This timelessly elegant Emilia Wickstead bridal gown took centre stage at Georgia and James’ breathtakingly beautiful black tie, destination wedding in Chamonix last June.
Set against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the French Alps, Georgia’s gown embodied the perfect blend of modern elegance and vintage romance. Their celebration, nestled in the picturesque foothills of Mont Blanc, was an effortlessly elegant fusion of style, sophistication, and natural splendour.
The couple enlisted the expertise of Monica Delevaux from Haute Wedding to help plan and style their day. Love and thanks to photographer David from Modern Vintage Weddings for sharing these glorious images. Enjoy!
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Bridal Beauty & Accessories
I borrowed earrings my mother was given as a gift after the birth of my sister. My grandmother-in-law gifted me a blue handkerchief that had a white tatting lace edge made by her mother. I used it as my ‘something old’.
My shoes were Loeffler Randall organza sandals in sky blue with a bow – my ‘something blue’.
The Dress
Emilia Wickstead
My main dress was an Emilia Wickstead design.
I had been following Emilia Wickstead for a while and fell in love with her style of dresses, especially the one she custom made for her own wedding.
Her wedding gowns are unique but classic at the same time and as an extra bonus the dress had pockets.
Tina, from Tina T Make-Up did both my hair and make-up. She also did hair for my mother, mother-in-law and my bridesmaids. She turned my brief into an incredible up-do and make-up that stayed put all evening.
I wore a veil that my sister-in-law Alexandra used for her wedding. It was gifted to her by her Grandmother and it was my special ‘something borrowed’.
As a thank you gift, I gave all of my bridesmaids jewellery the morning of the wedding that they could wear on the day and in the future. All of my bridesmaids wore their own shoes – a mixture of styles in a nude palette.
My niece Charlie wore Little Bevan’s Baby Alice Dress in white with a cornflower blue silk sash. She looked so cute as she was carried down the aisle by my sister-in-law.
The Ceremony
Our ceremony was held at Refuge du Montenvers. My dad walked me down the aisle and James was walked down the aisle by his mother – this was to the sound of Salut d’amour, by Edward Elgar.
Barbara Falkiner, our officiant, asked us in advance to write a small passage about why we were excited to marry each other. Instead of vows, she quoted snippets of each during the ceremony so we had the beautiful surprise of hearing the words.
We had two readings, the first was Song of Solomon 2:10-13, and we chose this bible passage as it channels a Robert Frost quote that is very important to my husband. That the ‘best way out is always through’. Regardless of the obstacle we can find strength, grit and move forward to the light on the other side.
Our second reading was used at my Grandparents’ wedding and also at my parents’ wedding. It means so much to me to continue that tradition. It was ‘On Love’, from ‘The Prophet’, by Kahlil Gibran.
Our wedding rings were from Sophie Breitmeyer. Sophie and her team are the dream family jeweller with such personal service and care.
Prior to our ceremony in Chamonix, we held the traditional American rehearsal dinner as a lunch with our close family and bridal party. We had speeches from our grandparents, James’ siblings and James’ parents.
It was a lovely gathering followed by our drinks reception to welcome all of our guests to our wedding weekend.
We held our civil ceremony at the Marylebone Town Hall in London. We couldn’t have been more impressed with the venue, the staff and how carefully organised the entire process was.
Photography
We used David and Mark from Modern Vintage Weddings. David was such a key part of making our day special. He helped root us in the moment at various points during the day, captured beautiful moments in secrecy, guided us towards gorgeous shots, and did an incredible job managing other guests and family to ensure we had our private moments (that he captured) as well as wonderful group shots.
David felt like a combination of guest and guide that provided us stunning photographs that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.
We used Aurélien Collet, a local videographer and professional skier.
How They Met
We met in Johannesburg while doing an internship. After 3 months of knowing each other we decided to try long distance as we went to different universities in different countries. It seemed like the craziest decision at the time and so improbable that our paths would ever have crossed.
Four years and many flights later, James proposed during a trip to the Lake District and we were married 10 months later in a small town hall ceremony in London.
