Flora Vesterberg Celebrated Her Fifth Wedding Anniversary at an Art Museum on the Stockholm Archipelago
Flora Vesterberg and Timothy Vesterberg celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in September at the contemporary cultural center Artipelag in Sweden. “Our celebration took place over the National Day of Sweden,” explains Flora, who is an art historian and philanthropist and the second cousin, once removed, of King Charles III. “My parents and godparents kindly hosted an aperitivo the evening before. [And then,] the following morning, we led our guests around the galleries Thielska Galleriet, Galerie Storm, and Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde.”
Flora and Timothy were introduced by Alexander Danielsson, who served as best man when they married in 2020. “I met Alexander whilst living in Paris for a Sotheby’s internship,” Flora says. “He studied with Timothy at the Stockholm School of Economics and eventually introduced us in London a few years later. The three of us then joined other Scandinavian friends in swimming in the Serpentine early on weekday mornings. Timothy and I fell in love and became engaged within six months.”
Timothy proposed in The Queen’s Temple, a quiet pavilion close to the Serpentine in London with a ring designed with Hancocks in St. James’s. “It is a lovely pear-shaped Victorian diamond set in a contemporary band with a meaningful Swedish inscription.” They then held a private ceremony in September 2020 at the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace, before hosting a larger wedding a year later once pandemic lockdown restrictions had eased.
For their fifth-year anniversary, they decided to gather friends and family together for a special celebration, now that the pandemic is firmly in the rearview mirror. To do so, they chose Artipelag, which was designed by the Swedish architect Johan Nyrén on Värmdö Island along the Stockholm Archipelago, for their venue. The location was an easy decision due to Timothy having grown up in Sweden, and the fact Flora is studying for a PhD at The Courtauld focusing on Scandinavian art. “We always feel calm in nature [when we’re there],” Flora notes. “My father, James Ogilvy, is the landscape designer behind Ogilvy Landscape, and so I knew that he would also feel inspired by the wildness of Värmdö Island. Timothy and I both have very loving and supportive families, and so it felt special for them to be in Stockholm with us.”
Earlier this year, Flora received a late-in-life autism diagnosis and wrote a personal essay about her experience in British Vogue. “Although it’s been a challenging process, it’s also been clarifying and allowed me to approach this celebration more thoughtfully than our wedding,” she explains. “Timothy and I planned this event ourselves, because we intended for it to feel intimate with only 40 guests. Our family and friends all helped us throughout the weekend. My close Swedish friends Frida Gustavsson and Petrina Hesketh were very helpful with recommendations and accompanying me to fittings. Led by Axel Broström, our ushers from our marriage blessing in London resumed their roles to usher our guests from Hotel Diplomat to our boat moored nearby on Nybroviken Harbour.”
The couple sent out their invitations through Paperless Post, but Flora’s father, James, also printed copies of the Siv Andersson poem “Till Brudparet” as a memento for their guests. “It was read by my sister-in-law Emmy at our wedding as well as whilst celebrating our fifth anniversary,” Flora remembers “From an autism perspective, I knew that being somewhere familiar in nature would make it feel like a more manageable experience. I struggle with my sensory responses to color and sound and so the cool-tones and calm of the archipelago were soothing.”
The couple worked with photographer Robert Fairer to document the weekend. “He was incredibly diligent and thoughtful as he captured every aspect of our celebration in Stockholm,” Flora says.
For her dress, Flora worked with the British couturier Phillipa Lepley to create a bespoke piece, five years after they collaborated on the wedding dress that she wore for her marriage blessing. “It was inspired by the Stockholm archipelago and was designed to move as fluidly as its waters,” Flora explains. “The soft blue slipper satin was reflective of their subtle tides—and that of the blue skies above.”
