This week, bride2b Candida has been on a mission to find her dream wedding dress...
Hi everyone
Working in fashion, I felt a lot of pressure to find the right wedding dress. A WOW! piece that wouldn’t date; a statement gown that would still allow me to look like me.
My own personal style is far more Margot from 'To the Manor Born' than J-Lo – so where to start? I looked at loads of magazines like You & Your Wedding first, just to see what was around before heading out to try some on.
The day we went in search of the perfect dress, I was accompanied by my maid of honour and my best friend Efy who is an image consultant – and runs a business called Eye for Image. She is brilliant at what she does and there was no way I was going to buy a dress without her.
We started at 10am at one bridal shop in the West End of London and I tried a few dresses on to get an idea of shapes and colours but we didn't feel inspired - none of the dresses felt like my WOW! dress.
Our next stop was Pronovias on Bond Street. There was so much on offer there and I must have tried on about 13 dresses. Thank God Efy was with me as she was honest and constructive with her feedback helping me pick between them. Finally after a couple of hours we agreed on a beautiful lace vintage dress by Elie Saab.
It cost a little more than I had planned to spend on my wedding dress – but you can't put a price on the way you feel and look in a dress on the most important day of your life. I'd love to be able to show you a photo of the dress now but I'm keeping it a secret from my h2b until the big day!
I didn’t think I wanted to wear a veil but Efy insisted I try one on with the dress, just to see what it looked like. And you know what? It was stunning – it totally finished off the dream and I was really glad I’d listened to her.
Once we placed the order, we were given champagne and boy did we need it! I felt such relief knowing I'd chosen my gorgeous dress, that the three of us then planted ourselves in a bar and started to talk accessories!
One of the footwear brands I represent, Strutt Couture, offered to make me a bespoke pair of wedding shoes. I've chosen a style from their Autumn/Winter 08 evening collection (pictured) which they're having made for me especially in beautiful champagne metallic suede. It’s a peep toe court shoe with a platform, quite 1940s-inspired and will go really well with the dress.
I'm also working with one of my jewellery clients, Adele-Marie, to find the right jewellery. I cant wear anything round my neck as the style of the dress cant really take it, but we've decided on antique-looking earrings and a bracelet. Adele's also designing a diamanté clip for my hair which I'll wear to change my look once the veil comes off after the ceremony.
I'm really lucky that I have all these great fashion brands around me that can help me complete my bridal look – and I'm so grateful for their help.
Next week I'll update you on choosing our wedding rings!
