Sophie et Voila Isla for Olivia's fun, relaxed and authentic wedding at home

Olivia and Ben's relaxed, fun wedding took place in Bosham in West Sussex in early September. The day began with a traditional, intimate wedding ceremony at the beautiful Holy Trinity Church in Bosham. This was followed by a reception at the bride's family home, in a brilliantly transformed barn that just weeks before had been used as her Dad's workshop, filled with tools and equipment! It was a true family effort, with everyone coming together to make the day special, adding handmade details (including over 350 pom poms!) and sentimental, thoughtful touches.

Olivia wore the incredible Isla wedding dress and cape set from Sophie et Voila, embracing her unique style with creativity and fun on her wedding day. The straight column dress adorned with huge oversized puff sleeves and a matching billowing cape made for a striking silhouette against the traditional backdrop, and you can just see from the images how much fun Olivia had wearing her dress! To style her look, Olivia kept things simple with classic pearl earrings and a soft braided up-do, finished with delicate pink satin ballet slippers.

Read on for all of the images, and to find out more about Olivia's dress and her wonderful wedding to Ben. With incredible images by Cat Arwel.

Sophie et Voila Isla wedding dress and cape

I chose the Isla Dress by Sophie et Voila. Before I started the search for my wedding dress, I knew I wanted a unique silhouette with a dramatic feature. Think 80s wedding, but make it 2025. Which is why I knew Miss Bush bridal would be my first, and turns out, only store! I saw the dress on the website before visiting and knew it was my dress instantly. The loose fitting shape, coupled with the dramatic sleeve and cape gave the ethereal look I was after.

My first visit to Miss Bush was during one of their sample sales as I thought it would be a fun way to start, and a chance to try on some of the more unique styles. The first dress I tried on was another Sophie et Voila two-piece, but I remember asking Rosie “is there any way we can add a giant puff sleeve to this?” in the hopes of emulating the Isla dress. But after showing Rosie the dress that had already captured my heart, she kindly agreed to sneak the Isla dress from out back despite it not being included in the sale. As soon as I stepped out in it, I turned to my mum and told her, “this is my dress!”.

Styling

As a 5”10 bride that LOVES to dance, I was definitely going to wear flats. The satin and suede Louffeur Randall ballet flats were so comfortable and their simple style didn’t detract from the dress. The rest of my accessories I kept to a minimum, with no necklace or bracelet. Some pearl drop earrings and my grandmother's pearl ring were the perfect final touches.

I did toy with the idea of having a bow veil as sometimes… more is more! But on the day I felt perfectly bridal without it.

A relaxed, fun and authentic family wedding at home

We filled the day with places and moments that felt authentic to us as a couple and our families, giving it a very sentimental and familiar feel. After getting ready in my Aunt and Uncle’s gorgeous house, tucked away in the tree tops, we said ‘I do’ at Bosham Church, a place where my parents and sister were married (another Miss Bush bride) and I walked down the aisle to Ava Maria sung live, my husband’s favourite song. I didn’t have any bridesmaids, but instead had my mum and Ben’s mum with me. They were the calming presence I needed.

We then had a relaxed reception at my childhood home in my dad’s barn/workshop. Up until 2 weeks before the day it was filled with tools, cars and gardening equipment, but we simply tied a bow or a pom pom round anything that we couldn’t find another home for! It was the home-grown feel we wanted.

As we had the luxury of time and were able to prep the space ahead of the day, we skipped the fresh flowers and instead suspended 350 paper pom poms and flowers from the ceiling. Shout out to my mum for hours and hours of fluffing! It was a happy coincidence that they emulated my sleeves.

The rest of the day we wanted to be a party, so I surprised my husband with an ice sculpture of our initials that you can take shots from, festival flags planted throughout the garden and a confetti cannon to really set the evening vibes.

The best bits

I really enjoyed the calm before the storm - knitting on the sofa with my hair and make-up done, surprisingly less nervous than I thought I’d be.

Walking down the aisle, fighting tears as I stepped towards my best friend, and seeing he was equally as choked as I was. A memory and a feeling I’ll never forget.

The first dance we’d practiced a few times before in our kitchen, and the euphoria hitting as confetti came down as Ben lifted me, and everyone we loved joined us on the dance floor.