The Dress with Hannah Burden-Teh

Hannah Burden-Teh and Alexander Oliver tied the knot in Brancaster, North Norfolk on the 21st May 2022. The wedding vibe was :Tuscany comes to North Norfolk.

It was always my dream to get married in Italy, but if getting married and being married has taught me anything – it’s life is about compromise! There was no way my husband wasn’t getting married in the village he grew up in Norfolk so there was only one way forward – try to recreate Tuscany on a north-facing British coastline.

THE JOURNEY:

The journey once I stepped outside of the house was brief, I’m the sort of person who will research something to the point of ruining the joy of it so I knew exactly what I was hunting for. However, I thought I should at least try the mothership of wedding dress emporiums – Pronovias on Bond St – to see if anything could sway me.

I was lucky to have a friend who has styled for both Tom Ford and Stella McCartney come with me, thinking if anyone would be up for the challenge it would be her. We had a fantastic morning, the dresses were beautiful and the staff were delightful but nothing charmed me from the little idea in my head.

THE VISION:

I knew I wanted something incredibly simple from the beginning and always had an inkling a) it wouldn’t need to cost a lot and b) maybe I could wear it again someday (B is yet to materialise as it’s still zipped away un-drycleaned).

Following my very thorough online investigation, the dream dress I needed to find was an off white, bias cut, floor length satin dress with cap sleeves and a v-neckline – and so the search began.

THE DECISION:

Having always known the sort of style I was after this made the ultimate decision incredibly simple, just like the dress itself. I have always loved Ghost and when you search “simple satin wedding dress” it is one of the first hits on Google. I had a brief dalliance with a Galvan London dress on The Outnet and another by Shona Joy, but Ghost won the day.

I cycled down to the King’s Road on a Boris Bike one morning, tried it on and literally popped it in my basket.

THE STYLE SUPPORT:

I’m the sort of person who engages everyone’s opinion but ultimately disregards it, I also prefer shopping alone when on a mission. I had, however, banged on repeatedly about my dream dress for many years and long before I met my husband, so I’m sure everyone was bored of it before it even began.

THE EVENING LOOK:

I changed into a little Zara number for the evening, completely ridiculous with voluminous puff sleeves. My gold platforms that had been elegantly hidden by my day dress were now proud disco shoes. I wanted something silly and fun for dancing with our friends.

THE ACCESSORIES:

The one accessory I knew I definitely wanted was a headband. I am a headband person through and through, and almost every day I would walk past Hermione Harbutt dreaming of the perfect band. Sadly, the budget wasn’t quite there but I found the most incredible milliner on Etsy called Tilly Ellen Millenary who made me the bespoke headband of my dreams; a lot of height and glistening with tiny pearls.

The shoes were also about adding as much height as possible to my diminutive size and I found the perfect pair of as-high-as-you-can-go gold platform sandals at Karen Millen.

The veil and jewellery were about simplicity. My husband got me a pair of Lilly & Roo pearl hoops for Christmas ready for the big day.

THE SECOND DAY OUTFIT:

We spent our second day clearing up the wedding with our most helpful (and least hungover) friends, bribing them with beer. Practicality and a large pair of sunglasses were the order of the day.

ADVICE FOR BRIDES:

Perhaps this is just how I work best but: Pinterest. Make a moodboard and look for all the common threads of dresses that you like to hone your search. Make new boards for every accessory or element of the dress so you can really define what it is you’re after.

FAVOURITE PHOTO

We were just walking back from having our couple photos taken which was such a special time just the two of us. It was especially perfect because where we had them taken in the long grass of the the marshes is a walk we have done together a thousand times together. The sun was also beginning to really shine by this point in the day, catching the movement of the dress perfectly.