Hannah in Jesus Peiro 246 for a relaxed Autumn wedding at Hampton Court House

Hannah and Alex's wedding took place in early October at St Lawrence Church, Effingham, Surrey, with a beautiful, elegant reception at Hampton Court House, Molesey. The styling for the day was perfectly in keeping with the season, with florist Ali from Mad Lilies providing stunning Autumnal blooms in rich warm tones and dusky pinks.

Hannah fell in love with her Jesus Peiro 246 wedding dress before even setting foot in the chapel, after discovering it on the Miss Bush website. With its full, romantic skirt and elbow length puff sleeves, 246 was the perfect choice for Hannah's autumnal manor house wedding to Alex, carrying the bride from the traditional church ceremony all the way through to the dancefloor at their fabulous evening party.

Read on to find out more about the day in Hannah's own words...

Jesus Peiro 246 wedding dress

My mum had come across the 246 on the Miss Bush Instagram page prior to me even getting engaged and had sent it to me as an idea for the future. The following year after getting engaged, I couldn't stop coming back to pictures of this dress and we booked an appointment at Miss Bush predominately so I could try on this particular dress. I did try on several beautiful Jesus Peiro styles, however my favourites were a tie between a Suzanne Neville dress (very different in style, but with sleeves also) and this one, so Emma suggested I give it a couple of months to think about it before coming back for a follow up appointment. By the time I arrived at the second appointment I knew that this was the dress for me and that we would be ordering it that day. I just felt so comfortable and at ease in this dress, and quite happily would've walked down the aisle in it the very next day. What I particularly loved about this dress was the timelessness of the style, but with the contemporary addition of the huge puff sleeves and the practical element of POCKETS!!! The full skirt and train made this dress 'bridal' which I had wanted to tie in with our traditional church service, but the V neckline and pleated front added a little something different. I also really loved the sustainable nature of the fabric having been made from plastic bottles collected from the ocean (especially as I will only wear this dress once).

Dress Shopping

I brought my mum with me and it was love at first sight for her as much as it had been for me! With every other dress I tried, we both just kept comparing to this one (even in other dress shops prior to even having seen this one in real life yet!). The whole Miss Bush experience was just so relaxed and natural. Emma is so knowledgeable and really knows how to steer you in the right direction for you without being too pushy or opinionated. The entire team at Miss Bush are so friendly, and I enjoyed every single follow up and fitting appointment regardless of who it was with. I'm not particularly 'gushy' so I enjoyed how pragmatic my appointments were, and the chapel is such a nice environment to try on dresses.

I only had one other dress shop appointment elsewhere prior to my Miss Bush appointment, and as much as the experience of trying on lovely dresses was fun, I was left feeling a little drained and rushed to make a decision. Emma put me at much more ease in our appointment, and steered me away from making a rushed or panicked decision.

Styling

My look was a bit of a mash up of whatever I liked at the time to be honest! But it all came together nicely on the day. The first thing I had bought were my wedding shoes from Mach & Mach. They felt like real-life Cinderella shoes with a giant sparkly bow and gorgeous ankle strap. I have to say I probably would've chosen a different pair of shoes if I had bought them 9-12 months later, but I was in love with them at the time, and really like how the sparkle poked out from under my dress when I walked down the aisle. They are so dirty now from all the fun I had on the day (walking through grass, spilling drinks etc) so will get them dyed a darker colour so they can live on. The second accessory choice were my earrings, which were a pair of 1960's Mikimoto pearl cluster sunburst clip ons passed down from my late Grandmother to my mum. I knew I wanted a statement earring, so these were the perfect choice without being too big or detracting from the dress. Once the earrings were chosen then everything else became very pearl themed! I chose a long train length single tier veil from Miss Bush, which had giant graduated pearls towards the bottom - I had found the veil choosing harder than the actual dress choosing, mainly because it would've been so easy to have made my dress look very frumpy and old fashioned with the wrong veil (my husband for example had liked the idea of me wearing a double tier veil to cover my face as I walked down the aisle, but I knew the minute I tried one on that it firstly wasn't very 'me' and secondly made me look a little Victorian with the giant sleeves and big skirt of the dress). I didn't wear a necklace as I wanted to let the neckline and sleeves do the talking on the dress, I did however have a pearl fan shaped clutch bag for what didn't fit into my pockets (such as my sunglasses for when the sun came out!!).

About the Day

I didn't have a particular theme or style for the day, but I didn't want anything to look too 'forced' and to be as natural as possible. I wanted to have lots of dusty pinks and autumnal colours throughout the flowers, bridesmaid dresses, and table settings. Flowers were a big part of the day for me - I had so much fun brainstorming with Ali at Mad Lilies, and even went to meet her at Hampton Court House to see a wedding set up to help me visualise what I had requested. I wanted long relaxed tables for a more convivial setting at dinner, and we worked together on some eucalyptus garlands spotted with candles and flowers here and there. My mum even decorated the wedding cake she had made with flowers! Hampton Court House is just so beautiful anyway, that the need for a theme isn't really necessary there, so I let the flowers do the work in the dining room, and the gorgeous views of Bushy Park from the main hall, as well as the palm trees from the venue conservatory did the rest!

The best bits

When I look back at the photos, I loved the entire day! But I think the most special part for me was the church service where it felt like there was only Alex and I there together despite a room full of people watching us. Overall, just being around so many people we love was amazing, and I felt so relaxed and happy throughout the whole day.

Hannah's Advice

I think in general what everyone says about the day flying by is SO TRUE! Just take moments to appreciate it and try to remember what you can. For the dress I would recommend finding a dress you love and feel comfortable in from the start, as this will reflect your personality and taste so much more than something you feel you have to change yourself to fit into or 'suit'. If you feel comfortable and happy in it at the first fitting, then you will definitely love it on the day when hair and makeup and accessories are all put together with it. You also cannot underestimate the power of a good photographer! Victoria (our photographer) kept me so calm and relaxed, and it really helped having an 'engagement' style shoot with her prior to the wedding so that we could all get to know each other and feel comfortable in front of a camera prior to the actual day itself. I absolutely love that the photos show real moments from the day, and aren't just lots of posed shots (which of course are great, but I have really enjoyed seeing the little 'real' moments that I may have missed on the day).