We are delighted to share with you our first real bride to get married since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. A day that neither Kate or Chris had planned for, but having looked through their insanely gorgeous gallery, I’m sure they wouldn’t have had it any other way. Definitely a story for generations to come!

When Kate first visited us, she was stuck between two very different looks - but we think she made the perfect choice. Kate opted for a custom Jenny Packham gown featuring an embellished lace bodice with 3 quarter length sleeves and the dreamiest silk chiffon skirt. To finish the look, we at FDB made her a bespoke veil using the same embellishment from her dress to create a scattered petal effect cascading down to the floor - it was dreamy!

This London based couple chose to go ahead on their original wedding date with a redesigned church ceremony followed by a celebration in Kate’s parents Derbyshire garden complete with the most to die for beef wellington - served by the bride & groom themselves!

Coronavirus has wreaked havoc for so many of our bride’s wedding days and we want to say such a huge thank you to Kate for sharing her journey and words of wisdom with us.

We already can’t wait for Kate & her family to return to Nottinghamshire next summer in preparation for round 2 of celebrations at Tissington Hall where she will get to wear this beautiful gown again.

We wish Mr & Mrs Ersser all the love in their married lives together and allll the cool points for taking everything that Coronavirus had to throw at them in their stride. Love Wins!

(Keep scrolling to see Kate’s gorgeous pics!)

Words From The Bride;

Bridal Fashion :

I wanted a classic dress that showed me off at my best. The dress needed to have sleeves as my Gran (who recently passed away) always said that a wedding dress needed sleeves! She was a glamorous Gran and I definitely wanted to follow her advice! Other than that, I wasn’t looking for any particular look- I just wanted to look and feel great!

Tell us about your most memorable moments when shopping for your dress:

When I first walked into Frances Day Bridal, I knew I wanted to buy my dress there! I had both my Mum and Dad with me (and then my brother turned up as he was working locally- I think he just fancied a glass of bubbly!) and it turned into quite the family affair! Julia and Emma welcomed us all and we all felt straight at home! I had tried lots of other dress shops but not one of them was as accommodating as FDB. Julia and Emma were so flexible and anything I didn’t like on a dress, they could change. The Jenny Packham dress I ended up choosing didn’t have the full length sleeve I wanted but this was no problem! Julia was on the phone to Jenny Packham straight away and had sorted it! We then discussed veils and Emma drew a design for a bespoke veil to match the dress. Using the same beading from Jenny Packham, FDB created the most stunningly intricate veil- I couldn’t have dreamt of anything more beautiful! From start to finish, FDB were a huge support. With COVID restrictions changing our plans every few weeks, it was so helpful to have catch ups with Emma and discuss how we could work around it. Although the wedding was not what Chris and I originally planned, it was the most perfect day and Emma was by my side every step of the way, encouraging and supporting.

The location:

We had originally planned to get married at Tissington Hall- it’s beautiful Derbyshire charm was just what Chris and I wanted. A relaxed, countryside venue that could accommodate all of our friends and family was the perfect choice. Unfortunately, coronavirus changed all of that. The dream wedding was postponed until July 2021, but marriage was always the most important part of the day for us both. When Boris announced weddings could go ahead, we decided to have a very small ceremony on our original date and go back to my Mum and Dad’s house for some food and drinks with immediate family. The weather forecast forced us into ordering a marquee and my Mum and Dad went to town with decorating it! It was the perfect day and I’m so pleased we decided to go ahead. Having such a small ceremony with our closest family was so special and intimate and we loved every minute of the day.

The main event - Your Wedding Day!

Due to the last minute nature of this wedding, the ceremony had to be at 11am as the church had another wedding later that day. This meant it was an early start! Saskia came at 7am and did an amazing job of my hair as well as my make up whilst my Dad and brother helped with the flower delivery and last minute jobs of setting up the marquee in the back garden. The church service was beautiful and was made even more special by the String Trio. Not being able to sing hymns in church was a real shame, but having a string trio play a beautiful hymn was so special and it was a highlight of the day for me. After the church, Chris and I drove away in a 1960s MG. Chris loves cars and after being in that car for 5 mins I could see why!! Once we were back at Mum and Dad’s house, we could relax and enjoy the rest of the day. We had drinks and canapés on the patio and then Chris and I served food at 2pm. We had thought carefully about ensuring we were following best practice regarding coronavirus so Chris and I served food in our Mr and Mrs aprons to ensure not everyone was handling serving utensils. Everyone sat on household tables that were socially distanced and of course, there was hand sanitiser everywhere! But it really didn’t ruin the day! The food was incredible (beef wellington cooked by Gorgeous Gourmet Grub), the speeches went ahead as normal and were unforgettable and then we were surprised by a montage of video messages from our bridesmaids and groomsmen! Another highlight of the day for us both! The evening started with gin from our home made gin bar and then street food from Gorgeous Gourmet Grub’s amazing van! We danced the night away on our patio and ended the night by toasting marshmallows on our fire pit and lighting sparklers. Covid did not stand in our way- it was simply perfect!

Words of Wisdom:

Planning our wedding has been such a whirlwind. My advice to any bride is to always remember that the marriage is the most important part and nothing will ruin that- not even a worldwide pandemic or thunder and lightning as we had on our day! I was beaming all day and genuinely felt on cloud nine- nothing could bring me down! We feel incredibly lucky to have been able to go ahead with our wedding and we are looking forward to celebrating with friends and the rest of our family next year. I hope lots of other brides are able to go ahead with their special days despite the circumstances. It’s so worth it and it will still be the best day ever- I promise!