That Dress - Angelica Angels
There’s nothing more exciting than bringing a bride’s dream wedding dress to life. Our bespoke journey is a personal, in-depth process. From the big-picture vision of what the bride is trying to create to the smallest crystal placement, we pay attention to every little detail.
With ever-changing restrictions, Covid-19 has made wedding planning unpredictable and more stressful than ever. But still, I couldn’t say no to Angelica’s amazing vision for her dream dress — even if we only had three months to complete it!
In creating Angelica’s dress, we paid homage to her rather out-of-this-world profession — hint: it’s all about space! The exquisite dress incorporated 1,000 Swarovski crystal stars and moons, which were hand-sewn to the fabric. And, instead of a veil, we created angel wings and a train from 50 yards of French tulle.
These were attached to the dress with tiny pearl buttons and beautifully framed the V-back, creating an ethereal look. It was the perfect detail for a dramatic look as Angelica made her way down the aisle of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Central, Hong Kong; and, when removed at the reception, the bride could twirl freely across the dancefloor with her groom, backdropped by an unobstructed view of Hong Kong Island from their private Peak estate venue.
Where are you from?
I'm from the Mediterranean, from the city of Valencia, in Spain.
What do you do?
I’m a postdoctoral researcher in search of life on Mars. I study places on Earth that are similar to Mars, as well as the possibility of extraterrestrial life. I was involved in the NASA Mars 2020 mission, and I hope the mission will find whether life was ever present on Mars. For my work I have to travel to extreme places on Earth which bear similarities with Mars. The place I’ve been studying the most is the mountains of Tibet. It’s so remote that not even insects live there. I have to collect samples from the Mars-like environments and then spend a lot of time in the laboratory analyzing them to find similarities with Mars.
Where and how did you meet your partner?
We met in New York. Two years ago, there was a gala dinner at The Explorer’s Club, a private members’ club we are both members of. It was the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, so all the astronauts who have been on the Moon — and that are still alive — were at the dinner. We met and didn’t stop talking the whole weekend. We met the astronauts amongst lots of other interesting people, and we instantly became best friends. In fact, many people thought he was my husband! It was by far the best weekend of my life. I still can't believe he actually became my husband just two years after that meeting in New York.
Tell us about the proposal!
Nine months after we met in New York, we went to visit his family in Canada. On Christmas Day, after a whole week of cold and rain, we had a sunny day so he took me to a cliff where he used to play as a child with his brother. Since we are from different continents, we had previously talked about the fact that we didn’t want to be in different countries as we missed each other so much. So, during the proposal he told me that he had found a solution to that problem. By getting married, we never had to be separated from each other! Of course, I said yes!
Who did you take dress shopping?
Nobody! I had a very clear idea in my head of what I wanted, and I wanted it to be a complete surprise for everyone else. Only my mum and sisters knew about the dress, but they were in Spain.
Tell us about your wedding dress!
It was my dream wedding dress. Christina made a beautiful gown of Japanese tulle for the skirt and angel wings, and silk faille from Italy for the body. It had long sleeves, which is something I always wanted, and all over the skirt and back, there were over 1,000 Swarovski crystals in the shape of moons and stars, representing my career in planetary science. The skirt had a train that was removable, as well as two angel wings that were also removable so I could be more comfortable for the reception.
The dress was big, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. For the headpiece, Christina designed a black ribbon piece that was the same as the ribbons in the sleeves. I loved the impact of the black in the white dress. It was simple but very classy. I’ve never felt more like a princess!
Where did you get married?
We were supposed to get married in Spain, and we will, eventually! But we did a small wedding ceremony in Hong Kong, where we both live, to be legally married. For the wedding in Spain, I will totally wear the same dress!
How did you feel on your wedding day?
I felt very happy, but everything seemed to happen so quickly. We couldn’t go for a honeymoon due to Covid, but we stayed in a suite in the Island Shangri-La hotel and were so happy that everything was as perfect as it could be.
Any advice for future brides?
I felt quite tired on the wedding day — the week before, I was preparing lots of things for the day and couldn’t sleep much. My advice: ask for help and take it easy. And, of course. enjoy the day, even if something doesn't go as planned.
What are you doing with your wedding dress after the big day?
I will be wearing it again for our next wedding in Spain and I can’t wait!
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Xx,
Christina
