Siân in Ester by Sassi Holford for a beautiful Surrey Hills wedding

Sassi Holford Esther

I chose Ester by Sassi Holford, a beautiful slightly off the shoulder gown which I loved for its simplicity and elegance. It has a classic, timeless feel with covered buttons at the back and a train, but also more unusual details such as deep pockets and a raised hem at the front which is both practical and also a nice way to show off pretty shoes. Ester was the very first dress that I tried on and I knew straight away that it was "the one" - it also fitted like a glove and was very comfortable, especially after the small alterations which Rosie made. I am so glad that I chose this dress and felt a million dollars on the day.

Dress Shopping

Dress shopping was right at the bottom of my to-do list - I hadn't given much thought to what I wanted and confess to leaving it rather to the last minute, but everyone in the village (I live just a few doors down the road from Miss Bush) had told me that I must see Emma, as she has a unique and brilliant skill in suiting dresses to clients whatever their requirements, shape or style. So my first appointment was rather late in the day and I came by myself. I’d sent some photos of dresses which I liked in advance and Ester was the first one that Emma brought into the changing room.

It was such a wonderful feeling trying on such a beautiful gown and even more of a delight to see that it fitted. It couldn't have been easier! We did try on a few others on the list just in case, but Emma’s hilarious, down-to-earth advice (“far too much boobage for a church wedding I’m afraid”) and gentle guidance led me to stick with my initial choice and made the whole experience really pleasurable.

An extra added joy has been the warm welcome into the “Miss Bush family” with invitations to styling events and summer parties, regular emails with pre-wedding advice and of course the fitting appointments with Rosie which ensured that the dress fitted like a glove on the day (despite the 2-week “pre-moon” in Gaillac, ostensibly to collect the wine for the wedding but actually an excuse to sample lots of the aforesaid accompanied by cheese etc). Thank you Rosie. Thank you also to Corinne who came to my house on the morning of the wedding to help me get changed. The whole experience has been so much more than just buying a dress and I can't recommend the Miss Bush superteam highly enough.

Styling

I bought a beautiful angora Jesus Peiro off-the-shoulder shrug, in case of cold weather, which went beautifully with the dress. Rosie suggested this during the styling session. However in the end, despite a horrible weather forecast, we were blessed with beautiful warm sunshine all day and so I just wore the shrug with my evening dress later on. It will go with all sorts of other outfits though, so was definitely a good buy.

The dress is so elegant that it doesn't really need any accessories so I just wore a pretty bracelet belonging to my mother ("something borrowed") and a matching necklace and earrings. The made-to-measure "Venus" shoes were my little luxury, ordered from my friend Einat who runs a company called Balanceo which sells the most beautiful and (most importantly) comfortable dance shoes. You can wear the highest of heels all night and your feet will never get sore! In the evening I changed into a Michael Kors georgette dress ("something blue") for the dancing.

A beautiful Surrey Hills wedding

The whole day was a joy from start to finish. It was also very special to have so much of the wedding centered on Ripley village, such as the rehearsal dinner in The Anchor, Broadway Barn supplying wondering hospitality to friends and family, and local suppliers providing flowers, catering and the beautiful venue. Not to mention the dress! It was also lovely to just walk across the road from my house to St Mary Magdalen church.

The greatest joy of all was being able to celebrate with our dearest friends and family members, some of whom had travelled from so far to be there with us. My best friend and bridesmaid came all the way from Brazil, one of Brians’s ushers flew in especially from Australia and another guest hopped on a plane from Christchurch, New Zealand. We were also so fortunate to have met the wonderful Libby Iddles, owner of Greyfriars House, who not only provided the most magical venue and location for our reception but also looked after us like family, ensuring that everything ran like clockwork. Her sister Sally is an outstanding caterer and provided the most delicious wedding breakfast.

The best bits

One of my favourite things about the day was how many close friends were involved, from the lovely Cindy who arrived early in the morning to do my hair & make-up, to the one-and-only Darren Royston who acted as our MC and entertainer extraordinaire all day, donning tights and Renaissance costume at one point to re-enact a dance that would have been performed at an Italian court wedding 500 years ago. My gorgeous godson Max and his brother Oscar were brilliant as page boys, and our fabulous friend Richard Marcel, choreographer to the stars, put together a fantastic Strictly Surprise first dance for us involving various guests, followed by moves to get everyone joining in on the dance floor. Everyone asked if we could please do it all again next year!