Bride Of The Week: Sarah James Middleton

#GLbride

Written By Yaara Better Pocker

Bold and Unforgettable: Inside Sarah James Middleton’s Wedding

A day filled with artistic charm and timeless elegance, our GL Bride of the Week, Sarah James Middleton, brought her vintage-inspired wedding vision to life while captivating everyone in our Tali gown. Her celebration beautifully reflected her creativity and personal style, featuring 1800s-style tin-type photography, fine art portraits, and a 'Heavenly Bodies' Met Gala dress code, making it a truly unforgettable event.

"Everyone person who saw me in the dress was blown away."

Sarah

A moment of your wedding day will you never forget?
We had a live tattoo artist at the wedding and got matching tattoos on our wedding day. Our guests could also choose from flash designs and get tattooed throughout the night. It will be a permanent reminder of the best night of our lives.

One thing you wish you knew as a new bride? What advice would you give to future brides?
The day flies by so quickly. Make sure that you plan time to celebrate with everyone. We split our day into 2 so we could have a ceremony with just our bridal party and immediate family, welcome drinks with our close friends, and then a large reception with everyone else. Since we didn’t have a ceremony on the reception day we extended cocktail hour and spent the first hour taking photos with each couple as they entered the reception. The rest of the night flew by so we are so glad we could get a photo with everyone at the beginning!

A detail that made your wedding special/unique?
We had 1800s-style tin-type photography in addition to the tattoos. We had an open oyster bar, fine art portraits commissioned of ourselves and our dogs on display, and we treated the reception more like an art installation when it came to decor than a traditional wedding.

How did you know your dress was 'the one'?
I saw my dress on Instagram, stumbling upon it randomly and immediately knew it was the one. We’d been engaged for over a year and I just didn’t respond to any dresses. I considered having one designed for me because it seemed I’d never find something that felt “right”. When I saw the Tali I knew it was my dress. I even flew out to Washington to try it on the very same week. I wanted something with drama, that showed my tattoos, felt comfortable, and wasn’t heavy. I knew I wanted a puff sleeve and a large train and this dress did not disappoint.

How did it feel when you put on your dress the day of the wedding? What was everyone's reaction to the dress?
Jack and I got ready together and having him zip me up felt like a dream. Everyone person who saw me in the dress was blown away. I host fantasy balls, so I’m not a stranger to a dramatic dress. It was so difficult to find something more elevated than what I typically wear, but I felt on another level in the gown. It blended with our fine art/ baroque decor perfectly and caught the light in the most unexpected ways!

Would you have done anything differently?
I would say we don’t regret a single thing, but I definitely recommend not making last-minute changes the day before or the day of the wedding. They added a level of stress that could have been avoided.

"It blended with our fine art/ baroque decor perfectly and caught the light in the most unexpected ways!"

Sarah

What was your favorite part of the wedding to plan/you were most looking forward to?
Planning the wedding as if it were an art installation was so fun. We told our guests to come in heavenly bodies met gala attire and their portraits will be made into digital illustrations and then bound into a coffee table book labeled “the guest book”. It was so fun creating guest mood boards, working on the portrait spaces, finding an illustrator, and having everyone show up in their fanciest attire!

How did you meet your husband? How did he propose?
My husband and I met completely by accident when I walked into his work one day to pick something up for a friend. He likes to tell people his very first thought when he saw me from across the room was “now that’s a girl I could marry.” He started visiting me at my work nearby and eventually asked me out. Within the first year, we had dogs, and matching tattoos and moved in together. 6 years later, and marrying him was the easiest choice of my life.

When we got engaged, we actually decided to ask each other. We set a date to visit the historic longwood gardens and we had each purchased a ring for the other. We walked around the gardens until we found the most incredible spot where we proposed to eachother together. We vlogged the day to keep it private, and then we asked our future bridal party to meet us at our favorite restaurant to surprise them with the news!

How did you find working with the team at Galia Lahav?
I worked with the lovely bride associates in Seattle. It was a fantastic experience. I had a really negative dress experience in New York with a different designer and it crushed my confidence. Trying on the gown itself was a dream and i knew as soon as I zipped it that it was the one for me!

How many dresses did you try on before you found it?
1! I had tried on 1 dress with a designer in NYC and had a terrible experience. I wasn’t sure I would be able to find anything I loved. The Tali was only the second dress I ever tried on and I knew for certain it was meant for me!

"The Tali was only the second dress I ever tried on and I knew for certain it was meant for me!"

Sarah