Sophie in Jesus Peiro 170 dress and cape for a botanical plant nursery wedding

Such a gorgeous wedding to share with you today! After three different wedding dates and months of uncertainty, Sophie and Ali were finally married this September at the fabulous Architectural Plants in Pulborough, West Sussex. Whilst it wasn't a wedding venue at first, our innovative bride Sophie scouted the location out and made the space their own and its now taking more wedding bookings in the future!

Sophie wore one of the showstoppers from Jesus Peiro's 2020 Cala collection; the glittering cape from style 170, also known as Paniculata. Sophie wore this over dress style 121, one of our earliest adopters of the chic split wrap skirt that so many of our brides are loving this year!

Read on to find out more about Sophie and Ali's day, along with lots of beautiful images by their photographer, Rob from Shooting Hip

Jesus Peiro 170 dress and cape

I knew I was going to be a Jesus Peiro bride long before I had ever stepped foot in the Chapel. I had been following Miss Bush on instagram for a long time (looooong before we were engaged!) and every dress that stopped me in my scroll was JP. As fate would have it, there was a Jesus Peiro new collection launch event at the Chapel the very month of my first appointment. My Mum and I went along (ate great Spanish snacks, drank a lot of Prosecco) and watched the collection fashion show.

I loved nearly every piece - I snapped SO many photos and proclaimed "That could be the one" or "I'm definitely trying that on" more than a few times. Then I saw the glittery dress & cape combo of JP 170 walk towards me and KNEW I would be wearing that cape.

At my appointment Rosie, mum and I selected our favourite pieces and I tried on lots of dresses. I have very large boobs and knew I'd need to wear a proper bra - almost straight away the 121 was a standout favourite. I loved the shape, the movement and the structure. It was also very bra friendly! Then I asked Rosie if I could try on the "glittery cape" I had seen on the catwalk and I was SOLD.

The truth is, I could have happily worn three or four of the Jesus Peiro dresses. Unlike some brides I didn't have an extreme reaction when I saw myself in the mirror, there were no tears or screams - but in the 121 and the cape I felt fun, happy and me! I couldn't stop smiling and mum was the same. That's how we knew. My Mum is incredibly stylish and always so well dressed. I value her opinion and knew when I saw her face, we had found the outfit.

Interestingly, Mum did shed a few tears at the sight of me in another JP dress! It was a long sleeved column dress and we both loved it. However I was due to be a May 2020 bride, getting married in a poly tunnel (!), so I knew long sleeves were a real risk if the weather was warm.

Dress Shopping

I just loved how knowledgeable the whole Miss Bush team are. Emma took one look at me when I walked through the doors and said "OK, you will need to wear a proper bra in any dress we find", before I had found my dress. Corrine was so kind and patient as I tried dresses on and Rosie handled every single appointment, question or change so expertly.

Like most women, I have body hang ups and had a flutter of anxiety about trying dresses on. These anxiety was instantly eased when I walked in to the chapel. There is no such thing as a dress size or 'ideal', the dress is made to fit you and that's that.

I bought my dress on 31st August 2019. My measurements were taken in February 2020 and I didn't get to wear the outfit until the 11th September 2021. My body had changed in that time (the winter lockdown weight gain was real) but at my first fitting, you wouldn't have known it. Jo was an absolute STAR and whilst I'd always like to be slimmer, I felt beautiful as I swished around the fitting room.

We were your classic Covid couple. The first lockdown came 11 weeks before our original wedding date so when we postponed we had NO idea how the year would play out. In the end we had three wedding dates, May 2020, May 2021 and September 2021. We had agreed that if our big wedding wasn't able to go ahead in September, we'd give in and get married whatever the restrictions. Thankfully, we got lucky and were able to have our full, un restricted day third time around!

Miss Bush were incredible the whole time. Emma's emails, Rosie's admin and the Facebook Group helped to remind me I was actually a bride to be and one day there would be a wedding.

