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When planning their wedding, there was actually only one option for Georgie Somerville and Tom Odell: November 25. “We got engaged on November 25, 2020, and Tom’s birthday is on November 24 and I on November 26, so those three days will always be a moment of celebration, now more than ever,” Georgie explains. “We were engaged for three years, so we played with many different ideas, locations, times of the year. But winter in London, especially the run-up to Christmas, always feels so magical. After we decided to do it then, everything else fell into place.”
Love for vintage
Musician Tom Odell married artist Georgie Somerville on Parliament Hill, a place they had returned time and time again for lockdown dates. ‘We were on the same bench as on our first date,’ she recalls. “During the pandemic, we often sat there during walks – it has definitely become a sacred place for us. The main table at the wedding of Tom Odell and Georgie Somerville was very aptly called Parliament Hill.
Georgie is known for her love of vintage, so she even surprised herself when she opted for a ready-to-wear dress. ‘I had told myself that I wanted a vintage wedding dress and had Jane Bourvis, who specializes in finding vintage bridal clothing, on my mood board for years,’ she explains. ‘But when I went to my first fit, I fell in love with Jane’s ready-to-wear collection and opted for this dress almost immediately.’
Still, Georgie was determined to go for second-hand accessories. ‘The diadem with pearls was also from Jane, who has a beautiful collection of antique tiaras,’ she notes. ‘I combined it with a pair of vintage pearl earrings.’ She also made the dress for her bridesmaid Meg: a sapphire-colored velvet design, combined with a Victorian lace collar she had bought at a market. ‘The vintage seller was Rebecca Sweeting, who is my go-to for everything antique,’ she says.
Musical wedding
The couple married in a church near their home in London and despite it was November, they were blessed by the weather gods. “It was a bright, fresh winter morning – my favorite weather,” Georgie says. “The days before were gray and rainy, so it felt very special to wake up that morning and see a blue sky. I will never forget the way the light shone through the church doors.”
Music played a big role in the ceremony – not surprising, as Tom is a musician and Georgie a music lover, who has played the violin all her life. Many of their friends performed during the service. Georgie walked to the altar on a song by Radiohead’s lead guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood, called House of Woodcock from the film Phantom Thread. “As a huge Radiohead fan, this was very appropriate,” she says. “Our friend Laurie Blundell, who is a phenomenal pianist and has been Tom’s writing partner for a long time, played it. It was a great honor that he performed at such a special and intimate moment.”
There were also performances of Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel, Remember Me from the film Coco and Table For Two by the couple’s girlfriend, Rae Morris. (“It’s about meeting your partner in the afterlife for a dinner in the clouds,” Georgie explains. ‘I admit that I cried a lot.’) The couple left the church as husband and wife and the choir and attendees sang Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, accompanied by friend Max Clilverd on guitar.
From red buses to mime players
Some of London’s signature red buses lined up in front of the church to take guests to reception at Hoxton Docks. There they were welcomed by mime players (‘I’m obsessed with mime players, it was so much fun!’, Georgie reveals). There was a champagne reception accompanied by Joplin Parnell on the piano, before everyone went to the table for dinner, which consisted of shared dishes such as fried eggplant with whipped feta and molasses and artichoke tortillas. “Our favorite restaurant in London is called Morito, so we wanted to eat inspired by that menu,” she explains. ‘Everything was vegetarian and all the wine, including the sparkling wine, was natural.’
Because there had to be dancing, Georgie changed outfits after dinner. ‘I redressed in a dress and cape from The Vampire’s Wife, combined with a pair of Mary Janes from Chanel that reminded me of the shoes that mime players wear,’ she laughs. A ten-piece jazz band, composed by the couple’s friend and musician, Robin Katz, and led by Natty Bo, performed. ‘It was so magical and it felt like you were going back in time,’ she says. ‘After jazz, the last part of the evening was a disco with DJ Josh Ludlow, who played dance music from the seventies – it was totally crazy!’
The wedding of Tom Odell and Georgie Somerville
Looking back, the couple is overjoyed with how everything went. ‘The day was filled with so much love, happiness and creativity,’ Georgie says enthusiastically. ‘One of the things we both brought with us was how lucky we are with such a great group of family and friends.’
Check out the images of the wedding of Tom Odell and Georgie Somerville below.
