Designers, fashion brides and their real weddings

Designer

Marios Schwab

‘Gemma is my studio manager, so I know what she likes, which made the process a little easier – it can be emotional. She loves archival Balenciaga dresses, so we added a peplum to recreate that old-world glamour. There were lots of Marios Schwab details, too: the skirt is embellished with melted sequins to mimic rose petals, there’s a peekaboo detail at the back that looks like two petals meeting together and a statement neckline that is very me.’

Bride

Gemma Garnham

Studio manager at Marios Schwab.Married Kevin Cooper in Oakwell Hall, Birstall

‘I couldn’t imagine wearing anyone else’s design on my wedding day. I knew it would be beyond anything I could ever imagine for myself and it was just perfect. It was an honour to walk down the aisle in a Marios Schwab original.’

Designer 

Alberta Ferretti 

‘To me, there is no difference between designing for a bride or for a show, for two reasons. Firstly, they’re both magical moments and, secondly, the bride and the opening look of my show always make me think of a moving figure that is elegant and sensual. Candice’s long veil is fully lined with lace that was especially hand-notched by five people in the French region of Cambrai. It’s such a special day – a wedding dress is like a new blank page to write the beginning of a new life on.’

Designer 

Mary Katrantzou 

‘Carolina loved my Cake A Flake and Ivory dresses from the autumn/winter 2012 collection, and the sporty necklines from the spring/summer 2013 collection. When she approached me, I was very apprehensive because I’d never made a wedding dress before. We needed 120 layers of chiffon – getting the hems all level was very time-consuming. On the day, we steamed the dress for three and a half hours! The wedding was amazing and everyone was playing with the dress on the dance floor – that’s what you want a dress to do.’

Bride

Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster

Fundraiser. Married private equity banker Stefano Bonfiglio in the Dominican Republic

‘There were a lot of fittings – we started doing it once a week, then towards the last few weeks I was going to the studio every day. It was amazing working alongside Mary, who is this creative genius. The dress was a lot more complicated than we anticipated; Mary had to re-engineer the bodice. You wouldn’t expect old-school couture techniques in such a modern dress.’

Bride

Laura Atkinson

Features Editor, Sunday Times Style. Married Ben Sawyer in Château du Ludaix, Allier, France

‘Henry and I have been friends since our early 20s, so he knows my style. We went for a long, fishtail gown for the ceremony, then a fuller skirt for the meal and finally some jazzy pants for dancing in: “You’ll only do it once,” he reasoned, “so why not do three outfits?”’

Designer 

Henry Holland, House of Holland

‘When it came to the design process, Laura and I did what we always do: got drunk. The more wine we had, the more elements we added. I really enjoyed working on a silhouette so different to my mainline. It felt like a departure, but in a good way.’

Designer

Georgina Chapman, Marchesa  

‘A wedding dress is probably the most emotionally significant dress that a woman will ever wear, so it’s quite a big responsibility to make sure it’s exactly what the bride wants. Each bride requires something different – I’ve even been asked to make a waterproof wedding dress.’

Bride

Zanna Roberts Rassi 

Senior Fashion Editor at Marie Claire US. Married Milk Studios founder Mazdack Rassi in NYC

‘I dress people for a living. But there was nothing as wonderful or as manic as choosing my dress. I picked the details from Marchesa’s archives with Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman; Mr Louboutin created silver pumps with a blue insole – my something borrowed were Neil Lane jewels.’

Designer

Matthew Williamson 

‘The silhouette is based on the finale of my a/w 2011 show. As Estella [Thomas, the label’s Studio Manager] was having a winter wedding, I used double-layered ivory silk to create a sumptuous base. We added ostrich feathers for a playful snowflake look.’

Designer

Roland Mouret 

‘The dress has a figure-hugging silhouette and is made from brocade gazar with an asymmetric neckline and cap sleeves. Elodie [Noyes, financier] trusted me to take the reins.’

Designer

Giles

‘When it comes to wedding dresses, I start off with the list of things the bride doesn’t want. It’s interesting to see what people have on their moodboard – Rita Konig [WSJ journalist and interior designer] had a mix of Norman Hartnell and Prada. Stephen Jones made her a beautiful headpiece. With dresses, there’s a lot to be said about a great cut and simple detailing – it doesn’t have to be an all-singing, tap- dancing, jazzy number just because it’s your big day.’ 

Designer

Holly Fulton

‘Atalanta made the shoes for my a/w 2014 collection, so we knew we had a great creative relationship already. Her dress is based on the lip-print dress from a/w 2011. We incorporated a gold leather top section with a heavy washed-silk ivory body. The moment when everyone saw her for the first time was lovely.’

Designer

Atalanta Weller

Shoe designer. Married writer Mark Douglas Hill
in a 1,000-year-old church in Gloucestershire

‘The gold leather was a great success – fortunately, Holly guided me away from a Princess Leia-style cloak towards a sophisticated Mongolian-lamb shawl. Even before it was finished, I knew it would be perfect.’

Designer

Alice Temperley, Temperley London

‘Josephine Papasavvas [Wholesale Director at Nicholas Kirkwood] is a close friend. The dress is made from beautiful corded French lace over the top of layers of organza and tulle with a corseted bodice.’

Bride

Arabella Musgrave

Head of Communications at Gucci. Married investment banker George Galliers-Pratt in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge

‘I had two dresses. I fell in love with a dress from one of Frida Giannini’s first collections for Gucci. We stayed incredibly close to the original design – just changing the colour and neckline. We did two or three fittings over six months, which amazed me, as I thought the process might be endless, but it was relaxed and fun. For evening, I changed into a white lace cocktail dress by my friend Ana
of Sophia Kah. Small, chic and special details were the overall themes.’ 

Evening Dress Designer

Ana Teixeira de Sousa, Creative Director at Sophia Kah

‘This was a bespoke version of a classic Sophia Kah dress. It looks quite conservative, but the open back adds an almost daring detail.’

Designer

Alberta Ferretti

‘To me, there is no difference between designing for a bride or for a show, for two reasons. Firstly, they’re both magical moments and, secondly, the bride and the opening look of my show always make me think of a moving figure that is elegant and sensual. Candice’s long veil is fully lined with lace that was especially hand-notched by five people in the French region of Cambrai. It’s such a special day – a wedding dress is like a new blank page to write the beginning of a new life on.’

Bride

Candice Lake

Photographer and style blogger at candicelake.com.Married conceptual architect Didier Ryan in a garden in Palm Beach, Sydney, Australia

‘A week after my husband proposed, I flew to Milan to walk in Alberta Ferretti’s demi-couture show. I was taken into her archive to pick a dress for the evening party. The wedding dresses were in the same room, so I asked if I could try one on. Minutes later, Mrs. Ferretti offered to design my wedding dress. It was so much more than I could ever have imagined; the detail was incredible.’