A Glamorous Bride in Caroline Castigliano for an Autumnal-Inspired Celebration

When I opened up the folder of photographs for the wedding we’re sharing today, I was super-excited as I instantly recognised the bride’s enchanting gown from wedding dress designer Caroline Castigliano‘s social media feed. So what a treat to find out more about Georgina and her husband’s day.

Georgina, a features editor for Kitchens Bedrooms and Bathrooms magazine and Marcus, who is general manager at Sunbury Nuffield Health Club, married on 20 October 2017 in an autumnal-inspired day at Hedsor House, Buckinghamshire. Autumn is the bride’s favourite time of year, so the couple selected a rich, warm colour palette of red wine and aubergine colours, made pretty with pale pastel pinks and creams, and lots and lots of foliage. Hedsor is a magnificent Georgian countryside house but the couple could see that its spaces would be a gorgeous backdrop for an intimate day. If you love foliage and greenery, then keep an eye out in these photos for some really lovely details.

Georgina wore  Caroline Castigliano’s ‘Paislee’ from the ultra-feminine Love Is In The Air collection. Caroline Castigliano is a favourite designer here at Love My Dress, and we’re so proud to list her on our Little Book too. Her understated yet effortlessly glamorous gowns are hand-stitched here in the UK, and her use of sumptuous materials with simple silhouettes makes for an instantly recognisable style. Georgina found her gown at Pure Couture Bridal Boutique in Beaconsfield. I’m sure that many of you can relate to her tale of gown-shopping.

“My experience of finding ‘the dress’ was incredibly difficult – perhaps one of the most difficult decisions of the entire wedding. I was waiting for the ‘moment’ you see in films and TV where a bride puts on a dress and knows instantly that it’s the one. I must have visited twenty different shops, and tried on a least ten dresses in each. Sadly, that moment never really came.”

Photography Rubie Love Photography

“My dress was one that I had tried on around half way through the rather exhausting process. I had originally seen it in a magazine, and immediately text my mum to say how much I liked it (I seem to recall this was after a couple of proseccos with the girls). Luckily that weekend Mum and I were going to a dress shop which had the designer, and the dress. I loved it when I put it on. It flattered all my best bits and hid all the areas I wanted hiding. Being tall with a butt and boobs and a small waist isn’t the easiest thing to find a wedding dress for.”

On the morning of the wedding, the bridal party relaxed in Hedsor’s gorgeous bedrooms getting ready, with the help of make-up artist Chiara Aprea and family friend Samantha Williams, who kept the bride’s hair down in thick, natural waves and swept it away from her face, fixing that incredible cathedral-length veil at the back for another touch of glamour.

“My dress was simple, yet had beautiful detail in the corset – and POCKETS. I have no idea what my obsession with pockets in my wedding dress was. Perhaps there was something relaxing about it on such a high pressure day? I’m still unsure, but I loved them anyway. From that moment on, I compared that dress to all others I yanked and wriggled into thereafter.”

“A couple of months later, I told myself obviously that was the one I wanted. I went back, and tried it on for a second time, and decided to go for it – otherwise I was getting married in a dressing gown.”

“On the wedding day I felt fantastic in it. It made me feel glamorous, but with the pockets and simplistic skirt it had an edge of ‘cool and casual’. The strapless element made it feel just that bit sexy as well. One of the things I liked about it was that not only did it suit my body shape, but my personality as well.”

The gown needed few accessories, but Georgina wore her wedding present from Marcus – a Tiffany pearl necklace – along with classic pearl and diamond earrings, an 18th birthday present from her mum and, as her something old, borrowed and blue, her mum’s sapphire engagement ring.

The pair met on Georgina’s 23rd birthday, on a night out in Richmond, London and connected immediately.

“Four years later, on a late summer’s day in the hills of a Tuscan vineyard with the city of Florence in the far distance, Marcus got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was very romantic. We were engaged for just under a year and a half.”

Marcus and his groomsmen chose classic three-piece suits in grey, hired from Anthony Formal Wear. He stood out from the other men with a slightly different waistcoat, and chose a pale pink pocket square and tie to mirror the bridesmaids’ gowns.

I’ve fallen in love with Hedsor House – a quintessentially English country house in the heart of Buckinghamshire. I can easily see why Georgina and Marcus were wowed when they visited.

“It had everything we wanted, plus more. It was only our third venue that we saw, but knew instantly there was no point in looking anywhere else. It was grand, yet intimate, a blank canvas, and yet breathtakingly beautiful.”

The bride made her way down the central staircase (by the way, that chandelier!) with her dad, walking up the aisle in the Centre Hall to meet Marcus as Train’s ‘Marry Me’ played. I love the archway of flowers and foliage, crafted so cleverly by florists Seventh Heaven. The bridal bouquet is exquisite too with its wild and natural composition, shades of maroon, pink and green and a touch of whimsy added by the trailing ribbons.

“They came recommend by Hedsor House, and totally understood the mishmash of ideas in my head.”

The bridesmaids looked so elegant in their draped, one-shouldered Dessy column gowns in the palest pink, a lovely way to lighten the October day. Their sparkling Swarovski necklaces were gifted to them by the bride, each one individually chosen by Georgina to suit their personalities. Oh, and the adorable flowergirl wore a Monsoon dress in matching pink, with a little white cardigan to keep the chill at bay.

Marcus and Georgina married in a civil ceremony, made personal with two readings.

