Ever since Emma from Epic Love Story tagged us in the images from this amazing wedding a couple of months ago, we have been itching to get our hands on them to share on the blog!
Within every bridal collection, there's always that one special dress that's a little bit different, and can be a bit of a risk because it needs just the right bride to find it and fall in love with it. This was exactly what happened when Nikki met the 'Crisalida' dress (style 982) from Jesus Peiro's Heritage collection. Made from exquisite textured silk fil-coupé fabric, the dress features ruffled statement sleeves, with a chic v-neck to the front and back, and contrasting black belt. This dress was just made for Nikki, who styled it perfectly for her cool and creative modern London wedding.
Read on to see more, along with the most beautiful gallery of images by Emma from Epic Love Story.
Jesus Peiro Crisalida wedding dress
The dress I chose is the beautiful Crisalida dress by Jesus Peiro and I couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect dress for me.
As my mum and bridesmaids will unfortunately remember an important part of my finding my dress was that it was something unusual I hadn't seen any other bride wearing. I really wanted something that made me feel like myself and expressed my personality rather than feeling like any other bride. As difficult as this made the process of finding a dress I don't for one second regret being picky as it's what led me to my dream dress. I originally saw it on a Miss Bush Instagram post and new instinctively that this could be the one. It's unique and modern but also classic and classy. This instinct didn't change either once I put the dress on for the first time and had the biggest smile on my face when coming out of the dressing room. It is light and comfortable so I knew I could move around easily and eat as much as I liked whilst still feeling fabulous. This was also important as I'd tried on several figure hugging dresses and meringue style skirts that made me feel overwhelmed and self conscious. The fabric is so beautiful with floral detail and a slight shimmer and the frill sleeves gave me the unique look that I had been dreaming of. It's beautifully made and I would recommend this designer to everyone!
Dress Shopping
On the first visit to Miss Bush I came only with my mum and on my second trip brought my bridesmaids. I had taken my bridesmaids to other dress shop appointments but I had a gut feeling that this could be 'the dress' and wanted it to be a special moment just the two of us. We both had the biggest smiles on our faces the whole time I wore the dress and I think it was really important to me to know that my mum loved the dress not just because I did but because it was a beautiful dress.
My favourite part of the dress shopping experience was honestly visiting Miss Bush. It's quite a drive from where I live and I had debated whether I should make the journey just for one dress but I'm so glad that I did. It's a unique and beautiful location, all of the lovely staff know everything there is to know about weddings and dresses that really made me feel confident in them. I'd had a few bad experiences at some big well known bridal shops that hadn't made me feel special and pressurised into buying things that weren't right so this was a whole different experience. Coming back to visit for a 'styling appointment' was also great as really it was just a nice opportunity to twirl in my dress again.
The Miss Bush team will tell you straight what they think if you have any concerns and this is actually incredibly valuable as some people will tell you whatever they think you want to hear. The told me honestly what they thought was the best dress for my and that suited my day and were honest about things that they know hasn't worked in the past. I didn't have any major issues but I always felt so confident that they knew exactly what they were doing and that I had nothing to worry about.
Styling
As with my dress I wanted to have accessories that felt unique to me and more modern. If I could have I would have had every accessory under the sun from headband to crown and cape so in the end I settled for a shoe change and earring change later on in the evening. I went for big white rattan evenings during the day from A.b.ellie followed by something more sparkly in the evening from J Crew. My shoes were from Gianvito Rossi that were black with white spotty pearls and I changed these later on for a slightly lower pair from Zara that I could dance in.
A creative, modern London wedding
The main thing that we wanted for our day was for it to be fun so we put a lot of time into details that would help us achieve this. We had a quiz on the bus from church to venue, bright and colourful confetti, espresso martinis after dinner followed by a pizza van and an 8 piece band to play all of our favourite hits. Loft Studios, our evening venue, had a really cool and modern industrial style with exposed red brick and a concrete courtyard. We loved this 'London'feel and so styled it with black and gold accents as well as an amazing blue velvet sofa and pink velvet armchairs, bright flowers including pampass grass and a fabulous 'happily ever after' neon sign in the dining room. My original inspiration came from an Australian wedding blog and we took this photo and ran with it and all of our amazing suppliers helped us to pull it together.
The best bits
It's so difficult to pick one favourite part of the day as the whole thing was just so incredible. Obviously walking down the aisle and seeing Remi for the first time was amazing and everyone says it will be the best day of your lives and it couldn't be more true. But if we really had to pick a moment it would be the entrance we had to the venue where we danced under confetti to Tubthumping by Chumbawama. We made a decisionto come into that song after several drinks one night wedding planning and just thought, why not, it's our day lets just go crazy and do whatever we want. Then again when we entered the room for dinner we had Dancing in the Moonlight by Toploader playing and every single person, including my 93 year old Grandma, was on their feet dancing and singing. It was so much fun and the energy and happiness was just electric - I will remember how happy we both felt in those moments forever.
Nikki's Advice
When searching for your dream dress it really has to be about what is most important to you that drives your decision not what you think you should have or what other people think. For me it was feeling like myself but also being comfortable so I would really recommend a dress that allows you to enjoy your day to the maximum.
When planning I would say to always think really carefully about if something is worth doing if you won't notice it on the day. I was told this countless times and we made sure we took steps back to re-assess if things were really what we wanted and if we would remember them. Small details can add a lot to the day but they can also be expensive and a waste of time. Myself and Remi each had 1 crucial thing that we wouldn't compromise on and everything else we just worked through together and I can honestly say that there isn't one detail I regret.
Suppliers
Photographer: Epic Love story
Videographer: Tea4two films
Florist: Wild Renata Flowers
Venue: Loft Studios
Caterer: Social Pantry
Hair: Victoria Ralph
Bridesmaid dresses: ASOS, Ghost, TH&TH, Urban Outfitters, Ted Baker
Earrings: A.b.ellie
Buses: Traditional Travel
Signs: Mother Wild
Invitations: Lou Paper
Shoes: Gianvito Rossie
Band: The White Keys
Pizza Van: Vandough
Bar: Background bars