Toma and Matt’s wedding date was two years to the day since they met back on 16 July 2020. After the church service, guests headed to a marquee that the bride says, “had a sense of wedding drama, but was cosy and intimate, like the best dinner party you’d been to with a sense of surprise.” The three long tables were festooned with flowers, inspired by the bouquets Matt gifted Toma fortnightly from their first date onwards, with pretty place settings by Embellishing the Ordinary, who also created their invitations. (Consistency on the visuals was key for Toma, who is head of creative productions at Matchesfashion.com, and Matt, a senior creative director for a FinTech company).
Toma’s bridal look was her version of timeless. “I wanted to have a really exaggerated waist and Dior New Look-style skirt,” she shares. “Although I work in fashion, I was always going to go down the bridal designer route and fell in love with the off-white Mikado silk that Le Spose Di Giò uses.” A 4ft cathedral veil with lace edging added romance, and she knew it had to be a pair of Manolo’s classic Hangisi pumps in white. Jewellery was vintage – “a highlight was an art deco earring with a pearl, which is my birthstone” – and the bride’s bag was a pearl Tyler Ellis clutch loaned by a friend.
Food played a huge role in the day. The pair tempted the Gatherers catering company out of London to Suffolk to make cured halibut with citrus and samphire with the greenest of olive oils from Maltby and Greek, porchetta and salsa verde, and pecan pie made according to Toma’s grandmother’s recipe, modernised with a crème fraîche ice-cream. “Sadly Matt and I only managed a sample before we were whisked away to change into our evening outfits,” says the bride, who then hit the dance floor under a canopy of stars visible under the clear marquee roof – a clever choice so that the wedding party saw the sun set during the speeches, too.
Toma landed on her evening look after searching high and low for something that would enable her to throw shapes with her usual enthusiasm. 16Arlington, a godsend suggested by her friends, whipped up a fusion of its custom bridal looks with two weeks to go. “The off-the-shoulder, corseted A-line silk dress with feathers was really fun to wear and the perfect mood setter,” notes the newlywed, before admitting that the three-day affair was the perfect reason to buy a lot of dresses. “Actually, to be honest, the a-lot-of-dresses excuse started at the hen do in Ibiza, but as I have a lot of friends who work in fashion, I was somewhat encouraged and also not particularly shy…”
See inside Toma and Matt’s wedding below.