“We had Pam Ayres, ‘Yes I’ll Marry You My Dear’. This was read by my bridesmaid and Marcus’ sister during the ceremony. It added a little humour to the ceremony, and sums up our relationship quite well! A reading from ‘The Alchemist’ by Paul Coelho was something close to Marcus’ heart, and was read by one of his oldest friends during the ceremony.”

The wedding bands came from Classic Jewellery in Brighton, where Marcus had the engagement ring designed.

“My engagement ring is a platinum band with an emerald cut diamond, with two diamond baguettes on either side. We wanted to go back to that shop to get our wedding bands. Marcus chose a platinum band to match mine, and I chose a platinum band with diamonds half way round.”

The autumn day stayed fine, meaning that the guests could spill out on to Hedsor’s terrace to start the celebrations with drinks and canapes, whilst the newly-weds disappeared to get some just-married photographs and spend a few minutes together.

Ami of Rubie Love Photography captured the day on camera, getting a wonderful balance between formal shots and natural, intimate moments that make a day so special and individual. She’s cleverly used the October light to its full effect as well to get the beautiful portrait shots of the newly-weds, so romantic and timeless.

“Ami was incredible. From the support she gave us on the lead up to the wedding, to dealing with us on the day. Her shots are so natural, with so much depth and emotion. Each photograph is like a piece of art.”

Back in the House, the ballroom was a magnificent space for the wedding breakfast. The room needed very little dressing but the couple added fairy lights and candles for an intimate feel. The wedding stationery was by Papier, one of our valued Little Book members, and the place names were handwritten. I’m really taken with the hand-drawn ‘order of the day’ and how the couple named their tables after different botanicals such as rosemary, thyme, basil and chilli.

“These are all plants we have grown in our garden. Each place card was attached to something related to their table name, for example, a stick of rosemary or a chilli.”

“We had leaf-shaped ginger biscuits tied in a plastic wrapper bag, tied with a green ribbon and a little thank you note from us. They had green, slightly glittery icing. It was made by the woman who made our cake. They were a real hit, and really tasty.”

The wedding breakfast was provided by Cavendish Events, and enjoyed whilst Jukebossa played live music.

“They did Latin twists on pop songs. It gave something a bit quirky to the meal, and provided some great songs to dance to in-between meals. They also provided a jazz piano session for the reception.”

 

“I have always loved autumn, from the colours to the food and drink. I’ve also always loved the shabby chic, botanical, rustic, outside-in type feel. We went for rich red wine and aubergine colours, brightened with very pale pastel pinks and creams, with lots of foliage and greens, with a touch of sparkle in the form of fairy lights and candles.”

The tiered semi-naked cake was baked by All Cakes and Sizes and decorated with eye-catching blooms.

“They had a wonderful selection of semi-naked cakes that could come in a variety of flavours. I decided that one of mum’s roles was to choose the cake, so it was all down to her really. We went for a light lemon flavour as we had quite a rich wedding breakfast.”

The party continued as the light fell, with a DJ set from Anthony Parella and a photo mirror provided by Emerald Lion Photo Booths.

“Our first dance was Frankie Valli’s ‘Can’t take My Eyes Off You’. We wanted something a little different, and we went to go see ‘Jersey Boys’ in the West End and loved it, and the song. We loved how it was romantic at the beginning, but then has a great point to get our friends and family on the dance floor.”

I really love the couple’s inclusion of sparklers in the evening celebrations – how magical are these photos? Georgina has some really touching memories of this part of the evening too, which she shares below.

“I think something I will, hopefully, remember for the rest of my life was a moment in the evening when Marcus and I walked through a pathway of sparklers held by our friends and family. It was one of the things I worried about the most, the logistics of how one hundred people would have sparklers lit at the same time but it worked. And not only did that work, everything had worked.”

“Everything had gone perfectly to plan throughout the whole day. And it was at the moment, when I turned around and saw this absolutely magical sight, outside my gorgeous wedding venue, that time almost stopped. I could breath finally, and this huge weight lifted off my shoulders that my wedding not only was a success, but it had been fantastic fun, beautiful beyond words, and everything we had ever hoped for.”

“I saw everyone with smiles on their faces, and I turned to my new husband, and best friend, and just felt such love for him. The joy in that moment I felt in my heart is like nothing I’ve felt before. It was truly wonderful.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“The thing I heard a lot of when planning the wedding was ‘traditionally’. Traditionally this, traditionally that. Every single person, every single couple, is individual. So don’t worry about how things ‘should be’, just worry about how you want it to be. Lots of people will try to influence you on your day and while their opinion is very important, don’t let anyone dictate how your day should be. If the bride wants to do a speech, and wants to go first – like me – then do it. If the groom doesn’t want to wear top hat and tails, or if you want a band during the wedding breakfast – like us – then do it. Likewise, if you want a very traditional wedding, then do it.”

“Also – it sounds obvious – but organisation is key. We booked everything early and our experience was completely stress-free. In fact, it was great fun planning the wedding together. For example, we used the menu tastings as a date nights, and had a wonderful time dancing and picking the music. That would be another bit of advice, doing it together made the day extra special, as it was relevant and special to the both of us, not just me.”

Well, I do hope that you’ve fallen in love with this magical autumn wedding, and that ballgown – such beauty. Thank you so much Georgina and Marcus for sharing your day with us here, and thank you also Ami at Rubie Love Photography for letting us publish your photographs. If you’d like to see more of Caroline Castigliano’s designs, please visit her collection page here on Love My Dress, and for more autumn brides we have so many more for you to enjoy here.

Ele xx