Ten months after that we celebrated our wedding with our family and friends in Chamonix.
James wore a white tuxedo jacket from Charles Tyrwhitt, dress shoes from Jeffrey West, and a feather bowtie handmade by Brackish in Charleston, SC. The bowtie was specially selected to match his father’s, who wore a different Brackish bowtie for each of his children’s weddings. It is a callback to their shared love of fly fishing.
One of our favourite moments was the train ride down the mountain after our ceremony. We were in an historic cogwheel train with all our friends and family, drinking champagne as we watched the valley below us and the mountain above us pass by. David captured the moment perfectly, and we have several photos of the journey hanging in our home.
The Reception
Our reception was held at La Cabane. We used Fleuri’Cimes, a local Chamonix florist who were highly recommended by our wedding planner. The really brought the wow factor and kept the flowers looking incredible despite the hot sunny day.
La Cabane did all of the catering. The canapés and set meal were delicious, along with the wine we selected together. They also made our traditional French Croquembouche, a tower of vanilla custard choux buns wrapped in threads of caramel. They added decorative sparklers and gave all our wedding guests mini sparklers to join us on the terrace to cut the cake.
Hanya of Handcrafted by Hanya, created custom watercolour stationery for us featuring local mountain flowers and our venue on our invitations. For our table plan and table naming cards, Hanya painted the summits of hills that hold special memories for us in lieu of numbers.
We hired Iryna Strings for the ceremony and also for our cocktail hour.
Notes From The Wedding Planner
Monica Delevaux from Haute Wedding
Georgia is a naturally beautiful woman with a style that exudes simple elegance, illustrated by her choice of dress featuring sleek, clean lines with a touch of femininity and delicate romance. Her active, sporty, and adventurous personality also influenced the wedding day choices.
The ceremony location was unique, whisking guests up to a mountaintop via a cog train. This setting alone, with sky-scraping peaks and a glacier backdrop, was not something a regular bride would consider, setting a memorable tone for the day and the entire weekend.
Saying “I do” beneath towering peaks overlooking a glacier was truly unforgettable. We adorned the white-carpeted aisle with blue and white flowers, making it feel like an extension of the snowy mountaintops and blue skies.
Hydrangeas, lisianthus, delphinium, and greenery dominated the aisle decor. Since it was a June wedding, we were fortunate enough to integrate white peonies, a stunning flower with a very short blooming season.
The peony flower unfurls with ethereal grace, each petal like a whisper of silk. Its layers are a symphony of softness, cascading in delicate waves that seamlessly blended into the overall decor, which was elegant, adventurous, and romantic all at once.
The fine-art florals on the dinner tables were a deliberate design choice. With their elegant poise and timeless beauty, peonies captivated the heart, embodying the delicate splendour of nature’s finest artistry. Slim gold candle holders added a warmth and soft romantic sparkle to the tablescape.
We could write pages about Georgia, James, and their absolutely gorgeous mountain wedding in the heart of the French Alps. But to sum it all up, it was a beautiful combination of adventure, elegance and sophistication in a spectacular outdoor mountain paradise.
Evening & Dancing
We hired Loud Noises, a live Jazz band who got everyone on their feet and started the party. To get us to 3AM, we had Ayhan a local DJ from Sallanches.
We picked La Vie en Rose by Louis Armstrong for our first dance song’; it’s a beautiful nod to James’s American roots and also to our ceremony location in France.
I wore a Self Portrait dress for partying in the evening.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
My sister-in-law said while we were planning that the most important things that guests remember are ‘bride, booze, band and food’. I couldn’t agree more, if you get those four right then the rest are beautiful bonuses.
Another piece of advice I was given was stop yourself during special moments and say exactly what is happening in your head e.g. ‘I’m cutting my wedding cake with my husband.’ It sounds silly but it truly stops the whirlwind for a moment and solidifies the moment in your memory.
Also, I would have eaten more cake before I jumped straight into dancing! Luckily, our venue save us some so we had it again for breakfast the next day.
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Additional Credits
The below suppliers and venues are featured in this article, but are not part of the Love My Dress Wedding Directory.
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
