Jesus Peiro 166 for a church wedding in DorsetMiss Bush

Sarah & Will's wonderful, traditional Church wedding took place in Dorset in late Spring at the beautiful Warmwell Church, a short walk through the countryside from their reception venue at Warmwell House. The day was styled with stunning seasonal flowers, with an elegant marquee in the grounds of the Jacobean manor house. The feel of the day was simple, timeless and stylish, using locally sourced flowers and food and focusing on the incredible backdrop of the English countryside. We were delighted to see that our partners at The Wedding Present Company provided the couple with their gift list service.

In keeping with the simple, classic feel of the day, Sarah's dress choice was Jesus Peiro favourite, Style 166. This minimalist dress features a chic round neckline and full skirt, with striking crossed straps to the back. Sarah styled her look with nude Jimmy Choo sandals, simple gold hoop earrings, a romantic sweeping veil, and very natural make up with soft waves.

Read all about the day in Sarah's own words alongside all of the beautiful imagery...

A Jesus Peiro wedding dress

I chose the Jesus Peiro 166. It was actually the first dress I tried on and I couldn't get it out of my head. I tried on four other dresses that I'd picked out with Corrine but all I could think about was the 166. Before my first fitting, I'd seen the 166 online and it was definitely my favourite going into the fitting. I loved the simplicity of the dress and how the cummerbund waist detail and fitted bodice paired with the full skirt made it feel so flattering. I also loved how the open back with crossed strap detail gave the dress a contemporary, sports luxe edge to it, reflecting my usually quite practical, relaxed style (although not quite the leggings & baggy jumper I'm used to!). And, the pockets...as soon as I discovered those I knew it was the one!

On the day I felt on a huge high from the moment I put on my dress and I couldn't wait to walk down the aisle. I remember all of my bridesmaids around me helping put it on and it was such a surreal but incredible feeling. I actually didn't have any nerves on the day (or leading up to it) and I'm sure a lot of that could be attributed to feeling so comfortable and confident in my dress...and also my wedding planning spreadsheet of all spreadsheets!

Dress Shopping

I brought my mum and my sister, who was also my maid of honour, to the appointment. The three of us are very close and never hold back when it comes to sharing our opinions, so I knew I'd get honest feedback! They were just as blown away by the dress as I was. Before the appointment, we had each chosen our favourite dress and I also tried on their options but we all agreed the 166 was the one. I half-expected tears from my mum, who's been known to cry watching the final of Masterchef but she managed to hold it together.

Being someone who likes to shop alone, with great speed and zero fuss, I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about the idea of dress shopping..but I loved the whole thing from start to finish. I honestly don't think I can pick a favourite moment. Trying on the dress for the first time and realising it was the one is definitely up there and Corrine made me feel so confident and at ease with my decision. But each time I came back for subsequent fittings, adjustments and styling, it felt like I was trying the dress for the first time and I fell in love with it all over again. I even felt a bit sad leaving my final fitting knowing I wouldn't have anymore fittings to look forward to with Willow. I have since been recommending Miss Bush to everyone I know in the hope they'll take me with them one day!

Styling

I'd describe my every day style as quite simple and classic and I wanted to reflect that in how I looked on the day. I felt the dress was a statement on its own and I really didn't want to over-style it. I wore a very simple veil (also from Miss Bush) and styled my own hair with some heated rollers. I did a couple of hair trials leading up to the wedding but I never felt like myself after someone else had done my hair, so I decided to do my own. Although in hindsight I probably should have put more thought into how I'd fix my veil to my head and had a bit of a comedy moment as it caught on a pew and flew off half way down the aisle...but never mind!

I decided not to go for traditional bridal style shoes for a couple of reasons - one, being that the dress was long enough no one would really see them and secondly, I thought it would be nice to invest in something I'd wear again. One of my bridesmaids works for a sister company of Jimmy Choo and she treated me to a pair which was such a treat! I went for a simple block heel (mainly for comfort and the practicality of walking on gravel and grass) with a little bit of bling and enough height not to look too short next to Will who is 6'10!

Other than that I wore a simple pair of gold hoop earrings and very natural make up. A good friend of mine is an incredibly talented make up artist and I knew she would make me look flawless while still looking like me. She also did my make up the night I met Will, although I doubt he remembers!

About the Day

We had a very traditional, church wedding, choosing to get married at Warmwell Church, in Dorset which is close to where we both grew up and near where our families still live. We really wanted the church and reception to be within walking distance, so Warmwell House was perfect, with the church just at the end of the drive.

Warmwell House is a Jacobean manor, set in the Dorset countryside with beautiful surrounding grounds and gardens. We chose a muted, natural colour palette to compliment the pastoral backdrop with the bridesmaids in flattering blush pink dresses and the ushers in traditional morning suits with natural linen waistcoats.

With the wedding in June, we decided with our florists to use seasonal British flowers for our bouquets and arrangements. The bouquets were muted with subtle pops of colour to compliment the dresses and we just had simple cream, rose button holes for the men. Given the simplicity of the church our wonderful florists were able to introduce lots of colour and created some incredible alter and window displays, some of which the ushers were able to carry back to the house after the service to add to the marquee displays.

We opted for a marquee reception with drinks in the adjoining garden. Given the lovely weather and beautiful surrounding gardens we were able to have the marquee sides open which created a stunning backdrop. We wanted the marquee and tables to be bright, natural and summery to reflect the beautiful surrounding gardens. Our florists created some rather impressive table centres, over a metre high which added lots of colour and height. We also supplemented marquee arrangements with lots of smaller bud vases, filled with wild flowers that we'd picked from my parents' wild flower meadow a couple of days before.

In keeping with our seasonal British theme we opted for a menu of heritage tomatoes with burrata to start, followed by lamp rump and a trio of puds - it was definitely a crowd pleaser!

I think the thing that everyone remembers the most from the day though was our musician! Choosing him was without a doubt one of our best decisions. He started off playing the cello during the church service, switching to the ukulele for the drinks reception and then finally switching to the piano during the meal where he began taking requests on post-it notes which were distributed among the tables. By the time pudding came, people were already on the dance floor! In addition to his 1,000+ repertoire of songs, he learnt our first dance song (Paolo Nutini - Candy) which he performed and sung (he also recorded a version for our wedding video!). He then played for the next 3 hours, without a break, performing requests - everything from Fleetwood Mac to Kayne. The dance floor was full all evening, in fact people were begging him to keep playing but unfortunately the venue's music license wouldn't allow!

Sarah's Advice

I honestly think the best advice the Miss Bush team gave was not to take photos at your appointments. The way you feel in that moment can't be conveyed in a photo and there is something so magical about going to each fitting and feeling like you're seeing the dress for the first time again. Also, getting to see our incredible photographer's photos of me in the dress for the first time was so special.

Also, if you're worried about your dress getting damaged or really want to let your hair down in the evening, consider an outfit change! I had a quick (unplanned) outfit change into some white trousers and a cropped top for the dancing which turned out to be a great move judging by the amount of cafe patron that had soaked my outfit the next day! Luckily my dress is still in pretty good nick!

And finally, using suppliers recommended by friends (or your venue) is really worth it, ours were all brilliant and came from recommendations and I'm so glad we went with all of them. Having suppliers who were super professional, organised and easy to communicate with definitely made things so much more relaxed and easy when it came to planning. I would recommend them all!