Emily and Simon were married in the south of France with a glorious three day celebration, in late June. The ceremony took place at an absolutely breathtaking venue - Eglise Souterraine Saint-Jean - the Subterranean church of St Jean, an incredible space carved into the limestone cliffs of Aubeterre-sur-Dronne.

Their wedding reception followed at a beautiful French manor house, with rustic styling, lots of flowers, good food, and a fun, relaxed vibe.

Emily wore her perfect custom creation from Jesus Peiro, pieced together from her favourite elements from styles 121 and 211. The wrap split skirt was one of the highlights of the look, allowing Emily to show off her gorgeous Charlotte Mills pearl shoes - she looked so fab! Emily also chose to have the dress made in a beautiful Roxanne taffeta, adding interest and texture to the simple, unembellished gown.

We'll let Emily tell you more about her look and how she created her custom gown. Read on for more details...

Custom Jesus Peiro 121/211 wedding dress

I loved Jesus Piero from the first time I put on a lightweight wrap skirt and slipped my hand inside the pockets. The skirts are perfection, all the shape and none of the weight, with the flexibility to combine elements of multiple dresses. Where do I sign up??

The 121 dress is classic, elegant with key design elements that accessorised the dress. For me it was all about the dress itself and how it was constructed rather than the bells and whistles and shiny accessories.

5 key elements added together created my dream dress.

The fabric - I opted for a textured taffeta to add a little more intrigue.

The tulip wrap skirt - what a revelation. This had a split slightly off centre so you can see your shoes when you walk. The shoes are another part of your look and so many times they’re covered by your dress, so this skirt really did show them off and make them front and centre of the look...

The back - the spaghetti straps added a relaxed and beachy vibe and were perfect for an outdoor wedding in the heat.

The train - long but light. I didn’t think I wanted a big train due to the inevitable admin of dragging it around. This was light, dramatic and beautiful.

The front - I swapped it from a square neck which comes as standard in the 121 to a deep plunge and a small bow at the front from the 211. I didn’t want to be hot on the day and the v neck allowed me to wear a simple necklace.

If I could sum up how I felt in the dress:

Chic
Elegant
Lighter than air

Dress Shopping

My mum came with me when I found the dress. She’s not a crier and we’re both quite decisive so as soon as she saw it we both said that's the one to beat. We did 5 shops and came straight back to Miss Bush to order it.

My favourite part of the dress shopping experience was trying everything. You’ve just got to try every style and fabric to know you don’t like it and whittle them down. You may think you know what you want but it’s about how it makes you feel. Emma is so stylish, right from when you meet her you can tell she lives and breathes fashion. She’s got her style and she owns it. But, she understands what suits people and knows what you want even before you do.

My whole experience was in lockdown. We ordered the dress 18 months ahead of time and storing it was no problem at all, fully insured and not much extra to store indefinitely until I had a date... The team are really prompt at getting back to you and are above all understanding.

Styling

The dress itself didn’t have anything sparkly on it. The way I added this was through my jewellery, diamonds and pearls.

Diamond bracelet, studs and simple pendant and pearls in my hair and on my shoes.

My shoes were Charlotte Mills and had pearls on them with a peep toe and mid heel. They were so comfortable and were in full view when I walked down the aisle.

A relaxed and rustic three day manor house wedding in France

The wedding was a three day event in France.

The inspiration for the whole weekend was togetherness and a creating a highly personal day. We wanted to do things differently to make it memorable for guests.

We got married in the local village, designing and creating our ceremony with our best friend who was our celebrant in a monolithic subterranean church. Our flowers added a big pop of colour and I made the conscious decision to have my bridesmaids in mismatch dresses.

The styling at the Manoir was rustic and focussed around lots of twinkly lights and celebrating simplicity and beauty of the building and setting itself.

The best bits

The ceremony was magical. There was not a dry eye in the house, and our guests left saying it was unforgettable, and like no wedding they’ve been to before.

Emily's Advice

Dress shopping- focus on how you feel not just how it looks.

Wedding planning- it might not go how you thought it would, but it will still be brilliant.

Styling- let the dress do the talking and wear comfy shoes.

Suppliers

Photography: Murray Freestone Photography
The dress: Jesus Peiro by Miss Bush
Hair and Make up: Jane Emerson
Shoes: Charlotte Mills
Food: Lovage & Pumpernickel
Venue: Manoir de Longeveau
Planner: Marry Me In France
Flowers: Les Fleurs Coupees