For those couples looking for a scent-sational wedding experience to add that special touch, book in for a Jo Malone London's Scent Your Wedding appointment
Your wedding day goes by in a blur, one minute you're getting ready with your bridesmaids, the next you're dancing along to the last song of the evening. And while you'll have photos and videos to look back on, your own memories from the day will be what you hold most dear.
What if there was a way to help you remember the day a little bit better? Scent is a powerful tool when it comes to memory, and certain smells can transport you back to times gone by. And for a day as important as your wedding, it makes sense to have a particular smell to associate with the day. Which is why we visited Jo Malone London to find out how to scent your wedding.
Does scent help with memory?
Recently I found myself clearing out old handbags in a bid to make some space. These were bags that held the remnants of my life pre-pandemic: I found tickets for student nightclubs and receipts for 99p alcoholic beverages, expired lippy tubes and cough sweeties that had become sticky to the touch.
What I didn’t expect was to find my old favourite perfume – when I spritzed it into the air, I was suddenly transported to 9am lectures and evenings in the library (where I definitely did more chatting than essay-writing).
It’s funny, isn’t it, how a smell can do that – take you right back to a certain place or time.
I admit I’ve always been a bit skeptical about choosing a specific wedding scent. Surely you’d just wear your favourite fragrance to get married in and that would be that? But then I read this from Emma South, fragrance and lifestyle expert at Jo Malone London: “Fragrance has a powerful influence on our emotional state. Smell, above any other sense, has greater recall impact. In summary, it sets the mood, frames the moment and makes a lasting memory for all.”
What is the Jo Malone London Scent Your Wedding experience?
I’d heard of Jo Malone London’s Scent Your Wedding experience, of course – some of our Planning Diaries brides and grooms had raved about having the most divine experience at the brand’s boutique on Buchanan Street in Glasgow. So, in the interests of journalistic integrity (and because I do love a good beauty treatment), I headed along with my mum in tow for our complimentary consultation (yes, I couldn’t believe it was free either).
What happens at Jo Malone London Scent Your Wedding?
We were greeted warmly and handed a glass of fizz – a lovely treat on a Tuesday afternoon – before being directed to a private area at the back of the busy shop where we were met by the store’s senior stylist, Alice McLaren.
First off, we were invited to take a sniff of some of the brand’s signature scents to see which appealed most. English Pear & Freesia and Peony & Blush Suede are two favourite colognes for weddings, Alice told us.
Create a unique fragrance with scent layering
Her next suggestion, scent layering, rocked me to my core. Who knew you could actually mix different perfumes to create something that’s unique to you?
A great way to do this is by layering a body cream and a cologne, we found. Or go one step further and use a body wash too for a deeper combination.
After receiving a glorious hand and arm massage, we tried layering the scents, trying to decide what suited us best. Alice made it clear that you don’t have to decide what you fancy on the spot: many couples go away and see how the fragrances sit on their skin before coming back and deciding what to buy.
And there’s no pressure to make a purchase – although I think you’d struggle not to fall in love with something.
How to choose the right scent for your wedding
Emma South explains how the team at Jo Malone London can help you find a scent that compliments you as a couple and your wedding day. "Choosing wedding scents should be one of the most enjoyable and least stressful decisions, akin to menu tasting and it is important to do this as a couple.
"Tell us all about your plans for the big day, the more details the better as we love to help you select scents that might reference the setting, season, floristry, colours etc, alongside both your personal scent preferences"
Which fragrance is for which season?
One factor you might consider when choosing your wedding scent is the time of year. Emma shares some of the brand's top picks for each season.
"Springtime naturally calls for dewy, wild and woodland flowers. Wild Bluebell, with notes of crystal-clear lily of the valley, is perfect.
"High summer pairs wonderfully with honeysuckle and those intoxicating, yet luminous florals such as jasmine and tuberose.
"Jo Malone London's English Pear & Freesia will always be the queen of Autumn, full of golden light and ripening pears.
"Wintertime typically sees us drawn to richer, warmer scents, such as amber and tonka notes. Fragrances with Oud and Patchouli in them create a hypnotic and alluring trail in the cold air."
Jo Malone London perfume bottle engraving
The fun doesn’t end there either. If you buy your special scent in the boutique, things will get personal. Very personal. Jo Malone London very kindly gifted me my choice of fragrance (Myrrh & Tonka Cologne Intense, if you’re interested) and Alice asked me if I wanted the bottle lid to be engraved and the box to be embossed.
Buy for your wedding and you could get your new initials emblazoned on the lid, or have your name and wedding date embossed on the box. You can even personalise the box and ribbon colour before it is all beautifully packaged up and spritzed with one final scoosh of fragrance – no detail is overlooked here.
Come with us to try the Jo Malone Scent Your Wedding experience in Glasgow
See how Amy got on at her complimentary appointment at the Buchanan Street store.
What other products does Jo Malone London sell?
Scent isn’t just something you wear, of course. The in-store team are happy to advise on everything from reed diffusers to candles to help you pinpoint the ideal fragrance for your venue too.
They tell me the personalised gifts are a popular choice for the bridal party, and I can see why. Jo Malone London’s Scent Your Wedding experience certainly left a lasting impression: both on my skin and on my memory.
While they have a range of beautifully scented candles, many venues have restrictions on using real flames. But check with your venue about using diffusers and room mists instead to help scent your wedding spaces.
Jo Malone London's most popular wedding scents
Some of Jo Malone London's current bestselling perfumes and colognes for brides and grooms include their Cypress & Grapevine Cologne Intense, Peony & Blush Suede Cologne, Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne, English Pear & Freesia Cologne, Myrrh & Tonka Cologne Intense and Pomegranate Noir Cologne.
New fragrance at Jo Malone London
To add to their extensive scent collection, one of the latest fragrances from Jo Malone London is their limited edition Beach Blossom Cologne. Perfect for summer, this fragrance encapsulates soaking up the sun on a tropical beach, with notes of lime, coconut water and tonka bean.
