Your London Wedding - Page number 76 - September/October 2021 (Issue 79)

BENVENISTE COUTURE Samantha Benveniste of Benveniste Couture says... Tell us about your boutique: The house of Benveniste offers a warm, luxurious environment that serves as a home away from home for our clients. Whether you choose to browse the collections with your favourite tea in hand or book a private appointment where your dream piece is designed in front of you, we offer a truly individual experience catered to you. What key piece of advice would you give to brides when dress shopping? This will sound harsh but do not let a sales lady tell you what you want. They should simply guide you through the offering (no bride is happy with a piece they were pressured into). If you are stuck and are not sure what you want, start with what you do not want and choose the opposite. It sounds obvious, but bridal shopping can be truly overwhelming. Most importantly, be happy and feel good. If you are looking for a stress-free luxury service, literally made for you, visit the house of Benveniste. Working with you we can design a piece that reflects your individuality. That is our speciality. Every Benveniste Couture piece is made from scratch and with that, you have the security of knowing it is sculpted around your form and carefully made to your taste. What’s your favourite dress in the boutique? I wish I could answer that, but I cannot! Each piece has been made individually with an exceptional amount of love and attention. What I can say is this; when a piece is done and the client tries it on completed for the first time ‒ that is the magic for me. What are your top trend tips for 2022? Luxury and comfort whilst being ethically made and sustainably minded. Real couture naturally lends itself to these principals. However, that does not mean you need to only buy couture of course ‒ it could be spectacular vintage, a rented designer piece or sample shopping. For example, you may find a beautiful vintage wedding gown that either needs little alteration or offers a bodice or skirt you can fuse with bespoke. We have created incredible pieces from grandmothers’ wedding dresses, there is something uniquely romantic about it as the bride walks down the aisle dressed in generations of love. Whatever you decide you wish to wear, wherever you choose to buy it, make sure it feels right and you look in the mirror and feel like you. After all, that is the person your spouse has chosen. 020 7937 3535 | www.bnvcouture.com PAPER TO LACE Cristina Ruggeri of Paper to Lace says... Tell us about your boutique: Paper to Lace create dresses and separates for the cool modern bride. Our style is a bridge between romantic bohemian charm and slinky vintage glamour, brought up to date with clean lines and contemporary touches. We love sourcing beautiful fabrics; our work features a luxurious mix of silk, chiffon, crepe and lace, as well as exciting new eco fabrics like bamboo and recycled polyester. What key piece of advice would you give to brides when dress shopping? Our key piece of advice would be to look outside of the usual resources for inspiration. Look at your favourite dresses in movies or the red carpet. What about them are you drawn to? Then look at your own wardrobe and pick out what your favourite outfits to wear are, and why they make you feel so great when you wear them. This will help to influence what you then go and try on in boutiques so that you really feel like your best self. What’s your favourite dress in the boutique? Our favourite dress in the boutique isn’t actually a dress it’s a jumpsuit! The Faye jumpsuit, made from recycled polyester, is clean and modern, looks elegant and simple on its own but can then be paired with the Devore Kimono or Chiffon Cape to create a whole other cool and dramatic look. What are your top trend tips for 2022? Our top trend tips for 2022 would be metallics. Using metallics is a great way of adding sparkle but in a very cool and contemporary way. Our I Feel Love Skirt and Studio 54 dress are both made from an incredible silk chiffon which has a fine metallic thread running though, in either gold or silver options. They catch the light and shimmer so beautifully, it’s ethereal without being twee. Mixed metallics are also going to be huge. We collaborated with Bee Davies Illustration who painted two of our pieces using both gold and silver paint which gave such a fresh and contemporary feel to the piece, and it’s a really great way of showing your own style and personality without feeling like you need to stick to a theme. info@papertolace.co.uk | w ww.papertolace.co.uk www.clai rejulietpaton.co.uk 76