Kate wearing Jesus Peiro 8042 ruffle sleeve wedding dressMiss Bush

Jesus Peiro 8042 Ruffle sleeve wedding dress

From the moment I saw it on Miss Bush's website I was certain it was the one. It was the first ever dress I tried on and I loved everything about it; the ruffled shoulders, the low back, the pockets it was perfect. The ruffles also reminded me of my Mum's wedding dress which was really special. When I put it on for the first time I knew nothing would top it.

I wanted the dress to do the talking so went for simple accessories. I chose a full length narrow veil, borrowed a pearl necklace from Mum and wore pearl earrings. My beautiful shoes were from Russell and Bromley. They were perfect as I didn't want anything too tall and they were really comfortable all day.

Dress Shopping

I brought my Mum with me to Miss Bush, I didn't want loads of different opinions and I knew she would be honest and we also have similar taste. Her reaction to my dress was the same as mine, she knew it was the 'The One'.

Obviously trying all the beautiful dresses that Miss Bush stock was amazing fun but the staff definitely made my experience so wonderful. It would have been completely overwhelming without Emma's expertise. She didn't coo over me in every dress I put on and made me consider things I hadn't even thought of. The whole team are so lovely and professional and I felt in really safe hands throughout the whole process.

An intimate Cliveden House Wedding

We decided we wanted a small wedding with only our closest family and friends so had just 32 guests. I had it set in my mind that I wanted everyone around one big table and more of a dinner party feel. It was quite tricky to find a venue with the right space for us but then we found Cliveden House and wow, it completely blew everywhere else out of the water. We chose the Lady Astor suite, which is also the bridal suite, for our ceremony room and the beautiful French dining room for dinner. Our planner Lydia was a godsend and made everything I wanted possible and the day run smoothly so I didn't have to worry about a thing.

Flowers were always the most important styling element for me. I sent our florist Ruby and Grace my Pinterest board full of completely over-the-top ideas and they embraced my vision and pulled out all the stops. Since it was October I wanted an autumnal feel without it being a theme and they got it spot on. I have never seen so many beautiful flowers and almost every guest took some home!

I really hate having my picture taken and was nervous about finding the right photographer. Graham's documentary style was just what we wanted, he captured all the crazy emotions of the day so well. I can't look at the photographs without crying!

Our ceremony wasn't until 3:30pm so we had plenty of time in the morning to chill and get ready with our amazing hair and makeup team. The ceremony itself was very emotional and what I thought would be the boring legal bit turned out to be one of my favourite parts. We had a string quartet for the ceremony and a pianist for the evening meal who were great fun and played all our favourite songs. I loved the feel of our day; our family are from far and wide so it was nice for everyone to be together in such a beautiful environment and chat and sing and drink and eat the incredible cake my mother-in-law made. Everyone stayed the night so it was lovely to meet again for breakfast and then we enjoyed the spa which definitely helped with the post wedding blues.

The best bits

I couldn't possibly pick a favourite part of the day. From laying awake at 3am the night before with my maid of honour listening to rainstorm sounds on her phone trying to get to sleep, to the incredibly emotional ceremony, to pestering our very patient pianist to play requests and then singing along to them badly all evening. We even had an impromptu first dance to Elvis' Can't Help Falling in Love even though I said I didn't want dancing. I loved every minute.