Hitchin Priory

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Our Wedding

We met in the fall of 2011 on Jess' 3rd day in America. I saw Jess on the Square in Oxford and invited her to a party at my place. We hit it off and eventually started dating after I took Jess on her first mini-American road trip to Jackson/Brandon, MS. In January 2012, we travelled to Washington D.C. and New York City. It was during this trip that I realised I wanted to live and travel with Jess for the rest of my life. She is the perfect partner. After Jess' year at Ole Miss and my graduation, she moved back to Leicester to finish her degree and I travelled to Australia to work and explore. We did long distance for just under a year and finally reunited in London in June 2013. For three weeks we travelled the UK and became certified as ESL Teachers. In July we moved to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where we have lived for nearly two years. I proposed to Jess on August 3, 2014 in the Jardin du Luxembourg, my favourite place in Paris. It was a beautiful day. Our engagement has been wonderful and we are so excited to spend our wedding day with all of you!

Our Story

Tea, books, animals, British TV, pretending to speak Italian and French, flowery dresses and the American South.

Rob says Jess likes: 

Maps, photography, writing lists, giraffes, coffee, travel, terrible British TV shows and not wearing a shirt.

Jess says Rob likes:

Details

After the discovery of their matching coats on the playground in 1996, Jessica and Becka have been inseperable. Despite living thousands of miles apart, Becka still heckles Jessica daily for email updates about her life. Becka is the self titled 'King Bridesmaid' and has the tough job of helping organise a wedding from the other side of the world. 

Becka Collier

Rob and Eric have been best buds since 2nd or 3rd grade. They skipped school one day just to fly to Orlando and back because they had never been on a plane. Eric is a traveller too, he makes his way around the USA and Canada doing lighting work for bands on tour.  Eric has never been forgiven for living in Magee for 6 months in 2012. 

Eric Hardin

Tayla is one of Jessica's oldest friends from high school. Tayla knew Jessica when she was impossibly uncool and knows way too may embarassing stories about her. Tayla has an adorable baby that Jessica can't wait to finally meet!

Tayla Dalziel

Mitch was Rob's roommate for 3 years at Ole Miss.  They road tripped a lot during college and backpacked around Europe in 2011.   He's from Illinois but has been living in Seattle since 2012.  Mitch aspires to marry a Swedish supermodel.

Mitch Adolphson

Ali and Jessica met at The University of Leicester where they bonded over their mutual love of napping together. They lived together for three years and only left the house without each other when absolutely necessary. Ali prides herself on her collection of hilariously unflattering photos of Jessica.

Ali Batson

Joe was also Rob's roommate for 3 years at Ole Miss. Rob and Joe drove around a lot of Mississippi and America together. He's from Portugal and just finished up law schoolin' in Sacramento last year.  Joe is known for his outrageous one-liners...be sure to hang around him a bit at the reception. 

Joaquim Coelho

Xuan (pronounced like swan) is one of Jessica's closest friends in Vietnam. Xuan has been the greatest help since knowing Jessica, not only in planning the wedding, but in every other aspect of her life! Xuan is unbelievably creative and talented- we've yet to find something she is not good at. Xuan once tricked Jessica into eating the roof of a goats mouth.

Xuan

Clancy is another mate of Rob's from Ole Miss.  These two roadtripped the East Coast of Australia and spent an awesome summer in Melbourne and Tasmania. Clancy does outreach work in Aboriginal communities and works on summer festival circuits. He is not allowed near any of Jess' bridesmaids. 

Clancy Hurst

Dave is a friend of Rob's from Ole Miss.  They have hung out in Mississippi, Leeds, London, Amsterdam and Vietnam! Dave is spending a year travelling and working in Australia. Dave is famous for being Steve Jobs for Halloween in 2011, just 3 weeks after the man died...too soon Dave..too soon.

Dave Cable

Becky is the eldest of Jessica's sisters and Jessica spent most of her childhood following her around. Becky saved Jessica from being an incredibly awkward teenager (for the most part) and was her fashion guru. 

Becky Bacon

Richard is another friend of Rob's from Ole Miss. They have travelled together in Mississippi, The Netherlands, and one crazy trip in Vietnam. They once sang karaoke with a "Vietnamese model" until 5 in the morning. Richard now works in Amsterdam. He enjoys laughing at Robert trying to speak Dutch.

Richard Matulewicz

Since deciding to be born on Jessica's birthday, Jodie has made it her mission to copy everything else about Jessica. From her dress sense, face and music taste, to her decision to study abroad in America, Jodie is essentially a younger, (much) shorter version of Jessica. Jodie is obsessed with all things USA and will be starstruck to meet so many Americans in one day!

