JUST M ARRIED
Where the art is Anna Patterson & Caspar Speake
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ow here’s a glamorous globetrotter’s wedding: Anna and Caspar first met in New York back in 2008, and took in a Broadway show as their first date. Then, still on the far side of the Atlantic, they decided to get married during a holiday on Nantucket, the Massachusetts island that contains some of the most expensive homes in the US, much more so than the rather more famous Hamptons. Anna is from Dorset, though – she grew up in Sandford Orcas, and St Nicholas’ is the church her family went to when she was little – so picking where to get married was a no-brainer. “Plus,” she says, “I knew we could walk from home to the church on our wedding day, which was very special. Okay, so we did all get stuck behind a herd of cows en route to the reception venue, but that’s fairly usual for Dorset!” So the location was easy to organise, and so were both the invitations and florist. “The trickiest thing,” she says, “was finding a dress – and, in the end, I designed one myself.” What, really? “Well, I worked with a very talented dress designer and tailor called Katy Cordina, as well as Laura Campbell, who’s a designer and hand embroidery specialist at Hand & Lock, the famous London embroidery specialists, to actually get the details right.” Okay, then! She teamed this unique gown with a bouquet from Common Farm Flowers in creams and whites, plus brighter highlights and some lavender blues, and the same guys contributed matching bridesmaids’ posies and table posies, and dressed the wedding cake – made by Anna’s mum, and an unalloyed hit – with circles of fresh herbs, rosemary and thyme. Anna and Caspar share a love of art, and have always enjoyed what she describes as “the city-meets-country” vibe at Hauser & Wirth, the international modern art gallery set on an 18th century farm at Bruton in Somerset (it has sister galleries in Zurich, London, New York and LA too), so it seemed perfect as the reception venue. “The gallery is surrounded by beautiful countryside,” Anna says, “yet, with the sculptures and the converted buildings of the gallery, it all has a very modern feel.” Other contributions came from both far afield and close at home: the invitations, place cards, menus, and seating plan were by Betty Soldi Calligraphy and Design of Florence; hair was by the Melanie Giles boutique in Frome; shoes came from Italy’s Gianvito Rossi; make-up was by the West Country’s Christy Waterfall; and jewellery by Alex Monroe, purveyor of handmade metal beasts. Hackett of London made Caspar’s made-to-measure suit, meanwhile, and Hermes contributed his tie. He was joined by best 6 2 | VOW
man Patrick Coffey, a childhood pal, while the bride’s party was completed by sister Catherine, best buds Sarah Rodger and Harriet Suenson-Taylor, and flower girls Florence and Elizabeth – one of these two is Anna’s niece, and the other is bridesmaid Harriet’s daughter. The grown-up ladies wore dove grey/silver skirts from Jigsaw and LK Bennett with white silk tops, while the little lasses got grey dresses from the Little White Company. Anything the couple regret? Of course not, though costs did creep up. “The dress got especially expensive,” Anna says, “though I don’t regret it. (If only I could wear it again, though!) And, of course, entering the church to see all my family and friends, with Caspar waiting at the end of the aisle, made everything worthwhile.” With memorable speeches – the groom’s especially so, apparently – and no real Bridezilla moments, everything went swimmingly, then. “Well, at one point I was a little worried that it was too cold for the guests to stand outside to have drinks,” Anna says, “but that, of course, wasn’t exactly a major stress!”