The Dress With Charlotte Stavrou

The Journey

I was fortunate enough to have two weddings, a London registry office moment and a big Italian wedding of my dreams. I’m a very visual person and for both weddings I had a strong vision of what I wanted everything to look like before my husband had even proposed.

Italian Wedding

I actually saw my wedding dress on Pinterest before I got engaged and had it saved for months before. When I was ready to go dress shopping I went to Grace Loves Laces for a press appointment and tried it on – I just knew instantly it was the one. I had a vision of what my wedding day would be like (laid back but super chic) and the dress embodied it perfectly. I went to two other bridal appointments just in case, but I’d already got the dress so went more for fun than anything else.

London Wedding

I’d got my Italian wedding dress sorted first and for the London wedding I wanted something a bit more fashion-y and fun. We got married in Old Marylebone Town Hall with just our family present and I wanted the day to be cheap but chic. I chose to rent a ROTATE By Birger Christensen dress from By Rotation. It was short and fun and completely shocked my husband. Again I had seen this dress on the internet and I just knew I wanted to wear it on my wedding day.

The Decision

My sister came with me to the bridal appointment and she said the process seemed very transactional because I tried it on and I didn’t cry or show any emotion, I just said “yep this is it” and that was that. It’s odd because I thought I would be super emotional when I was wedding dress shopping and I have been with my friends when I’ve gone with them for their weddings, but I just knew this dress was it. I had such a strong vision of what I wanted to look like on my wedding day and this dress embodied everything I wanted. I don’t have big boobs or a bum, but I have great shoulders and a great back and my dress showed them off perfectly.

The Style Support

My sister is a stylist so I was lucky to have her by my side throughout the whole process. I created a mood board and she confirmed everything was perfect for me.

The Accessories

I chose a short veil from Grace Loves Lace that went perfectly with both dresses and then all my jewellery was a wedding gift from Monica Vinader. I’ve worked with Monica a lot over the years and had worked on the launch of the Mother of Pearl x Monica Vinader collaboration and said instantly that the X earrings and necklace would be what I’d want to wear on my wedding day. The collection is stunning and I wore the jewellery across both weddings.

My shoes were my favourite part of the whole thing. For the London wedding wedding I wore a stunning pair of Magda Butrum mules from the Outnet. They had a pearl anklet detail and huge bows. They were ridiculous and amazing and I will cherish them forever. I also wore them with my second look on my Italian wedding day. They are really worn out from all the dancing and the grass so I really need to get them repaired so I can bring them out for special occasions.

For my Italian wedding I wore a pair of Stuart Weitzman heels that were the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn in my life. The heels are stained green now so I think I’m going to dye them black at some point.

The Evening Look

I think finding the evening look was one of the most stressful parts of my wedding planning. Six months before the wedding I’d gotten a PT because, like a lot of us, I wanted to be in the best shape of my life when I walked down the aisle (honestly the best thing I’ve ever done because it has changed me life). This meant that my body shape completely changed and I was in between sizes when I was looking for a dress. I wanted something short and sexy and had my eye on a House of CB number that was perfect.

When I bought it the 6 was perfect in every place except it didn’t do up and the 8 was wayyy to big and when I took it to my nan who’s a dress maker she said I’d be better off getting another dress because the lace material would be too complicated to work on. I couldn’t find anything I liked so the week before I bought a similar style dress from eBay and just went with that. I didn’t really like the dress and took no photos in it, but it was perfect to dance in. Since my wedding so many brands I love like Khanums and Hanifa have launched bridal lines that are so my style and I’m gutted they didn’t launch just a little bit earlier.

The Second Day Outfit

The Second day for me was a pool party so I wore a white bikini and a stunning lace robe from Bocan Couture which I wore when I was getting my hair and makeup done on the big day.

Advice For Brides

Firstly, plan the type of wedding you want before you start looking at your dress. I got married in the middle of summer in southern Italy so I couldn’t wear anything heavy or big or else I’d melt. Knowing the type of wedding we were going to have was a huge help in narrowing down the style I was looking for. Also, get lost in Pinterest and wedding websites before you go to any bridal appointments. I felt way more prepared doing it that way and was able to go in with a vision.

Favourite Photo Of The Dress

Might be an odd choice, but this photo is my favourite because it shows off the back of the dress, which is the best part. Our Italian wedding was a “friends wedding” so our grandparents and family (outside of our parents and siblings) didn’t come. To have a bit of my nan with me I had some pearls taken off of an old dress of hers and sewn into the back of my dress.