REAL BIJOU BRIDE - JULIA'S MADRID WEDDING

I am in desperate need of a holiday so when this beautiful Madrid Wedding landed in my inbox from photographer Kristhanthi Williams, I decided to live vicariously through it. Bride and Groom, Julia and Giulio consider themselves an ‘International couple’ (they have shared Spanish, French and Italian and live in London) so it was important that their Wedding reflect their shared heritage.

BRIDE

After a few bridal boutique visits, Julia fell in love with this Caroline Castigliano all-over lace gown. Given the heat you know a Madrid Wedding will entail and the intricate nature of the dress, our Bijou bride sensibly kept accessories to a minimum. Jewellery was small and delicate in the form of earrings borrowed from her Mum teamed with a simple necklace and bracelet gift from her Grandmother.

Hair and make-up were similarly minimalistic, a soft low bun worn with natural make-up.

But you can’t beat a pair of nude Jimmy Choo slingbacks for a luxe statement. As Julia put it “I adore shoes so any excuse was good!”

FLOWER GIRL

Choosing Bridesmaids can prove quite tricky and in the end Julia opted to have two page boys and a flower girl instead. Julia’s Grandmother, whose very skillful behind a sewing machine, created this adorable dress with a royal blue sash and headband to match some of the other elements of the day. More on that shortly…

This little lady even turned the camera on Wedding photography Krishanthi!

WEDDING DAY STYLE

As mentioned earlier it was important to Julia and Giulio that their Wedding day have an International flavour and incorporate their history which is why they chose to marry in Madrid. After a Church ceremony the Wedding party celebrated with a reception in Julia’s parents garden.

“I was adamant our wedding was going to be relaxed and informal” explains Julia, who continues “people soon kicked their shoes off and dangled their feet in the pool to cool off from the hot Madrid summer.” You can’t get more relaxed than that and the perfect cure for stiletto wearers’ sore feet. In keeping with the International flavour Wedding guests were treated to a veritable feast, being served Italian starters, English mains and French deserts (sounds like my idea of food heaven!). Guests were also given coloured fans to bring a Spanish flare to proceedings. Note the colour accent of royal blue again.

When I asked Julia if she had a particular standout memory from her Madrid Wedding, she told me about this uh-mazing profiterole Wedding cake collapsing. More importantly it started collapsing during her father’s speech! I always tell my Wedding clients to expect the unexpected and as Julia explains “Although I was rather shocked at the time in hindsight it was actually very funny! It has remained a talking point whenever we mention our wedding!”

WORDS OF WISDOM

Over to Bride Julia “Relax and enjoy the day. Everyone says it goes so fast and it really does. Try not to get stressed about little things and just soak up your moment!” Amen to that.