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Mollie & Jack: A Vintage Carnival Meets Great Gatsby Wedding at Preston Court, Canterbury

How do you describe Mollie and Jack’s wedding? In their words, it was “vintage carnival and Great Gatsby had a glamorous, weird, fun baby”. Preston Court in Canterbury was the perfect setting. There were carousel horses, vintage buses, a classic car, alpacas, carnival games, a kissing booth and a barn dance floor that kept going until the carriages arrived at 1am. It was every bit as glamorous and joyful as it sounds.

A pub quiz love story

Mollie and Jack met at a pub quiz. Mollie was the quizmaster, and Jack and his colleagues came along to play every week. Clearly he was there for more than the questions! Quizzes are still one of their favourite things to do together, along with travel, theatre, reading, history and castles, wine, Eurovision and watching The Chase. They also share a strong dislike of Henry VIII and Chelsea Football Club. Jack is a space systems engineer and Mollie is an ophthalmic account manager, but put them in a room with their pets and they’ll happily do the voices for them.

Why Preston Court?

Preston Court felt quirky, cool and just right for them. The team there is brilliant, and they could bring their dog, who was very much part of the day.

Getting ready

Mollie got ready with her bridesmaids at Broome Park Hotel, with hair and make-up by The Make-Up Box. Meanwhile, my second shooter was with Jack and the groomsmen at the Abode Hotel in Canterbury. The bridal party wore black satin from Six Stories, with each bridesmaid picking her own style, plus one sharp black satin suit from AllSaints. It looked effortlessly cool.

Mollie wore the Augustine gown by Pen Liv. Jack wore a classic black morning coat, top hat, silver waistcoat and tie, and striped trousers, all from Slaters.

Rather than a traditional arrival, Jack picked Mollie up himself in a vintage Triumph from RNG Classics. That gave us time for their first look and some portraits at Broome Park and Preston Court before the ceremony, so they could enjoy every minute of the drinks reception. The guests arrived in style on vintage buses from the Abode, and a fair few of them had travelled from across the Atlantic. Mollie called it the “American invasion of Canterbury”.

The ceremony

Mollie and Jack were married at 1:30pm in front of 80 guests, with their ceremony led by celebrant Kaja Franck. Afterwards there was a confetti line, and then everyone headed into the drinks reception.

Carnival games and Gatsby glamour

The drinks reception was a proper party. Electric Outfit provided the soundtrack, and there were carnival games from Salty Carnival Kiss, alpacas from Lower Bush Alpacas, personalised tambourines from Haus of Calligraphy and a kissing booth. The blush, green and white colour scheme ran through everything, with flowers by Chic Weddings and carousel horse centrepieces. Videography was by Luxe Videography, and @reels_of_content captured the behind-the-scenes moments.

At 4:25pm the barn doors swung open to organ music for the newlyweds’ grand entrance. Dinner was by Urban Pantry, with Tailored Tenors performing during the meal. Then everyone moved to the carousel for the speeches. I can’t think of many better places to hear them!

Party time

After the speeches, Mollie and Jack slipped away to change. Mollie put on her party dress from Morgan Davies Bridal and Jack changed into a white dinner jacket with black lapels. Then the champagne slam bottles came out. The Kentish Barn opened at 7:30pm, with Electric Outfit and DJs BPM Events keeping the dance floor full all night. They’re fans of anything from ABBA onwards, so the playlist was full of hits.

Mollie and Jack, thank you so much for having me (and my camera) along for such a brilliantly fun, glamorous and slightly weird day. It was exactly what you hoped it would be. Everyone had the best time, and everyone looked fabulous.