Kathryn in custom Jesus Peiro for a classic, elegant wedding in the English countryside

Kathryn and Josh were marred in the glorious surroundings of Firle Place in East Sussex. The focus of the day was comfort and fun, with luxurious, elegant styling, and our couple pulled this off so beautifully for their September wedding.

Kathryn's dress was a stunning bespoke creation from Jesus Peiro, combining the chic, perfectly fitted Style 211 that she loved, made from the exquisite textured brocade fabric from Style 217. Kat's dream was to "create something chic, crisp and luxurious, which would stand the test of time" and we think she hit the nail on the head perfectly with her beautiful bespoke wedding dress. Styled with a simple low up do, raw edged cathedral length veil and statement gold Gucci Marmont sandals, the final look was ideal for the elegant but relaxed feel of the day.

Read on to find out all about Kathryn's dress shopping journey, and discover all of the details about her wedding day to Josh, with gorgeous images from Ali Paul Photography

Custom Jesus Peiro wedding dress

I had been to three different bridal shops before coming to Miss Bush - whilst I had a great time swanning around in "Say Yes to the Dress" style sparkly, plunging ballgowns, twirling about in sugar-pink bridal suites, those first few visits helped me focus on what I really wanted. The dream was to create something chic, crisp and luxurious, which would stand the test of time. When I came across Miss Bush via Instagram, I knew that I'd find all of this at the The Chapel. I loved the ethos of fit over size, the customisation options available and the confidence Emma had in the quality of her supply chain via the designers she works with.

I must have spent days scouring the Miss Bush website in the months leading up to my first appointment in October 2020. In the end, the dress I went for was an adapted version of the very first dress I saw online many months prior, which was the Jesus Peiro 211. Emma and I decided to get creative with the design of the 211 - we took the original high, buttoned back and made it into as low a V as we could manage. The big change, however, was the addition of texture. I adored the shape of the 211 - the skirt had such volume and drama without the need for petticoats, the plunging neckline, the incredibly cute bow at the waist and above all, that killer front slit. However, as I'd somehow managed to try on about half of The Chapel's stock, I couldn't shake the idea that I wanted to add more interest and texture to the fabric of the dress. Emma and I were discussing how we might be able to achieve this, and just as I was thinking of going for my 2nd option dress, which had texture in abundance, my eyes landed on the Jesus Peiro 217. The shape of this dress suited me less, but the contemporary floral brocade it was made of was perfect. A quick chat with Jesus Peiro themselves, and voila - we had a completely bespoke gown in the making. As the cherry on top of the cake, I made the final decision at the Jesus Peiro Designer Day, which Emma clued me into - this meant that their cutting-edge Made to Measure service came included with every dress purchased that day - this was quite a saving, as made-to-measure was a service I'd already made my peace with investing in.

Dress Shopping

I first went to Miss Bush in October 2020 - at that time, you could only bring one guest with you, which to be honest, suited me really well. I found that everyone and their mother had a surprisingly strong opinion on what I should wear on the day, so just having my own wonderful mum as the one constant through all my visits to the Chapel was ideal. However, as Josh and I got engaged in March 2020, I did feel as though we'd missed a lot of "normal" wedding experiences up until that point - we'd booked our venue, photographer, caterer and florist entirely over email, WhatsApp and video calls! In an effort to have something a little closer to life pre-Covid, I did end up having two of my bridesmaids Skype in for some of the first appointment, which was a low-pressure way to keep them feeling involved. Emma's brilliant tech set-up made all of this possible, and they were thrilled to see gown after gown in action! When I finally settled on the 211 with the design tweaks, my mum was over the moon - I knew it was a done deal when she turned away from me in the sample gown and immediately started asking for tips on her own outfit for the day- she'd finished with me!

I loved coming to The Chapel - you can feel the energy and inspiration from the moment you walk in, and it's really infectious. Working with Emma, Jo and Willow made the whole experience feel both exciting and easy - trust them! I was deeply skeptical that the bodice could actually be made to work around my bust, and no one was more surprised than me to see it turn out so well! I'd do it all over again if I could.

I have a real love/hate relationship with my bust, which at a 32GG, is always a challenge to dress. I love fashion, but it doesn't always feel as though it loves me back when so many beautiful things just seem to suit a taller, smaller body than the one I've been blessed with! Unfortunately, I did have a previous bridal shopping experience that compounded that - there was a lot of talk about all the things I couldn't wear, which is just not how I wanted to go into the experience. That was all made a distant memory upon stepping into The Chapel - Emma never allowed me to apologise for my body; instead, we found a huge range of different options for celebrating it. Emma, and subsequently Willow and Jo at my fittings, always found a way to ensure I felt 100% comfortable.

