A Rime Arodaky Gown for an Elegant Wedding in Switzerland

One of the great pleasures and indeed privileges of this job I have as a wedding blogger is the opportunity to share so many beautiful weddings with you. That the couple are happy to allow us all access into some of their most intimate and joyful private family moments and memories like this moves me to tears more times than you might imagine. I’m never more in my element than when I’m pouring through images that tell a charming wedding day story. And then there are wedding films – a moving document of a day in which two people promise to love and support one another for the rest of their lives. Wedding films that have been sensitively and tastefully curated like this one today make my heart sing.

This is the wedding of Kate and Chris, who tied the knot in Klosters, Switzerland. Their wedding was captured on film by our talented Little Book For Brides members, Skinny Boy Films. Aside from the film itself, there’s also the small matter of that dress – it’s a gorgeous Rime Arodaky creation that Kate found The Mews of Notting Hill. Enjoy lovely ladies and gentlemen…

“I decided quite early on that we should get a video, Chris took a bit of convincing but after showing him a few of the previous films created by Kate and Steve of Skinny Boy Films, he was sold. I am so so glad we did. Not only has my mum watched it a million times already, it really takes you back to that day, the emotions, the changing light and the fantastic sunset. I am never going to get bored of watching it, and Kate and Steve captured it brilliantly, while blending in with our guests effortlessly.”

Kate shares a beautiful account of the day below. I hope you enjoy…

We didn’t have a theme – I am not creative at all, but I knew that the venue itself would set the rustic and elegant atmosphere we were going for, and because it was before Christmas we sang carols at the service and asked people to dress a bit more formally (tartan and velvet jackets featured heavily), with touches of fur and sheepskin and loads of wild greenery and candles to bring the mountain vibe inside. Everyone actually thought we were mad trying to pull off a winter wedding in December at the top of a mountain in Switzerland but we got very very lucky with the weather… our wedding was all about the location as we live in Switzerland and are lucky enough to call Klosters our weekend home, we wanted our wedding to feel like a huge party at the top of a mountain, like those sunny days on ski trips that you never want to end.

I still get goose bumps thinking about the moments before the ceremony, looking out from the balcony, and watching guests arrive while the piper played, seeing them all taking photos and taking in the spectacular location and scenery.

The Madrisahof is usually a private members club, but since we scheduled the wedding before the start of the ski season we had the mountain to ourselves, it was very special. Even though we went for a destination wedding I wanted to incorporate Scottish elements (from my family) so we hired a piper, served tablet with the coffee and made sure we had a few ceilidh dances. The rest of it was about being un-traditional and true to us and our relationship which has never been very conventional.

We were also lucky to have a fantastic range of (mostly) local suppliers, thanks to my amazing wedding planner/mother in law who lives in Klosters (I know, a risky bet but it payed off, we didn’t kill each other!) plus a whole range of generous and talented friends and family who helped out, it really felt like a group effort.

My favorite part of the day was the service, which Chris and I literally either laughed or sobbed the whole way through – we were pretty pathetic. Bits went a bit wrong, Chris said his vows in the wrong order, and the carol singing was unintentionally hilarious. A really special part was that we were married by our close friend Simon and his daughter Emma made our bespoke wedding bands.  After working with Chris for almost six months on my incredible engagement ring.

The service was informal, jolly and really ‘us’ (i.e. ridiculous, a bit cheeky and very sentimental). We had a few modern (and almost tongue in cheek) readings – “The life that I have” by Leo Marks, and “Advice from a Friend” by Tony Kushner, and we vowed to aid and abet rather than honour and obey.

Our photographer was the amazingly talented Melody Sky, who also takes extreme mountain photography as well as weddings so she can handle unruly guests in kilts in her stride! Our friend Nathan Ball wrote and played a song for us during the ceremony which was incredibly touching (cue more crying), and our friend Claire McGregor was our DJ afterwards. Friends and family made different layers of the cake, and we all helped out with the decorations the day before. We had a bit of a hairy moment when my mum slipped on ice the morning of the wedding and I thought she was going to get airlifted off the mountain to hospital with a concussion, but after a good rest she was fine. Things will go wrong and you just need to roll with it. A good friend had told me beforehand it would be an ‘emotional tsunami’ of a day and she was spot on.

We had about a year of planning, and I genuinely enjoyed most of it. Chris and I actually split a lot of the more boring admin/spreadsheet work, and we always tried to make the less fun parts (seating plan etc.) as fun as possible (i.e. add wine), while making sure certain times (and sometimes whole weekends) were free of ‘wedding chat’.

I loved my Rime Arodaky dress as soon as I saw it online, she is the most brilliant designer and I love her relaxed French style and the unstructured feel of her dresses, with such beautiful details. I did find dress shopping a bit weird, its strangely pressured and hard not to compare yourself to anyone you’ve ever seen in a similar dress, but I knew vaguely that I wanted sleeves and an open back to make it a bit more sexy… and the Olsen fitted the bill. I also splurged on some Valentino shoes that amazingly survived being trudged through snow and mud.

I got my bridesmaid dresses from the Etsy shop ‘thedaintyyard’ as they were the multi-way style that are justifiably very popular right now, they are super flattering and not ridiculously expensive. Let’s be honest.. no-one ever wears them again.

My only advice would be to work out early on what you really care about (for us it was wine, food and venue) and spend most of your money on that, and then try and cut corners for things you are not so worried about (stationery or flowers or whatever). We didn’t do favors at all, I didn’t want a hen do. Nobody has a bottomless budget and I think we got the balance about right – the party was brilliant and we didn’t run out of wine (which was honestly my worst nightmare). Most importantly – don’t stress about keeping everyone happy as it’s impossible and you will lose sight of what you were aiming for in the first place.

Finally, at first I was dead set on being ‘original’ but actually that’s pretty much impossible. I was worried that certain things were clichéd (or overly pinned) but actually some things just work, and I wasn’t willing to lose the plot (or my job), fall out with Chris, or spend a ridiculous amount of time on the details. Our polaroid wedding book is a well-trod idea but this captured some of the most hilarious moments of the night. I was also worried about seeing other brides in the dress I had chosen beforehand (including lots on this blog!) but at the end of the day, your day is unique because you are in it! All that matters is that it reflects your personalities and wishes and that you and your guests have a brilliant time.

I really don’t believe in perfect – in life or in weddings! We messed up our first dance (admittedly due to total lack of preparation) and I totally forgot about the sparkler send off – and hopefully nobody cared. Release your inner (or outer) control freak if you can.