“We aligned on something authentic, traditional and modern,” explains Emilia Wickstead of the wildflower-blooming, floor-sweeping dress she designed for Harriet Sperling, the paediatric nurse who married Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, this afternoon in Gloucestershire. The elegant gown – the result of months of planning and hundreds of hours of handwork – was constructed using a trio of different elements: a square-neck column underdress, a delicate lace overjacket fitted above the waist, and the pièce de résistance, a head-turning three-metre train.
Surrounded by family and friends, including Sperling’s daughter Georgina and Phillips’s daughters Savannah and Isla, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince William and The Princess of Wales, the pair wed at the bucolic All Saints’ Church in Kemble. They will continue their wedding reception festivities at Gatcombe Park, the countryside home of Princess Anne, where the groom grew up.
Wickstead first met Sperling in the bridal salon of her Sloane Street boutique, where brides-to-be pass through ivory silk moiré-lined doors to discover the timeless, refined silhouettes that have become the New Zealand-born designer’s signature. Wickstead, of course, is a favourite of the royal family, and her designs have been worn on countless occasions by the Princess of Wales. Just last year, Kate wore a royal-purple coat dress by the designer to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day in London.
Wickstead and Sperling began the process by trying on a number of styles together, but the designer explains that they “visualised the final silhouette quite early on”: a demure high neckline, elegant long sleeves, lengths of delicate lace and a 19th-century-inspired train. For the detailing, Wickstead incorporated Leavers lace into the gown – an exceptionally fine fabric invented in Nottingham in 1813 – which was also used for Sperling’s veil. The lace is woven with prairie flowers, a wildflower motif dating back to the early 1900s, in a nod to the sprawling blooms native to Gloucestershire, where both Sperling and Phillips spent their childhoods. Fastidious about fabrication, Wickstead also notes that the dress was crafted from Italian ivory crepe, a less conventional choice for a wedding gown, which “moulds to the body”.
When it came to the bride’s finishing touches, Sperling chose classic custom ivory satin heels by Jimmy Choo and a tiara and earrings by Pragnell, the family-run Mayfair jeweller that also designed her engagement ring. Wickstead also designed dresses for Georgia, Savannah and Isla – the couple’s daughters from their previous relationships, who served as bridesmaids – using the same Italian crepe from which Sperling’s wedding gown was crafted.
