The Bride Wore a Cathedral-Length Veil With Ancestral Lace to Her Wedding on Harbour Island
Madeline Hahnfeld Brock and Marcial Brock like to say that their love story was all about perfect timing. For years, the two attended the same events, knew the same people, but never crossed paths. “He’s from a small town in the Texas Hill Country, and it turns out he went to lower school with some of my cousins and even knew other family members,” Madeline, who does global marketing within the beauty industry, explains. “He then went to Texas A&M University, and I went to the University of Georgia. Shortly after graduating, I moved to London, while he moved to my hometown of Houston.”
It wasn’t until 2019, shortly after Madeline returned to Houston, that a close friend and her husband set them up on a blind date. “We were reading the same book and instantly clicked,” Madeline remebers. “We’d reached that place in life where love could flourish. It was as if the universe had been holding back until we were ready.”
The very next weekend, they both found themselves in Athens, Georgia, attending the UGA versus A&M football game. “It was a sign,” Madeline says. “And now, we couldn’t be happier.”
In December of 2022, Marcial planned a surprise trip from New York to London. “Marcial is great at planning weekend trips, so I didn t fully put the pieces together and realize that there was a joyful surprise to come,” Madeline admits.
On their first night, Marcial suggested they grab a drink before dinner at the Ham Yard—the hotel where they were staying. There, in the drawing room, he got down on one knee and proposed. “It was such a special moment, being with my fiancé in the city I had lived in, and it was amplified by the holiday season cheer,” Madeline recalls. “After a glass of champagne, we spent the evening telling our family and close friends the news and celebrating with a few strangers on the streets.” They spent the next few days on cloud nine—strolling through the city streets and eating at all of their favorite restaurants.
A year and five months after the proposal, the couple got married on Harbour Island over Memorial Day Weekend. “The Bahamas has always had a special place in our hearts,” Madeline explains. “We both grew up spending idyllic summers soaking up the sun and sea there. But Harbour Island, with its unique blend of laid-back charm and old-school sophistication, stole ours. The pastel cottages, pink sand beach, and getting around by golf cart all make it so special. It’s the kind of place where you can be glamorous in your swimwear, never have to put on makeup, and shoes are optional!”
From the beginning, Madeline, Marcial, and the mother of the bride entrusted Michelle Rago and her team at Michelle Rago Destinations with the planning of the wedding weekend. “Michelle had an uncanny ability to understand my mother and me,” Madeline jokes. “She read our style and personalities perfectly, which instantly put us at ease. What gave us even greater confidence in Michelle was learning that she had spent lots of time in Harbour Island. Her experiences and connections with the locals there became apparent in her intimate knowledge of how to navigate wedding-planning seamlessly.”
One of the decisions Michelle guided the bride to was hiring stylists Carrie Goldberg, Lex Alexandris, and Souri Kim of CLG Creative. “Working with Carrie was a blessing,” Madeline says. “My mother and I never once stressed about what to wear thanks to her expertise and guidance. She made the entire process enjoyable and effortless.”
Madeline also knew from the day she got engaged that she wanted Alex Bramall to be her photographer. “I had fallen in love with his fashion photography,” Madeline says. Once he was secured, the wedding wardrobe needed to deliver—and with CLG Creative s guidance, it was the perfect curation of Lanvin, custom Danielle Frankel, and Valentino.
The weekend kicked off with a rehearsal dinner at The Ocean View Club’s terrace overlooking the ocean, where Madeline wore a Lanvin gown with intricate seaweed-like lace. For the welcome party that followed, Danielle Frankel created a dress using the bride’s mother’s wedding gown. “It was made with ivory silk satin enhanced by antique heirloom rosepoint and duchesse lace,” Madeline explains. “Danielle masterfully reworked the original material into a charming, ballerina-inspired design, preserving the lace that would later adorn my veil on the wedding day. The lightweight silhouette made it a joy to dance in as we gathered on the beach to welcome our guests and roast s’mores.”
On the day of the wedding, Madeline got ready in a “sleeping tent” on the property at The Other Side wearing a vintage silk slip with a fishnet overdress from Tab Vintage, before putting on her silk wedding dress by Danielle Frankel, her mother’s heirloom veil, and coral-adorned Manolo Blahnik silk sandals.
“I feel profoundly fortunate to come from a long line of women whose grace and style, in my opinion, are simply unparalleled,” Madeline says. “The veil I wore on my wedding day is not only beautiful but also immensely sentimental since it was originally crafted for my mother’s wedding. The cathedral-length piece was made from ancestral lace that has been a part of our family’s history for decades, gracing the heads of my mother, my aunts, and even my beloved godmother as they exchanged their vows. As the veil was clipped in, I felt an indescribable connection to these incredible women who have shaped me into the person I am today.”
While Madeline was finishing hair and makeup, it unexpectedly started to rain, and at the spur of the moment, the bride decided to hop into a Toyota Scion to get to the ceremony. “This wouldn t have been my ideal chariot on my wedding day,” she jokes. “But it added to the fun of the light rain!”
The ceremony was a true family affair. The bride’s cousin Wyatt officiated, and as he started to speak, the rain really started to come down. “I could see the penciled notes he had so carefully prepared in his Bible start to smudge and wash away,” Madeline remembers. “But in that moment, we both felt as if god was saying, ‘You’ve got this. Just speak from your heart!’"
