Alex Murphy’s magical wedding
December marked a very special occasion for us here, as it was the month we saw our first celebrity bride walk down the aisle in ‘head to toe’ Perfect Bridal.
Back in May 2023, former ITV’s ‘Dancing on Ice’ winner Alex Murphy commissioned our dress designer Kay Heeley from Angel Couture to make her a bespoke wedding gown. The big day finally arrived in December and we were thrilled that Alex walked down the aisle in head to toe Perfect Bridal, so today we wanted to share the full story with you.
The start of a beautiful partnership…
Kay and Alex go way back to 2017 when they were introduced by a mutual friend, and became not only great friends but Alex also began modelling for Kay’s dress brand Angel Couture. So when Alex got engaged at Christmas 2022, she jumped at the chance for Kay to design and make her wedding gown. Kay drove down to Alex’s Herefordshire home with a car full of gowns including our stunning Kay Heeley for Perfect Bridal collection.
Alex tried on all the styles and took Kay’s advice of trying things that she didn’t think she wanted. This is typical of so many brides, thinking they know what they want but almost always choose the opposite once they see different styles and shapes on! Let’s face it, it’s not every day we try on wedding gowns, so it’s quite a different shopping experience than buying everyday outfits!
Alex had quite a clear vision of what she liked and like most brides had a Pinterest board of all her ideas- the brief was something romantic, with a princess vibe but with comfort at the forefront. Being a professional ice skater and wearing hundreds of stunning costumes day after day on the ice rink, Alex had exceptional vision on the ideas Kay suggested to make her gown ‘The One!’ One picture Alex showed Kay in particular was a bride and groom sat eating a slice of pizza. The bride wore high top trainers, a biker jacket and a huge tulle gown. This was the vibe of her day, and after Kay saw the venue, she knew exactly what she would design for Alex.
A dress is born….
Kay hand draws all of her own designs and drew up a design to present to Alex a few weeks after the initial dress try on. Alex was keen for Kay to style her whole look, who knew she wanted her to be accessorised in our beautiful Perfect Bridal collection. Knowing Alex was all about effortless comfort, we knew she’d love our brand new Cameron bridal high tops, which we were just about to launch- where better to have their debut than at Alex’s incredible wedding!
Alex travelled to her fittings at Angel Couture HQ in Yorkshire and when she was shown the dress design for the first time, she was over the moon and didn’t want to change anything! Alex’s mum Lynda had also travelled all the way from Boston to meet Kay and see her daughter embark on the journey of having the most important dress of her life made. An impressive total of thirty six measurements had to be taken to ensure a truly bespoke fit ranging from neck to bust, shoulder to waist, sleeve length and every other measurement you can possibly think of! This was also a great opportunity to discuss accessory options to create the overall look which Alex envisioned.
From drawing to toile to final reveal…
Alex had five fittings in total, two of which were made in calico cotton which is used so it can be adjusted and tweaked, drawn on and cut up to create the final patterns which like everything is Kay’s studio, are done by hand. Even though Alex is a professional skater, she admitted she had never been able to afford to have skating dresses made when she was little as they were too expensive, so having her wedding gown made was all the more poignant.
Once the toile stages were completed and the final adjustments made, the dress was ready to be cut out of the final fabrics. Over 50 meters of tulle, satin and Chantilly lace went into the dress, as well as 100 lace motifs which would be the finishing touch to this magical and spectacular gown. After a couple more fittings down in Herefordshire, Alex made the final drive to Yorkshire to see her gown finally finished. Kay had placed the dress on a mannequin in her showroom complete with detachable train, our veil (PBV9014-300) gloves (PBA2031) and the Cameron Trainers. There were tears of joy!
The Big Day!
Alex and her fiancé, You Tube star Paul Klein, tied the knot in the spectacular Ashridge House in Herefordshire. The star-studded guest list included Olympic royalty Torvill and Dean, as well as reality TV stars from Dancing on Ice, Celebrity Road Trip, and Love Island. Famous singers performed for the couple throughout the day and our very own designer Kay got to mingle with the stars!
Alex asked Kay to help her get ready and after driving the precious cargo that was the dress and all the accessories, Kay’s nerves were through the roof when finally zipping Alex into her gown! This was the first time Alex had tried the dress on after those last-minute alterations, so needless to say Kay didn’t get much sleep the night before as there is only so much you can do with an emergency hand-sewing kit! Luckily it was the perfect fit.
As everyone took their seats for the 2pm ceremony, Alex had a private and emotional moment with her father John, as well as a ‘first look’ with Paul- an American tradition of your fiance seeing you in your dress for the first time. Afterwards Paul came up to Kay and said he was so relieved they did this, as he would not have managed to hold it together if he had seen her for the first time at the actual ceremony. As Alex walked down the stairs and into the view of her guests, Kay said she felt a wave of emotion wash over her after so many hours spent on getting the dress so perfect. Not only this but also seeing Alex, who looked absolutely breath-taking, brought tears to Kay’s and many guests’ eyes. Those tears soon turned to laughter however as they discovered her lace trainers poking out from the thigh high leg split in her gown- the words ‘That’s so Alex’ was said by so many who know her well!
Well ‘Hello’…
From start to finish the wedding was a magical winter wonderland and a fairy tale for two people who found so much happiness with each other, Alex and Paul. Being featured in the pages of the UK’s leading magazine, Hello was the cherry on top of the wedding cake and we were thrilled to be a part of this momentous and spectacular day! As if that wasn’t enough, we will soon be launching Alex’s gown as designed by Kay for our very own dress collection- watch this space!
Wishing Alex and Paul the very best for their future together, from all of us here at The Perfect Bridal Company.