Bride Of The Week: Anna

Written By Grace Yael

July 14, 2024

Say hello to Anna, our beautiful GL Bride of the Week, who celebrated her love story in the heart of London!

Dressed in our Jessie gown, Anna's wedding day was a captivating blend of romance and timeless beauty. In the following interview, Anna shares how she brought her fairytale dream to life for an unforgettable celebration. As told by Anna:

My dress was just stunning and I felt the best I ever have wearing it.

Anna

A moment of your wedding day will you never forget?
I will never forget holding my dad’s arm walking down the aisle and seeing my husband’s face and reaction. And when he eagerly said “I do!” too early during the ceremony – it was adorable and memorable.

One thing you wish you knew as a new bride? What advice would you give to future brides?
There isn’t anything I can say I wish I knew… I felt very prepared by the time the day came. My best advice to brides is to have wedding suppliers you love and trust because they are the ones who will make your day; they create the foundation for the wonderful moments and memories you share with your beloved and loved ones. We were so fortunate to have a stellar team of professionals whose work we admired and with whom we were able to create not just working relationships but friendships along the way!

A detail that made your wedding special/unique?
There were a few! One was that we went very big on the flowers. This was important to me because while our wedding was in an elegant 18th-century manor in London, I also wanted it all to have a very ethereal feel and like you were stepping out of an English meadow at any moment. Our florist, Emma Soulsby, delivered above and beyond anything I had dreamt. During our dinner reception, we had surprise singing waiters which shocked and delighted our guests and had everyone singing and dancing. Instead of a traditional guestbook, we had an audio guestbook which was a vintage telephone for guests to record a message. I also had a secret second dress quick change, for which I did a surprise ‘first look’ with my husband before we stepped into the party for our first dance. To me, this was the best of both worlds since we hadn’t seen each other before the ceremony (aside from when he waved up to my hotel window in the morning while I was getting ready!).

How did you know your dress was 'the one'?
I knew when I stepped out wearing ‘Jessie’ and my older sister burst into tears. I looked in the mirror and said “I feel like a bride.” I had to think about it for a night because there was another Galia dress I also loved but when I went back to try it on one more time, I knew Jessie was the dress for me!

How did it feel when you put on your dress the day of the wedding? What was everyone's reaction to the dress?
When I put on the dress the day of the wedding, my mom helped me into it, then my younger sister was zipping me up, and I felt very emotional since this was not just another fitting, this was it! My husband loved it – he was shocked in the best way! Along with even some of my closest friends, he thought I was going to wear something more categorically ‘traditional’, so I loved the element of surprise with such a unique dress that fit me and our day so perfectly.

How did you meet your husband? How did he propose?
I met my husband at work! He just appeared one day at a desk near mine, and we were dating a month later. He proposed while we were visiting my family for the holidays, and when he drove us back to my parent’s house after popping the question, they had set up a beautiful celebration for us. Then his parents flew across the country to share the weekend with us too – it was all a wonderful surprise.

What was your favourite part of the wedding to plan/you were most looking forward to?

It was very special to do our engagement shoot with our incredible wedding photographer, Jessica Lily because it was one of the first tangible parts of the process we got to experience together. I also loved all the aesthetic aspects of wedding planning – the stationery, the site visits with our planner and florists, and the cake design (and tasting!). Our planner Katie thoughtfully accommodated Zoom call times so my mom could join some of them from the US, which was amazing because I wanted to share that with her and have her input.

And finally, I loved every detail of planning the wedding wardrobe and special touches, from my makeup and hair trials to the silver sparkly soles of my René Caovilla heels matching the silver details on my Galia dress, to my bouquet ribbon with my grandparents’ names in calligraphy down the sides of it. I was most looking forward to when I got to see my husband and exchange our vows, and it truly was the sweetest moment.