Styling

Part of the 211's appeal was the skirt slit - this gave me an opportunity to get an amazing pair of shoes! After a long day in London with my mum, fueled almost entirely by champagne, I finally settled on a pair of bright gold Gucci Marmont heeled platform sandals, purchased from Farfetch in the end (pro-tip - this site often has great discounts on past-season designer classics). I knew I wanted to be able to wear them again, and they still make me smile every time I get them out.

I also added a veil - I'd actually been adamant throughout the process that I didn't want the fuss, but in the end, having a cathedral length three tier veil gave the look a sense of drama that really suited our venue. So as not to distract from the dress, I opted to keep this plain with a raw edge - it simply melted into my train and looked incredible on the day.

Because the dress was so sleek, I wanted to keep my hair and make up in the same vein. I did my own make-up, after much debate with myself - I love doing it normally, and as a woman of colour, have had a really hit-and-miss experience with professional make up artists. It's not always as inclusive as it should be, and in the end, I felt that no one knew my face as well as I did. My usual hairdresser styled my hair in long braids, and one of my wonderful bridesmaids helped me put it into a low bun on the day - I scattered lots of pins from Etsy through this, which added just a little bit of sparkle.

To finish things off, I found a beautiful pair of statement earrings, in gold and moonstone, from Carrie Elizabeth. I knew there would be lots of pictures of my head, so wanted to add a point of interest there! These were perfect, and are also items I can wear again.

A classic, elegant wedding in the English countryside

We set out to have a big, warm and classy celebration in the English countryside - we were bringing together friends and family from all over the world, so wanted to show them all the best of the country that had raised us. We loved Firle Place on sight - the house and grounds were completely jaw-dropping and being able to have the wedding breakfast and reception in the beautiful Georgian Riding School was a lovely nod to the decade I spent riding horses, where I met some of my best friends. We didn't need to do much to decorate Firle Place itself, but the Riding School was a totally blank slate. We went with classic white linens and crockery, with striking oak cross-back chairs - these ensured we didn't distract from the incredible fairy lights, and gave us loads of scope to go to town on the flowers.

Our wonderful florist, Clare from See Rose Floral Design, was key to our classic, rich and contemporary aesthetic - I wanted dark, lush greens, blush, cream and nude tones throughout the flowers, with dimension added via king protea and pampas grass. I didn't give Clare much more to go on beyond that, but what she delivered in spite of my woolly vision was simply incredible. My bouquet was the most beautiful bunch of flowers I think I'll ever see. I wanted a nod to my Caribbean heritage, so Clare made sure to include tropical leaves and anthurium to bring an island vibe to a lush English bouquet. The flowers were more or less our only decoration, which we have no regrets about - they looked incredible throughout the venue, and made clean up way more straightforward the next day!

Aside from that, we worked to keep everything else about the day simple, with comfort and fun at the heart of the decisions. My bridesmaids were given a colour and a budget, but beyond that, I let them choose their outfits for themselves. They're all individuals with their own style, and I didn't want them to have to invest time and money into an outfit they didn't love. We kept this sort of thinking at the heart of all the decisions - we decided to take the plunge on a band despite having nothing to go on but a few YouTube videos, because who doesn't like a boogie, and chose the excellent Dough & Deer Pizza to provide sourdough pizza at just the right time of night during the party - again, because who doesn't like pizza?

The best bits

The run up to the day was really hectic, but by the time the morning of the wedding rolled around, I felt really peaceful. I did a HIIT workout with my best friend to get my head settled early in the morning, and it was just a completely joyful day from there. A particular highlight was waiting for the confetti line to be formed - waiting just inside Firle's beautiful Great Hall in the sunshine, moments after getting married, with my favourite person, was a surreal moment.

Kat's Advice

Don't feel that you have to change a thing about yourself or what you want to look like on the day - anything's possible with the right team, and this is not something you should feel you have to compromise on. In that same vein, don't ask for too many opinions on anything wedding-related - as long as you approach it with the focus on you, your new spouse and your loved ones having a great day, you will have exactly that, however that looks in the end. Oh, and give a speech! There are zero expectations, which makes it so much more fun.