Medical student Willi knew two things from the beginning of her wedding dress journey. For starters, she wasn’t going to have a lot of time to look for something herself, with her time focused on studying, work placements and exams. But the real kicker? She could acknowledge that she was picky. The two things – being time-poor and very specific in your vision – aren’t necessarily conducive to a happy bridal shopping experience. So she called on The Stylish Bride for help.

“Willi has a really cool, modern style,” shares Julie. “She wears a lot of turtlenecks and blazers, a lot of menswear inspiration. In a way, it’s not a look that translates easily to bridal, so we had to work out who Willi was as a bride.” After looking at various pieces, they found one that they loved, featuring a high neckline and long sleeves, very Victorian in feel, but after falling in love with it in the showroom, they decided on a whim to try it on again when they saw it in a department store, and suddenly it was all wrong. “It was a blue-white,” Julie shares. “And not in a good way.” So they were back to the drawing board.

One of the perks of being in the wedding industry is Bridal Fashion Week, and one of the perks of working with Julie is she’s super generous. “Willi and I just hit it off straight away,” she remembers. “So I took her with me to what ended up being the very last Vera Wang show before the pandemic. I had a gut feeling she was a Vera Wang bride. Vera has really classic styles from 10-15 years ago, but she also does really cool, modern stuff.” In the sea of models floating down the dinner party-inspired runway, there was one look that caught Willi’s eye: a lavender macrame lace gown featuring an open neckline – a style that couldn’t have been more different to the original white-but-blue dress.

The couple were set to walk down the aisle in May 2020, but the pandemic meant their celebration had to be cancelled. When things started to open up a little that summer, Willi’s parents hosted them at their home in the Hamptons, with a small intimate group of family surrounding them. For many weeks it was touch and go over whether or not they would be able to have the wedding. Once they knew it was a go, it was important that Willi’s outfit was chic and appropriate for being at home. Willi opted for a simple white suit, which she accessorised with an incredible floor-length lace veil by Carolina Herrera. Unable to be with her at the wedding, The Stylish Bride team taught Willi how to steam and prepare her dress via Zoom – with the hair and makeup artists doing the same thing. At the reception, Willi changed into a high-neck Stella McCartney gown, giving her that turtleneck moment after all.

But what about the Vera Wang? The lavender gown played on Julie’s mind in the months after Willi’s wedding, but luckily, it had its time to shine when the couple rescheduled their original wedding day for the summer of 2022. Held at Blue Stone Barns in New York, Willi’s accessories perfectly matched the lining of her dress, which was a nude champagne color, with Swarovski-covered Louboutins and a veil, while the flowers along the aisle were also in a complementary purple hue. It was one of those magical bridal moments where it all comes together beautifully. “She wore her gorgeous, long curly hair down,” remembers Julie. “She looked straight out of a Botticelli painting. It was completely her.”