This Pregnant Pop Star Bride Wore A Self-Portrait Dress And Towering Louboutins For Her Hackney Wedding
The final stages of pregnancy are a magical time for any new mum, but for Vanessa White – one fifth of girl band The Saturdays – it was made all the more so by tying the knot with her boyfriend of eight years, artist and DJ Emmanuel Lawal.
“We met eight years ago at an event,” she remembers. “I remember saying to my friend that I thought he was striking, and she said she knew him.” After first hanging out as friends, things became romantic after their first date at My Neighbours the Dumplings in Clapton. “We also had our first kiss that night, too,” says Vanessa.
Emmanuel proposed a few weeks prior to their wedding, on 8 November, during a cosy weekend in the Cotswolds. “While Vanessa was having a massage I just pulled everything out that I’d managed to hide,” he says, laughing. “I set it all up in the garden with candles and lanterns, and some non-alcoholic sparkling wine.” Suffice it to say, Vanessa got a big surprise when she returned from the spa. “I was half-asleep, and I just had my robe on, and I was like, ‘Wait, what’s happening?’”
With a bigger celebration in Mallorca planned for next summer, the couple exchanged vows in a small ceremony at Hackney Town Hall, with just two witnesses – one of whom was their photographer. “It was so nice,” says Vanessa. “I really do recommend people just going off and doing it on their own.”
When it came to finding their wedding outfits, the couple had – in their own words – “a bit of a nightmare”. “Obviously Vanessa is pregnant, and it’s nearly Christmas, so things have been hectic,” says Emmanuel. “So we kept putting it off. Then we realised if we didn’t sort something soon, it wasn’t going to happen!”
Luckily, MyTheresa came to the rescue, with the couple buying anything and everything that might work to try on. Vanessa settled on a lace and satin long-sleeve slip dress from Self Portrait X Christopher Kane, which she paired with a vintage-inspired net head band by Jennifer Behr and earrings from demi-fine jewellery brand Ryenn’s Eyes.
“It’s so funny, because you imagine what you’re going to get married in, and for a registry I thought I’d wear some sort of cool suit, but being pregnant, that was never going to work,” says Vanessa. “When I tried on the dress, I knew it had to be it. It was just one of those moments where it clicked.” As for her dinner look, she opted for a Norma Kamali gown, which had all the stretch she wanted for multiple courses.
Both Vanessa and Emmanuel wore Christian Louboutin shoes. “My friends thought I was mad because the heels were so high,” shares Vanessa. “But I just said, you know what, I’m going to make it work, and I did!” For their wedding bands, the couple worked with Shola Branson, a designer that Emmanuel had worked with on a previous project.
The couple spent the morning of their wedding at home, getting ready together, listening to a playlist put together by Vanessa. The bride’s longtime friend, Charlotte Tilbury make-up artist Komal Ridout, came over to help Vanessa get ready, opting for a beauty look in shades of brown, while the bride did her own hair. Emmanuel picked up the flowers – a last-minute addition – from Tanika’s Flowers in Mayfair, owned by family friends, en route to the ceremony at Hackney Town Hall.
The formalities were relatively quick, with the couple then heading to Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal for dinner. “We wanted it to feel like a long date,” says Vanessa. They travelled all day in a Flying Spur from Bentley Motors, which saved Emmanuel having to find a parking space near Regent Street.
The chef closed the restaurant for them to use exclusively, with endless courses arriving. “We were there for hours,” the couple remembers. “We didn’t get home until 11pm!” For one of their final courses, the team surprised them with a mini wedding cake of sorts, covered in white icing and edible pearls. “I think that was like the third dessert, or something like that,” says Vanessa. “It was a gorgeous fig cake.”
Now, the couple have two things to look forward to: the birth of their son, and their summer wedding in Mallorca, where he can be the pageboy. “Knowing that he will be there is the nicest thing,” says Vanessa.
George William Vicary1/24The couple designed their own wedding bands with the help of designer Shola Branson.
George William Vicary2/24Emmanuel waiting for the ceremony.
George William Vicary3/24A shot of the ring.
George William Vicary4/24A shot of the groom’s shoes by Christian Louboutin.
