The Dress with Shrinka Ghosh

Shrinka Ghosh wed Wesley McCranor in a romantic black tie spring wedding on 17^th March at Old Marylebone Town Hall. The intimate ceremony, attended by family and very close friends, was followed by a luxurious reception held at 34 Mayfair. Chic, contemporary, stylish, romantic, timeless were the five words Shrinka chose to encapsulate her wedding from beginning to end.

THE JOURNEY:

After getting engaged and seeing so many beautiful styles on Pinterest and Instagram, I reached out to P.S Bridal Styling who offer an amazing consultation, free of charge, to narrow down designers.

I knew I wanted a dress that complemented our wedding in London, modern, but timeless. What I found, after trying on an abundance of styles, was the fine line between bridal and red carpet, it’s a very fine line to get right! From Pronovias, to Halfpenny London, to Morgan Davies Bridal, I was fortunate that I had an amazing experience at each store, largely thanks to the personal bridal consultants who helped me navigate this huge decision with honesty, reassurance and enjoyment. I probably tried on around 30-40 dresses in total, but for me, I didn’t want to have any reason to doubt my choice or think ‘what if I went to … store’.

Ultimately my dress was designed in Spain by Jesus Peiro, purchased at Morgan Davies Bridal in London. It ticked the boxes, pockets for a modern twist, a high split, a dramatic train and a style that was timeless. Most importantly, it fit my personality. What made the dress truly unique was the alterations we made after, which took just over a month to turn it into a bespoke look.

Creatively, we ended up changing the material to a luxurious duchess satin, adding buttons all the way down the dramatic train, altering the shape at the front to be more figure fitting to focus on the contemporary high split in the middle, than the original princess cut, and finally, the sleeves were moved from its original position on the shoulders down to my arms to create a modern silhouette.

The number of trips and fittings was worth it in the end, as the dress was a definite talking point on the day!

THE VISION:

I had a relatively clear vision of what I wanted it to make me feel, but stayed open minded on styles to enjoy the full experience and journey of finding ‘The One’.

From looking back at my original pins on my bridal board, they were sexy showstoppers! Mermaid gowns, either corset or plunge neckline, with beautiful lace embroidery, think Italian glamour.

After trying this style, I realised this wasn’t the right dress for me. Luckily, I was open minded and had great support with my bridesmaids who were a great help and showed me amazing alternatives.

Everything ended up working out for the best (although I did look back at an old dress I tried on and began doubting my choice! Luckily Laura, my personal consultant at Morgan Davies kept me honest and brought my mindset back to the beautiful dress I had purchased).

THE DECISION:

I can honestly say I had the best experience wedding dress shopping, even when I had to choose quicker than expected as we brought our wedding forward 6 months! It was a journey I will treasure forever as it was truly unique to me.

As a creative person, I really threw myself into the process and loved the collaboration so I enjoyed every part of it, as it was a once in a lifetime experience.

My husband is very into fashion, so the hardest part of it all was not being able to show him my options and get his thoughts! Luckily, he loved it, so it made the long-awaited surprise worth it.

THE STYLE SUPPORT:

I had a close knit of best friends/ bridesmaids who came with me on the journey. My initial appointments, I chose two of them each time to enjoy the experience (and champagne!) Those who were married gave me the best advice and learnings from their experience which was invaluable.

In the end, it was just myself and Laura, who I trusted throughout, to complete the journey. I wanted to keep the dress a secret to the girls till my wedding day which was difficult to keep to myself!

THE ACCESSORIES:

It was important for me to commemorate my late mother, so I had her favourite blue sapphire and silver angel brooch in my bag as my “blue” and wore her diamond bracelet as my “old”. Complimenting this was my “new” jewellery gifted by my father, a pair of beautiful bespoke diamond drop earrings and a classic tennis bracelet from Carat London. I wanted to have jewellery that I can wear again and hopefully pass down! Rounding up the tradition, one of my bridesmaids gave me her Chanel compact mirror as my “borrowed”.

I wore a beautiful pair of Aquazzura crystal slingback sandals gifted by my husband. As my dress had a long split in the middle, the shoes would be very visible, so it was important for me to wear a showstopping pair. They did not disappoint and what was even better is they can be worn post wedding, an added bonus!

My veil was a classic cathedral length single tier, with pearls scattered all over. I wanted the veil to be simple with a touch of elegance to not distract from the dress but give the overall look drama.

It was important to me that I had a wedding scent. I chose the limited edition Do Son by Diptyque, in their 30ml size so it would fit perfectly in my bag.

ADVICE FOR BRIDES:

-Delete any photos of dresses you said no too, or it becomes confusing/ you may have second thoughts!

-Stay true to how you want the dress to make you feel; it’s so important that you feel the most confident in it, and it accentuates your best features than wearing a dress because you’re adamant to wear that style.

-I also avoided the input of too many people at the latter stages, to not sway my final decision. In the end I purchased my dress solo, with just my consultant who was the perfect non-biased soundboard.

FAVOURITE PHOTO OF THE DRESS:

This is so difficult to choose one so I’ve chosen two! One from the front, and one from the back. They each represent the overall aesthetic of the wedding, the front being modern and sexy , and the back showcasing the drama and romance.