Holly Ramsay Wore Elie Saab—and Her Mom’s ’90s Wedding Dress—to Marry Adam Peaty in Bath

When Holly Ramsay and her fiancé, the Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty, settled on the 13th-century Bath Abbey as their wedding venue, the bride knew she needed a dress that could measure up to its Gothic splendor. “The aisle at the abbey is 65 meters,” says Holly, whose father is Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay. “It’s so grand and so beautiful… I knew I needed something long!”

After a whirlwind tour of London’s bridal boutiques with her small team of helpers—mum Tana and her youngest brother, two-year-old Jesse—the bride ultimately found the wedding dress of her dreams at Elie Saab. “I knew I wanted to wear something very traditional and quite modest, with lace,” she says. “I’ve always loved Grace Kelly and Kate Middleton’s gowns: that beautiful high neckline, super feminine.” The moment she turned to the mirror wearing the Elie Saab, she was “totally obsessed with it,” she says, smiling. “It makes me feel very princess-like.” With the addition of a lace veil, Amina Muaddi heels (“a Christmas present from Adam last year”), and a shell-shaped Chanel minaudière (a limited-edition 2016 piece the bride managed to track down online), all the elements for a dazzling entrance to the abbey were in place.

Of course, these days, a wedding rarely means one dress. “My parents would love it if I did one look,” the bride jokes, “but I’m doing two changes.” As well as another Elie Saab number (this time “short and fun”) for the late-night celebrations back at chic Georgian pile Kin House, Holly chose a particularly special dress to wear for the first dance: her mother’s wedding gown from 1996. “I’ve always loved the idea of bringing in mum’s dress at some point,” she says. “It’s beautiful: silk with a V-neckline and pearls all the way around. I tried it on, and it fit me perfectly—it didn’t need any altering.” The mother-of-the-bride was “on the Peloton when I showed her,” Holly remembers, laughing. Still, there were happy tears.

No one has shed more of them than Gordon. “Dad cries every time I talk about the wedding,” says Holly, fondly. She is the first of the six Ramsay children to head down the aisle. “The other day I was asking him which car he and I would take to the church, and he welled up immediately.” (The father-of-the-bride liked the idea of driving one of his sports cars, but they eventually landed on a Rolls-Royce Phantom—better for the “logistics” of Holly’s lace train.)

Aside from walking his daughter down the aisle, the acclaimed chef has naturally assumed the task of overseeing the wedding breakfast at Kin House. “Dad has been extremely involved in the food,” the bride confirms with a smile, adding that he’s worked with his team at London’s Savoy Grill to design the menu. While the father-of-the-bride will cast his famously exacting eye over the traditional beef Wellington and wine pairings, the snacks circulating at the after-party “is where I come in,” Holly says. “So it’s spicy vodka pasta, fries… I’m very excited about that part, too.”