Bob Mackie’s Cher Was On The Bridal Moodboard For Coco Fennell’s East London Wedding
When Max Webster proposed to his girlfriend of three years, fashion designer Coco Fennell, there was only one jeweller he could turn to for the ring: world-famous jewellery designer – and Coco’s dad – Theo Fennell. “My dad and Max designed the ring together,” says Coco. “It’s a rectangular amethyst with our star signs – a bull and a goat – on the sides.” Max popped the question in December, just after the couple moved into their new house. “I was so surprised as it was a day after we got the keys, so I thought all our focus was on that! I went round to measure up some things and he was in the garden, and he got down on one knee there.”
The couple had been introduced by a mutual friend, Twinks Burnett, a couple of years earlier, and had their first date at Bright, in Hackney. “I thought he was very handsome and kind and we got along really well,” the bride says now. “Though I was a bit nervous when he walked me to the Tube. I ended up patting him on the shoulder when I should’ve kissed him, and then was mortified.”
Coco and Max planned the wedding themselves, keen to take a chilled-out approach to the whole thing. “We knew the vibe we wanted, so it was just about bringing all those elements together,” she shares. They settled on Clapton Country Club for their 5 December ceremony. “We had the wedding in December because I’m like a pale vampire, and not very good in hot weather,” jokes Coco. “And I love Christmas and cosiness! The dress code was ‘Christmas cocktail’, and everyone looked beyond fab and sparkly.”
Despite her line of work, Coco ultimately decided not to create her own wedding dress. “I was going to design something myself, but I knew I wanted something with rhinestones and feathers which isn’t really my area. So my wonderful bridesmaids – my sister Emerald and friends Twinks and Fuchsia Voremberg – wore Coco Fennell dresses,” she says. Meanwhile, “I scoured the internet for a dress that looked part Bob Mackie in his Cher era, part vintage starlet.” The bride landed on a “perfect” piece by Valdrin Sahiti for the ceremony itself, and sourced her red Bronx and Banco party dress on eBay.
Comfort was a key priority when it came to bridal shoes – a pair of silver slip-ons from Asos that were already in her wardrobe – and Coco’s “something borrowed” were her bags (a castle-shaped bag by Lulu Guinness and a Judith Leiber number shaped like a telephone), and her veil, by Madison Chamberlain. The finishing touch, of course, was jewellery by Coco’s dad. (The groom also wore a Theo Fennell snake brooch.)
Coco did her own make-up, with lashes by Lash Addiction London. “My wonderful friend Sarah Necia is truly the best hairstylist on earth, so I knew I wanted her to do my hair,” she says of her signature blue Hollywood waves.
Max’s dad officiated the ceremony, which had all the hallmarks of the couple’s playful sense of humour. “David O’Neill at DON Design Studio made an amazing theatre set for us for the end of the aisle, which we’ll have in our home,” says Coco. “We had flowers in swan planters by the Flower Appreciation Society, and neon artworks from God’s Own Junkyard at the party.”
The bride’s choice of song for walking down the aisle was suitably unconventional, too. “I walked down the aisle to Britney Spears’s ‘Toxic’,” she reveals, laughing. “And we all belted out ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, which our band, Wandering Hands, played. I was so nervous to be standing in front of everyone – it’s all a blur – but there was so much love and joy,” she says.
After the ceremony, guests were seated at long tables draped with gingham tablecloths to enjoy a roast dinner, with sticky toffee pudding to follow. “I have ketchup on everything, so I had a bottle rhinestoned for myself,” says Coco. After the speeches, Cash Cows played, while guests danced and chatted in the smoking area, before the one-metre high Lily Vanilli wedding cake – decorated with faux stubbed-out cigarettes – was cut.
The bride says that one thing she really wanted for her wedding day was some drama – and some snogging. She got her wish: two friends hit it off on her big day, and a first date is in the works. All in all, Coco is thrilled with how it all went. “All I wanted was for everyone to have fun,” she says. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a train, but I’m very happy. Luckily, we’re both sober, so there was no hangover the next day!”
Barker Evans1/49Trying to get my eyeliner, which is almost always wonky, right.
Barker Evans2/49Mine and my mum’s shoes and bags!
Barker Evans3/49My Bronx and Banco dress, Madison Chamberlain veil, and Lulu Guinness bag.
Barker Evans4/49In my wedding dress getting ready and nervous!
