Flora Ogilvy and Timothy Vesterberg were joined by family and friends today at St James’s Church, Piccadilly, for a marriage blessing service.
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Like so many other couples over the past year and a half, Flora and Timothy’s wedding plans last year were derailed by the pandemic; they were married in a small, private ceremony at Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace on September 26, 2021. You might recall, Flora wore an elegantly streamlined Emilia Wickstead dress.
For her gown today, Flora turned to society bridal designer Phillipa Lepley. The result was a gown in ivory silk crepe overlaid in hand embroidered tulle with V-neckline, hidden corseted waist and softly flowing skirt with sweep train. The classic silhouette is made wonderfully light and romantic with the exquisitely hand embroidered tulle, shown to such effect on the dress’ neckline and sleeves. There’s an ethereal elegance to this bridal look that is so very beautiful.
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The hand embroidered, delicate floral motif on the gown and silk tulle veil were inspired by the Ogilvy pearl and diamond tiara on loan from Flora’s grandmother, Princess Alexandra. What a pairing these elements make in combination, the floral patterns of the tiara and airy dress singing in such harmony and the tiara’s scale elevating the whole look. And for a royal bride named Flora…. well, a floral tiara is always the right choice and when the tiara inspires the gown, well, that’s magic.
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Flora was attended by her cousin, Lady Marina Windsor, who topped a lilac silk dress with matching saucer hat.
A trio of young bridesmaids, Maud and Isabella Windsor (daughters of Lord and Lady Frederick) and Victoria Litchfield, wore headbands of fresh white flowers.
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Julia Ogilvy paired a beautiful pink and white screen printed etched satin and gorgette dress with a white button based hat trimmed with a large silk rose and organdie bow. Timothy’s mother wore a pale beige sinamay brimmed hat with bow and net veil.
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Designer: unknown. Dress by Beulah London
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Princess Alexandra repeated her pale pink straw picture hat with silk multi-looped bows and masses of small, trimmed feathers. The brim on this hat has a lovely, subtle sidesweep on one side, giving the most wonderfully elegant line to the brim. It’s such a lovely ensemble on Alexandra, the pattern of the skirt and the texture of the jacket giving just enough contrast to keep the overall look from being one-note
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Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Previously Worn: June 18, 2019; May 20, 2018
What do you think of the hats (and tiara!) we’ve seen at this event so far?
See hats worn by other British royal family members here.
Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
The colours of pink and blue seem to be divided by the side of the family as to if one is related to the bride or groom. And the Maid of Honour is in purple (mix of red and blue). The gentlemen’s ties follow the pattern too.
I don’t usually comment on the bridal looks themselves, but I think Flora looked absolutely wonderful!
I loved Julia Ogilvy’s entire ensemble and think she looked stunning. Modern elegance at some of its finest and I wouldn’t change a thing. Princess Alexandra exemplifies classic elegance; glad we finally get to admire all the details of this hat and outfit.
Timothy’s mother’s hat doesn’t necessarily make a statement, but her ensemble fits right in with the royals, which is not always an easy task to accomplish. I wasn’t keen on Lady Marina’s saucer hat until I realized it features a black (leather?) bow on top that makes it more interesting (the bow is largely lost in the flowers behind her in that photo unfortunately); while I’m not one to often criticize hairstyles, I do think Marina’s could’ve looked more refined, but that’s a small complaint.
Despite the largely pastel color palette (you know I personally love vibrant colors), I think all the looks here were big hits and it’s great to see Flora & Timothy finally be able to celebrate in a traditional ceremony. Final note: I really liked seeing Flora getting help from her parents and brother when getting out of the car instead of attendants; that added another personal touch to the intimacy of the wedding.
Here’s a better image of Lady Marina’s hat. I agree- the lilac and black colour scheme is a little odd.
I love this bridal look. It is so light and pretty. The Ogilvy tiara shines and is such a sweet nod to her Grandmother.
Princess Alexandra is the hat winner for me. Her hat is so beautiful and perfect for a wedding. She looks smashing.
I also like Lady Marina’s streamlined lilac and black hat.
Julia looks lovely. Her dress is beautiful and her and James look so proud.
This was indeed a very pretty occasion. And how satisfying to have one where there are proper substantial hats being worn by many! Timothy’s mother’s hat is a good choice for her ensemble. Alexandra’s hat and outfit are very elegant. I do like Julia Ogilvy’s hat, although I think that actually it would benefit from being worn slightly more tipped forward and especially more to the side over one eye – if you’re going to wear something like this statement rose, you need to carry it off with conviction! (For the same reason, I wonder if it would have looked better if Julia’s hair had been up, so as not to distract from the presence of the hat.)
Such a pretty wedding! The bride looks fab, and must be wonderful to have her day after so much waiting. I do wish hairdressers could do tiara hair; I hadn’t realised how big the Ogilvy tiara is; I just think she needed a bit of a backcomb to back it up. But her smile absolutely knocked it out.
I thought Julia and Alexandra looked amazing, I loved Julia’s flowing look, and Alexandra always looks supremely elegant. And their colours all coordinate.
Just lovely.
I loved the sleek lines of Flora’s church wedding gown, but this romantic look is just enchanting. Using the tiara as a design inspiration was brilliant — you sort of wonder how nobody thought of that until now. Looking forward to seeing the other guests.
I love the bride’s ensemble. As you say, the Ogilvy floral tiara seemed to inspire the gown. I liked that the tulle was fairly lightly embroidered, so didn’t look as heavy as lace. I sometimes find tulle veils rather limp, but this one worked well, given the size of the tiara.
The bride’s Mum and Gran both looked fine – I prefer Alexandra’s picture hat to Julia’s percher, agreeing with Jimbo that the flower was too much on the percher.
Very pretty flower girls, with the sophisticated bows at the back!
I also like the fact that the guests all got the “pink or blue” dress code memo!
The tiara didn’t “seem” to inspire the gown- the designer made a statement this morning that it did.
Grandma Alexandra looks outstanding and is today’s winner, IMHO. Is it me, or is the mother-of-the-bride’s button percher a bit top-heavy?
Jimbo, “top-heavy” was exactly the phrase that came to my mind, too! I agree the Princess Alexandra is the winner of this bunch.