Lydia Millen shares her bridal diary

The dress

"I found wedding dress shopping the most daunting experience of the whole wedding; there are more designers, styles and silhouettes than I ever imagined. There are so many elements to my personal style that deciding on just one seemed too much. I also realised quite early on that the dress I thought I’d wear on my wedding day was actually not what I wanted at all. I always thought I’d wear a skin tight mermaid style dress but the moment I tried on the Riri skirt by Halfpenny London, I knew I’d found 'The One.'"

The dress

"I tend to wear quite tailored styles in winter, but always with an edge of femininity. To merge those two styles Kate Halfpenny and I designed a bespoke top to bring the clean minimalist tailoring into the soft feminine ruffles of the Riri skirt, and my dream dress was born."

The hair

"My hair is a huge part of my signature look, so I didn’t want to turn up on my wedding day looking completely different. I also didn’t want my hair in my face all day, so my stylist Despina Sianou and I came up one of those 'looks like it took two minutes, but actually took an hour' type of hair styles, with loose tousled waves and a soft half up-do with baby hairs framing my face, finished with real “quicksand” roses from Maison de Fleurs."

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The make-up

"I'm known for my signature nude tone make-up and I didn’t want to deviate from that, warm nudes compliment my complexion whilst still giving depth and tone. I wore a full face of ByTerry with ByTerry x Sweed Lashes to ensure my eyes really popped on the day. My make-up artist was my amazing friend and head of make-up artistry at ByTerry, Albane Laloy. She knows me so well and knew exactly what I wanted in terms of my eyes, but was also totally understanding when I wanted to do certain aspects of my make up myself like my base and my brows. I didn’t want to look back and regret doing too much with my make-up, so we created a look that I loved whilst still feeling totally like myself."

The shoes

"I have been a huge fan of everything Manolo Blahnik has touched for the last decade. His shoes designs are timeless but most importantly, they are comfortable too, I lasted from 12 in the afternoon until 1 in the morning, even I was impressed. But I always knew I wanted to wear them on the day, So Ali and I opted for classic his and hers designs. Mine being a custom Hangisi style made from the same duchess satin as my Halfpenny London Skirt, so that the pairing was fluid and seamless. Ali chose a patent, black pair of lace-ups."

The accessories

"I kept my accessories simple and classic with a single diamond from Tiffany & Co draped around my neck and fresh “quicksand” roses in my hair."

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The bridesmaids

"When it came to bridesmaids, I decided to keep it in the family bar my maid of honour, who is my best friend and assistant. She knows what I need doing and how it needs to be done often before I do, so I knew she was the woman for the job. It was so important to me that my bridesmaids were comfortable and happy with every aspect of their looks on the day, so I pretty much gave them free reign. They picked the dress design between them from Maids To Measure and I still can’t get over how breath taking they all looked. I’ve never seen one style of dress suit so many different and beautiful women all at once. Their hair was created by Despina, Imy & Anetta at Michael John and their make-up was Chynara at ByTerry."

The flowers

"When we booked our venue, we thought it couldn’t possibly look any better than it already did, but my friends at Maison de Fleurs had much bigger plans and what they created was more than my wildest dreams. We wanted to include warm and cosy hygge vibes with lots of Jo Malone candles scattered through the venue with each room engulfed in its own scent."

The flowers

"The flowers were wild and imperfect in shades of quicksand and blush cascading down walls and staircases and the aisle was lined with fresh petals and scattered rose stems. I can still remember how it felt to see and breathe it all in for the first time - it was heaven."

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The groom's tux

"Ali didn’t want to go down the suit and tails route with his wedding suit and again I pretty much gave him free rein in the style he chose. I only piped up when it came to the colour. I really just wanted everyone to be happy and feel amazing."

The table settings

"The tables for our wedding breakfast were laid out in The Salon. We had six round tables of 12 and decided not to have a top table. We wanted everyone to be surrounded by their favourite people and in the end it worked out perfectly. The tables were full of roses, Jo Malone candles and the most beautiful glass candelabras, while the places were set with a single “quicksand” rose in the middle of the setting. "

The food

"For our wedding food, we wanted festive without being too heavy so we provided seasonal veg and festive feasts with a bit of a twist. My favourite dish from the whole meal was the Henricks cured Salmon washed down with a large glass of Moet after my speech."

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The entertainment

"We decided not to go for a wedding band as neither Ali or I had ever been to a wedding with one, so didn’t really see the value added. Instead, we opted for our fellow blogger and friend Zoe London who is an incredibly talented DJ and then we had our first dance song Simple Love sang by the artist himself, Luke Pickett. I’ve known Luke since I was about 12 and both Ali and I are huge fans, so we knew we wanted him there. It was a bonus that he stayed and partied with us until 5am."

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