Phillipa Lepley Bride Sophie

Sophie had known about Phillipa Lepley for many years and enjoyed gazing into the beautiful window displays on her visits to a friend who lived nearby. ‘It was really special having my fittings and choosing my dress from somewhere I’d known for nearly fifteen years, it felt like it was meant to be!’

Sophie’s wedding took place on an idyllic Italian island, and she hoped to find a dress that reflected the natural setting of the venue.  She says, ‘we decided to have our wedding during the day, as we wanted to make the most of the beautiful weather and the stunning scenery of our venue, which was perched at the top of a hill on Elba Island, overlooking the ocean.’

Sophie opted for ‘Vienna Jasmine Ivy,’ which features its namesake flowers embroidered into the lace from top to bottom decoratively forming the shape of the soft, sheer lightly gathered sleeves and framing the square neckline with an organic 3D- motif edge.  Each petal has been sewn by hand at the Chelsea atelier to the specific millimetre creating just the right immaculate, feminine shape. ‘I tried on a number of dresses at Phillipa Lepley and all of them were stunning, but as soon as I tried on my dress it just felt so perfect.’

An elegant open back and full, circular skirt with no petticoats meant that the dress flowed freely and was perfectly fitting for a warmer climate. Sophie said, ‘I felt like the very best version of myself. It was so important to me that I didn’t look like a totally different person on my wedding day, and the dress just made me feel so feminine and pretty, but also comfortable and relaxed.’

Sophie’s corseted dress was carefully moulded and fitted to her over a series of appointments at new Phillipa Lepley space, The Conservatory. Each custom-made Phillipa Lepley corset is specially engineered for eachbride and the fabric of her dress, creating a beautiful silhouette. Sophie says ‘the fittings process and all my appointments at Phillipa Lepley were so lovely, it was such a relaxed and calm setting that I would always look forward to stepping into The Conservatory in Chelsea and leaving the rest of London behind.  The team were wonderful, I felt so looked after and everyone who worked on the dress was so invested in making it the very best it could be, not missing a single detail. It was amazing seeing the dress coming together at each fitting.’

Sophie’s eldest brother lead the service to marry her and her husband in an olive grove at the wedding venue, surrounded by forty of their closest friends and family. ‘Our ceremony started just after midday, which gave my maid of honour and me plenty of time to have our hair and make-up done by our brilliant artist, Dom, who flew over from London for the event. The morning of the wedding was surprisingly calm, and it was lovely not feeling rushed or stressed when we were getting ready. Seeing my Dad just before the ceremony started was a moment I’ll never forget. The island, and the venue, are really special to us as we got engaged there and it was amazing to have our families and friends coming together after so long apart. After a short (but very sweet!) ceremony, at which we exchanged personal vows and my youngest brother gave a beautiful reading, we were led up through the olive grove by an Italian marching band to the cocktail reception, overlooking the ocean.’

‘We really wanted the focal point of our day to be everyone getting together and having an informal, fun celebration, and so we opted for an Italian wedding feast, with seven courses over the course of the afternoon on one long table in a lemon grove- it was stunning but perfectly informal and intimate, exactly what we had hoped for. We laughed and cried during the speeches, and soon it was time for the cake cut and bouquet toss. We wanted all of our guests, not just the ladies to be part of the bouquet toss and my husband’s best man caught the bouquet, much to his delight! We proceeded to dance the night away, and despite the seven courses the wood-fired pizzas went down a storm. The day went by so quickly but exceeded every expectation we had, I wouldn’t want to change a single thing.’

Phillipa Lepley is recognised globally as a leading British wedding dress and eveningwear designer, renowned for bespoke couture dresses of the utmost luxury. Her wedding dress shop in London, Chelsea, has over 50 dresses, all of which have been made in England from start to finish at her atelier.