a delicious Turkish feast for dinner. Speeches followed after dinner and they had an ‘open mic’ type vibe with their loved ones from all around the world reading poems and kind words. Coffee was served and then the Turkish dancing started with a wedding party procession – which kicked off the party! I’ve been to Turkey, and many Turkish restaurants, but I have never seen dancing like this! (I would have needed the coffee if I were a guest, that’s for sure!) Every single person in the room was on their feet dancing to the beat of the drum and it was amazing! It brought the house down! Basak & Tomas had lots friends DJ’ing through the evening, and carried on the party until 2.30am at this fun Hackney warehouse wedding.
A very cool venue, and a very cool couple.
Wedding Coordination and Helping Hand by Devine Bride.
“Laura is simply amazing. We took her on to help us with a few ideas in the planning stages of our wedding and then as our coordinator for the day itself. Throughout the entire process she was such a fantastic help, answering all our questions, giving us valuable advice about anything we asked for, being so generous with her time – visiting the venue with us, and generally making us feel at ease during what can be a very stressful period. On the day itself, she was an absolute star and went above and beyond to ensure that everything ran like clockwork. We cannot recommend her enough to anyone planning their big day. She really knows her stuff and is a great person to work with. Thank you so much!”
Photos kindly from Harmit Kambo – The Snapper
CONTACTS AND SUPPLIERS
Wedding Coordinator: @devinebride
Photographer: Harmit Kambo – The Snapper
Hair and Make Up: Butterfly Hair and Make Up
Ceremony Venue: Islington Town Hall
Reception Venue: Hackney Showrooms
Transport: Select Coach Hire
Caterer: Gallipoli
Tables, Glasses and Flutes: Classic Crockery
Chair Hire: Furniture Hire UK
Music: Ahenkli Music
Lighting: IA Sound and Light
Fake Grass: More For Your Floor UK
