How this fashion editor chose her perfect Simone Rocha wedding gown

I didn’t want to give up on the fantasy, so went back armed with a pair of my highest Miu Miu platforms. While writing this article, I revisited the multiple phone videos of me attempting to sit down and move in the dress. There are many, many layers of tulle, which look dramatic and impactful but in reality, aren’t very practical. I didn’t want to admit it (after all, high fashion and comfort rarely go hand-in-hand) but I didn’t feel I could last an entire day in something so heavy. I realised that if I went for it (and its eye-watering price tag), I wouldn’t easily be able to hug guests, kiss my husband, or god forbid dance. Sadly, it was back to the drawing board.

A month later, in February 2020, I went for lunch in Selfridges with my mum and my two sisters, to celebrate the youngest’s birthday. As we made our way to the rooftop on the escalator, we passed through the women’s designer gallery. A display had an assortment of Simone Rocha’s spring/summer 2020 collection with a blue-and-white china print gown at the forefront. My mother pointed it out as a potential wedding dress, and as we couldn’t have more different personal styles, I almost fell over in shock. My sister started to complain that it was her birthday we were there for, so I took a picture on my phone and we moved on.

I firmly believe in trusting the opinion of a gay man over my mother, so I went back to try it on with the same best friend. I needed his unfiltered opinion and, having met studying fashion together at university, our relationship was built on a shared obsession for clothes. However, I couldn’t bear the thought of something as traditional as my mother choosing my wedding dress for me, so I tried on another Simone Rocha option first. The sequinned top and skirt combination was cute, but it was all white — something I wasn’t particularly keen on. When I put on the sheer printed, tulle skirted dress, it was so perfect I knew I couldn’t deny it just because of who had found it. I say it was perfect, but I had forgotten once again to bring heels (when would I learn) and Selfridges only had a size UK 6 in stock. I’m a UK 10/12, and while I must credit Simone Rocha’s generous sizing, the UK 6 wasn’t going to work.

I had planned to go to the label’s own store the following week to try it on in the correct size and make the big purchase, when something called Covid-19 happened. The week after I had tried the dream dress on in Selfridges, the world all but shut down. I was working from home, everything was closed — would there even be a wedding to wear this dress for? Nonetheless, I ordered it online and will never forget having a Zoom call with my mum, sisters and a gaggle of friends for the ‘big reveal’ as we couldn’t all be together in person.

While we did end up getting married on the original date we had set, we could only have 13 guests due to the pandemic restrictions. My superstar dress had a very different day out to the one we had initially planned, but after months of sweatpants and athleisure wear, it felt amazing to get glammed up again. That dress, which I had bought so long ago, gave me hope that things would get better. I wouldn’t have done a single thing differently.