Georgia was one of our final brides of 2020, with her festive winter wedding to Ashley taking place on the last day when weddings were allowed prior to the winter lockdown beginning. The wedding took place at the glorious Coworth Park in Ascot, with the ceremony in the grand Tower House followed by a sit down reception in the Oak Room.
Georgia wore one of our most loved dresses from the Jesus Peiro 2021 Cala Collection, style 121, which features beautifully delicate ballerina straps to the back and a full romantic ballgown skirt. This was complemented by the gorgeous 156 bridal coat with full length sleeves and a chic button up front; just perfect for a winter wedding!
Read on for more information about the day and planning process in Georgia's own words, with photography by Hayley B Weddings.
Jesus Peiro 121 wedding dress
All of the dresses at Miss Bush are stunning so I was like a kid in a candy shop from the very first appointment. I tried on all sorts of different styles just in case I put that one dress on that I unexpectedly fell in love with. I knew in my head what kind of style I wanted and eventually I found it: Jesus Peiro 121. It had a high neck and a low back, it had a puffy skirt but it wasn’t overwhelming or heavy, and the best part was that it just felt comfortable. It was the best kind of ‘comfortable’, the kind that made me want to keep it on all day and still feel special. I left Miss Bush and found I couldn’t stop thinking about it, that’s how I knew it was the one for me. I’m also a little superstitious and I loved the fact that the dress number was also the first digits of my wedding date!
I always dreamed about having a winter wedding, so obviously I needed a coat. Luckily Jesus Peiro had a beautiful coat in their 2020 range, I tried it on a few times and loved it but it felt so excessive. Eventually I put it on for the 100th time and I decided I’m only getting married once so why not. The dress and coat combination were beautiful together and made me feel like a winter bride.
At my final alterations appointment I saw a Jesus Peiro cashmere cardigan hanging on the wall - after a year of uncertainty while trying to plan a wedding around COVID I managed to convince myself that I deserved it and that I’m only getting married once so I bought that too! I love it, it looked great on the day and I love that I can wear it again and it can be my ‘wedding cardigan’ any time I put it on now.
I bought my Mum to all my appointments and when I found my dress for the first time I also had my Maid of Honour and Grandmother with me too. We aren’t a family of criers but when I came out in the dress everyone’s faces lit up - including mine!
Dress Shopping
Miss Bush is the only bridal shop I went to to find a wedding dress. The entire experience was amazing, I don’t think I could pick a favourite part. Every time I had an appointment I was almost counting down the days because I was so excited to go back.
From the moment I stepped through the chapel doors it finally sunk in that I was getting married, I was a bride. The chapel is such a cool space and it was so fun to have to space to ourselves for the whole appointment so I could walk around in the dresses I was trying on and really get a feel for them.
Considering I got married in 2020 I had surprisingly few hiccups with my dress shopping experience - particularly compared to a lot of other brides. I was so lucky to have actually been able to get married on my original wedding date so there wasn’t a lot to rearrange aside from resizing the wedding party a few times.
Spookily I was due to have my final fitting in November and I woke up on the last Saturday in October and thought “I need to find out if my dress alterations have been finished in case we go into another lockdown” and that afternoon Lockdown 2.0 was announced. I emailed Miss Bush that morning and by mid afternoon Rosie had confirmed the alterations were done and I could come in for my final fitting on Monday morning - days before lockdown started. I was such a relief to have my outfit sorted at that point so that I was ready to get married pretty much as soon as lockdown ended.
Styling
I always knew I wanted a winter wedding so I always knew there were going to be layers involved. I also knew I wanted to have a high neck dress because when I get stressed, flustered, excited etc my neck goes blotchy. So choosing my bridal look was quite straight forward, a lot of the Jesus Peiro dresses have high necks so I was spoilt for choice!
I couldn't decide whether I wanted a veil because I thought it looked a bit too much with the dress and the coat, but at my alterations appointment I tried the veil on when the dress was finally fitted to me and my Mums reaction decided it. It made me look bridal, it was the final piece of the puzzle. I recommend having a veil if you aren’t sure about it, it’s great fun swishing it around!
I am known for always having sparkly shoes on, so a few years ago when I walked into Kate Spade and saw their all-over-glitter bridal trainers I knew that one day I would walk down the aisle in them. I loved them, they were so comfy, and I was determined to not spend the day thinking about how much my feet hurt so choosing flat shoes was an easy decision.
Also, if you have a winter wedding I thoroughly recommend wearing thermal tights! They were not attractive but I didn’t really feel the cold at all!
A magical festive wedding day at Coworth Park
Christmassy, wintery, magical - that was the inspiration for the day.
I love red roses so I immediately thought I wanted to incorporate red into the colour scheme. After doing lots of research and talking to several florists I decided to go for classic Christmas colours and have white roses with accents of red hypericum berries and lots of dark foliage.
It was nerve wracking to be the last person to see everything come together but it all looked stunning (even if I am biased!).
The best bits
I can’t pick a favourite part - I was so calm for the entire day which was such a contrast to the chaotic year of planning on the run up to the day.
Driving through towns that I have grown up in on the way to the ceremony and seeing peoples expressions as they noticed the cars driving past was brilliant. People were waving and honking and it was so exciting.
The ceremony was beautiful even if it is a blur!
Sharing the day with family and friends that we haven’t been able to see properly all year and being so relaxed throughout the day that we almost forgot about all the chaos going on in the world outside.
Georgia's Advice
It seems easy to say, but go with your gut. You get an idea about whether things feel right, be it suppliers or trying on dresses, or picking venues etc. Go with the decisions that make you feel the most happy. I changed a couple of suppliers a few times because I didn’t think they were quite right for the day we were planning, at the end of the day you have to choose what is right for your wedding.
Planning a wedding in a pandemic is certainly not something I ever thought I would have to do. I got engaged in 2018 long before we heard about COVID and thought I was planning that picture perfect fairytale wedding that every girl dreams of with 100 guests and all our family and friends. But actually, in a way, the pandemic forcing us to have a smaller wedding actually turned out to be brilliant. We would have loved to have a couple more friends and family present than the 15 we were allowed at the time, but the day we ended up planning was perfect.
So if you are planning a wedding in a pandemic, it’s hard, but honestly your wedding day will be brilliant regardless. At the end of the day you get to marry your fiancé and that’s the most important thing.
Write down everything you would want from a full sized wedding and then actually focus the bits that really mean the most. You’ll save yourself a bit of money this time around and then you can have the big party with everyone else next year - which is exactly what we are doing and I’m already looking forward to getting my dress out again!
Suppliers
Venue: Coworth Park
Photographer: Hayley B Weddings
Florist: Seventh Heaven
Hair and make up: Melissa Oldridge
Cake: Cakes and Drapes
Cars: Classic Wedding Cars
Grooms suit: Reiss
Brides shoes: Kate Spade