Anna wearing a Jesus Peiro wedding dress for her relaxed Surrey wedding

Anna and Donovan were married in Surrey in June this year, in a fun, relaxed marquee wedding, which celebrated their relationship and the coming together of their too families, combining the the groom’s South African heritage with a pretty, quintessentially English country garden feel.

Anna wore a gown from the 2017 ‘Mirtilli’ collection by Jesus Peiro, which happened to be one of our favourite dresses from this collection – it reflected the sports luxe, first-lady chic look that we love so much here at Miss Bush!

THE DRESS

Anna’s dress choice was perfect for their laid-back day, opting for a modern, elegant Jesus Peiro gown. 7031 is a crisp, contemporary A-line dress made from a unique microperforated polka dot fabric, with a simple round neck, low back and beautiful bow to the waist.

Anna tells us more about finding her dress;

“I chose a Jesus Peiro…7031! The spotty dress! Once we had discussed the day whilst in the chapel Emma knew what the day was going to be like and totally got it. I didn’t think it would be the one for me, but the sports luxe look and high neck made me feel so comfortable. The spots were so unique, and it wasn’t like anything I’d seen before, so I went for it and am so thrilled I did!”

“I had my Mum and my 3 grown up bridesmaids with me, we had so much fun choosing and trying on dresses. I had been really anxious about not being able to fit into any of the dresses, But Emma made me feel so at ease. My team knew it was the one as I walked out of the dressing room with my shoulders down and sashayed up and down the chapel! I couldn’t get the spots out of my head the following few days and that was that!

I loved visiting the chapel, it was always such a dreamy experience. We had such fun with Emma, Corinne and the team and I always came away feeling more confident and assured I had made the right choice. I also loved the free styling advice, hairdressing and of course the prosecco! We also always treated ourselves to lunch at the Anchor afterwards and plan to hold annual dinner with Mother of the Bride and the Bridesmaids.”

“I kept my look very simplistic and let the dress be the star of the show. I found a pair of sparkly Kate Spade Keds which I had brought back from America by a friend which I absolutely LOVED and went perfectly with the dress and were a great choice on a wet and grassy lawn. I had a very plain veil and some flowers in my hair, understated was the aim. My bouquet was quite the opposite, big, purple, wild and spraying, my super talented friend Carla did the flowers. They were a perfect reflection of the garden and tied the marquee nicely in with the garden setting.

Quite bizarrely I also fashioned a Mexican sombrero for part of the celebrations – left over fancy dress from my hen party which got hauled out, a bizarre mash up of Mexican/South African and English. Just what I’d always dreamed of?!”

ABOUT THE DAY

Anna tells us all about the inspiration behind her wedding day to Don;

“We wanted a mix of English country garden (Anna) and a bit of South Africa (Don) and then a real good party. It was really important that our day had a relaxed feel, the food dictated the day as we were really keen to have a BBQ (braai). I also wanted to wear flat shoes so that I could party into the early hours added to which I’m not very graceful in heels!”

“We felt so lucky to have friends and family with us, people had travelled from all over the world to join us which was the best feeling. The ceremony was very emotional (for me!) so holds a special place in my heart but my head says the party was the best bit, we danced all night fuelled by plenty of burgers and champagne!!”

FINALLY…

Some wedding planning and dress shopping tips from our bride, Anna;

“Buy a dress that you feel comfortable in, for a girl with a significant bust, I wanted to make sure I didn’t feel exposed and I wanted to be able to actually eat on the day without worrying!

Buy good but boring underwear!

Be daring and try things on that you don’t think you’ll like, you’ll be surprised.

Let Emma pick for you, she just knows!”

Also…

“Don’t fret the small stuff and don’t worry about the weather. It rained on our wedding day, it gave the English folk something to talk about and made for some great pictures. That being said we were prepared for every eventuality, I had wellies in case it was like Glasto, umbrellas etc and I’ve lent them to all my bride friends since.

Enjoy all of the preparations, it brought us all so much closer together (and we drank wine every time which is always a winner!)

Take it all in on the day, it is the most special time and it goes so quickly. I would do it all again a hundred times over – JUST THE BEST DAY!”