Today I want to share with you an Austrian bride who simply epitomizes elegance when it comes to her personal bridal style.  Pia’s lovely wedding day with husband Jean-Paul was captured by Austria wedding photographer Claire Morgan, who described Pia as “one of the most elegant brides I have ever had – so serene and beautiful.” Pia’s natural grace is apparent, but what I love the most about her wedding day look is how it evolved over the course of the day. Watch her accessories subtly change from the ceremony to the reception. It’s incredible what a big difference a few simple changes can make!

The Couple: Pia and Jean-Paul

The Wedding: Bride’s Family Home, Wolfgangsee, Austria

The Inspiration: We wanted our wedding to be elegant, but not stuffy. Romantic, but not trying to imitate Hollywood weddings. All we wanted was to celebrate our love with our family and best friends. We didn’t have a wedding to show off. All those beautiful details like the flowers and the cake were just the frame for the day. Pauli and I wanted to be the picture. We wanted the wedding to be very authentically “us”. We were very relaxed during the wedding preparations, because we knew that although of course we wanted a perfect day just like every bride and groom, in the end it wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t perfect. I think that’s the reason why it really was all so perfect in the end.

The Style: My bridal style had a touch of end of 19th century. Sophisticated, but authentic. I wanted to look like myself. I didn’t want to wear too much make-up. Believe it or not, it was not easy to find a makeup artist who understood what I wanted. But Anna did a great job! I wanted a chignon, because that’s the way I’ve always worn my hair to very elegant occasions. Doing this really made me feel like myself during the most important day of my life.

The Dress:The dress is called “Aurelia” by designer Madeline Gardner New York. I found the dress in a small shop in Vienna. I knew that this was my dress the first time I put it on. It was romantic, elegant and also a little bit sexy. The sleeves I had in church, were not originally on the dress. A dressmaker made them for me. I didn’t want my arms to be naked in the church. In the evening we removed the cover along with the train. I also changed the belt for the evening with rhinestones. For the ceremony, I decided to wear a plain one.

The Accessories: My shoes were 14 cm high and I wore them all day long. It was important for me to wear high heels, because the way you feel and move in them is so different! And my husband is quite tall so of course I didn’t want to look too small in next to him in the photos. In my hair I wore an antique diamond brooch as my “something old”, a present from my father. The diamond earrings I wore were my “something borrowed” from my mother. The ring with the sapphire and diamonds was a birthday present of my husband in June. He wanted me to have my “something blue” for the wedding! So sweet!

The Advice: Be yourself! Oh, and wear high-heels!

The Wedding Team:

Photographer: Claire Morgan Photography
Ceremony Venue: Church of Strobl
Reception Venue: Bride’s Family Home
Videographer/Film Maker: Philipp Habenicht
Wedding Dress: Madeline Gardner New York
Bridal Accessories: Antique Family Jewelry
Hair & Makeup: Anna Posch of Posch Style

Thank you Pia and Jean-Paul for sharing your beautiful wedding with us! We love your elegant bridal style, Pia!

Trying to find your style as a bride? See more bridal style inspiration from fall 2014 bridal market.