I'll tell anyone who will listen about Miss Bush, it's not a shop - it's a proper experience! You buy a dress from Miss Bush but you get so much more. All the events, emails, opportunities - I've never known anything like it. I even ended up on Sky News thanks to Emma! The only real sadness is that I won't get to be a Miss Bush bride again, I already miss it!

Styling

Thanks to the beauty of the cape, I wanted to keep my accessories quite simple. Although it turns out, I don't really do simple.
I wore gold, strappy, heeled Gucci sandals that peeked out of the split in 121. I hadn't worn a pair of heels in well over a year (I had barely worn a waistband through the three lockdowns so heels were not happening) but managed to last until 8pm in them, then I swapped for a pair of white trainers!

For jewellery, I wore a necklace from my late Grandmother, Marquis diamond earrings Ali gifted me on the morning of our wedding and borrowed a gold bracelet from my mum.

I had two pearl hair slides for my hair, purchased from Etsy.

A botanical plant nursery wedding

We had both the ceremony and the reception at Architectural Plants in Pulborough, West Sussex. (I also put my dress on in their offices!)

I found Archi Plants by accident. They are a huge, beautiful architectural Plant Nursery with 11 huge polytunnels. I was working close to Pulborough and drove past the site. I then stalked them on instagram and instantly fell in love. I sent a very cheeky email asking if they had ever considered hiring their space out because I'd love to get chat to them about our wedding...

We met with the owner and MD Guy who was SO kind and flexible. We wanted to hold the whole shebang there - ceremony and all and Guy took the plunge and got them licensed so we could. We were due to be their first full wedding - in May 2020 - but Covid changed all that. Throughout all the postponements, rule changes and restrictions, Guy and the Archi Plants team were so supportive.

Happily they booked in 4/5 couples after us and are now West Sussex's newest and most exciting wedding venue!

The best bits

Be prepared for every cliche you have ever heard BUT - the day goes SO FAST. I had been planning that day for THREE YEARS and it felt like the whole thing happened in 20 minutes! Completely unfair.

Thanks to all the postponements, I had an extremely zen approach to the day itself. If we all made it, covid free and alive, to witness the ceremony and raise a toast - everything else was just detail.

Having said that, I loved the set up. Loved the time with our immediate families and wedding party and had a blast getting ready.

Purposely, I had chosen to work with suppliers who I loved and trusted. I am a planner and had made sure everyone was well briefed, this meant that on the set up day and the wedding day, it had all come together perfectly. The venue is so stunning and natural it needs very little work, but the lighting, candles and flowers made the tables look amazing in real life.

I just felt so happy all day. I didn't stop smiling or laughing - evident by the many, many chins in some of our wedding photos.

A real surprise on the day came just after dinner. My sneaky, sneaky mother had organised for two singing waiters to be there on the day. I hadn't noticed until one of them grabbed a microphone, pretended he worked at Archi Plants and started making a 'speech'

Within minutes they were singing and the entire wedding party was up, dancing and singing along. It was half an hour of dancing at the tables and we loved it!

Sophie's Advice

The pandemic was a real, real nightmare for so many reasons. One thing it did give me though, was a little bit of perspective. By the time we got to Summer 2021 we just wanted to be married. Gone were any thoughts of things being 'Pinterest perfect' or uber chic and unique. I just wanted our friends, family and loved ones in one room to see us doing our vows and making the commitment.The feeling in the room was so special - I wish I could have bottled it. There was more laughter, dancing and merriment than I could have hoped for and I suspect my fellow Covid brides will know the very supercharged-ness of those emotions.Thanks to Miss Bush, Jesus Peiro and a brilliant team of hair and make up - I felt beautiful on the day. The dress was special, comfortable and danceable and despite losing the love of wedding planning on more than one occasion, I never lost the love for my dress.If you are in the process of planning your wedding, enjoy it. Remember what matters and don't stress the rest. Wear something that makes you happy, reflects your personality and allows you to properly enjoy the day. If you can't exhale, sit or pop a squat on the dance floor you'll regret it!