My 5 Bridal Looks: Laura Rogers

I’d always dreamt of having an Italian wedding, but with all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic over the last couple of years, Jack and I decided to stick to having a wedding in the UK. We fell in love with Middleton Lodge and chose it as our venue. Then, at the last minute, I realised we’d booked a civil ceremony instead of one that was going to be legally binding. So we were suddenly hunting around for a legal venue about six weeks before the big day, in August last year. It turned out to be Liverpool St George's hall. Jack and I met in Liverpool, so it felt somewhat meant to be.

Only our parents and photographer were with us. I knew I wanted something simple, classy and that I could wear again in the future. I also realised there’d be quite a lot of walking around, so shorter made sense. I love that dress – so timeless – and my hair bow was a gift from my bridesmaid; it came from Gigi & Olive. My shoes were a fun pair from Zara which have quite an Amina Muaddi feel to them, and people often ask about my florist – Kate from Agnes & Bee did my bouquet on this day and later did the flowers and styling at Middleton Lodge. She was incredible. Finally, my sunnies came from Celine.

I loved our day at Middleton Lodge. Having ticked off the legal side of things, we had @LoveJoCeremonies conduct proceedings and she delivered a civil ceremony that was so personal to us – it told our love story perfectly. As for the dress, I couldn’t recommend Emma Beaumont more. I had a very strong vision of what I wanted for that day – very Italian in feel. Despite trying on lots of dresses, I couldn’t find “the one”, so going bespoke was the right fit. Emma was wonderful – so clever and her ideas felt so personal to me. It was great to be able to circumvent bridal trends too; it’s so important that when I look back on it in a few years from now, I still love it as much as I did on the day. The dress was made over the course of ten fittings and was everything I could have dreamed of. I love that it’s one-of-a-kind, like a piece of art, and I felt so incredible in it.

I suppose it was quite a subtly sexy dress – it was sheer in places and the back was low – but I wanted it to look vintage inspired and classic at the same time. She also made my cathedral-length veil, and my shoes were a nude pair of Jimmy Choo Azias. My earrings were from Heavenly London and Amy George did my make-up.

I always knew I’d have a second look, but I changed into this look quite late in the day. The first dress from Emma Beaumont was so special and took a very long time to make, so I didn’t want to risk it getting damaged later in the evening. I love the aesthetic of The OWN Studio and everything it does. This silk-satin number had lovely movement to it – great for dancing – and it was my idea of the perfect party dress. It was wonderful being able to fulfil two very different bridal visions on the same day – plus, I know I’ll wear the second dress on many future holidays.

A few days after our wedding at Middleton Lodge, our photographer from our legal ceremony – Marta D. Weddings – and her partner, Michal, were working on a photography workshop shoot in Lake Como at Villa Pizzo and asked if Jack and I wanted to be involved. We jumped at the chance. This first look came from Liz Martinez and I loved it. The creative team behind the shoot had several dress options, but this one really stood out to me – maybe because it felt quite bold and different. I’m not sure I’d have had the confidence to wear something this sheer or decorative on my wedding day, but I couldn’t get enough of the sleeves and embellishments. Going to Lake Como for our mini-moon and getting to take these photos in Italy was incredible – we felt very lucky to be asked. 

It looked so fantastic in the images – mainly because we couldn’t have asked for better weather – and I really enjoyed having the chance to wear my hair up. I never do, so it felt like a very fresh departure. I wore the same Zara shoes as in our legal ceremony and my jewellery came from Heavenly and Monica Vinader.