As the fashionista behind StyleTribute, Stephanie Crespin is no stranger to all things sophisticated and elegant. Which is why we couldn’t help cooing over photos of her gorgeous Belgian countryside wedding.
Brides-to-be: take note. This is how you throw a traditional yet super stylish and fun wedding bash!
Where did you get married and why there?
We had our wedding in the beautiful Belgian countryside at the Domaine de Beronsart. We initially wanted to marry in France, given that many of our friends and family live there. But Belgium completely won us over. The Domaine de Beronsart was so magical with its own lake, greenhouse, a small maze, and even some wild forest animals.
What was the inspiration behind your wedding?
We didn’t have a particular theme in mind. I’m a firm believer that anything simple and authentic makes the whole event more relaxed and enjoyable for everyone. We did include some fun aspects – a double decker London bus with a champagne bar to ferry our guests around, a photo booth with crazy costumes and a food caravan serving fries and mini burgers at 2 am.
It must have taken you ages and an entire army to plan a beautiful wedding like yours!
Not really! Denis and I got engaged at the end of February and had the wedding in September. Everyone warned us that five months was too short a lead time to plan a wedding but I just had to be twice as efficient! Fortunately, I had great help from my friends and family but I organised most of it myself from Singapore.
Let’s talk fashion – who designed your stunning wedding dress?
I got my dress tailored by an amazing couturier here in Singapore, Jade from Time Taken to Make A Dress. I totally recommend her: she works miracles!
What about your bridesmaids?
I’m not really into the whole identical bridesmaids look and my four best friends all have such strong and radically different personalities. So I wanted them to wear whatever they felt best in. It definitely looked good – their outfits were rather varied but more or less coordinated.
What’s your favourite memory from your wedding day?
I have two. One was during the ceremony, which was held in a church from the 11th century. The pianist, soprano singer, and the exchanging of vows – definitely the most emotional moment of my life!
My second favourite moment was the wedding dinner. We were able to finally sit with 25 of our best friends and listen to the wonderful speeches by our fathers, and brothers. It was so overwhelming; there was so much love around.
It looked like you were having loads of fun at the wedding dinner! Tell us about it.
Instead of the traditional waltz, Denis and I decided to dance a salsa number as the opening dance – it was a lot of fun! My father-in-law is the founder of a huge attraction park so he got us a lot of wacky costumes for the crazy photo booth. It was indeed a wild night!
Would you have done anything differently for your wedding?
One regret I have was not pointing out to my photographer beforehand the people really important to me. Spell it out to your photographer and tell him specifically who you would like more pictures of.
Any advice for brides-to-be?
Your wedding will never go 100% as planned so don’t spend too much time worrying on the minute details. The special day will fly by quickly, so don’t forget to spend time with loved ones and enjoy the moment with your husband. And most importantly – if you are having fun, everyone will have fun too!
Thanks Stephanie & Denis for letting us in on your special day!
Images taken by Renaud Masson.