Ruth Aymer, a London-based jewelry designer who founded Aymer Maria, met Max Marten through family friends when they were just six years old. They stayed close over the years and ultimately started dating in 2015 when they were both 26. Max, who now works in sustainable real estate, eventually asked Ruth to marry him in 2019 while they were on safari in Kenya. “Anyone who knows Ruth knows that she loves the cat family, particularly lions,” Max says. “So I arranged for us to stay at Elsa’s Kopje, where Elsa the lion raised her cubs.”
“Max and our wonderful guide Nicholas persuaded me to make the difficult climb to the top of the Kopje for the amazing views at sunset,” Ruth remembers. “There, he proposed with a bottle of Champagne and some chairs hidden away. We watched the sun go down together over the prehistoric landscape, before enjoying our New Year’s dinner together under the stars.”
The couple’s civil wedding took place in early August of 2021 at York House in Richmond, and was followed by lunch and an after-party with family and very close friends at the Laylow on Portobello Road in West London. What the couple refer to as their “real wedding” took place a week later at St. Giles House in Dorset. St. Giles House was the home of Max’s great-grandmother, Lady Mary Sibell Ashley-Cooper, who was the daughter of the 9th Earl of Shaftsbury and married Napier Sturt. Their daughter Mary Anna Marten—Max’s grandmother—lived at St. Giles House before moving to Crichel House, her father Napier s home on the neighboring estate, which is where Max grew up.
“The pandemic definitely impacted our plans,” Ruth explains. “We were unable to visit the venue for more than a moment in the lead up to the wedding, which made our big day as much of a surprise for us as it was for our guests. We built up a very good rapport with the vendors and wonderful people working at St. Giles, who helped bring our vision to life and made our wedding special and personal to us. We were also fortunate that almost all of our loved ones made it.”
Even though the pandemic presented difficulties, the combination of Max’s organizational skills paired with Ruth’s close eye for detail made the planning process enjoyable. “As a jewelry designer whose main inspiration is architecture, St. Giles House itself was the inspiration behind the style of dress I chose,” Ruth explains. The bride designed her wedding dress herself and worked with a seamstress in North London to have it made. “The dress was a warm gold color and made of a corset with a bodice built in and two skirts: one for the ceremony and another for the evening. It was important to me that everything we had made could be worn again."
Personal elements were incorporated throughout the design. The top layer of lace sewn into the dress was shaped in the form of branches from Max’s favorite tree—a Lebanese cedar that grew outside his family home—to make it specific to the couple and their story. To bring the entire look together, Ruth wore Mach Mach shoes.
“I was fortunate to work with Vicki Sarge, a highly esteemed jeweler I have known for many years, and she designed jewelry for me to wear throughout the weekend,” the bride says. Ruth designed her own wedding band, taking the Pilastro III ring from her debut collection and altering it to fit with her engagement ring. She also wore an antique tiara that has been in Max’s family for generations. Alice Howlett, a friend of Ruth’s, did her hair and makeup.
Max worked with James Slater, the founder of Cad the Dandy on Saville Row, to create the bespoke suits that he wore at the civil ceremony and on his wedding day. “On our wedding day, he wore a dark blue three-piece bespoke suit with his signature gold frog tie pin and onyx cufflinks given to him by his cousin, who was also our master of ceremony,” Ruth says. He accented his look with a light blue Hermès tie, which he also gave to his groomsmen, and black Crocket Jones “Courtenay” shoes. The wedding party wore bright colors, with a few really standout looks like a fabulous Gucci pant.
