Phillipa Lepley bride Olivia

When beginning her wedding dress journey, Olivia knew she was to make a trip to Phillipa Lepley in London. 

‘I had always dreamed of having my wedding dress from Phillipa Lepley! When I was much younger and still at primary school, some of the girls in my ballet class were asked to come and help in a photoshoot for a bridal magazine. On the shoot, I was lucky enough to be wearing a pink wrap cardigan made by Phillipa Lepley, which I still treasure to this day, but my love for and sentimentalism towards Phillipa’s designs started there. I also knew that having a couture wedding dress would truly be the experience of a lifetime and that Phillipa’s designs were the most glorious I had ever seen.’ 

Phillipa Lepley bride Olivia

Olivia worked with Phillipa’s design team in the Shop on Fulham Road to refine her wedding dress vision – taking elements from design features found in the iconic existing collection, a bespoke gown was created for her. Crafted around the base of a clean strapless gown with a full skirt, a modern square neckline and long sleeves were added. Lots of development and refinement during fittings at the Conservatory were focussed on the sleeves to ensure they sat proportionally within the bespoke design. The sleeves were finished with a darted shoulder and satin covered bridal buttons and loops, lovingly hand-sewn in the Phillipa Lepley Atelier.

The dress was crafted from luxurious ivory Italian duchess satin and Olivia added a velvet green belt to define the corseted waist  – a lovely choice for her winter wedding at St Luke’s Church, Chelsea, and The Wallace Collection, Marylebone. 

‘Having a bespoke gown really did mean that I adored the whole dress from top to toe! Adding sleeves made the look feel more ready for the winter, and I adored my deep green belt hugely. It was the duchess satin, though, that many of my friends and guests adored most, and that looked especially magical in the winter light.’ 

Phillipa Lepley bride Olivia

Complementing the bridal look perfectly, Olivia wore a couture two-tier silk tulle veil, hand-embroidered with Phillipa’s iconic Maiden’s Fern embroidery. Delicate maiden’s ferns wound around the circumference of the veil, dotted with tiny crystals to glisten in the Christmas light. 

Creating a bespoke gown with Phillipa Lepley is a joyous and unique process where the bride is able to personalise an already deeply individual design. Olivia chose to add sentimental embroidery stitched into the inside of the dress of her and her husband’s initials in blue by her heart – a special and sweet touch for her ‘something blue’. 

Olivia also opted to pair her wedding dress with a Phillipa Lepley x Anya Hindmarch bag – a couture collaboration exclusively available to Phillipa Lepely brides. The Atelier team designed personal embroidery that incorporated the flowers in Olivia’s bouquet – snowdrops and sweetpeas were hand-embroidered onto the delicate dotty tulle covered bag, in various shades of dark green to match her belt.

Reflecting on her bespoke wedding dress journey, Olivia recalls: ‘The toile fittings were so exciting, and really showcased how much thought and time and skill goes into every design and dress. It was the first silk fitting that I really remember as being particularly memorable, seeing the dress starting to form into how it will be on the day, and getting a sense for the materials and textures and body of the dress. The whole team made the process so enjoyable and such a gorgeous and spoiling run up to the actual day – I could not have dreamt of more, and my appointments were truly some of the hours I looked forward to most every month. Wearing the dress on the day, I felt unlike I have ever felt before. As soon as I put it on I was so confident in my own skin. I also felt so lucky to be wearing such an exquisite piece of couture design and a dress that truly was made perfectly for me.’

Phillip Lepley bride Olivia

Photographed by Bizzy Arnott Photography

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.