We're delighted to share our first ever Nortier Campbell bride with you today! Emma celebrated her marriage to Valentijn at Cissbury Barns in West Sussex, with a joyful, memorable wedding day filled with thoughtful personal touches and beautiful styling.
Emma chose the show-stopping Campbell wedding dress by Nortier, which she loved for its elegant square neckline, fitted bodice and romantic full skirt with hip panniers for added drama and volume. Emma took the look even further with maximalist fashion styling which we adored, adding an ornate pearl choker, glamorous satin opera gloves from British glovemaker Cornelia James and an heirloom veil, worn by her Mum on her wedding day.
Read on to see all of the stunning images from Lemonade Pictures, find out all about Emma's dress shopping experience and discover more details about her wedding to Valentijn.
Nortier Campbell wedding dress
I wore The Campbell dress by Nortier, the dreamiest dress I could have imagined. When I visited Miss Bush, I had my mind set on a two-piece I’d seen at a different store. However, when Miss Bush pulled out the Campbell dress, I instantly fell in love with it. The dress was beautifully classic, with a square neckline, a structured bodice AND fantastic paniers for volume. The dress was more traditionally bridal than I had envisioned, which gave me the chance to accessorise. I paired it with a duchess silk gloves and a pearl choker. I styled my hair in a low bun to add to the 60s vibe.
To top it off, the dress fitted me perfectly and didn’t require any alterations – it truly was a perfect fit in both style and structure.
My mum and sister (MOH) came dress shopping with me, and it was the best experience. We are all very close and pretty outspoken! While I value their opinions, they know that, in the end, I’m not easily swayed by external views. Luckily, we all agreed that the Campbell dress was the one for me! My favourite moment was trying the dress on with my mums veil – que tears!
Dress Shopping at Miss Bush
I loved the whole experience! The pre-shopping chit-chat, the shopping itself, and the post shopping debrief! From the start, it was clear that Emma and her team were incredibly knowledgeable, and were helpful throughout.
My mum and I attended the Nortier atelier in Basingstoke quite a few times after purchasing the dress, mainly to sort accessories. Ben and Adrian were so helpful and welcoming.
For my mum, I think the only sad part of my wedding day was that she no longer had an excuse to go back to Nortier and see Ben!!
Styling
The dress was more traditionally bridal than I had envisioned, which gave me the chance to accessorize!
I love a bit of OTT, so with Ben's advice, I paired it with large panniers, duchess silk gloves, a pearl choker, and diamond/pearl earrings from my mum.
Additionally, I wore the veil my mum wore on her wedding day. My parents have been very happily married for 35 years, so it was nice to include a small part of their love story in my own day.
For the shoes, I wanted something I could rewear and dance the night away in, so I chose gold platforms. Finally, I styled my hair in a low bun to add to the 60s vibe.
A joyful, personal wedding day at Cissbury Barns
We actually legally got married in the Netherlands, where my husband is from, for a few reasons. One of them was to avoid any constraints for the English wedding (and so we could have two parties!).
The English wedding was held at a secluded estate in West Sussex. We were married outside, the drinks reception was within a walled garden, and the dinner/party took place in a rustic stone barn. We wanted the day to feel special but laid-back.
One of our best decisions was to have a celebrant, particularly Chloe Green. The ceremony was so personal and had us (and the guests) laughing and crying! Both Val and I wanted a shared surname to signify us as a family, but it didn’t feel fair for me to automatically take his. Therefore, we did a coin toss during the ceremony to decide!
We wanted the day to be authentic to us as a couple, so we incorporated touches of my family's Scottish roots and Val's Dutch background throughout the day- including a piper, Having the “I do’s” in English and Dutch, and of course famous Dutch cheese!
It was important to us to make our wedding as waste-minimal as possible (there’s enough rubbish in the world already!). The flowers were in season and matched the dark red/pink color scheme; they were wild and unstructured. The tablescape included brass candlesticks that I had thrifted over the years, with table name places made from oyster or clam shells collected from Salcombe. Pomegranates and red grapes were part of the tablescape – very eco-friendly as people ate them at the end of the dinner!
The best bits
Easy, having all our favourite people in the world in one place! A close second was entering the wedding breakfast to music, with people swinging their napkins and cheering – a moment of pure joy. Lastly, our vows. They were a surprise to the other, yet matched and were so in sync.
Emma's Advice
Comparison is the thief of joy. Oh and get a videographer!
Suppliers
Photography: Lemonade Pictures
Videographer: NDR Films
Venue: Cissbury
Makeup: Makeup by El
Hair: Carolanne Armstrong
Celebrant: Chloe Green Celebrant
Flowers: Pollendine's
Gloves: Cornelia James
Band: The Happy Jacks
Caterer: Ren's Kitchen
Photography: @lemonadepictures
Videographer: @NDRFilms
Venue: @Cissbury
Makeup: @byeleanorveness
Hair: @Carolannearmstrong
Celebrant: @chloegreencelebrant
Flowers: @pollendines
Gloves: @Cornelia_James
Band: @thehappyjacksband
Caterer: @renskitchen
GET THE LOOK
Nortier is the exclusive in-house label for Miss Bush, creating theatrical, costume inspired couture bridal fashion with vintage inspired silhouettes and creative design. Tap below to find out more about the Campbell dress, a dramatic wedding dress with bold hip panniers, full skirt, fitted bodice and square neckline with fitted shoulder straps.
