Jane & Bruce

26.09.2026

Overview

Not every celebration on these pages is a wedding. Jane and Bruce came to me for their 40th wedding anniversary — 139 guests, black tie, and one of London's most extraordinary houses: Two Temple Place.

The brief was elegance without fuss. A house this good needs very little help, so the design worked with it rather than over it — flowers to the windows and the staircase, a bar clothed in dark burgundy to match the night, wheat linen and burgundy napkins in the Great Hall, and candles kept under glass so the light stayed low and steady through every speech.

Guests arrived to champagne in the Lower Gallery, moved up to the Great Hall for dinner across fifteen tables — the couple's own cellar poured through the night — and came back down to a dance floor that had been built invisibly during dinner. A nine-piece line-up of band, DJ and sax carried the party to a live final song at half past midnight.

Forty years of marriage, their names on the table plan, their wedding photos framed in the Library, and their whole family in the room. These are the jobs that remind me why I do this.

services:

Full Event Planning & Coordination

Event Vibe

Black Tie Elegant Candlelit A Family Milestone

(check out the details & the full list of key partners ↓)

the details

The Arrival

Guests stepped from the Embankment into a house dressed quietly: florals in the windows, a tall, wispy arrangement climbing the staircase, and the table plan waiting on an easel by the door — with Jane and Bruce's original wedding photos framed on the Library table.

Champagne in the Lower Gallery

The reception ran on champagne and canapés around a four-metre bar clothed in dark burgundy, with lounge furniture and amber uplighting that let the panelling do the work.

Dinner in the Great Hall

Dinner for 139 across eleven rounds, two trestles in the alcoves and two window tables — wheat linen, burgundy napkins, walnut chairs and silver cutlery, with the couple's own wines (laid down for the occasion) served throughout. Candles sat under glass so the room glowed rather than flickered.

A Dance Floor Built in Secret

While dinner ran upstairs, the Lower Gallery was rebuilt below it: dance floor down, party lighting rigged, food station set. Guests left a drinks reception and returned to a different room.

The Band Closed It Live

FIVE opened the dancing, DJ and sax held the room between sets, and — at the couple's request — the band came back to close the night live at half past midnight. Forty years deserves a live finish.

key partners

Planner: Events by James
Venue: Two Temple Place
Catering & Bar: Lettice Events
Florals: Blooming Haus
Furniture, Production & Lighting: Velvet Living
Entertainment: Function Republic (FIVE + DJ & Sax)

Photography: Luke Joseph Weddings
Tableware: The Luxe Collection
Chairs: Jones Hire
Linen: Just 4 Linen
BTS Content: By Kelsie

(close details ↑)