Stunning Grace | A Halfpenny London Bride
Halfpenny London’s Head of Design chose a customised fit and flare gown with long graphic sleeves and a voluminous train for a wedding steeped in family history.
Images by Jake Morley Photography
“Working in design, I feel like people expect you to wear the wackiest thing and really express a crazy energy. I love being experimental and pushing the boundaries in design but when it came to how I saw myself on the day, I just wanted to be me and feel classic and timeless.”
We have a very special wedding to share with you today. Grace Jones is not only a stunning Halfpenny London bride but she is also Head of Design at Halfpenny London. I’m so excited to share these gorgeous images of Grace and her new husband Scott on their special day.
Having toyed with the idea of getting married in South Africa - where Scott is from - the couple chose to celebrate their love in St John’s church in Wigan, a hidden gem full of personal history as it’s where Grace was christened and also where lots of her family have tied the knot, including her mum and dad, and grandparents.
“We could have got married in South Africa and we did talk about that,” Grace said, “but it would have been completely different. Lots of people couldn’t come and we wanted it to be a celebration for everyone and we realised that's what weddings are. It’s more about bringing people together.”
They kept Scott’s heritage front of mind with South African touches, including a traditional South African braai feast and brightly coloured napkins in traditional fabric chosen from a shop in Deptford that Scott’s mum used to go to when she lived in london. The florals were a mix of English heritage blooms with South African stems.
“We went really simple with the flowers as I didn’t want it to be over the top and become wasteful. The trees used as decoration in the marquee were branches taken from my family home and my dad and brother went to cut them down the day before. That meant a lot.”
Grace’s mother in law handmade the pocket squares for the ushers, complete with embroidered initials and personalised phrases or saying unique to each person. The couple also made all the invitations and orders of service. The wedding was bursting with creativity, as expected from our wonderful Grace!
She and I have been working together nearly nine years now and it was a dream to create her gorgeous wedding look together.
“Working in design, I feel like people expect you to wear the wackiest thing and really express a crazy energy. I love being experimental and pushing the boundaries in design but when it came to how I saw myself on the day, I just wanted to be me and feel classic and timeless.
I always work one on one with Kate as Head of Design but it was a completely different experience when designing my wedding dress with her,” Grace said. “She really listened and encouraged me to embrace my body as well. It was such a personal experience and different to our work relationship. It was amazing to see the magic of Halfpenny first hand and get an insight into our brides’ experience. It was lovely to see the shop in a different way too which was really interesting. I just saw the beauty of it! I loved it and loved working with Kate and the team.”
“I normally don’t show my body but I really wanted to embrace it on my wedding day. I felt happy with how I looked from the first fitting and would have been happy to go get married there and then.”
Going on this journey with every bride is such a wonderful experience but this time it was extra special. Grace came into the process with an open mind and we were ready to have fun trying on the collection as a starting point.
“It was an interesting process because I honestly didn’t consider any dresses before actually trying. I didn’t think about trends or what other people would think. I didn’t even look at pieces in our shop, although I did know that I wanted to try the Foxglove. The minute I put it on I was like ‘yes!’ It was definitely that dress. Originally, I thought I wanted to wear an overskirt on top but I just didn’t think about it during the appointment. I was so in love with the Foxglove, I just forgot to try one!”
Having quickly found The One in our gorgeous Foxglove, Grace and I chatted about adding some bespoke elements to suit her ultimate vision. We removed the front split and added inner constriction to the dress as Grace wanted to feel really supported. We also extended the sleeves and tailored them more around the wrist, accentuating the dramatic shape of the shoulder. The final touch was extending the train and giving it more volume and drama.
“I loved the Foxglove when we designed it and I wear that kind of style in my everyday life. I love square neck tops and also love a sleeve! I normally don’t show my body but I really wanted to embrace it on my wedding day. I felt happy with how I looked from the first fitting and would have been happy to go get married there and then. On the wedding day itself, I felt like myself and very comfortable. I just felt extremely beautiful and couldn’t stop smiling.”
We take what we do very seriously and every wedding dress is made with the utmost care. The process can take many months but Grace already knew what the fittings process entailed and the entire atelier team were so excited to work on her dress. Everyone added their own magic to the gown and we also made sure there was room for Grace and her family to add extra personal touches too.
“It was so nice that the whole team had a hand in making my dress so special for me. They are angels! Sewing angels! My mum, Angela, is an embroidery designer and she actually embroidered her dress when she got married. I knew I wanted to have her do something similar for my wedding so we decided to embroider the veil. Mum did some sample embroidery designs, but one day she said to me that she thought I was more of a words person than surface pattern, which was right. We decided to embroider words that mean something to me and Scott, like the date we met, wedding date, sayings that we use, our favourite songs, and parts of the world we’d been to. I’m so glad I wore the veil. Having it over my face meant that I didn’t feel so exposed walking down the aisle. I was just looking at Scott. I didn’t know if I would be able to smile at other people without crying.”
Grace completed her look with a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choo heels and simple jewellery that was meaningful to her, like a necklace her mum wore on her wedding day and some other sentimental pieces. Her gorgeous bridesmaids wore the Astrid dress from our Sister collection and her mum looked sensational in our green Cheryl dress and Laura top. It was so wonderful to dress Grace’s entire tribe of fabulous women.
When it came to the evening, Grace and Scott knew how to throw a party! Guests were treated to Espresso martinis and an Abba tribute band! We all dressed in handmade sequin ponchos and costumes which Grace made the night before. It was such a brilliant atmosphere on the dancefloor and a great party needs an incredible party dress so Grace surprised her guests with a surprise change of outfit.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to have a second dress but I’m actually so happy I did. I originally tried on the Victor dress with the Elder cape and I’ve never worn a tight dress in my life. The stretch duchess of the Victor makes you feel really snatched but then when I had my second appointment, I tried the full Elder look and knew that no one would have expected me to wear it. It makes you feel like an absolute superstar but they modified it and corseted it for me. The big reveal happened just as the DJ played “Me and Mrs Jones” and it was such a fun moment.”
“The whole process of creating my dress was amazing. Just seeing behind the scenes of it, the pleasure of being the bride and also knowing the work that goes into each dress. I’ll never forget the team putting it on me and them checking it from top to bottom. All the care and love they put into every bride is so genuine and they really love to make you feel amazing. I know I’m really fortunate to have experienced that.”
It was an honour and my greatest pleasure to dress Grace for her wedding day. I loved working with her and seeing her marry the love of her life. A day I’ll never forget.
Congratulations Grace and Scott. Myself and every single Halfpenny wishes you all the love and luck in the world.
All our love,
Kate & the Halfpennys xxx
CREDITS
Photographer - Jake Morley Photography / @jakemorleyphotography
Venue - St John’s Church, Wigan, then Underley Grange, Carnforth
Make up - Amy George / @amy.george.makeup
Hair - Jade Chappel / @jadenicolechappel
Flowers - Chris Higgins & Ian Travis