paper&vows

No. 1 · Vol. I · London · Price One Penny

The Wedding Gazette

Umbrella Leads to Altar

Cover Photo

The Gazette is delighted to announce the marriage of Miss Anna Rose Gray and Mr Henry James Bell. Pray be seated, raise a glass, and keep this paper as a souvenir of the day.

☀Wedding Forecast

Fair, with light westerly airs

Confetti expected at two o’clock

7YEARSCOURTING

WANTED: Partners for the dance

No experience necessary. Enthusiasm essential.

LOST: The bridegroom’s nerves

Last seen near the altar. Reward offered.

TO LET: One heart

Now permanently taken. Apply elsewhere.

Telegrams

Delighted STOP Do keep the umbrella STOP

— The British Museum

Order of the Day
  1. 1pm The Ceremony
  2. 2pm Photographs
  3. 4pm Breakfast
  4. 6pm Speeches
  5. 8pm First Dance
  6. Midnight Carriages
The Wedding Gazette

Our Story · St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street · Saturday 16th May 2026

Story Photo
A Romance in Six Acts
  1. Autumn 2019 The Borrowed Umbrella British Museum steps, in the rain
  2. Winter 2019 Tea for Two The Reading Room, until closing
  3. Summer 2021 First Holiday Grasmere, very damp, very happy
  4. Spring 2023 Enter Wellington A spaniel of decided opinions
  5. Spring 2025 The Proposal Beside the Palm House, Kew
  6. 16th May 2026 The Wedding St Bride’s, Fleet Street

I lent her my umbrella. She has kept everything of mine ever since.

The Bridegroom
  • Chief BridesmaidMiss Clara Gray
  • GroomsmanMr William Hale
  • BridesmaidsAdaIvy & May
  • UshersMr ColeMr Finch
By the Numbers
1Umbrella, never returned
6Years of courtship
1Spaniel in a bow tie
The Wedding Gazette

The Day · St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street · Saturday 16th May 2026

Order of Service
  • Processional · Canon in D
  • Welcome · The Rev. J. Lowe
  • Hymn · Love Divine
  • Reading · Sonnet 116
  • Reading · 1 Corinthians 13
  • The Vows & the Rings
  • Signing of the Register
  • Recessional · Mendelssohn
Unplugged Ceremony

Pray, no telephones
Kindly put cameras away during the service. Our photographer has it in hand.

Rooftop Photo

To Begin

  • Spring Vegetable Consommé

Main Course

  • Roast Spring Chicken
  • Asparagus & Jersey Royals

Pudding

  • Lemon Syllabub

To Finish

  • The Wedding Cake
Signature Drinks
The Bloomsbury
Gin, elderflower & lemon
The Palm House
Champagne, rhubarb & rose
The Wellington
Apple, ginger & mint

#BellsAtStBrides

Share your pictures after the vows.

The First Reading

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
The Wedding Gazette

With Love · St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street · Saturday 16th May 2026

Across

  1. 1Exactly what we are all here to do (9)
  2. 6First ___ as newlyweds (5)
  3. 7The night before the big day (3)
1C
E
2L
E
3B
R
A
4T
E
A
O
R
O
5V
K
V
I
6D
A
N
C
E
7E
V
E
D
S
I
E
T
L

Down

  1. 1Three tiers and a topper (4)
  2. 2What today is all about (4)
  3. 3The one in white (5)
  4. 4Raise a glass and make one (5)
  5. 5Lifted for the first kiss (4)

How Well Do You Know Us?

  1. 1Where did they first meet?

    1. a)The British Museum
    2. b)Waterloo Station
    3. c)Kew Gardens
  2. 2What did Henry lend, and never see again?

    1. a)His hat
    2. b)His umbrella
    3. c)His heart
  3. 3Where was the question put?

    1. a)The Lakes
    2. b)Richmond
    3. c)The Palm House at Kew
  4. 4What is the dog called?

    1. a)Wellington
    2. b)Nelson
    3. c)Byron
  5. 5Where will Mr & Mrs Bell live?

    1. a)Bath
    2. b)Richmond
    3. c)Islington
♪ The Hit Parade ♪
  1. 1La Vie en Rose — Édith PiafFirst Dance
  2. 2At Last — Etta JamesThe Breakfast
  3. 3Moon River — Andy WilliamsSlow Dance
  4. 4The Last Waltz — Engelbert HumperdinckCarriages

Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us every day.

Edward Gray · Grandfather of the Bride

Margaret Bell · Grandmother of the Groom

Forever in our hearts.

Telegrams

Save me a dance STOP And some cake STOP

— Grandmother Gray, Bath

Scan to share your photographs

Thank you for travelling, for celebrating, and for every kindness along the way. Now eat, drink and dance until the carriages come.

With all our love,
Anna & Henry

Template

The Victorian Gazette

£12.99 PDF download

printed copies: £12.99 + from £3.50 per copy (black & white A4), plus delivery

A four-page Victorian society paper with a blackletter nameplate, penny-paper classifieds and telegrams, and your love story in six acts. The order of service, the menu and a crossword and quiz fill the pages inside.

A4 or A3 · flat or folded booklet · Posted to you

What you'll personalise · 39 sections

  • Newspaper Title
  • Edition Line
  • Newspaper Title
  • Newspaper Title
  • Newspaper Title
  • Edition Line
  • Edition Line
  • Edition Line
+ 31 more →
  • The Crossword
  • Story Photo (photo)
  • Order of Service
  • Venue & Date
  • Headline
  • Unplugged Ceremony
  • How Well Do You Know Us?
  • A Romance in Six Acts
  • The Hit Parade
  • Cover Photo (photo)
  • Social Media
  • Pull Quote
  • Rooftop Photo (photo)
  • In Loving Memory
  • Announcement
  • Wedding Party
  • The Wedding Breakfast
  • Wedding Forecast
  • Telegrams
  • By the Numbers
  • Years Courting
  • Signature Drinks
  • Share Your Photos
  • Classifieds
  • Our Hashtag
  • Thank You
  • Telegrams
  • The First Reading
  • Sign-off
  • Order of the Day
  • Colophon