Vogue Photographer Nadine Ijewere Wore Vivienne Westwood for Her Picturesque Barcelona Wedding

Nadine Ijewere always knew she would wear a Vivienne Westwood dress when she married her partner James Gilbert—it was simply a question of finding the perfect one. “That it would be Vivienne was a no-brainer,” says Nadine, whose best friend, stylist Nathan Klein, was tasked with overseeing the dress search as her man of honor. “I actually ended up going with the first dress I saw when I walked into my very first showroom appointment,” she says. “I tried on lots of others, including those classic off-the-shoulder Westwood silhouettes, but they didn’t feel like me. I’m not a slinky bride—I’ve always loved volume and shape. But at the same time, I didn’t want an ’80s meringue. This gown felt like a princess moment without being too princess-y or OTT.” The Vivienne Westwood team customized the length of the dress as well as the corset to Nadine’s specifications, to create what is “essentially a demi-couture piece, as the design is no longer being made.”

As an in-demand fashion photographer (Ijewere shot Selena Gomez for her first Vogue cover aged just 29), the bride had some helpful contacts to draw on when planning for her big day—a destination wedding at the impossibly picturesque Castell de Sant Marçal in Barcelona, held last month. “When it came to styling, hair, and make-up I had the best of the best, because so many of my friends are in the industry! Nathan, who works with WED Studio, made me a beautiful custom veil covered in tiny pearls,” says Nadine, who found her pearl-embellished sling-backs—which echoed the vintage feel of her gown—online, and sourced a vintage pair of Schiaparelli clip-on earrings to wear on the day. Make-up artist Mary-Jane Gotidoc, her close friend and bridesmaid, was on hand to ensure her signature red lip was perfect, and master hairstylist Ali Pirzadeh created her Sade-inspired braid with pearl and ribbon accents. “I wanted to keep the hair clean, because the look was all about the dress. I think it felt quite Spanish overall,” says Nadine—a happy coincidence given the couple’s chosen wedding location.

The bridesmaids all wore black dresses, made bespoke by London-based MIPA Atelier. “I wanted the bridesmaids to feel timeless and chic,” says Nadine. “I wanted the dresses to have an element of interest, with pleating and ruched details, but also to make sure they were wearable. It was important to me that everyone felt comfortable, especially in the hot weather.”

Feeling free to “move and dance” was crucial for the bride, too, whose party look was a checkerboard-print dress by Emilia Wickstead. “They customized it by adding length and a flared hem that spun like a dream on the dance floor.” Nadine added ballet flats, a pair of Zara earrings, and some “fabulous” white Celine sunglasses. “I knew I wanted my second dress to feel just as beautiful and elegant, but with some personality as well,” says the bride, whose new husband swapped his ceremony outfit of Saint Laurent trousers and Hawes Curtis dinner jacket for cream Issey Miyake co-ords and Nike Air Force 1s.

Looking back now, the day was “surreal and amazing,” says the bride, who walked down the aisle to Joe Hisaishi’s “Merry Go Round of Life,” from the Studio Ghibli classic Howl’s Moving Castle. “It’s a very magical and personal song for us.” After the non-traditional ceremony, guests including supermodel Adwoa Aboah and photographer Campbell Addy (“who made an incredible speech!”) enjoyed cocktails, canapés and live bossa nova music, before taking their seats for dinner in the grounds of the castle as the sun went down, under a canopy of chandeliers and fairy lights.

When dinner was over, the wedding party descended on the dance floor en masse, leaving only to make a pit stop at the photo booth, or visit the ice cream truck parked in the castle grounds. “We didn’t want it to be a snobby, stuck-up affair,” says Nadine. “We wanted it to mirror our personalities—and we wanted sunshine and a good time. It was magical. I only wish we could do it all over again!”