Jodie Bacon

Matilda is Tayla's beautiful daughter who will be almost two years old on the big day! 

Matilda

Wedding Party

Photos

Registry

Q + A

Direct trains leave from London's King Cross Station to Hitchin Station every 12-17 minutes. A return ticket costs £21.50 and the journey will take from 30-45 minutes depending on the type of train.

Kings Cross, London, United Kingdom

Rooms at our wedding venue are offered at a discounted price for wedding guests. Single rooms are 65£ and double for 70£.

Redcoats Farmhouse Hotel & Restaurant

Jess and I are big airbnb fans. It's a fun way to travel and you can often find accommodation at cheaper prices than hotels. You can rent a room in a house or an entire flat. This is a great option for families and groups. If you want to do airbnb, let me know and I can give you 25$ credit towards your first stay.

airbnb

Travel

Big Ben is definitely THE London landmark and it's impossible to visit London without seeing it. The tower is actually officially named the Elizabeth Tower. The name was changed in 2012 when the UK celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (that means it was the 60th anniversary of her inauguration as Queen) It's easy to find. Just hop off the Tube at Westminster Station, and as soon as you come up the stairs, Big Ben will be there. Walk across the Westminster Bridge to get a great view and photo op of the Houses of Parliament alongside Big Ben and the River Thames (pronounced "tims")

Big Ben

Just around the corner from Big Ben is the famous Westminster Abbey. Founded in 960, this is one big old church! It costs a whopping 20£ to go inside and look around so it's probably better to just appreciate its grand architecture from outside. This is where the monarchy hold their coronations, Diana's funeral was there, and Kate and Will's got married there. Jess and I were between Westminster Abbey and Hitchin Priory for our wedding, but Hitchin Priory gave us a better deal on the reception site…To get to Westminster from Big Ben, just go straight on Bridge St. until you come to Parliament Square. Here, you'll see many statues of awesome people like Churchill, Abe Lincoln, Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. Westminster Abbey is visible from the green space of Parliament Square, just behind the smaller, St. Margaret's Church.

Westminster Abbey

Walking away from Westminster Abbey, back across Parliament Square, you'll find Parliament Street straight ahead. Continue down this street to get to Trafalgar Square. About halfway down, take a moment to pause at Downing Street and try to catch a glimpse of David Cameron, the Prime Minister, coming out of his house. Also in this area is a memorial to the Women of World War II. At the end of the street you'll come into Trafalgar Square. This large public space is home to the National Gallery, two large fountains, and Nelson's Column surrounded by four massive lion statues…climb on top of one for some good fun. Who is Nelson? Just some badass Naval Officer from the 1700s. There is also the Fourth Plinth, which hosts contemporary art.If you want to check out one of the greatest collections of paintings in the world, go to the National Gallery...it's free!

Trafalgar Square

From the roundabout at Trafalgar Square, go through the Admiralty Arch and walk along The Mall. On the left hand side is St. James Park, which is probably a nicer way to approach the palace. Buckingham Palace became the official palace of the monarchy in 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne. These days, Queen Elizabeth spends most of her time at Windsor Castle just outside London; you would too if there were so many French tourists outside your gates. Unfortunately, the States rooms will be closed to visitors around time of wedding, but you should still go try to catch the changing of the guard and laugh at the funny hats. It takes place at 11:15 everyday.

Buckingham Palace

Talk about a cool place to come up from the Tube. No monkeys or trapeze artists at this Circus, it's essentially just a road junction. There are large, Times Square-esque neon signs, a statue of Eros (the Greek god of love), and the Criterion Theatre. If you walk down Piccadilly Street a ways, there is a great Waterstone's bookstore on the left hand side.

Piccadilly Circus, London, United Kingdom

Oxford Street, London, United Kingdom

St. Paul's Cathedral

Tower of London

Tate Modern

The London is a humongous Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe and used to be the tallest observation point in London until The Shard was built. It's not cheap, but it is a must-do if this is your first time to visit London. Tickets range from 19£ to 37£. You can also pay 29£ for the "champagne experience" and ride in a less crowded capsule and sip on a nice glass of champagne. The whole ride lasts 30 minutes and there are fantastic views of Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, central London, the Shard, and if the weather is clear – out to the large parks and neighbourhoods in other parts of the city.

Jessica + Robert

Jessica + Robert

Travel

Kings Cross, London, United Kingdom

Hitchin Priory

Redcoats Farmhouse Hotel & Restaurant

airbnb